Cthulhu Mythos deities are a group of fictional deities created by American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937), and later expanded by others in the fictional universe known as the Cthulhu mythos.

These entities are usually depicted as immensely powerful and utterly indifferent to humans. Humans can barely begin to comprehend them; however, some entities are worshipped by humans. These deities include the "Great Old Ones" and extraterrestrials, such as the "Elder Things", with sporadic references to other miscellaneous deities (e.g. Nodens). The "Elder Gods" are a later creation of other prolific writers who expanded on Lovecraft's concepts, such as August Derleth and Lin Carter, who was credited with formalizing the Cthulhu Mythos.Robert Bloch, "Heritage of Horror", p. 8.Robert M. Price, "H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos", Crypt of Cthulhu #35, p. 5. Some of these deities were Lovecraft's original creations, but he also adapted words or concepts from earlier writers, such as Ambrose Bierce, Robert W. Chambers, Arthur Machen, and Lord Dunsany. And later writers have continued to create many deities based on Lovecraft’s concepts, further expanding his fictional universe.

Great Old Ones

A recurring theme in Lovecraft's work is the complete irrelevance of humanity in the face of the cosmic horrors that exist in the universe, with Lovecraft constantly referring to the "Great Old Ones" (also known as the "Ancient Ones" or simply the "Old Ones"): a loose pantheon of ancient, powerful deities from space who once ruled the Earth and who have since fallen into a death-like sleep.Daniel Harms, "A Brief History of the Cthulhu Mythos", p. viii.

They are said to know "all that was occurring in the universe" and have existed through the "infinities of chaos" to the "first men", and they have the ability to mold the dreams and minds of men to their need. However, the extent of their knowledge and the scope of their influence and ability vary from deity to deity. Some deities are younger, and some deities are weaker than others. Even when the stars are not aligned and they are not "alive", they are never truly dead, and they are not made of standard matter. In other words, in principle, they are forever immortal and cannot be truly slain entities. This is also expressed in the famous couplet:

They have the ability to travel from planet to planet when they are awoken. On the other hand, Albert N. Wilmarth describes the spaces that the beings inhabit as beyond human imagination, and says that the universe comprehended by humans is only a speck in the totality of the cosmos: Lovecraft named several of these deities, including Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa, and Yig. With a few exceptions, this loose pantheon apparently exists outside of normal space-time. Although worshipped by deranged human (and inhuman) cults, these beings are generally imprisoned or restricted in their ability to interact with most people (beneath the sea, inside the Earth, in other dimensions, and so on), at least until the hapless protagonist is unwittingly exposed to them. Lovecraft visited this premise in many of his stories, notably his 1928 short story, "The Call of Cthulhu", with reference to the eponymous creature. However, it was Derleth who applied the notion to all of the Great Old Ones. The majority of these have physical forms that the human mind is incapable of processing; simply viewing them renders the viewer incurably insane. Many authors and creators of works since August Derleth have regarded the Great Old Ones as "Evil and Malevolent deities" that pose a threat to humans, and have portrayed them as gods who stand in opposition to the Elder Gods. This trend is particularly evident in the Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture, and they often appear as villains in young adult novels, comics, and games inspired by Lovecraftian horror.This is particularly evident in young adult novels, games, and comics. For example, in RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder, they are almost always considered Evil. However, unlike the evil deities of other mythologies, they are utterly indifferent to humans and other species—with very few exceptions, such as fanatic and extremely powerful worshippers—and scarcely ever respond to their worship. To be more precise, they are essential awfulness. They are simply far beyond human conceptions of morality and cannot be measured by the standards of good and evil. Deities that are clearly malicious in intent are limited to a few, such as Nyarlathotep and Y'golonac. Although they have their own sense of purpose and emotions, the scope and scale of these differ greatly from those of humanity.On the other hand, not all of the Great Old Ones are constantly bringing disaster upon humans. Yig usually bestows blessings upon his worshippers. Tsathoggua is considered less evil than the other Great Old Ones, and Juk-Shabb is considered one of the least malevolent among the Great Old Ones. Mordiggian seems neutral until humans take the corpse away or bring it back to life. Furthermore, it was believed in the works that there are deities who stand on the side of humans such as not only Yig, but also Nug and Yeb, and Shub-Niggurath. However, this does not mean that such deities are compassionate. Although they pose a relatively low threat to humans (compared to other Great Old Ones), they are by no means friendly toward humans and often attack them.

Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu role-playing game has reclassified the deities previously known as the Great Old Ones into two categories: the "Outer Gods" and the "Great Old Ones". The "Outer Gods" category is a newly created classification comprising particularly powerful and abstract cosmic deities. Consequently, the Great Old Ones came to be regarded not as deities in the true sense, but as god-like and immensely powerful entities possessing supernatural powers and attributes (however, in a broad sense, they are still classified as deities). In fact, most Great Old Ones are limited by their physical bodies and may sometimes sustain damage to them.Howard, Robert E. (October 1931). The Gods of Bal-Sagoth. However, as mentioned earlier, these bodies are not made of standard matter, and even if defeated, they can reform their bodies on their own.

Lin Carter created a classification referring to powerful beings known as the "Lesser Old Ones" (also known as Greater Servitors) who serve the Great Old Ones and command the races that serve them. While their power far exceeds that of ordinary creatures and they are biologically immortal, it falls far short of that of the deities. While most are not considered deities, rather beings that are both the origin of their races and something between deity and creature. However, Bokrug and Rlim Shaikorth are also regarded as secondary Great Old Ones. Notable examples include Father Dagon and Mother Hydra, Fthaggua, and Ubb. Especially, Fthaggua and Ubb may have the potential to evolve into the Old Ones in the far future.

In Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu role-playing game, the term "Lesser Old Ones" is used different meanings to refer to deities in the process of developing into Great Old Ones (such as Nctosa and Nctolhu) or lower-ranked among the Great Old Ones (such as Han and M'nagalah) or secondary deities to the Great Old Ones (such as Pharol, Saaitii, Sebek, and Yegg-Ha). Additionally, in this setting, deities that are even more undeveloped and immature than the Lesser Old Ones are defined as the Larvae of the Great Old Ones (such as Ghadamon and Dho-Spawn).Aniolowski, Scott David; Mason, Mike; Fricker, Paul (2020). Malleus Monstrorum Vol. 1: Monsters of the Mythos. Chaosium.

Elemental

August Derleth, Lin Carter, and Francis T. Laney attempted to classify the Great Old Ones into the four classical elements: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. They also created a setting in which Water and Air are opposed to each other, and Fire and Earth are also opposed to each other. In this classification, while there was general agreement that Cthulhu is the leader of Water, Hastur of Air, and Cthugha of Fire. These three deities possess the strongest power even among the Great Old Ones. However, the setting for Earth was inconsistent. Initially, Nyarlathotep or Shub-Niggurath or Yog-Sothoth were considered the leader of Earth. But later, as multiple Great Old Ones—including these three deities and Azathoth—were classified under the fifth element, Aether (Aethyr), and this setting was reinforced by the introduction of the "Outer God" classification in Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu role-playing game. That resulted in Earth has now shifted to be a miscellaneous group of deities, primarily Tsathoggua.

However, there was opposition to this elements concept itself on the grounds that it diluted Lovecraftian horror, and there was also criticism regarding the elemental classification, citing a lack of evidence and consistency with settings.Aniolowski, Scott David (December 30, 2006). Malleus Monstrorum: Creatures, Gods, & Forbidden Knowledge (Call of Cthulhu Horror Role-playing) (Call of Cthulhu Role-playing Game). United States, Ann Arbor, MI: Chaosium. .

Consequently, the use of elemental classification has declined in recent years, and it is rarely seen. However, in the Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture, parts of this setting are still in use: the elemental classifications of Cthulhu, Hastur, Cthugha, and their servant or offspring deities (these are particularly evident in young adult novels, comics, and games).Aside from that, the conflicts between Cthulhu and Hastur and between Cthugha and Nyarlathotep are still often used in the works (conflict relationships are sometimes used, except for elemental classification).

The deities belonging to each element are listed in the table below. + Elemental classification of the deitiesHarms, Daniel (1998). Encyclopedia Cthulhiana: A Guide to Lovecraftian Horror (Call of Cthulhu Fiction). pp. 101. Chaosium. Air Earth Fire Water Aethyr * HasturIthaquaRhan-TegothZhar and Lloigor TsathogguaCyäeghaHanNug and YebNyogthaYig CthughaAphoom-Zhah CthulhuDagonGhatanothoa*Mother HydraMnomquahOthuumYthogthaZoth-Ommog(see also offspring and mates of Cthulhu, and Xothic legend cycle) AzathothNyarlathotepShub-NiggurathYog-Sothoth * Also considered Earth

Great Ones The so-called "gods" of the Dreamlands, the "Great Ones" are not as powerful as the Great Old Ones. Intelligent humans might even be able to surpass the Great Ones (however, recently, they are often described as entities revered by the people of Dreamlands and, while considered weak among the gods, are generally regarded as entities of a higher order than species and creatures, including humans). In fact, each of them possesses powerful magic or abilities unique to them.

They are protected by the Outer Gods, particularly Nyarlathotep; and Elder God Nodens. While they once lived on peaks across the world, they were driven off lower mountains by the spread of humanity until they had to leave Earth entirely, leaving only a mark on Mount Ngranek. The Great Ones now rule from their hidden fortress of Kadath, whose location in time and space is unknown. As well as occasionally returning to white capped Thurai, Lerion and Hatheg-Kla on cloud ships under the cover of a light mist, they abandoned Kadath for a brief period for the "sunset city" that Randolph Carter conjured in his dreams. In the past, the Great Ones often married human women, so many human inhabitants of the Dreamlands have Great One blood in them. For these reasons, the Great Ones are generally considered to have a benevolent disposition toward humans. On the other hand, the Great Ones are forbidden to interfere in the real world, and if they do so too frequently, they risk being destroyed by Nyarlathotep. Only Lilith is exempt from this restriction.