The Pantheon

"Once again, we return." This article contains spoilers for Issue 33 of The Wicked + The Divine. Read at your own risk.

The Pantheon is the collective term for all of the gods of the current Recurrence. They are advised by Ananke. The members change with each Recurrence, and come from a variety of different cultures and religions. They appear to be able to switch genders between Recurrences. The only gods to appear in each cycle are known to be Minerva, who takes on the persona of Ananke at the end of each cycle, and Persephone, whose head is removed by Ananke early in each cycle unknown to the other Gods.

Pantheon Members

• 2010s
• 1920s
• 1830s
• 1370s
• 450s

Baal, the Canaanite storm god, formerly Valentine Campbell

Lucifer, the Christian devil, formerly Eleanor Rigby. Head taken by Ananke.

Sakhmet, a Egyptian feline war goddess, formerly Ruth Clarkson. Killed by Minerva.

Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom.

Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love and Queen of Heaven, formerly Zahid. Head taken by Ananke.

Tara, goddess of unknown origin, formerly Aruna. Head taken by Ananke during assisted suicide.

Woden, the Norse god of wisdom and war, formerly David Blake.

The Morrigan/Badb/Anand, the Celtic triple-goddess of war and death, formerly Marian.

Amaterasu, the Shinto sun goddess, formerly Emily Greenaway. Killed by Sakhmet.

Nergal, the Sumerian god of the underworld. Goes by the name of Baphomet, formerly Cameron.

Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, formerly Umar. Left brain-dead after Woden's betrayal.

Urdr, alongside Skuld and Verdandi, are the Norns, the Norse goddesses of fate, formerly Cassandra Igarashi and her crew.

Persephone, the Greek goddess of spring, death, rebirth and Queen of the Underworld, formerly Laura Wilson.

Mimir, a Norse god of wisdom and knowledge, formely Jon Blake.

Notes:

• While Mimir is a true god of the Recurrence, his place was stolen by his father, pretending to be Woden with Ananke's help.
• Persephone, although the rightful 12th goddess, is not considered a true member of the Pantheon. Her position is, technically, Minerva's.
• Although Baal is identified as Baal Hadad, his true identity is Baal Hammon.

Baal, the Canaanite storm god, an elitist aesthete. Killed by Amaterasu.

Amaterasu, the Shinto sun goddess, an actress. Killed by Amon-Ra in a willing sacrifice.

Lucifer, the Christian devil, a social climber. Killed by Set.

Susanoo, the Shinto storm and sea god, a comedy actor. Sacrificed in the core sacrament by Minerva.

The Morrigan, the triple Celtic goddess of war and death. Head taken by Ananke and sacrificed in the core sacrament by Minerva.

Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, a former soldier. Killed by Baal.

The Norns, the Norse goddesses of fate, a trio of three intellectual students with a flying machine called Little Brother. Verdandi was killed by his brothers, Set, Woden and Baal. Urdr and Skuld were killed by Set.

Set, the Egyptian god of storms and chaos, an elitist artist. Head taken by Minerva and sacrificed in the core sacrament.

Amon-Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun, artist from Harlem. Sacrificed himself alongside Amaterasu, Susanoo and Minerva.

Woden, the Norse god of wisdom and war, formerly a Nazi sympathizer called Joseph.

Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, in the form of a little girl. Survived the Recurrence and became Ananke.

Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, a living personification of cubism. Killed by Woden.

Persephone, the Greek goddess of spring, death, rebirth and Queen of the Underworld. The first among the heads used by Minerva in the core sacrament.

Notes:

• Much like his future incarnation, Woden is not a true god but rather an imposter who is using the powers of Mimir with Ananke's help. By the end of the Recurrence, both are murdered.

The Angel of Soho, an unknown god also known as Urizen, Enitharmon and Orc.

Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. Killed by Ananke.

Hestia, the Greek goddess of the hearth. Killed by a pride of suitors.

Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love and Queen of Heaven. Killed by Ananke.

The Lonely Sisters of the Parsonage, unknown group of triple goddesses.

Lucifer, the Christian devil. Killed by the Creature.

Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. Died after a vision (Implied to be drug overdose).

Perun, the Slavic god of thunder and lightning. Died in Petersburg.

Thoth, the Egyptian god of knowledge. Killed in Paris by an ape who took his heart.

Woden, the Norse god of wisdom and war. Sacrificed herself to grant the Creature a conscience.

Morrigan, the Celtic god of war and death. Killed by the Creature.

Persephone, the Greek goddess of spring, death, rebirth and Queen of the Underworld. Head removed by Ananke in 1830 in France.

Notes:

• Inanna is not a true goddess, having made a deal with Ananke in exchange for godhood. Which god she replaced (and their ultimate fate, except their obvious death) is unknown.

Lucifer, the Christian devil. Killed herself.

Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom. Survived the Recurrence and became Ananke.

Persephone, the Greek goddess of spring, death, rebirth and Queen of the Underworld. Head removed by Ananke in 1371 in France.

Notes:

• While Minerva is never named, her symbol and her status as the Maiden confirms her identity.

Baal Hammon, the Carthaginian god of weather.

Dionysus, the Greek god of wine who identifies himself more with the Roman god Bacchus.

Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love and Queen of Heaven.

Lucifer, the Christian devil who became Emperor of Rome. Killed himself when driven mad by divinity.

Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom. Lost in the search for the Library of Alexandria.

Mithras, a Roman god who died giving his flesh for a legion to eat.

Moirai, the Greek goddesses of fate. Had their fate predestined.

Persephone, the Greek goddess of spring, death, rebirth and Queen of the Underworld.

History

According to Ananke, in the early days of the Pantheon, they were in constant battle with the forces of darkness. They always lost, except on one occasion, and this single victory indirectly caused the beginning of civilisation. However, once the saeculum was over, the next generation of gods returned ignorant, and lost as they had done before. They eventually won a second time, thousands of years later. They came to the decision that someone would need to stay to guide future gods, so Ananke agreed to give up her ability to inspire to assume this role. This resulted in her killing gods for thousands of years, presumably to stop the darkness.

What has been seen from flashbacks, it seems the very concept of Recurrence was developed between Ananke and her sister, after Ananke had already murdered at least four gods in her search for immortality. This happened roughly six thousand years ago, and since then, 65 known Recurrences have happened, the 21st century being the 65th

Role

The primary role of the Pantheon is to inspire. As Amaterasu puts it, they "make life worth living, for an evening at a time". Each Pantheon tends to assume a role that is particularly influential for their generation; for example, the 2010s Pantheon are pop stars, and the 1830s Pantheon were Romantics. Nevertheless, their powers do not affect everyone, as in the case of Cassandra. According to Ananke, without the gods, the darkness returns.

Godhood

While the members of the Pantheon believe they are gods, Ananke claims she doesn't know for sure if they really are. Each god gains powers related to their identity and origin. They don't seem to remember their past lives.

Symbols

2010s Pantheon symbols

1920s Pantheon symbols

1830s Pantheon symbols

450s Pantheon symbols

1337 Pantheon