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#REDIRECT [[Xothic legend cycle#Ghatanothoa]] |
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'''Ghatanothoa''' is a [[fictional deity]] in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]]. The being first appeared in the [[short story]] "[[Out of the Aeons|Out Of The Aeons]]" ([[1935 in literature|1935]]) by [[H. P. Lovecraft]] and Hazel Heald. It is a large, amorphous, exceptionally hideous being comparable to [[Medusa]]. |
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{{R to section}} |
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==Summary== |
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Ghatanothoa is a [[Great Old One]] and the first born of [[Cthulhu]]. It is a huge, amorphous monstrosity which is so hideous, anyone who gazes upon it (or even a perfect replica) is [[Petrifaction in mythology and fiction|petrified]] into a living [[mummy]]. The victim is permanently immobilized—the body taking on the consistency of [[leather]] and the internal organs and brain preserved indefinitely—yet remains fully aware. Only the destruction of the subject's brain can free it from its hellish prison, though the unfortunate is likely to be incurably insane long before the welcomed release.<ref>Lovecraft & Heald, "Out of the Aeons", ''The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions'', p. 272.</ref> |
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[[Category:Fictional amorphous creatures]] |
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Ghatanothoa is currently trapped underneath [[Mount Yaddith-Gho]] in sunken [[Mu (Cthulhu Mythos)|Mu]]. He was brought to Earth from the planet [[Yuggoth]] ([[Pluto]] in Lovecraft's fiction) by an ancient, alien race, possibly the [[Mi-go]]<!--BEGIN FOOTNOTE--><ref> |
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Although the aliens in question are presumed to be the Mi-go, or ''Fungi from Yuggoth'' (Harms, ''The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'' p. 115), [[S. T. Joshi]] does not hold this view. In his essay "Lovecraft's Other Planets", Joshi argues that these beings are an older and perhaps indigenous race of Yuggoth. Citing Lovecraft's "[[The Whisperer in Darkness]]" ([[1931 in literature|1931]]), Joshi notes that the structures on Yuggoth were "built by some elder race extinct and forgotten" before the Mi-go arrived. Thus, Joshi concludes that these ancient beings—and not the Mi-Go— are "the alien spawn of the dark planet Yuggoth" (as quoted from "Out of the Aeons") that brought Ghatanothoa to Earth. (Joshi, "Lovecraft's Other Planets", ''Selected Papers on Lovecraft'', p. 39.) |
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</ref><!--END FOOTNOTE-->, who built a colossal fortress atop Yaddith-Gho and sealed Ghatanothoa inside the mountain beneath a large trapdoor. Ghatanothoa was worshipped by the ancient Muvians, who both feared and respected him because of his ability to turn any humans that beheld him into living, thinking mummies. |
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Many attempted in vain to defeat Ghatanothoa; most notably [[Cthulhu Mythos biographies#T'yog|T'yog]], the High Priest of [[Shub-Niggurath]], whose story is recounted in [[Cthulhu Mythos biographies#Von Junzt, Friedrich Wilheim|Friedrich von Junzt]]'s grimoire ''[[Unaussprechlichen Kulten]]'' or ''Nameless Cults'' ([[Robert E. Howard]]'s answer to Lovecraft's ''[[Necronomicon]]''). T'yog created a scroll that was supposed to protect him from the petrifying effect of gazing upon Ghatanothoa. But T'yog was defeated after Ghatanothoa's priests stole the scroll and replaced it with a fake one. This occurred in the Year of the Red Moon, which is 173,148 B.C. according to von Juntz<!--pg. 273 for ref-->.<ref>Lovecraft & Heald, "Out of the Aeons".</ref> |
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===Other connections to the mythos=== |
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In [[Lin Carter]]'s [[Xothic legend cycle]], Ghatanothoa is said to be the firstborn of Cthulhu; his siblings, in order of birth, are [[Xothic legend cycle#Ythogtha|Ythogtha]], [[Xothic legend cycle#Zoth-Ommog|Zoth-Ommog]], and [[Cthylla]].<ref>Carter, "The Thing in the Pit", ''The Xothic Legend Cycle''.</ref> [[Colin Wilson]] connected Ghatanothoa to the alien, reptilian race of energy beings—the [[Lloigor (Cthulhu Mythos race)|Lloigor]]—as the deity's servants.<ref>Wilson, "The Return of the Lloigor", ''Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos''.</ref> |
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===Appearance in other media=== |
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Ghatanothoa appeared in the Japanese TV series [[Ultraman Tiga]] as an ancient evil that had defeated Ultraman Tiga and his fellow giants in ancient times and destroyed the civilization present on Earth at the time. In the finale, he reawakens and attempts to do the same to the modern world, covering the Earth in darkness. Tiga challenges him but the tyrant defeats him and turns him back to stone. However, Tiga is revived by humanity as Glitter Tiga and manages to overwhelm and finally kill Ghatanothoa with a powerful beam from his Color Timer. This version of Ghatanothoa bears some resemblance to a chimera of deep-sea life, including the [[chambered nautilus]]. |
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He also appears in the Japanese anime [[Haiyore! Nyaruko-san]] as a little girl; the show parodies the Lovecraft mythos with several prominent old ones appearing as aliens disguised as Japanese school girls. |
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==References== |
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===Primary sources=== |
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*{{cite book|chapter=The Thing in the Pit|first=Lin <nowiki>[</nowiki>1980<nowiki>]</nowiki>|last=Carter|year=1997|title=[[The Xothic Legend Cycle: The Complete Mythos Fiction of Lin Carter]]|editor=Robert M. Price (ed.)|publisher=Chaosium|location=Oakland, CA|isbn=1-56882-078-X|chapterurl=http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/lion/157/thingin.htm}} |
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*{{cite book|chapter=Out of the Aeons|first=Howard P. <nowiki>[</nowiki>1935<nowiki>]</nowiki>|last=Lovecraft|year=1989|title=The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions|editor=S. T. Joshi (ed.) |edition=4th corrected printing|publisher=Arkham House|location=Sauk City, WI|isbn=0-87054-037-8}} Definitive version. |
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*{{cite book|last=Tierney|first=Richard L.|title=The House of the Toad|year=1993|location=Minneapolis MN|publisher=Fedogan and Bremer|isbn=1-878252-03-8}} |
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*{{cite book|chapter=The Return of the Lloigor|first=Wilson <nowiki>[</nowiki>1969<nowiki>]</nowiki>|last=Colin|date=October 1998|title=Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos|edition=1st ed.|publisher=Random House|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-345-42204-X}} |
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===Secondary sources=== |
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*{{cite book|chapter=Ghatanothoa|pages=115–6|first=Daniel|last=Harms|year=1998|title=The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana|edition=2nd ed.|publisher=Chaosium|location=Oakland, CA|isbn=1-56882-119-0}} |
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*{{cite book|chapter=Lovecraft's Other Planets|first=S. T.|last=Joshi|year=1989|title=Selected Papers on Lovecraft|edition=1st printing|publisher=Necronomicon Press|location=West Warwick, RI|isbn=0-940884-23-2}} |
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===Notes=== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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{{wikisourcepar|Out of the Aeons}} |
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* [http://www.psy-q.ch/lovecraft/html/aeons.htm "Out of the Aeons" by H. P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald.] |
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[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos deities]] |
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{{H. P. Lovecraft}} |
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Latest revision as of 07:21, 8 February 2023
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