View source for The gods

There are roughly 3000 gods on the [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]] and research theologians are discovering more every day. Most people make the mistake of thinking that gods came first and then came the people to believe in them, when in fact the people came first, and then their belief created the gods. Gods and people go hand in hand: gods need people to believe in them, and people need something to blame. The system seems to work quite well. 

Gods feed on belief. The more people believe in a god, the more powerful that god becomes. As gods lose belief, they become weaker and smaller. Once there are no more believers, the god becomes a mere echo of a voice on the wind. Some [[Small Gods|small gods]] are gods that were once powerful, others are gods ''in potentia'', as it were, waiting for someone to erect a small cairn, or pile of stones as a short prayer so that they can gain some power, perform a few miracles and gain believers.
It is revealed by [[Hughnon Ridcully]] in {{TT}} that Gods can get sick,  but from {{SG}} we already knew that gods can die from lack of belief.

Gods, of course, play games with the fates of men. The game they play is somewhere between [[Dungeons and Dragons]], Risk and Chess, with [[Exclusive Possession|Monopoly]] and Battleships thrown in for good measure along the way. Don't think the game is complicated though; gods don't have the patience for complex games. They prefer games that are short and violent. The game is played on a map of the world that is, on closer inspection, the world itself. If you look closely enough at the tiny pin that is [[Cori Celesti]] in the middle of the board, you can see the gods on top of it in their home of [[Dunmanifestin]], playing the game. If you look closer still, you can see the board with a tiny Cori Celesti and on top of that...

==Appearances==
The gods are described playing games with the fates of men in:
*{{COM}}
*{{SG}}
*{{IT}}
*{{TLH}}

Other appearances and notable mentions:
*{{P}} describes what happens when the whole pantheon of a country manifests all at once.
*{{SG}} describes the statues of the gods worshipped in [[Ephebe]]. It is also the first mention of a 'monotheistic' God, ([[Om]]).
*{{MR}} describes extensively the rules set forth by [[Nuggan]], the state god of [[Borogravia]].
*{{H}} makes mentions of several gods, and some of the new ones created due to a surplus of belief created by the disappearance of the [[Hogfather]], something of a god himself but later more of an [[anthropomorphic personification]].
*{{GP}} tells of an incident in which a man got several religions; the gods that he found are described.

==The Pantheon==

Discworld suffers from a surfeit of gods. New ones may be created at any time, and old ones fade away when no one believes any longer. Here is a (necessarily incomplete) list of some better-known deities from around the Disc.


===Gods of Dunmanifestin===
*[[Bibulous]], god of wine and things on sticks. Resembles John Belushi.
*[[Blind Io|Blind Io]], chief of the gods. His eyeless face is blindfolded, while many all-seeing eyeballs swarm around his head.
*[[Destiny|Destiny]], guides promising young adventures to their heroic destiny.
*[[Errata]], the goddess of misunderstandings; a trouble-maker.
*[[Fate|Fate]], not to be tempted. Also not popular around the games table; he always wins. 
*[[Fedecks|Fedecks]], messenger of the gods.
*[[Flatulus|Flatulus]], god of the winds.
*[[The Lady|The Lady]], whose name is not spoken.
*The [[Monkey-god]], possibly based on [[Roundworld]]'s {{wp|Hanuman|Hanuman}}, mentioned as a member of the Dunmanifestin elite in {{TLH}}. 
*[[Neoldian]], smith of the gods.
*[[Nuggan|Nuggan]], state god of Borogravia: a twit. Lately reduced to ''[[Small Gods|small god]]'' status.
*[[Offler|Offler]] of the Bird-Haunted Mouth: crocodile-headed and widely followed.
*[[Pedestriana]], Goddess of feet and pedal dexterity.
*the [[Sea-Goddess]] who loves dolphins and takes revenge on seaborne dolphin-abusers.
*[[Seven-Handed Sek]], says Vengeance is His.

===Other gods of the Main Continent===
*[[Aniger]], goddess of squashed animals - recent.
*[[Anoia]], goddess of things that stick in drawers (formerly [[Lela]] the volcano goddess).
*[[Bilious]], oh god of hangovers.
*[[Bissonomy]]. She is currently an obscure Virtue, but according to [[Ancient and Classical Mythology|Chaffinch]], she was once a goddess and a consort of Blind Io.
*[[Epidity]] god of potatoes. 
*[[God of Evolution]], survives without believers.
*[[Grune]], god of unseasonal fruit.
*[[Herne the Hunted]], god of small furry creatures.
*[[Hoki]], the jokester: banished from Dunmanifestin.
*[[Hyperopia]]. The Goddess of shoes.
*[[Infernal Zoth, the Undying Renderer]].
*[[Inn-Sewer-Ants|Inn-sewer-ants polly-sea]], Worshipped on the [[Brown Islands]]
*[[Jimi]], god of beggars.
* [[Lamentatio]]. goddess of interminably long opera.
*[[Libertina]], goddess of the sea, apple pie, certain types of ice cream, and short bits of string. May be the Sea-Goddess above.
*[[Moon goddess]], Druidic
*[[Night]], a god for the easily impressed. Hard to see.
*[[Noddi]], creator god of [[NoThingfjord]]
*[[Om]], state god of Omnia; pays more attention lately.
*[[Reg]], god of club musicians.
*[[Resonata]], goddess of weasels.
*[[Urika]], goddess of snow, saunas and theatrical performances for fewer than 120 people.
*[[Wilf]], the god of astrology.
*[[God of Watchmen]], god of watchmen, police and guards.
*[[Mad Snake God|The Mad Snake God]]
*[[Genua]] has many minor deities, created ''ad hoc'' (see Voodoo entities, below).

===Gods of [[Howondaland]]===
*[[Glipzo]] a tribal deity, inimical to the [[N'Tuitif]]
*[[P'tang P'tang]], the newt god; noted for a very small but devoted following.
*[[Quetzovercoatl]], Tezuman god of many parts - possibly only a [[Demons|demon]].
*[[The Luggage]], the Tezuman replacement of Quetzovercoatl after Quetzovercoatl was squashed by the Luggage.


===Gods of [[Ephebe]]===
*[[Astoria]], goddess of love.
*[[Foorgol]], avalanches.
*[[Patina]], goddess of wisdom : carries a penguin.
*[[Petulia]], goddess of negotiable affection.
*[[Tuvelpit]], wine. See ''Bibulous''.
*[[Zephyrus]], god of slight breezes.
*[[Cubal]], god of fire.
*[[Flatulus]], god of winds.
*[[Blind Io]], god of thunder (not only Ephebian).
*[[Fedecks]], message bringer of gods (not only Ephebian).

===Gods of [[Djelibeybi]]===
*[[Bast]], cat-headed goddess of things left on the doorstep or half-digested under the bed. Also in Dunmanifestin.
*[[Bunu]], goats.
*[[Cephnet]], a sun god.
*[[Cephut]], cutlery.
*[[Chefet]], dog-headed god of metalwork.
*[[Fhez]], crocodile-headed god of the lower Djel; easily confused with Offler.
*[[Gil]], a sun god.
*[[Hat]], vulture-headed god of unexpected guests.
*[[Khefin]], two-faced god of gateways.
*[[Sarduk]], goddess of caves : don't go there.
*[[Scrab]], pusher of the ball of the sun.
*[[Sessifret]], goddess of the afternoon and undisputed solar ruler after midday.
*[[Tzut]], snake-headed god of the upper Djel, enemy of Fhez.
*[[What]], sky goddess who eats the sun in the evening and plants one of its seeds to grow a new sun in the morning.
*[[Vut]], dog headed god of the evening

...plus eight Supreme gods, four Sole Rulers of the World of the Dead, and many more.

===[[Troll]] Gods===
*[[Chrondite]], god of love.
*[[Gigalith]], wisdom.
*[[Silicarous]], good fortune.
*[[Monolith]], demigod hero.


===[[Small Gods]]===
*[[Angus]]
*[[Om]]  (prior to his resurgence)
*[[Ur-Gilash]]
*[[Czol]]
*[[Anu-anu]]
*[[Orm]]

===Gods of the [[Shaman]]===
*[[Topaxci, the God of the Red Mushroom]]
*[[Skelde, Spirit of the Smoke]]
*[[Umcherrel, the Soul of the Forest]]


===[[Voodoo]] Spirits of Genua===
*[[Mister Safe Way]]
*[[Lady Bon Anna]]
*[[Hotaloga Andrews]]
*[[Stride Wide Man]]
*[[Baron Saturday]] (following the events of [[Witches Abroad]]

And, of course, nearly three thousand more.

And while not exactly gods, we should mention the other residents of Cori Celesti, the '''[[Ice Giants|The Ice Giants]]''', who steadfastly refuse to return the lawn mower.

'''See also [[Supernatural Entities]] for individuals who are not formally worshipped but are sometimes more powerful than the gods.'''

==Other Gods and Deities in the non-Discworld writings of Terry Pratchett==

*'''Gods and God-like Entities of the [[Nomes]]:
**[[Arnold Bros (est. 1905)]]
**[[Grandson Richard, 39]]
**[[Bargains Galore]]!
**[[Prices Slashed]]
**[[the Maker of Clouds]] 

*'''God-like Entities in {{GO}}
** the [[Metatron]]


[[Category:Supernatural entities|Gods, The]]
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