In my last post I looked at the Westerosi gods, from Dorne to beyond the Wall. This time I want to look at those of Essos, the other continent that we see in Game of Thrones (there is also a Southoros, but we haven't seen that yet). First thing to say is there's a crapload of them. Seriously.

The lands Daenerys Targaryen rules first as Khaleesi and then as Queen contain quite a smattering of spiritualties, all anchored in a specific cultural group. The Dothraki horselords for example recognize the Great Stallion (the horse serves as a kind of totem for them) and profess some general myth about the translocation of the soul into the Night Lands, which smacks of Valhalla where they ride and drink and f....ornicate to their heart's content. They also apparently believe the Sun and Moon to be divinities, and wait for a Messianic "Stallion Who Mounts the World," the khal of khals who will subjugate the world. Those beliefs exist side by side with the divinities of other communities, such as the Great Shepherd of Mirri Maz Duur's Lhazareen community or the sailors who pray to the Merling king. Such a situation, where one god is believed in and worshipped while the existence of others is accepted, is described as henotheism - think of the diverse groups that littered the coast of the Mediterranean in the days of ancient Troy or the context into which the ancient Israelites introduced monotheism. Everybody's got their own god, and that's fine.

"I piss on Dothraki omens."

- Viserys Targaryen, "Winter is Coming"



Qarth, Astapor and Meereen all have heavily mythic motifs, such the harpy that symbolizes Meereen's insurgency and were violent bird-women in Greek mythology who carried evildoers to Tartarus and generally caused all sorts of misfortune. (We learn in the books that the harpy is a symbol of the Ghiscari religion, which dates back to Old Valyria and the heyday of dragons.) The Graces are Ghiscari priestesses (whose ranks include both healers and cultic prostitutes), whose Temples include the Great Pyramid of Meereen which houses Dany's administration. Daenerys herself rarely uses divine discourse, which is somewhat ironic seeing as it appears to be her sacrifice that makes religion effective again (I'll be posting on that little trope soon...).

"I saw a vision in the flames. A great battle in the snow. I saw it... I never believed, but when you see the truth. When it's right there in front of you, as real as these iron bars, how can you deny that her God is real?"

- Stannis Baratheon, "Second Sons"

Then of course we have the Lord of Light, R'hollor, who claims the Red Woman Mellisandre (#shivers) and Thoros of Myr (#awesomedrunkard) as adherents. R'hollor is a newer import to Westeros, but has long been known in Essos. Some of the more dualistic, Manichean religions like Zoroastrianism (which G.R.R. Martin has acknowledged served as inspiration) have their representative here, with the evil pole represented by the Great Other, who is never spoken of by name in the shows but is the God of Ice and Death to offset the heat and life promised by R'hollor. The Lord of Light boasts a messianic tradition as well, waiting for Azor Ahai (Mel thinks its Stannis, but the internet has other ideas...) to return wielding Lightbringer and raising dragons from stone. (Ahem.) R'hollor's is by far the most interesting religion in the show, and most powerful by all appearances. They also pose perhaps the greatest existential question for the audience, because their prayers actually kind of work: Thoros keeps bringing Beric Dondarrion back to life, and Mellisandre does some seriously crazy stuff. So does that mean it's the real religion? Is the world of Game of Thrones one where one religion only gets the cosmology right?

"Not today. Not today. Not today."

- Arya Stark, "The Pointy End"

Finally we have the Many-Faced God of the Bravosi and their Faceless Men. Who could describe the basic tenet of the MFG than the much-lamented Syrio Forel: "There is only one God, and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: not today." The MFG is Death, who has representations in all other faiths of Essos and Westeros, from the Stranger of the Faith7 to the Black Goat of Qohor (who?) to the Lion of Night of Yi Ti (what?). The Many-Faced God's church is the House of Black and White wherein resides our dear Arya Stark - sorry, in which resides "no one" - which has statues of all death's representations, his priests bring death, and his supplicants do not leave his church alive. Yup, it's an awesome religion.

That should give a good basis for understanding religion on both sides of the Narrow Sea.* There are other religions touched upon in the book, such as Balerion and Meraxes of Old Valyria, Aquan the Red Bull and the Whosey of Whatsit, but for the show watchers these are the most important ones to understand as we soon head into season 6 (April 24!). Religion not only gives cultural flavor to social groups, but also provides the frames through which people understand who they are and what they should do. For some it serves for their raison d'etre - followers of the Lord of Light must wipe darkness from the earth - for some it serves as a way to understand the ideals of their roles in society - be they warrior, smith or mother - and for others still it represents the only surety in life - that no one gets out alive. In future posts I'll explore how the Sparrows took control of King's Landing so quickly, compare the resurrection of the Fire god to the resurrection of the White Walkers, and ask how the hell Thoros and Melisandre worship the same god. Until then, valar morghulis!

*If you want more than that there are plenty of sites that will give you more information than you knew was available.