Previous Section: The Hyborian World: Myth, Legend, History. Part two
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Ancient Night
"In those days, at the Dawn of Time …" - a quote from the novel by A. Silent "The Serpent Kingdom"
Cthulhi is a category of ancient deities of Chaos, often mentioned in the works of the followers of R. Howard, working on the cycle about King Kull. The name is derived from the name of the Great Cthulhu, one of the central characters in artificial mythology created by H. Lovecraft and his associates. The mentions of the Great Old Ones in works dedicated to the world invented by Howard are by no means accidental. Lovecraft had a very great influence on the work of "Father Conan", many of Howard's works are unambiguously ranked among the "Myth of Cthulhu" cycle, and in the Hyborian stories one can find some references to the Great Old Ones. The short story "Queen of the Black Coast" describes an abandoned temple dedicated to the Ancients, and Howard gives the Old Gods names that are consonant with the names of the Creatures described by Lovecraft: Jhebbal Sag, Khosatral Khel (cf. Yog-Sothoth, Shub-Niggurath). The tradition was continued by Sprague de Kamp with Lin Carter, mentioning Tsatoggua - another of the Ancients and introducing a deity into one of the novels, both in name and description reminiscent of Lovecraft's characters - Xotli. Ksot (Xoth) - a dying star, from which one of the branches of the race of the Ancients came to Earth. And here is a quote from the novel “Conan the Fearless” by J. Maddox Roberts: “The names of our gods are difficult to convey in human language. We call them the Ancients. They each have their own personal name, for example: Born of the Dead Star, Destroyer and others. Stygians, they rush with their Set, shouting at every corner that there are no older than his gods. But this old serpent of theirs Seth is just a milk sucker in comparison with the Ancients.and a description reminiscent of Lovecraft's characters - Xotli. Ksot (Xoth) - a dying star, from which one of the branches of the race of the Ancients came to Earth. And here is a quote from the novel “Conan the Fearless” by J. Maddox Roberts: “The names of our gods are difficult to convey in human language. We call them the Ancients. They each have their own personal name, for example: Born of the Dead Star, Destroyer and others. Stygians, they rush with their Set, shouting at every corner that there are no older than his gods. But this old serpent of theirs Seth is just a milk sucker in comparison with the Ancients.and a description reminiscent of Lovecraft's characters - Xotli. Ksot (Xoth) - a dying star, from which one of the branches of the race of the Ancients came to Earth. And here is a quote from the novel “Conan the Fearless” by J. Maddox Roberts: “The names of our gods are difficult to convey in human language. We call them the Ancients. They each have their own personal name, for example: Born of the Dead Star, Destroyer and others. Stygians, they rush with their Set, shouting at every corner that there are no older than his gods. But this old serpent of theirs Seth is just a milk sucker in comparison with the Ancients. We call them the Ancients. They each have their own personal name, for example: Born of the Dead Star, Destroyer and others. Stygians, they rush with their Set, shouting at every corner that there are no older than his gods. But this old serpent of theirs Seth is just a milk sucker in comparison with the Ancients. We call them the Ancients. They each have their own personal name, for example: Born of the Dead Star, Destroyer and others. Stygians, they rush with their Set, shouting at every corner that there are no older than his gods. But this old serpent of theirs Seth is just a milk sucker in comparison with the Ancients.
It should also be noted that the Turian and Hyborian eras are included in the official Chtulhu Mythos Timeline.
Age of the Naag
Promotional video:
"And there was a race loved by the Darkness …" - a quote from the novel by D. Frost "Temple of the Night".
"In the fight against snakes, people chose …" - a quote from the story of R. Howard "Swords of the Bloody Kingdom".
Naagi is the name given to snakemen in the writings of some of Howard's followers. Formed from "nagas" - snake-like creatures from Hindu mythology.
Yig is one of the minor gods of the Cthulhu myth, the creator of the serpentine race. It is identified with such characters of "real" mythology as Quetzalcoatl and Kukulkan, as well as with Howard's Set (Howard's Set is not a complete analogy of the eponymous Egyptian god). Yig's name is mentioned in the story "The Scarlet Moon Zembabwe", along with the Dark Khan and the Serpent-Beard Biatis (deities invented by the followers of Lovecraft). In turn, in Lovecraft, you can see references to the serpent-men of Valusia several times. The best story of the serpent people is described in the essay by S. Appel "Children of the Yig", based on the works of R. Howard, C. E. Smith, H. Lovecraft and others. In short, it is as follows: After the fall of Ancient Valusia 190 million years ago, the serpent people go underground, to the Iota caves. There, their civilization continues to develop until the serpent people accept the cult of Tsatoggua, the god-toad,for which the curse of Yig dooms them to involution. A group of survivors flees to the newly formed land of Hyperborea (more on it later). There they continue underground existence, but about a million years ago this culture dies. Then the serpent people try to settle on the continent of Lemuria (from the Legends of Tongor by L. Carter), but their kingdom is defeated by a young race of people (in the version of the story of I. Babitsky, the Lemurians are not representatives of modern humanity, but this will be discussed later). Finally, they come to the lands of the Turia mainland, where they create the Second Valusia. Their further history is well known to all. Then the serpent people try to settle on the continent of Lemuria (from the Legends of Tongor by L. Carter), but their kingdom is defeated by a young race of people (in the version of the story of I. Babitsky, the Lemurians are not representatives of modern humanity, but this will be discussed later). Finally, they come to the lands of the Turia mainland, where they create the Second Valusia. Their further history is well known to all. Then the serpent people try to settle on the continent of Lemuria (from the Legends of Tongor by L. Carter), but their kingdom is defeated by a young race of people (in the version of the story of I. Babitsky, the Lemurians are not representatives of modern humanity, but this will be discussed later). Finally, they come to the lands of the Turia mainland, where they create the Second Valusia. Their further history is well known to all.
Age of Gondwana
As an epigraph, a slightly modified quote from the novel by J. Maddox Roberts "Conan the Fearless" is used.
Gondwana is a supercontinent that existed in the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic in the Southern Hemisphere. The name is derived from the Gond tribe and the Wana region in India. In the fantastic tradition, the time of the existence of Gondwana is often carried over to a later period of time. A mention of this continent is found in W. Gordon's story "Black City" dedicated to King Kull. I. Babitsky is inclined to identify Gondwana with Ancient Mu, where the events of some stories of Howard's predecessors take place.
The Book of Skelos is a mysterious tome invented by Howard for his Highborian stories, apparently being some analogue of Lovecraft's Necronomicon.
Valki is one of the races mentioned in Howard's story "The Curse of the Golden Skull", and also (singular) the name of the main god of the Turian era. From this followed the assumption of I. Babitsky that before humans in the world of Hyboria there was a certain race that was later revered as gods (the idea, by the way, is not new, such races can be found in the myths of many peoples of the world). The assumption is also based on numerous references to the time "when the gods walked the earth" and the legend of Gondwana, given by Gordon, where people appear on equal terms fighting demons (Executors of Evil). Also, I. Babitsky will allow himself to quote the serpent-man Kakhhu: "… the gods who came from the stars to our world supported you, because these damned creatures whom you call the Gods of Light were similar in appearance to people." When this chapter was already drafted,rereading the volumes of the "Saga", I. Babitsky met a mention of the Valkov empire in Roberts, which only confirmed his assumptions.
Giant Kings - mentioned in the story of R. Howard "God of the Cup" as the rulers of prehuman Stygia. The idea was developed in the works of D. E. Rippke, where a theory is expressed about the origin of the ruling caste among the Kharians. Based on the facts scattered in Howard's works, Rippke introduces us to the appearance of the noble Acheronian: tall, very white skin and something elusively serpentine in appearance. Consequently, the upper class was the hybrid children of the Kharians and the very rulers of ancient Stygia who received divine status under the Kharian orders. I. Babitsky, like many, always believed that when speaking of the inhuman race of Stygia, Howard meant serpent-people, but Rippke's hypothesis interested him greatly. Allusions to the prehuman race of Giants and their descendants are also found in the stories "The Black Colossus" (remember the description of Tughr Khotan) and "In the Hall of the Dead" (figures sitting on thrones). We can also mention the Arimasps, who appear in R. Sheppard's novel "The Evil of Valusia" and the Giants of Nordheim. So, based on the fact of the existence of two races - the Valk Gods and the Giant Kings, I. Babitsky suggests that they were once a single people, divided into "good" and "evil" branches, the enmity of which destroyed the prehuman world (an echo of those events can be also seen in the legend of the death of Gondwana at Gordon). Where did the descendants of the Giants get the snake genes then? Again, the essay "Children of the Yiga" comes to the rescue, where it is said that the serpent people, versed in genetics, attempted to create a race of masters, carrying the blood of their degenerating people in their veins. If they used humans as material (think of the serpentine, half-human-half-snake mentioned by Loknith), then the Fallen Walks could also be their victims.
Hyperborean Man - the race that created the civilization of Ancient Hyperborea, described by K. E. Smith and his associates. Lovecraft calls Hyperborea the land of Lomar. According to other sources (works of K. Smith and L. Carter), in Hyperborea lived snake people (dragon kings) underground and ape-like Wurmis on the surface. The period of existence of that land (which, by the way, it would be wrong to call Hyperborea in the context of the history of Hyboria) is a million years ago. Therefore, I. Babitsky tends to view Homo Hyperboreans as ape-men. This fragment is included in the history of Hyboria because of the mention of the dragon kings of Hyperborea by R. Sheppard (taken from "Lemuria" by L. Carter), as well as references to the polar monkeys of Nordheim.
Cold Ithaqua - According to the mythology of Cthulhu, the Hyperborean civilization (whether it be a serpent man or a pre-man) died due to the Great Ice. It was caused by Ithaqua, one of the younger Great Old Ones.
Rotas Lemurian is a character in the story by R. Howard "The Curse of the Golden Skull" (cycle about King Kull).
Dawn of Humanity
As an epigraph, a phrase often found in the works of O. Loknit is used, hinting at the world of Middle-earth by J. R. R. Tolkien, which preceded the time of Atlantis. One may disagree with Loknith's hypothesis, but Middle-earth (albeit not in the form that Tolkien's) fits well into the history of Hyboria as a connecting era between the Time of the Gods and the Time of Men. In addition, Loknit in his texts speaks about this era in the form of hints, leaving the reader the right not to accept his version. It is also quite logical that the legends about those times remained only with the "Celtic" peoples, such as the Temrians. They are the descendants of the Celtic Goidels of the Turian era, who, in turn, were the indigenous population of these lands. The Turians, who came from the East, brought with them their culture and mythology, dating back to the traditions of Mu and Lemuria,isolated from Middle-earth.
"… Valkov, whom they honored in their legends under a slightly different name …" - another fact in favor of the hypothesis of Middle-earth, based, however, on coincidence. The main deity of Turia was Valka, the personification of the pre-human divine race, as we have already found out. The people of Middle-earth considered those whom Tolkien calls Valar or Vala as gods.
The Lemurian Continent - Lemuria L. Carter and Hyboria R. Howard, for many reasons, are often placed in a single literary continuum. Carter also had serpent-men preceding man, and an excerpt from Tongor's "vision of the future" is cited as the legend of Atlantis in Conan the Islander. Howard himself, by the way, also mentions the Lemurian continent (not the islands) in the story about Bran McMorn "The People of the Shadow", but the Lemurians (probably those that preceded the Lemurians of the time of Kull) are described as a semi-human people. The same demi-humans are the ancient lemurs of D. Brian. Hence the assertion of I. Babitsky that Carter's Lemurian cycle is nothing more than a late, highly distorted legend. In addition, Carter, a writer with a penchant for imitation, used both “ancient” and Hyboria names in his Lemuria.
"… one of the legendary tribes of lemurs bore the name of the ancient Valkars …" - Tongor came from the Valkar people.
"… is known as the era of Zailm Numinos …" - in the already mentioned legend about Atlantis, in its full version, it is said about the First Atlantis of Numinos. The time coincides with Tolkien's Numenor.
Second Empire of Valusia - according to the research of S. Appel, there were two Valusia - Ancient in the Paleozoic and New at the dawn of the Turian era.
The Battle of Yokundiak is a legend cited in the novel by K. Grant and N. O'Knight "Time of Stinging Arrows".
Turian era
As an epigraph, a quote from R. Howard's essay "The Hyborian Era" is used. The material for writing this chapter was the works of R. Howard and his followers dedicated to the Kull-Atlantean. The only thing that needs explanation is the names Kommorium and Mu Tulan used.
Kommorium is an area on the map of Ancient Hyperborea. Apparently, from her, Howard formed the name Commoria.
Mu Tulan - first of all, it should be noted the mistake made by Howard's followers. On the map of the Turian era, they place the Mu mountains, misinterpreting Howard's phrase: "… when Atlantis and the Mu mountains were only islands in the sea," which undoubtedly meant the mainland of Mu. True, on the map of the same Hyperborea there is a northern region called Mhu Thulan, the name of which could well have remained in the myths of the Lemurians, and then the Turians.
Age of Atlantis
For the reconstruction of the Atlantean era, the already mentioned legend from the novel "Conan the Islander" was used, as well as information taken from the novels of R. Sheppard "The Evil of Valusia" and K. Lennard "The Source of Destinies".
Kaa-Yazot is the ruler of the decline of Valusia, mentioned in the novel Conan the Islander.
Kalenius is the king of antiquity, who united Valusia, Verulia and Farsun into a single empire. Mentioned in K. Wagner's novel "The Road of Kings".
Tseenor Zera is the serpent-man, the last ruler of Valusia. J. Braigen "The Brand of the Serpent".
Cataclysm and the Dark Ages
Fir Bolg - the tribes mentioned as enemies of the Goidels in the cycle about Kull, as well as the original population of the island of Inis Fall from the novel by K. Lennard "The Source of Destinies". Named for tribes from Irish mythology.
Kol Eriks and Sem Itkh - it is in this form in the "Source of Destinies" that the names of the leaders of the Pictish are given. They were known to the Picts of Conan's time as Kulriks and Semitha.
"… claiming that their ancestors came from Atzlan." - So, according to R. Sheppard, the inhabitants of the Sunset Continent called Atlantis. The name comes from Astlan, an island in the middle of a large lake, the legendary ancestral home of the Aztecs.
Toltecs - according to R. Howard's story "The People of the Shadow", the Toltecs were descendants of a part of the Lemurians who escaped after the Great Catastrophe on the Sunset Continent.
Dagonia, Fawnia - M. Manson says that before the formation of the Vilayet Sea, those lands were called Val Yeta or Vila Yetana. In the story of R. Howard "The Iron Demon" it is said that the state of Dagonia existed in the south of this land. Fawn is a country of satyrs, half-people, half-goats, mentioned by R. Sheppard. Faunia was ruled by snakemen, which allows us to consider satyrs (mentioned, by the way, in Carter and de Camp) as a genetic experiment in snakemen. It is also possible that they are descendants of the Afrids (they appear in the works of Kulla), the race of the Ancient God (who also has a female hypostasis) Shub-Niggurat.
Acheronian era
"Ancient Acheron with its purple towers …" - a quote from the novel by R. Howard "The Hour of the Dragon".
“… Followers of the serpent cult came to these lands from Atlantis” - a fact drawn from the novel by R. Sheppard “The Evil of Valusia”, apparently based on the “Atlantic” hypothesis about the connection between the ancient civilizations of the Maya and the Egyptians.
"… the self-name was consonant with the name of Acheron …" - according to some assumptions, the Giants called themselves Ahuras. In fact, there is no connection between the word "Acheron" (the river of the underworld in Greek mythology) and the Ahuras. Ahuras are divine beings from Indo-Iranian mythology, and, interestingly, among the Iranians they are gods (their opponents are called devas), and in Hinduism, asuras, on the contrary, are opponents of the deva gods.
“The upper class came from the connection between people and Giants …” - according to the already mentioned Rippke hypothesis, the white-skinned priesthood of the Kharians came from the Giant Kings. If you consider the Giants as Fallen Angels, then in their hybrid children, you can see an allusion to the biblical Nephilim.
"… the sacred language of the Giants" - I. Babitsky's attempt to explain the difference in the languages and culture of the southern and northern branches of the Kharians. The Stygians inherited the "Egyptian" culture of Kheshia, while the Acheronians spoke a language similar to Greek. This can be seen from the names of their cities (Python, Tartarus, Pyrroflagalon) and states (Acheron, Hyperborea), as well as their names (Xaltotun's father was called Ixion, according to Sean Moore). An exception is the name of Xaltotun himself, which has an "ancient" root xal (Xal is the name of the monkey god of the mainland Mu in Howard. Remember also such names as Ksapur, Ksutal, Ksuhotl), but according to O. Loknit this is not a name at all, but a "profession" …
Hyborian era
The main information is taken from the "Hyborian Era" by R. Howard, as well as the works of his followers (especially in the East). I. Babitsky has not added anything new. The only thing we can touch on is the issue of chronology. If we add up the numbers given in Howard's essay, it turns out that from the sinking of Atlantis to the time of Conan, about three and a half, maximum four centuries passed. I. Babitsky took these figures as a basis, as the most correct ones, because "fifteen millennia" or "eight thousand years", found in Carter and de Kamp, look unreliable, I. Babitsky considers such figures as "very long ago." Confusion is also created by the Acheronian era, introduced by Howard after the Hyborian Era was written. Three thousand years after the destruction of Python, so often cited by Howard's followers, are taken from the words of Orastus from the "Hour of the Dragon." However,knowing his biography from the "Tablet of the Outcasts", one can recall that he was attracted by completely different knowledge, and not at all by history. In addition, it is highly doubtful that the Khaiborian states (which, by the way, did not arise from scratch, but on the ruins of the developed culture of Acheron) remained at the level of the Middle Ages for three millennia. About 1500 years, adopted by modern authors, look much more authentic.
Igor Babitsky