American Gods
is built on this question. War brews between the old gods and the new.
Hark! Harold the angel sings.

You mean aliens?
Well, this is a tomb. I'll make them feel at home

Or an economic migrant.
Khan God of Thunder!

You mean like a bargain basement discount god?
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What if a new god now performs those tasks? One that does the job better and at a lower cost.

Ra was merely a word used to describe the power of the sun. And for all we know it might be a 'god', humans just don't understand nor have a word to describe it.
And Egypt's thunder god is the same god as Thor and Zeus. He just goes by different names in different cultures.
That's Neo-Pagan Theory.
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Do you think Ra controls the sun? Does Egypt have an alternate thunder god and does that god clash with Thor?
Stop.

Platonic_Caveman said...
The Library of Greek Mythology
by Apollodorus, translated by Robin Hard.
This is an interesting one translated from ancient Greek which explores the gods and myths.
Thank you! I'll look for it.

Loki said...
I read both when I was in school but haven't revisited them since. Gaiman's
Norse Mythology
will make you laugh out loud in places. Some of the stories are already funny, but the way he puts it is hilarious!
The Library of Greek Mythology
by Apollodorus, translated by Robin Hard.
This is an interesting one translated from ancient Greek which explores the gods and myths.
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Platonic_Caveman said...
The Iliad and the Odyssey are the best start. I'll check out Gaiman.
I read both when I was in school but haven't revisited them since. Gaiman's
Norse Mythology
will make you laugh out loud in places. Some of the stories are already funny, but the way he puts it is hilarious!

The Iliad and the Odyssey are the best start. I'll check out Gaiman.
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He's a hothead, too.
I love reading mythologies, too. If you have any book suggestions for the Greek pantheon, let me know. Sometimes a great author comes along who captures the mood/humour of it perfectly, like Neil Gaiman did with the Norse mythology.

Nah, that's fine. I love ancient mythology. I was exploring the skinhead subculture and I loved Thor's strength.
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How did Thor get your attention? (I'm just curious. Hope I'm not too nosey.)

No, I never read the Eddas. I was a bit facile and a dappler back then. But I loved that Altar.
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You did? Were you into the Eddas?

I built an Altar of Thor when I was in high school.
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Yeah, the hardcore movement had to put up with that pond scum being into that style of music, too.
And it's all for show. I higly doubt any of them have altars or give thanks to any of the Aesir. Just a lot of hot air and maybe a cool tattoo.
I absolutely despise the lot of them.

I understand your point. Not even talking about religion, white racists have done much to damper the So Cal skinhead movement. The Nazis themselves in World War II did much to wrongly associate Teutonic paganism with racism.
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They can take their numbers and shove it straight up their arses. Christianity has to put up with them in their "numbers", too. At least I have never personally met an Asatro here who was a neo nazi as well so the numbers aren't that great. Swedes often feel weird about flying the flag because the neo nazis ruined that too. They really are the scum of the ****ing earth.

I have a different take on that. It cannot be denied that the Vikings thought they were the **** and better than everyone else. Though we may disagree with their racism, as long as the white supremacist and white nationalists don't get violent, they do add to the neo-pagan movement, with numbers at least.
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I know. They ruin everything.

Here's an interesting article on Ásatrú and white supremacists trying to co-opt it.
What To Do When Racists Try To Hijack Your Religion
White supremacists are coopting Norse heathen symbols. Should the heathens ignore them? Protest them? Create a new theology?
As white supremacists marched through Charlottesville, the high priest of a pagan religion looked on with horror from Reykjavik, Iceland. It wasn’t just their racist message that bothered him. It was that their banners bore the symbols of his religion: Ásatrú, also known as heathenry.
“I think it’s obscene,” the high priest, Hilmar Hilmarsson, said of the way white supremacists are coopting Norse symbols like Thor’s hammer because they believe the Vikings were a pure white race. This appropriation has been underway for a few years—not only in the United States, but also in Sweden, Germany, Canada, and elsewhere—and it’s rattling many of those who practice the Ásatrú faith in its birthplace. “We are absolutely horrified,” Hilmarsson told me.
Ásatrú is a new religious movement that attempts to revive ancient polytheistic traditions—like the worship of Thor, Odin, Freya, and other gods and goddesses—from Iceland’s pre-Christian past. The modern revival started with 12 men and women who met at Reykjavik’s Hotel Borg in 1972, and over the past few years it’s really taken off. Ásatrú is now the largest non-Christian religion in Iceland, and the fastest growing. It counts over 4,000 members, Hilmarsson said (the country’s total population is just 335,000). For the first time in a millennium, a new temple is being built to accommodate followers of Iceland’s old Norse religion. It’s set to open next June.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/11/asatru-heathenry-racism/543864/
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Asatro or Ásatrú.