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TheHyborian Age is afictional period ofEarth's history within theartificial mythology created byRobert E. Howard, serving as thesetting for thesword and sorcery tales ofConan the Barbarian.
The word "Hyborian" is derived from the legendary northern land of theancient Greeks,Hyperborea, and it is rendered as such in the earliest draft of Howard's essay "The Hyborian Age".[1] Howard described the Hyborian Age taking place sometime afterthe sinking of Atlantis and before the beginning of recordedancient history.[2] Most later editors and adaptors such asL. Sprague de Camp andRoy Thomas placed the Hyborian Age around 10,000 BC.[3] More recently, Dale Rippke proposed that the Hyborian Age should be placed further in the past, around 32,500 BC, prior to the beginning of theLast Glacial Maximum.[4] Rippke's date, however, has since been disputed by Jeffrey Shanks, who argues for the more traditional placement at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum.[5]
Howard had an intense love for history andhistorical dramas; however, at the same time, he recognized the difficulties and the time-consuming research needed in maintaining historical accuracy. By conceiving a timeless setting – avanished age – and by carefully choosing names that resembled our history, Howard avoided the problem of historical anachronisms and the need for lengthy exposition.[6]
Howard explained the origins and history of the Hyborian civilization in his essay "The Hyborian Age".[7] The essay begins with the end of theThurian Age (the setting for Howard'sKing Kull stories) and the destruction of its civilizations, Lemuria and Atlantis, by a geologicalcataclysm.
After this cataclysm, the surviving humans were reduced to a primitive state and a technological level hardly above theNeanderthal. Several such tribes migrated to the northern areas of what was left of the Thurian continent to escape destruction. They discovered the region to be safe, but covered with snow and already inhabited by a race of vicious white-furredapes. A vicious territorial war ensued until the humans drove the apes further North, past theArctic Circle. Believing the apes were destined to perish, the humans turned to taming their harsh new home.
1500 years later, the descendants of this initial group were called "Hyborians", named for their highest rankingdeity, Bori. The essay mentions that Bori had actually been a greattribal chief of their past who had undergonedeification. Theiroral tradition remembered him as their leader during their initial migration to the north, though the antiquity of this man had been exaggerated.
By this point, the various related but independent Hyborian tribes had spread throughout the northern regions of their area of the world. Some of them were already migrating south at a "leisurely" pace in search of new areas in which to settle. The Hyborians had yet to encounter other cultural groups, but engaged in wars against each other. Howard describes them as a powerful and warlike race with the average individual being tall, tawny-haired, and gray-eyed. Culturally, they were accomplished artists and poets. Most of the tribes still relied on hunting for their nourishment. Their southern offshoots, however, had been practicinganimal husbandry ofcattle for centuries.
The only exception to their long isolation from other cultural groups came due to the actions of a lone adventurer, unnamed in the essay. He had traveled past the Arctic Circle and returned with news that their old adversaries, the apes, were never annihilated. They had instead evolved into apemen and, according to his description, were by then numerous. He believed they were quickly evolving to human status and would pose a threat to the Hyborians in the future. He attempted to recruit a significant military force to campaign against them, but most Hyborians were not convinced by his tales; only a small group of foolhardy youths followed his campaign. None of them returned.
With the population of the Hyborian tribes continuing to increase, the need for new lands also increased. The Hyborians expanded outside their familiar territories, beginning a new age of wanderings and conquests. For 500 years, the Hyborians spread towards the south and the west of their nameless continent.
They encountered other tribal groups for the first time in millennia. They conquered many smaller clans of various origins. The survivors of the defeated clans merged with their conquerors, passing on their racial traits to new generations of Hyborians. The mixed-blooded Hyborian tribes were in turn forced to defend their new territories from pure-blooded Hyborian tribes which followed the same paths of migration. Often, the new invaders would wipe away the defenders before absorbing them, resulting in a tangled web of Hyborian tribes and nations with varying ancestral elements within their bloodlines.
The first organized Hyborian kingdom to emerge was Hyperborea. The tribe that established it entered theirNeolithic age by learning to erect buildings in stone, largely forfortification. Thesenomads lived intents made out of the hides ofhorses, but soon abandoned them in favor of their crude but durable stone houses. They permanently settled in fortified settlements and developedcyclopean masonry to further fortify theirdefensive walls.
The Hyperboreans were by then the most advanced of the Hyborian tribes and set out to expand their kingdom by attacking their backward neighbors. Tribes who defended their territories lost them and were forced to migrate elsewhere. Others fled the path of Hyperborean expansion before ever engaging them in war. Meanwhile, the apemen of the Arctic Circle emerged as a new race of light-haired and tall humans. They started their own migration to the south, displacing the northernmost of the Hyborian tribes.
For the next thousand years, the warlike Hyborian nations advanced to become the rulers of the western areas of the nameless continent. They encountered thePicts and forced them back to the western wastelands, which would come to be known as the "Pictish Wilderness". Following the example of their Hyperborean cousins, other Hyborians migrated Southward and created their own kingdoms.
The southernmost of the early kingdoms was Koth, which was established north of the lands of Shem and soon started extending its cultural influence over the southernshepherds. Just south of the Pictish Wilderness was the fertile valley known as "Zing". The wandering Hyborian tribe which conquered it found other people already settled there. They included a nameless farming nation related to the people of the Shem and a warlike Pictish tribe who had previously conquered them. They established the kingdom of Zingara and absorbed the defeated elements into their tribe. Hyborians, Picts, and the unnamed kin of the Shemites would merge into a nation calling themselves Zingarans.
On the other hand, at the north of the continent, the fair-haired invaders from the Arctic Circle had grown in numbers and power. They continued their expansion south while in turn displacing defeated Hyborians to the south. Even Hyperborea was conquered by one of thesebarbarian tribes. But the conquerors here decided to maintain the kingdom with its old name, merged with the defeated Hyperboreans and adopted elements of Hyborian culture. The continuing wars and migrations would keep the state of the other areas of the continent for another five hundred years.
The Hyborian Age was devised by authorRobert E. Howard as the post-Atlantean setting of hisConan the Cimmerian stories, designed to fit in with Howard's previous and lesser known tales ofKull, which were set in theThurian Age at the time ofAtlantis. The name "Hyborian" is a contraction of theGreek concept of the land of "Hyperborea", literally "Beyond the North Wind". This was a mythical place far to the north that was not cold and where things did not age.
Howard's Hyborian epoch, described in his essayThe Hyborian Age, is amythical time before anycivilization known toanthropologists. Its setting is prehistoric Europe and North Africa (with occasional references to Asia and other continents).
On a map Howard drew conceptualizing the Hyborian Age, his vision of the Mediterranean Sea is dry. TheNile, which he renamed theRiver Styx, takes a westward turn at right angles just beyond theNile Delta, plowing through the mountains so as to be able to reach the Straits of Gibraltar. Although his Black Sea is also dry, hisCaspian Sea, which he renames the Vilayet Sea, extends northward to reach theArctic Ocean, so as to provide a barrier to encapsulate the settings of his stories. Not only are his Baltic Sea and English Channel dry, but most of theNorth Sea and a vast region to the west, easily including Ireland, are, too. Meanwhile, the west coast of Africa on his map lies beneath the sea.
In his fantasy setting of the Hyborian Age, Howard created imaginary kingdoms to which he gave names inspired by or adapted from a variety of mythological and historical sources.Khitai is his version of China, lying far tothe east;Corinthia is his name for aHellenistic civilization, a name derived from the city ofCorinth and reminiscent of the imperialfief ofCarinthia in theMiddle Ages. Howard imagines the HyborianPicts occupying a large area in the northwest. The probable intended analogues are listed below; notice that the analogues are sometimes very generalized, and are portrayed bynon-historicalstereotypes. Most of these correspondences are drawn from "Hyborian Names", an appendix featured inConan the Swordsman byL. Sprague de Camp andLin Carter.[8]
| Kingdom, region, or ethnic group | Possible analogue(s) |
|---|---|
| Acheron | A fallen kingdom corresponding to theRoman Empire. Its territory covered Aquilonia, Nemedia, and Argos. InGreek mythology,Acheron was one of the four rivers ofHades (cf. "Stygia"). Acheron was a priest-monarchy ruled by priest-kings who performed human sacrifice with their own hands. |
| Afghulistan | Afghanistan. Afghulistan (sometimes "Ghulistan") is the common name for the habitat of different tribes in the Himelian Mountains. The name itself is a mixture of the historical names ofGulistan and Afghanistan. |
| Alkmeenon | Delphi. Its name derives from theAlcmaeonidae, who funded construction the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, from which theoracle operated. Also, Alcmene is the mother of Hercules. After death, she traveled into Hades and married Rhadamanthys, a chief judge of the underworld.[a] |
| Amazon | Mentioned in Robert E. Howard'sHyborian Age essay, the kingdom of the Amazons refers to various legends of GreekAmazons, or more specifically to theDahomey Amazons. In classical legend,Amazonia is a nation of warrior women inAsia Minor and North Africa. The legend may be based upon theSarmatians, a nomadicIranian tribe of theKuban, whose women were required to slay an enemy before they could marry. |
| Aquilonia | Influenced by medievalWestern Europe and elements ofColonial North America. The name is borrowed fromAquilonia, a city ofSouthern Italy, between modernVenosa andBenevento. It is also an ancient name forQuimper and resembles that ofAquitaine, a French region ruled by England for a long portion of the Middle Ages. The name is derived from Latinaquilo(n–), "north wind".Aquila also means "eagle" in Latin. |
| Argos | Various seafaring traders of theMediterranean, with islands such asCrete,Sardinia, andSicily being examples. The name comes from theArgo, ship of theArgonauts; or perhaps from the city ofArgos,Peloponnesos, reputedly the oldest city in Greece, situated at the head of the Gulf ofArgolis near modernNafplion. Also, hints of Italy in regards to the indigenous population's appearance, names and culture.[b] In Hyborian Age cartography, Argos takes on the shape of a "shoe" in its border boundaries as compared to Italy appearing as a "boot". The coastal city of Messantia/Massantia derives its name fromMessina, a city in northeasternSicily. |
| Asgard (Aesgaard in comics) | Dark AgeScandinavia.Ásgard is the home of theÆsir inNorse mythology. Howard states that theBaltic Sea would, post-cataclysm, divide his fictional Asgard into the modern Norway, Sweden, and Denmark according toThe Hyborian Age essay. |
| Barachan Islands | The Caribbean Islands. Possibly after theIslas Borrachas ("Drunken Isles"). The pirate town of Tortage takes its name fromTortuga. |
| Border kingdoms | Geographically located over the modern GermanBaltic Sea coast. A lawless region full of brigands and semi-barbaric peoples. Conan once traveled through the border kingdoms on his way to Nemedia. The low countries, baltic, and the borderlands of Scotland and England could be similar examples. |
| Bossonian Marches | Wales, with an overlay ofcolonial North America. Possibly fromBossiney, a former parliamentary borough inCornwall,South West England, which includedTintagel Castle, connected with theMatter of Britain. |
| Brythunia | The continental homelands of theAngles andSaxons who invaded Great Britain, which is the origin of the name, though it is implied the Brythunians of the Hyborian age are a different group that could be related to earlyslavs. Semantically, the name Brythunia is from the WelshBrython, "Briton", derived from the same root as the LatinBrito, Britannia, although Howard stated that the name was kept by the Æsir and Nemedians who settled there, further implying that the Brythunians are notGermanic orCeltic. The land is depicted geographically over modernPoland,Lithuania, andLatvia. |
| Cimmeria | Howard states inThe Hyborian Age that "the Gaels, ancestors of theIrish andHighland Scots, descended from pure-blooded Cimmerian clans." He correlates Cimmeria with theCymric people,Cimbri,Gimirrai,Scythians,Cimmerians, and theCrimea. Geographically located over modern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.[c] The name is derived from the Greek legends of a northern people, who lived in perpetual mist and darkness near the Land of the Dead. |
| Conajohara (Aquilonia) | The name may have been based onCanajoharie. |
| Corinthia | Ancient Greece, specifically Macedon based on its geography. FromCorinth (Korinthos), a rich city in Classical Greece. Possibly suggested to Howard by theEpistles to the Corinthians, or by the region ofCarinthia. It's a mountainous country located east of Koth. |
| Darfar | Howard derived this name from the region ofDarfur,Sudan, in North-Central Africa. Darfur is anArabic language name meaning "abode (dar) of theFur", the dominant people of the area.[d] The original Darfur is now the westernmost part of theRepublic of the Sudan. |
| Gunderland | Possibly from Gunderland ofHesbaye, a count in theMerovingian court, or fromGelderland a province in the Netherlands or fromGunther (Gundicar),King of Burgundy orGunderic, King of theVandals. |
| Hyperborea | Finland,Russia, and theBaltic countries (Hyperborea). Is a land in the "outermost north" according to Greek historianHerodotus. Howard describes his Hyperborea as the first Hyborian kingdom, "which had its beginning in a crude fortress of boulders heaped to repel tribal attack". Possible Scythian influences |
| Hyrkania | TheEurasian Steppe, specifically the Turco-Mongol peoples, whom Howard names as their descendants in his Hyborian age essay.Hyrkania, in classical geography, was a region southeast of theCaspian Sea or Hyrkanian Sea corresponding to theIranian provinces ofGolestan,Mazandaran, andGilan. The name is Greek for theOld Persian Varkana, one of theAchaemenid Empire satrapies, and survives in the name of the riverGorgan. The original meaning may have been "wolf land". In Iranian legend, Hyrkania is remarkable for its wizards, demons, wolves, spirits, witches, and vampires. |
| Iranistan | An eastern land corresponding with modernIran. Historically, the name of the country is derived fromIran + the Persian suffix-istan,-estan 'country'. |
| Kambuja/Kambulja | The original name ofCambodia, also known as Kampuchea. |
| Keshan | The name comes from the "Kesh", the Egyptian name forNubia. |
| Khauran | The name perhaps derives from theHauran region ofSyria, though its position would place it near Macedonia, with Cretan influences. Apparently, Salome in theNew Testament is a descendant of this royal house. |
| Khitai | China. The name is derived from the Khitan Empire (Chinese 遼朝 Liáo cháo or theLiao Dynasty) and the people who ruled northern and northeastern China. The name is derived from the Khitan language forThe Khitan Empire, Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur; in modern Mandarin Chinese, 契丹國 orQìdān guó.[e] In the Hyborian age, Khitai is an ancient empire which is always at war with Kambuja to the south. In ancient times, Khitai was subjugated by an empire of conquerors from a mysterious continent in the eastern ocean, perhaps ancient Mu in the days of king Kull. After the cataclysm, this empire made slaves of the Lemurians who fled the destruction. With time, the Lemurian slaves, and perhaps the gentile Khitanians, were able to rise up and overthrow this empire.[f] The remnants of this white-skinned master race fled westwards, conquering the kingdom of the serpent men and founding Stygia. The people of Khitai are yellow-skinned and of medium height. Khitai is ruled by a God-Emperor whose decisions are greatly influenced by theScarlet Circle, a clan of some of the most powerful mage lords in all of Hyboria. Khitan laws flow from the overlord of a city-state. The culture of Khitai is similar to that of ancient China. The most prominent feature of Khitai is its Great Wall (similar to theGreat Wall of China), which protects it from foreign invasions from the north. The cities of Khitai are Ruo-Chen, Shu-Chen, Shaulum, and the capital, Paikang, which contains the Jade Citadel, from which the God-Emperor rules over all of Khitai. See alsoCatai. |
| Khoraja | Constantinople andSicily. Its position places it as the crossroads between the Hyborian kingdoms and the Shemites. The name itself was inspired by the references ofSax Rohmer to the fictional city ofKhorassa in the novelThe Mask of Fu Manchu. |
| Kosala | From the ancient Indo-Aryan kingdom ofKosala, corresponding roughly in area with the region ofOudh. |
| Kozaki | Semi-barbaricsteppe-dwelling raiders analogous to theCossacks. |
| Koth | From the ancientItalic peoples. The Kothian capital of Khorshemish corresponds withCarchemish, capital of a Neo-Hittite kingdom. Perhaps fromThe Sign of Koth inThe Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath byH. P. Lovecraft.[g] Howard also used the same name in his interplanetary novelAlmuric. |
| Kusan | Probably from theKushan Empire. |
| Kush | From thekingdom of Kush,Nubia. |
| Meru | Tibet. InHindu mythology,Meru is the sacred mountain upon which the gods dwell. NOTE: Meru is not one of Howard's original Hyborian Age countries, and was created byL. Sprague de Camp andLin Carter for "The City of Skulls". |
| Nemedia | A cross between theHoly Roman Empire andByzantium. Nemedia is the rival of Aquilonia, and depended on Aesir mercenaries for their defence (as theByzantine Empire hiredVikings as theVarangian Guard). The name comes fromNemed, leader of colonists fromScythia to Ireland inIrish mythology.[h] Significantly, nearly all Central European exonyms for the land ofGermany, are very similar toNemedia: i.e.Germany isNěmecko in theCzech Republic andSlovakia;Niemcy inPoland;Németország inHungary;Nimechchyna inUkraine, etc. etc., all apparently derived from some variant ofNemi a Slavic root word meaning: mute or unintelligible. |
| Ophir | TheEtruscans, an ancient people also stereotyped for their wealth and decadence. Howard saw it as situated somewhere inItaly, namely in the North. When the borders of Ophir, are combined with the shoe-shaped maritime nation of Argos, to the Southeast, the two nations form roughly the shape ofItaly's Boot. References to a mysterious ancient nation,Ophir, and its famous gold appear repeatedly inThe Bible.[9] |
| Pelishtia | Philistines (P'lishtim in Hebrew). The Pelishti city of Asgalun derives its name fromAscalon. The Pelisti god Pteor or Baal-Pteor derives his name from theMoabiteBaal-Peor. |
| Pictish Wilderness | Pre-Columbian America, with an overlay of North America during theEuropean colonization of the Americas, possibly even colonial-eraNew York. Howard bestows names from theIroquoi language on many of his Hyborian-Age Picts (but not the quasi-historical Picts featuringBran Mak Morn).[i] |
| Poitain | A combination ofPoitou andAquitaine, two regions in southwestern France. From the 10th to the mid-12th century, the counts of Poitou were also the dukes of Aquitaine. |
| Punt | TheLand of Punt on theHorn of Africa. A place in which the ancient Egyptians traded with, probablySomalia. |
| Shem | Mesopotamia,Syria,Israel,Palestine, andArabia. In theBible,Shem isNoah's eldest son, the ancestor of the Hebrews, Arabs and Assyrians; hence, the modern "Semite" andSemitic languages (via GreekSem), used properly to designate the family of languages spoken by these peoples. |
| Stygia | Egypt andAncient Libya. The name derives from theStyx, a river ofthe underworld inGreek mythology. In earlier times the territory of Stygia included Shem, Ophir, Corinthia, and part of Koth. Stygia is ruled by a theocracy of sorcerer-kings.The high-nobility with the royal house are pure-blooded white-skinned descendants of the conquerors. The people are brown-skinned andworship the serpent deity Set. Stygia's terrain is a mix of mountains, deserts, and marshes. TheRiver Styx flows through Stygia into the sea; the map provided makes clear that the Styx is theNile, but since the Mediterranean did not yet exist, it had a very long additional westward bend, following what is now the coast of North Africa, until finally emptying into the Atlantic. The down-throdden multi-ethnical commoners of Stygia may still, in spirit, be the original human slaves or slave races of the serpent men who ruled this kingdom centuries before. |
| Turan | Persian name forTurkestan. A Turkish land, possibly referring to the Turko-Persian dynasties of theSeljuks, theTimurids, or theOttomans. The name derives fromTuran, the areas ofEurasia occupied by speakers ofUral–Altaic languages. The names of the various Turanian cities (e.g. Aghrapur, Sultanapur, Shahpur) are often inPersian language. King Yezdigerd is named afterYazdegerd III, ruler of theSassanid Empire.[j] The city of Khawarizm takes its name fromKhwarezm, and Khorusun fromKhorasan. |
| Uttara Kuru | From the medievalUttara Kuru kingdom in the north and central reaches of Pakistan. NOTE: Uttara Kuru is not one of Howard's original Hyborian Age countries, it appears inConan the Avenger byBjörn Nyberg. |
| Vanaheim | Dark Age Scandinavia.Vanaheim is the home of theVanir inNorse mythology. The red-haired vanir will finally oust the evil aristocracy of Stygia and found pharaonic Egypt. |
| Vendhya | India (theVindhya Range is a range of hills in central India). The name means "rent" or "ragged", i.e. having many passes. This very ancient kingdom, perhaps Kaa-u in the days of king Kull,[10] worships the god Asura.[k] This cult has spread westwards and is present, albeit often persecuted, in the Hyborian lands. In Aquilonia, the cult finds a protector in King Conan. |
| Yamatai | Japan. Probably inspired by the historical name ofYamatai. The land of Yamatai is described as "a cluster of islands east of Khitai", ruled by the "Witch Queen of Yamatai" inThe Savage Sword of Conan story,[11] herself possibly inspired by the historicalshaman-queen Himiko. NOTE: Yamatai is not one of Howard's original Hyborian Age countries, but appeared in aSavage Sword of Conan comic adaptation. |
| Wadai (tribe) | TheWadai Empire in present-dayChad. |
| Wazuli (tribe) | TheWaziri tribe in northwest Pakistan. |
| Zamora | TheRomani people. The name comes from the city ofZamora,Zamora province,Castile and León, Spain, alluding to theGitanos of Spain (seeZingara for discussion); or possibly it is based on the word "Roma". There may also be some reference to southern Italy, as Zamorians dance thetarantella in honor of their Spider-Gods (variously known as Omm andZath). Also hints ofAncient Israel andPalestine. |
| Zembabwei | TheMutapa Empire. The name comes fromGreat Zimbabwe, a ruined fortified town in south-easternZimbabwe, after which the modern Republic of Zimbabwe takes its name. It was first built around the 11th century and used as the capital of theMunhumutapa empire. |
| Zingara | TheIberian Peninsula as a whole, with overt influences from Spain.Zingara is also Italian for "Gypsy woman"; this may mean that Howard mixed up the source names of Zingara and Zamora, with Zingara originally meant to apply to the Roma kingdom, and Zamora to the Spanish kingdom. |
| Zuagir (tribe) | The name is perhaps derived from a combination ofTuareg andUyghur. Main influence is the Bedouins. |
| Other geographic features | |
| Amir Jehun Pass | Takes its name from a combination of theAmu Darya river and theGihon river (Jayhoun in Arabic), which has been identified by some with the Amu Darya. Perhaps corresponds to theBroghol Pass, which is near the headwaters of the Amu Darya inWakhan. |
| Himelian Mountains | Take their name from theHimalayas, but correspond more closely with theHindu Kush orKarakoram ranges. |
| Karpash Mountains | TheCarpathian Mountains. |
| Poitanian Mountains | ThePyrenees, which are just south of the Aquitaine region of France. |
| River Styx | The River Styx runs northward through Stygia, following the course of the historicalNile river. Then it turns and runs westward through Shem, following the historicalMediterranean Sea, finally emptying into the western ocean.Styx, in classical mythology, is theRiver of the Dead and this symbolism is used inThe Hour of the Dragon. |
| River Alimane | Alamana river, (presentSpercheios) in Greece. It may also be a reference to theAlemanni. |
| Vilayet Sea | Geographically, theCaspian Sea. The name comes fromvilayet, the term for administrative regions in theOttoman Empire. |
| Zhaibar Pass | TheKhyber Pass which has been the traditional borderline betweenAfghanistan and Pakistan. |
| Zaporoska River | Dnieper and/orDon and/or theVolga. |
The Stygian followers of Set worship their deity with human sacrifice and actively venerate serpents, and Ishtar's worshippers follow the pleasures of the flesh. In Vendhya, the followers of Asura seek truth beyond the illusions of the physical world, and the Hyborian devotees of Mitra are almost Christian in their merging ofasceticism with a commitment to compassion and justice.
Crom/ˈkrɒm/ is adeity inRobert E. Howard's fantasy tales of the Hyborian Age. He is acknowledged as the chief god by the lead characterConan, and his proto-Celtic Cimmerian people.
The nameCrom is probably derived from the Old Irish deityCrom Cruach orCrom Dubh.
Crom is the chief god of the Cimmerian pantheon, and he lives on a great mountain, from where he sends forth doom or death. It is considered useless to call upon Crom, because he is a gloomy and savage god who hates weaklings. However, Crom gives a man courage, free will, and the strength to fight his enemies, which the Cimmerians believe is all that is needed from him.[12] Crom doesn't care if individuals live or die, and his name is typically only invoked as an oath or curse. He is the only member of the Cimmerian pantheon named with any regularity.
Crom is never depicted as directly intervening or otherwise explicitly causing any event in the original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. There is little consistent evidence in his works that Crom actually exists, in contrast to the demons and highly advanced aliens appearing in "The God in the Bowl" and "The Tower of the Elephant", while the story "The Phoenix on the Sword" implies that Set is one ofH. P. Lovecraft'sGreat Old Ones. Howard's story "Black Colossus" features a princess vocally directed by Mitra to recruit Conan as her champion,[13] but Crom makes no such appearances.
Crom is exclusively a Cimmerian god, with other civilizations paying him little attention, and Conan swearing with Crom's name immediately identifies him as a Cimmerian.
Mitra is a personification of good, popular amongst people of the era.
He is probably loosely based on theVedic andZoroastrian figureby the same name, and in the Hyborian universe, his worship generally representsChristianity. In the essay "The Hyborian Age", Howard writes that followers of Mitra are urged to forgive their enemies (though many of them fail to do so). Mitra's religion is missionary; its adherents are sometimes martyred trying to spread their faith to hostile peoples.
Mitra's worship is dominant, effectively thestate religion, in the Hyborian countries corresponding to modernWestern Europe. In lands corresponding to Asia and Africa, Mitra is, at best, one god among many, and his worship is forbidden in Stygia (Egypt and North Africa).
Mitra is the chief god of most of the civilized Hyborian kingdoms, including Aquilonia, Ophir, Nemedia, Brythunia, Corinthia, and Zingara. His worshippers aremonolatristic, since at least one tale depicts priests of Mitra recognizing the existence of Set. He is depicted as a "gentle" god.[14] In Khoraja, which is on the border between the Hyborian kingdoms and the Shemite ones, the worship of Mitra was largely forgotten in favor of the Shemite gods – but in hours of great need, Khorajans still call on Mitra and are answered ("Black Colossus").
While Mitra and his followers are in general presented favorably in the Conan stories, in Howard'sThe Hour of the Dragon they intolerantly persecute followers of Asura. Conan, being a "barbarian", does not share this "civilized" prejudice and protects Asura's followers, who prove helpful later.
The Mitracult never practices sacrifice and values aesthetic simplicity. Thus, hisshrines are usually unadorned and feature little or no iconography except for a singleidol. The idol itself has the appearance of an idealized, bearded male figure and is the primary object of worship. However, beingomnipresent andincorporeal, Mitra is not considered to reside in the icon, nor share its appearance.[15] He is alsosymbolically represented by aphoenix in Howard's writing,[16] by anAnkh in theAge of ConanMMORPG, and by a bronze colossus in thesurvival video gameConan Exiles.[17]
Mitra appears directly in Howard's "Black Colossus", where he speaks to Princess Yasmela of Khoraja and guides her in an hour of desperate danger. Mitra's involvement has a significant effect on Conan's career. Though he had never commanded more than a "company of cut-throats", Conan emerges as a victorious general in a historically important battle involving tens of thousands of soldiers. Though Conan's career would know many more ups and downs, this was an important step towards eventually becoming a king. From Mitra's point of view, Conan was evidently the best choice to defeat a sworn enemy of the Hyborian kingdoms.
Skelos is mentioned in "The People of the Black Circle", "The Hour of the Dragon" and in the verse prologue to "The Pool of the Black One". He is an evil god of death, and as many such ones,Odin for one, he is connected to wisdom and learning. The Bible of maltheists and necromancers in Conan’s days is called "The Book of Skelos", whose author is Vathelos the Blind.
The blind seerTiresias in Greek mythology was strongly connected to Hades, the realm of the dead. In Homer’sOdyssey, Odysseus travels toCimmeria, the forecourt of Hades, to confer with the shade of Tiresias.
Vatellen is the name of a volcanic mountain in reality lying where Luxor, capital of Stygia lies in the world of Conan. In "The Hour of the Dragon" Orastes resurrects Xaltotun with an incantation of Skelos, "Ancient when Atlantis sank", i.e. much older than Stygia, let alone Set-worship. The idol worshipped by the dark priest-mage Rotath in theKull story "The Curse of the Golden Skull" seems to be a grinning skull. In this story an earlier version of "The Book of Skelos" is mentioned. The god of Rotath is identical with the dark nameless god worshipped by Thuron in "The Altar and the Scorpion". Skelos is one aspect of this great nameless one.
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