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 Lovecraftian etymology |
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 Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 5:31 pm |
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Moderator
Joined: 28 Jun 2005
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Well, I've mentioned the origins of a few Mythos names here and there, so I figured I'd compile what I know. If anyone can add to this, or add any names I haven't mentioned, please let me know - despite how Professor Peaslee would have you believe, there's no such thing as too much knowledge.
Nyarlathotep: The Crawling Chaos himself is now believed to have been inspired, in name only, by two characters found in Lord Dunsany's writings - Alhireth-Hotep, and Myrnarthitep. Of course, the suffix '-hotep' (by the way, the 'th' is not pronounced as it is in 'the'. Ie, the name is 'Nigh-Arl-Aht-Hoe-Tep') is Egyptian, fitting with the version of Nyarlathotep presented in the story of the same name.
Dagon: Well, although a real-life mythological figure, there is still debate over the nature of Dagon, and the origin of his name. Using the commonly accepted spelling of 'Dagon', it has been thought to be an agglutinated Hewbrew word, when separated out, is 'Dag On', literally 'fish of sadness', supporting the idea that he was a marine or aquatic god. However, another common spelling of the name is 'Dagan', with an 'a', which is literally 'crops' in Hebrew, bolstering the agricultural deity claim. Neither has been verified or disproven.
Oh, and in the Old Testament, Book of Judges, Chapter 16 Verses 23-31, Samson destroys the Temple of Dagon in Gaza.
Miskatonic: The beloved and maligned Valley. Probably based on a river in Massachussets named the Housatonic - makes sense, since Arkham is supposedly Salem, Massachussets.
Arkham: Speak of the Devil... Oakham, in Massachussets again; and Arkwright, in Rhode Island, have both been suggested as influences. Both are equally feasible, I guess.
De La Poer: Of 'Rats in the Walls' fame. Not actually an attempt to disguise the letters 'E A Poe' - Edgar Allan Poe and his one time fiance Sarah Hellen Whitman were both related through an ancestor named De La Poer. The 'Poer' part devolved into Whitman's maiden name, Power.
Cybele: Again from 'Rats', she was a Phrygian goddess of fertility (worshipped by decadent eunuchs), also worshipped in Rome as 'Magna Mater' and in Greece as Rhea.
That's all I've got at the minute, I need to look up what I had read on a breakdown of Azathoth's name, and go over S.T. Joshi's notes to 'Dreams in the Witch House' again. Will be updating this soon. |
Last edited by Jesus Prime on Sat Jul 16, 2005 3:41 pm; edited 1 time in total
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 9:35 am |
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Shadow Out Of Time
Joined: 16 Aug 2004
Posts: 1007
Location: Right here
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| Atis, also mentioned in "The Rats in the Walls," was Cybele's son or consort, spelled Atys or Attis, depending on whichever variation of the myth you happen to come across. |
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Do NOT talk grammar with Adolph! |
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 1:19 pm |
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Primordial Evil
Joined: 02 Jun 2004
Posts: 603
Location: Estonia
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| Common knowledge and speculation. |
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"I just cannot believe any of this voodoo bullshit." - - - Childs
| Jesus Prime wrote: |
| You sure love your pudding. |
| Jesus Prime wrote: |
| ADRIAN LOVES PUDDING |
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 3:38 pm |
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Moderator
Joined: 28 Jun 2005
Posts: 3713
Location: Ireland (Moon-Bog country)
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| E.A. Lovecraft wrote: |
| Atis, also mentioned in "The Rats in the Walls," was Cybele's son or consort, spelled Atys or Attis, depending on whichever variation of the myth you happen to come across. |
Nice, thanks for that.
More -
Sarnath: Supposedly, Lovecraft found the name in Dunsany’s work after having invented it independently; though this does not seem to be the case. However, Sarnath is a real location, the city in India where the Buddha first taught.
Kalos (‘The Tree’): Greek for ‘Handsome’.
Musides (‘The Tree’): Greek for ‘Son of the Muses’.
Meroë (‘Cats of Ulthar’): City in region now known as Sudan. Was capital of Nubian kingdom of Kush. Founded some time in 8th century, stood until fall in 250 AD
Ophir (‘Cats of Ulthar’): Biblical city, said to be rich in gold. Has not been identified. Has been placed in several locations - East Africa, the Far East and Arabia.
Hypnos ('Hypnos'): A Greek god, seldom mentioned. God of sleep; brother of Death, and the son of Nyx.
Crawford Tillinghast ('From Beyond'): Both "Crawford" and "Tillinghast" are the names of wealthy families who colonised Providence, Rhode Island.
Arthur Munroe ('The Lurking Fear'): Lovecraft was frineds with both Chester and Harold Munroe as a child, possibly derivation from this.
Azathoth: This is one I'm a little skeptical about, but in the Call of Cthulhu rulebook, Phileus Sadowsky states that 'Azathoth' is derived from 'Izzu Tahuti', meaning 'strength of Thoth'. Thoth is an Egyptian God, and has been identified with Nyarlathotep. |
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| Adrian wrote: |
| TELL ME YOU ORDERED THE FUCKING GOLF SHOES! |
| Adrian wrote: |
| I sure love my pudding. |
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 5:04 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 1220
Location: USA
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You forgot one of the most interesting ones 
Abdul Alhazred - This is not a 'proper' Arabic name (because of it's structure), and according to the research of S. T. Joshi, and Lovecraft's letters, it was possibly a reference to Lovecraft's love of literature (Alhazred -> all-has-read). The common belief is that this name was given to Lovecraft when he asked the family lawyer to come up with an Arabic-sounding name, long before he had written about the character.
btw, Arkham was mostly based on Salem according to Lovecraft's letters as well. |
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 5:15 pm |
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Moderator
Joined: 28 Jun 2005
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Location: Ireland (Moon-Bog country)
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| Aleister wrote: |
You forgot one of the most interesting ones
Abdul Alhazred - This is not a 'proper' Arabic name (because of it's structure), and according to the research of S. T. Joshi, and Lovecraft's letters, it was possibly a reference to Lovecraft's love of literature (Alhazred -> all-has-read). The common belief is that this name was given to Lovecraft when he asked the family lawyer to come up with an Arabic-sounding name, long before he had written about the character.
btw, Arkham was mostly based on Salem according to Lovecraft's letters as well. |
Lovecraft isn;t sure whether he asked the guy to come up with the name or to critique one he devised himself. Either way, it's erroneously spelled - shold be Al Azred.
And yes, Arkham is Salem and Kingsport is Marblehead. |
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| Adrian wrote: |
| TELL ME YOU ORDERED THE FUCKING GOLF SHOES! |
| Adrian wrote: |
| I sure love my pudding. |
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 12:23 pm |
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Neophyte
Joined: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 15
Location: Lovecraft Country
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| I've always wondered about Dunwich. It seems like an easy philological leap in the opposide direction from "Greenwich". I'm also convinced that it's at least partially based on the town of Whatley, Mass. |
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John Goodrich
Nicodemus Whateley's Evil Twin |
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 3:22 pm |
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Moderator
Joined: 28 Jun 2005
Posts: 3713
Location: Ireland (Moon-Bog country)
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| I've yet to read anything set in Dunwich, I'll give you my opinion when I do. Should be getting another book on Friday, and I'll burn through it soon enough. |
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| Adrian wrote: |
| TELL ME YOU ORDERED THE FUCKING GOLF SHOES! |
| Adrian wrote: |
| I sure love my pudding. |
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| Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 9:29 am |
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Mi-Go Brain-Bait
Joined: 26 Jan 2006
Posts: 2
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| Dunwich is, in fact, a real place with a real mystery behind it. it was a small town on the coast of the English county Suffolk. A local legend there says that sometime during the Middle Ages most of the town was swept away during a huge storm, and that today you can still hear ringing the bells of the eight churches that were lost. In reality there is no record of this. |
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| Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 7:10 pm |
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Joined: 26 Nov 2005
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Location: Not Even Doom Music can help you
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| Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 3:18 pm |
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Mi-Go Brain-Bait
Joined: 26 Jan 2006
Posts: 2
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| Yog-Sothoth wrote: |
| so what, The Horror of Dunwich is Bells? |
Basically, yup. |
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| Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 3:22 pm |
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Shadow Out Of Time
Joined: 19 Jan 2005
Posts: 1443
Location: Oklahoma
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THE BELLS THE BELLS!!!!!!! * Runs away screaming*
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| in the event of a zombie apocalypse, or the return of Cthulu, be near a Wal-Mart! |
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| Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 5:26 pm |
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Moderator
Joined: 28 Jun 2005
Posts: 3713
Location: Ireland (Moon-Bog country)
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| Big invisible, living, writhing, undulating, festering, hungering non-bell of a bell. |
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| Adrian wrote: |
| TELL ME YOU ORDERED THE FUCKING GOLF SHOES! |
| Adrian wrote: |
| I sure love my pudding. |
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| Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:15 pm |
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Haunter of the Dark
Joined: 17 Oct 2005
Posts: 487
Location: Santiago, Chile
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| Interesting Jesus Prime, I did not know anything about Nyarlathotep and at the same time I confirm what I knew about Miskatonic and Dagon. |
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