Cersei's biggest and most devastating self-destructive character flaw is that she believes herself to be smarter than she is. She thinks herself "Tywin with tits." She got his ruthlessness, ambition, and cruelty but none of his cunning and guile. Cersei is as subtle as a brick through a stained glass window and just as destructive.
You don't need to pay attention to anything but common sense to know that arming religious fanatics is the worst idea you can possibly have 🤣. Sellswords owe their allegiance to gold, so all you have to do is own enough of it to satisfy them. Fanatics, they owe their allegiance to gods, faith, immaterial things that transcend the physical things you can provide. They do not fight for you, they fight for "gods". If you fall short of their religious tenets, you are an enemy, not a leader.
@@TheAntiTrope Good. You say that like it's a bad thing. I value people who hold such beliefs and transcendent ideals as noble and superior to those who only value things like money. Dreamers, idealists and the spiritual are hated by our society, but I love them. Give me the faithful over the greedy any day.
@@gorknmork9194 I would take the greedy over the faithful any day. The Faithful are unpredictable and dangerous. They are your friend when you align with their beliefs and your greatest enemies when you don’t. What they believe is true and just will not always be what you see as right. The greedy can be bought and manipulated the faithful follow their own rules.
I really like how GRRM mixes fantasy with reality. The old gods and faith of the seven mirrors the pagan and Christian religions, but are still unique and new.
@Helen Hines The Seven are most akin to Catholicism, the Old Gods are most similar to "unreformed" paganism like what the Celtic and Baltic Europeans practiced compared to as you say more civilized cultures, and R'hllor is very much based on Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism.
@@SunMonkeyInc The structure of the religious institutions of the Seven are nearly identical to medieval Catholicism. Most Christian denominations believe in the Trinity, and the Seven are almost identical in nature to the Trinity just with more "faces" of God.
Well, I can only speak for myself as a Muslim, but in our faith we actually believe that God created mankind with the natural predisposition of believing in Him and recognizing Him as they first come into the world, we call it the “Fitrah” (lit. Primordial nature). All peoples are born believers in one God, in pure monotheism but their parents and entourage naturally proceed to pollute them if you will with other ideas and beliefs as they grow up. I’m familiar with Hinduism as well and I believe they have a concept of a supreme god that has many manifestations. George Martin may have been influenced by both of these traditions while creating the many faced god and the faceless men.
I am muslim too and your hypothesis on the origin of the many faced god is very similar to the one i had when i first watch the series. "There is only one God and his name is Death" kind of take us back to the muslim belief that death is the only truth and life is an illusion. The difference is of course, Death is the creation of God not God itself.@@Rotisiv
In Christianity- God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all considered 3 aspects of the same entity. That’s why it’s called, The Holy Trinity. Very interesting to see these ideas reflected in other religions as well
In Hinduism our core belief has similarity to this, we ultimately believe in one internal consciousness (God in the words of abrahamic religion ) and many people perceive it in different forms as civilization form they realise God in different form Influenced by their environment and culture but ultimately the divinity behind all these formas are the same
@@1992zorro that's not true literally at all, we have very little in universe knowledge on the Valyrian faith, the closest thing we have to what you're saying is one source that says some nobles were basically atheists, they didn't literally worship themselves as gods
The Faith of the 7 is about as basic of a religion as you can get, the deities don't even have names they are just called by what they represent. Which is really not a bad thing because this make the 7 relatable and flexiable to draw parallels to the different religions of the world so that readers from various cultures can easily understand it and relate to it.
Looking at the creation of the faith (not the myth), it’s really smart how it is set up. Of course, like real life religions, it probably went through a lot of changes before it was written down and centralized, but the core of 7 aspects to one god makes it so approachable for any non-believer. You made not believe in the magical stuff of the old gods or rhollor, but a god that don’t ask sacrifice and seems to influence everyday life is something a lot of people can be convinced in to join.
Religion is one of the weakest elements in this series. I especially hate the old gods religion for just how basic it is. "There are no stories, no named gods, no philosophy and no priesthood of any kind." No religion works like that, and it just isn't very interesting.
The fact that it's a single god with seven aspects is a reflection of modern Christianity, of which most sects maintain that God is composed of three aspects, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
@@dionysianExpanse I think that comes down to George himself. I believe the man is an atheist or agnostic who didn’t much care for religion and in his work it’s the one he’s seems to be least interested in when it comes to the faith of seven and the old gods. The drowned god and the fire god get more info about them because of how wacky they are to write but the two main religions aren’t covered as much as you’d think for a medieval fantasy world based on medieval Europe. The role of religious mythology in asoiaf is probably the weakest aspect of the series if you compare it to say Lord of the rings or even Elder scrolls probably because one was written by a professor and the other was written by a man by got a masters in European mythology.
@@JohnDoe-vz7ff the prophecy of azor ahai is mentioned in multiple cultures in asoiaf and is mentioned a number of times in the show. Azor Ahai is the champion of rhlor, who is proven to be real in the show through the resurrection of Jon Snow and Beric Dondarrion. Its silly to throw away a prophecy so closely linked with the others who were also thought to be just a legend. The white walkers waited 1000 years to attack and are killed in a single fight with a girl who wouldve had no idea they even existed before returning to westeros. Why did rholor even ressurect Jon if not to defeat the others?
it was Jon they just made it awkward and stupid. Rheager believed that the prince who was promised would be one of his children. Killing Dany was about stabbing his lover with his sword; and I guess he was born in salt like his mothers tears and smoke as the country was burning down.
Did everyone notice that the original Stormland and Ironborn have basically the same legend where the Founder married a Mermaid and battled the Storm God for a thousand years...!😉 GRRM has a Great Scense of Irony and Cunning in his writing....!
The islands called the 3 sisters above the vale also is the same. This Water God and Storm God Religion is the religion the first men had before they converted to the Old Gods.
@@lincolnlog5977So, wait, does that imply the religion of the Drowned God is some modern version of the original First Men religion, before they adopted the old gods?
In case you don't know this is taken from the DVD extras on Game of Thrones DVDs. There are more of them uploaded on You Tube. You are right they are great.
This is my new favorite YT channel and is what will force me to read every single GOT book before too long. The level of detail in the GOT universe is incredible and just as intriguing.
It's amazing that unlike real world the polytheistic (such as... the seven, old gods) are Superior or major religion while monotheistic such as the great stallion (dothrakhi), lord of light (red priests and priestesses), many faced god (faceless assassins),etc are considered Minor and paganism or savagery. This is quite interesting.
Christianity is kind of weird for a monotheistic religion. They have one God in three "forms" (the Holy Trinity: father, son, spirit). Seems the Faith of the Seven is that but with four extra "forms".
@@ObiJohnKenobi67 They refer to the Seven as "the new gods" so they're part of a whole but clearly distinct gods, the opposite emphasis of the trinity.
@@napoleoniii8372there’s one God the trinity is the belief that there is one God and that the son is God and the Holy Spirit is God, however the son isn’t the father, the spirit isn’t the son, and the father isn’t the spirit nor the son. All three members of the trinity are seperate. However there is still one God. It is a belief that cannot be explained by human reason but is best described by the Athanasian creed which says “That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence. For the person of the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son is another, and that of the Holy Spirit still another. But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.” What you are saying is called “modalism” which teaches that the trinity isn’t made up of three distinct beings but that God reveals himself in three different forms
Thoros was the best priest in show. Unlike melisandre he doesn't burn people alive or burn other gods. He help people in his own way. He was even little savage and fighter(with his burning sword)which is why he was one of my best character throughout the show.
We see it as wrong but for her she is just following her religion to the T & doing what is right by her god. She is a much better "priest" then Thoros in that sense but Thoros is a better person then she is.
If it weren’t for the human sacrifices and creepy blood magic, I’d totally join the Lord of Light if I lived in Westeros. That religion seems to be really effective. I mean, did you see what happened with Beric Dondarrian and Jon Snow?
funny that human sacrifices did nothing, but a simple prayer was enough to resurrect both characters. perhaps the Lord of Light never asked for any sacrifice or blood magic, just simple faith
I'm glad someone mentioned this. To me, the old gods, many face god and lord of light seem to be the only true religions that work. Haven't read the books, but I've yet to see any acts of miracles from anyone who's worshipped the seven. Even the priestess who cursed Khal drogo, actually did something significant. But for all their bluster, the faith of the seven/faith militant/andals seem to have had the shittier religion that did absolutely nothing.
@@notoyaarthur1990 i actually think that the show unintentionally displayed the gods of the seven maybe doing one thing: cursing catelyn. but then again, she says that she vowed to the "old gods and new" so it mightve been the old gods that cursed her for never loving/protecting jon. she parctices the faith of the seven so im unsure which gods seemingly cursed her.
Hm. The only religions that seems to work here (means you can actually SEE the power of the gods) are the ancient belief for the old gods of the forest (which make people able to mind-control different beasts and make Bran a greenseer with the power to see and even change the past) and the belief of the "Lord of Light" (which makes its priests and even random guys foresee the future and even revive deceased people). Other religions doesn`t seem to work, their gods seem to be powerless (or just don`t exist). With the exception of the god of the Death for ... obvious reasons cuz people die.
This is what I have noticed while watching the show and reading up on the contents of the books (I have not finished them yet). GoT universe is interesting since magic does actually exist, even if it has retreated by the time the events have taken place. It seems like the gods you can see the power of are of nature in many ways... fire and the forests, etc. which may tie into the magic. I am thinking the Faceless may have it right.... death may be the only true god. I do wonder why he is helping the believers of the Lord of Light... maybe he wants to stop the Night's King and his ability to bring back the dead?
I think in the books their are accounts of at least visions from both the seven (Jaime?) and possibly the drowned god (Patchface) but it's true that it really seems like magic is stronger with he lord of light, the old gods and the many faced god ... however since they each (or at least the lord of light and the many-faced god as far as I can tell) prolcaim to be the ONLY gods ... that also contradicts that... Might just be magic in the end, no god behind it.
The only two gods that actually exist in game of thrones are the gods of Ice and Fire. Fire: The Lord of Light is the good one, and it is tied with the children of the forest and good magic in the world. It’s the one that made dragons and created blood and shadow magic to be accesible to it’s followers, the red priestess/priests and also was responsible for the rise of the valyrian freehold and the destruction of Valyria when they believed themselves to be gods with too much power that the Lord of Light gave them. It’s also connected to life and the forest and the sea ect. It also gives immortality to its priestess through magic (the VERY first servant of the Lord of Light and then there’s Melisandre who had lived for hundreds of years too). Ice: It’s the god of dead 💀 and the “evil” type of magic. It’s responsible to bring the Long Night and creating the “others” (white walkers) to bring the Long night and destruction to everything that the Lord of Light (Fire) have in the world. It created the ice dragons (in the books there are ice dragons) and is responsible for death and is worshiped by the faceless men. It is the god of darkness,death and terror. It is the god that the servants of the Lord of Light speaks about and want to defeat when it attacks. In the books, there is NO night king or white walkers created by the children of the forest. That is a show thing. In the books the “others”or white walkers are the parallel of the Valyrians. They use death and ice “evil” magic to bring the Long night and bring back the undead to destroy and kill.
oh those seven and their faith militant ... "I challenge you to a trial by seven, so as to proof our cause is just." ... "okay, now you've won, proofing the gods aprove of your birth right" ... "Nevermind we'll wage war against you anyway. What? You thought the matter was decided by the trial? Yeah ... no."
You can draw parallels between a lot of the religions of ASOIAF and the real world. R’hllor/The Lord of Light: Elohim The Drowned God: Norse Mythology. Lots of Valhalla references The Old Gods: Most ancient pantheons The Seven: Modern Christianity
@@Sawrattan actually, Islamic elements are about as far from the Sparrows as one could get. Suggesting anything but oneness of god is one of the worst sins in Islam.
@@TheSamuraijim87 the parallel isn't what they believe but how they believe and act. They are moralistic, missionary, intolerant of other religions, have a rocky relationship with monarchy, strongly value the oppressed, etc. Both like Christianity and Islam.
@@Sawrattan well, then your facts are well off. All religions are moralistic - that's the point of a system of morality. All religions are intolerant - again, that's part and parcel of being "chosen". Rocky relationship with monarchy? Christianity and Islam have been tied into European and Middle Eastern Monarchies for centuries. Value the oppressed - yeah, in that respect, they are similar. Still, they're quite different from anything to do with Islam.
@@TheSamuraijim87 To audiences from mostly Abrahamic countries, the most relatable parallels will be Christianity and Islam. Sure other religions have these things in common, but the show's target UK/US audiences are steeped in Christian history followed by interactions with Islam. Other religions don't figure at all, that's why Game of Thrones relagates them to fringe civilisations of Westeros/Essos. It's like the Handmaid's Tale - ostensibly Gilead is inspired by hardline Christians but today it shows strong parallels with ISIS.
(SPOILER ALERT GOT SEASON 8) The Azor Ahai prophecy feels pretty pointless now, doesn't it? He/she was supposed to bring dragons to life AND reforge lightbringer which would help defeat the night king. In the end dragons were just plot devices and not that important and all was ended by someone who had done nothing that was mentioned in the prophecy. Hope the books turn out better.
"The Lord of Light is real, and so is the Great Other" Nope the Great Other is just an old super zombie and when you stab him then apparently it all vanishes and that dichotomy stops existing. If the Children of the Forest created the Others to stop the First Men in Westeros and it was actually just one guy and his zombie army, then how does that explain the Long Night in Yi Ti and the Bloodstone Emperor you ask? Don't question it, shut up, give us awards, k thnx
And the fact that essos as a whole experienced the long night? What did the ice zombie go rouge? God I hated the ending. I say this with valor morghulis tattooed on my arm.
I’ve always thought of the Lord of Light and the children of the forest as connected, making the Night King basically the Devil from Christian mythology. He’s not nearly as powerful as God, and when he’s vanquished, light will reign and peace will return. Makes sense with how similar the Lord of Light and the Christian God are, what with the burning of “false gods,” the claiming that He’s the only and most powerful one, and the life good death bad sentiment.
Honestly I have no clue how the faith of the seven took over. The old gods and the lord of light both demonstrably have actual power. The seven never do anything. And when the Andals showed up, there were still children of the forest in the south. Why would they give up the old gods?
Its seems like the the faith of the seven have an actual structure? Having holy books and actively trying to spread their faith. While the people following the old gods have none of that.
With the Mountain by her side, I doubt any Warrior in Kingslanding cares enough to pronounce a sentence upon her. Someone would have to execute the sentence right?
At that point she had pretty much assured her unquestioned dominance of the realm. With the Mountain by her side & the balls to openly blow up an entire sept full of priests & destroy an entire noble house none would dare question her openly.
@@st4ne4rmthevill63 Actually a lot of people would have problem with that. First the Reach Lords, who always wanted Highgarden, now have an excuse to get it: Avenging their lords. They have money, military power, fleets and everything the Lannisters now don't. The smallfolk would riot again, a mob can easily overpower Gregor even if he kills hundreds of them. A mob killed five dragons for their religion. The West Lords have no respect for Cersei, they would put one of her many cousins in power and without them she has no funds or army. Basically all the south follows the Seven so killing the High -Septon- Sparrow should have turned the Hightowers and every pious house against her. She just proved she is insane and a danger to the realm, she has no allies, no plan and no heir.
The Mother is Dany, The Shepherd is Jon, the Warrior is Brienne, the Smith is Gendry, the Father is Ned, the Crone is the Ghost of High heart, the Maiden is Sansa, and the Stranger is Arya.
Maybe because they thought itd be weird for him to keep saying "A Man believes in the Many Faced God. A Man..." haha. 3rd person narrative bothers some. Not me.
Was the faceless man narrated by the iron bank guy? I know his name starts with a T but cant remember. Also the sight one sounds like Jojen Reed but makes comments that clearly points out its bran
One very practical and nitpicky thing I dont understand is how on earth did the Westerosi build seven walled buildings? Polygonal centrally symmetric buildings exist in real life religious architecture in mosques and early christian architecture aswell(most famously the San Vitale basilica in Ravenna, Italy) but most of them are based on hexagonal or octagonal shapes which are simple to work with. Septagonal symmetry must be crazy complicated to measure and work with.
Update(asked an architect friend): septagonal stuff is definietely doable in a medieval type situation but isnt the easyest. She couldnt find any historical examples in European architecture history but there are a few pentagonal buildings so thats neat.
I like how the church of the seven realized how disgusting the incest was " Hey my son and daughter are getting married isn't it great." The seven " Dude WTF that's so gross u know what I had it u being married to ur sisters was enough but this to far."
Makes you wonder what kind of world ASOIAF would be 2000 years after the main story. Aside from magic this world is so much like our own, and like our own the age of Knights and Kings must fade into the shadows of the past eventually
ancient blade that must be reforged. i wonder if it could be referring to the stark house sword Ice that we all know what happened to, maybe reforging it with whatever catalyst is needed will make the sword lightbringer
Question we know both the old gods and lord of light are real because bran and melisandre but what about the 7 because the show never answered this what about the books
Mr UK In my opinion, many other characters are the representation of the seven. Sansa is the maiden, Arya the stranger, Gendry the smith, Bran the crone, etc. But as far as any physical examples of the power of the seven, I’m not sure we’re shown that.
Just because the Old Gods and Lord of Light have magic associated with them does not make them real. But to answer your question we do have Davos supposedly meeting the Seven, Jaime dreaming of the mother, and some miracles being attributed to him (the Seven Faced God) such as Baelor surviving the viper pit and the warrior supposedly manifesting himself in a dude named the Shepherd to behead a dragon during the Dance. Also, some theories claim the Many-Faced God and the Seven are the same deity of different religions (sort of like how Christianity and Judaism have the same Abrahamic God) so you can use the magic from him as well in that case.
I was about to ask the same thing. It's gotta be the banker from the iron bank. I know he did another bravos reading and it didnt sound enough like varys
"The faith of the seven is the official religion of the Monarchy" The Targaryens: fuck yeah valyria, singing to my dragon, blood ritual, dragonglass wedding ceremony. Actually after Hotd Im really interested in dragonglass/obsidian, because DRAGONglass implies connection to the Targaryen/Valyria at large, but we also know it was very important to the Children of the Forest who made their weapons of Dragonglass and used it for stuff. I wonder if these connections are why the Song of ICE and FIRE is a thing. Bc we know its a Targaryen prophecy, and tied to the prince who was promised/Azor Ahai who brings the dawn and defeats the endless night which is also associated with the white walkers. Again with the connection to the children and the first men who beat them back the first time. Like ya know Azor Ahai/The prince is also SPECIFICALLY said to be born of a specific line of TARGARYENS, the line of Rhaella and Aerys (apparently). I wonder why all this history is why Jon is ultimately the most likely candidate for being Azor Ahai in the Books. 1) hes a Targaryen through his father Rhaegar, specifically of the line of Rhaella and Aerys. Interestingly also a descendant of Rhaenyra Targaryen if Im not mistaken. 2) He has the ICE connection by being a northerner through his mother Lyanna Stark 3) being northern also means the blood of the firsg men and we already know he is a warg. The first men also helped beat the Long Night before erecting the wall. And the Children also did, so maybe thats why he is also a warg 4) he was Lord Commander of the Watch the other party that was instrumental in beating the white walkers and literally protects the realm (This also makes sense with what King Viserys says in the show about the prophecy and stuff even though that wad added after its nice to see that there is some thought behind it and it makes sense still with the plot) George please finish these damn books 😂
"The Faith of the Seven spread like wildfire throughout the lands."
You're damn right it did.
Jon Snow yeah except in the North
chauncey morris I was making a subtle joke to the wildfire explosion lol
Oh Ok LOL
Jon Snow i see what you did there XD
It's similar to Christianity
I love the fact that it's narrated by the cast
How did this channel get the cast to narrate??
Andrew Helmer this was done by HBO.
@@andrewhelmer2132 these were histories and lores on the DVDs of the seasons made by HBO with the real cast.
Racheal McCoy Agreed.
The amount of money I would pay for the books to be narrated by the cast...
Wow if Cersei had been paying attention to her history lessons she never would have unleashed the Faith Militant again....these guys are drastic....
Cersei's biggest and most devastating self-destructive character flaw is that she believes herself to be smarter than she is. She thinks herself "Tywin with tits." She got his ruthlessness, ambition, and cruelty but none of his cunning and guile. Cersei is as subtle as a brick through a stained glass window and just as destructive.
You don't need to pay attention to anything but common sense to know that arming religious fanatics is the worst idea you can possibly have 🤣.
Sellswords owe their allegiance to gold, so all you have to do is own enough of it to satisfy them. Fanatics, they owe their allegiance to gods, faith, immaterial things that transcend the physical things you can provide. They do not fight for you, they fight for "gods".
If you fall short of their religious tenets, you are an enemy, not a leader.
@@TheAntiTrope Good. You say that like it's a bad thing.
I value people who hold such beliefs and transcendent ideals as noble and superior to those who only value things like money. Dreamers, idealists and the spiritual are hated by our society, but I love them.
Give me the faithful over the greedy any day.
@@gorknmork9194 I would take the greedy over the faithful any day. The Faithful are unpredictable and dangerous. They are your friend when you align with their beliefs and your greatest enemies when you don’t. What they believe is true and just will not always be what you see as right. The greedy can be bought and manipulated the faithful follow their own rules.
@@randyparker2250 trust the devil you know.
I really like how GRRM mixes fantasy with reality. The old gods and faith of the seven mirrors the pagan and Christian religions, but are still unique and new.
Fiction taking inspiration from non-fiction? Unheard of!
Not Christian but Abrahamic religions*
@Helen Hines The Seven are most akin to Catholicism, the Old Gods are most similar to "unreformed" paganism like what the Celtic and Baltic Europeans practiced compared to as you say more civilized cultures, and R'hllor is very much based on Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism.
@@jonahwiegand827 Catholics believe in God like their fellow Christians so the lord of light resembles their beliefs more
@@SunMonkeyInc The structure of the religious institutions of the Seven are nearly identical to medieval Catholicism. Most Christian denominations believe in the Trinity, and the Seven are almost identical in nature to the Trinity just with more "faces" of God.
The concept of the Many-Faced God is brilliant and could easily be seen emerging in religion today.
Well, I can only speak for myself as a Muslim, but in our faith we actually believe that God created mankind with the natural predisposition of believing in Him and recognizing Him as they first come into the world, we call it the “Fitrah” (lit. Primordial nature). All peoples are born believers in one God, in pure monotheism but their parents and entourage naturally proceed to pollute them if you will with other ideas and beliefs as they grow up. I’m familiar with Hinduism as well and I believe they have a concept of a supreme god that has many manifestations. George Martin may have been influenced by both of these traditions while creating the many faced god and the faceless men.
I am muslim too and your hypothesis on the origin of the many faced god is very similar to the one i had when i first watch the series. "There is only one God and his name is Death" kind of take us back to the muslim belief that death is the only truth and life is an illusion. The difference is of course, Death is the creation of God not God itself.@@Rotisiv
imo the many faced god barely a religion and it’s a low key more of a death cult
In Christianity- God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all considered 3 aspects of the same entity. That’s why it’s called, The Holy Trinity. Very interesting to see these ideas reflected in other religions as well
In Hinduism our core belief has similarity to this, we ultimately believe in one internal consciousness (God in the words of abrahamic religion ) and many people perceive it in different forms as civilization form they realise God in different form Influenced by their environment and culture but ultimately the divinity behind all these formas are the same
Wish there was more lore on the gods of Essos, like the Black Goat, Labyrinth, the Weeping Lady, The Great Steed and especially the old Valyrian gods.
The Valyrian were gods ! They used religion for the submission of the slaves and keep them obedient.
Kinda like real life...
@@1992zorrothe slaves of the Valyrians were literally freed by the God's
@@1992zorro that's not true literally at all, we have very little in universe knowledge on the Valyrian faith, the closest thing we have to what you're saying is one source that says some nobles were basically atheists, they didn't literally worship themselves as gods
The Faith of the 7 is about as basic of a religion as you can get, the deities don't even have names they are just called by what they represent. Which is really not a bad thing because this make the 7 relatable
and flexiable to draw parallels to the different religions of the world so that readers from various cultures can easily understand it and relate to it.
Looking at the creation of the faith (not the myth), it’s really smart how it is set up. Of course, like real life religions, it probably went through a lot of changes before it was written down and centralized, but the core of 7 aspects to one god makes it so approachable for any non-believer. You made not believe in the magical stuff of the old gods or rhollor, but a god that don’t ask sacrifice and seems to influence everyday life is something a lot of people can be convinced in to join.
Religion is one of the weakest elements in this series. I especially hate the old gods religion for just how basic it is.
"There are no stories, no named gods, no philosophy and no priesthood of any kind." No religion works like that, and it just isn't very interesting.
The fact that it's a single god with seven aspects is a reflection of modern Christianity, of which most sects maintain that God is composed of three aspects, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
@@dionysianExpanse I think that comes down to George himself. I believe the man is an atheist or agnostic who didn’t much care for religion and in his work it’s the one he’s seems to be least interested in when it comes to the faith of seven and the old gods. The drowned god and the fire god get more info about them because of how wacky they are to write but the two main religions aren’t covered as much as you’d think for a medieval fantasy world based on medieval Europe.
The role of religious mythology in asoiaf is probably the weakest aspect of the series if you compare it to say Lord of the rings or even Elder scrolls probably because one was written by a professor and the other was written by a man by got a masters in European mythology.
Remember the prophecy of azor ahai? D&D had kinda forgotten about it, but i havent
There's no evidence in the books that prophecies are 'real'. Some of them turn out true; some do not.
@@JohnDoe-vz7ff the prophecy of azor ahai is mentioned in multiple cultures in asoiaf and is mentioned a number of times in the show. Azor Ahai is the champion of rhlor, who is proven to be real in the show through the resurrection of Jon Snow and Beric Dondarrion. Its silly to throw away a prophecy so closely linked with the others who were also thought to be just a legend. The white walkers waited 1000 years to attack and are killed in a single fight with a girl who wouldve had no idea they even existed before returning to westeros. Why did rholor even ressurect Jon if not to defeat the others?
That was just a prophecy, just like you said.
Building up a prophecy since season 2 only for it to mean nothing is bad writing.
it was Jon they just made it awkward and stupid. Rheager believed that the prince who was promised would be one of his children. Killing Dany was about stabbing his lover with his sword; and I guess he was born in salt like his mothers tears and smoke as the country was burning down.
25:19 You best start believing in scary stories Lord Stark, you're in one!
Is that a Pirates of the Carabeans reference?
I can't help reading that in a pirate voice 😂
@@LostGirLwanders Yes.
@@SawrattanYahargh!
Did everyone notice that the original Stormland and Ironborn have basically the same legend where the Founder married a Mermaid and battled the Storm God for a thousand years...!😉 GRRM has a Great Scense of Irony and Cunning in his writing....!
The islands called the 3 sisters above the vale also is the same. This Water God and Storm God Religion is the religion the first men had before they converted to the Old Gods.
@@lincolnlog5977So, wait, does that imply the religion of the Drowned God is some modern version of the original First Men religion, before they adopted the old gods?
@@wd3185 yeah, at least that’s how I always saw it
This is so underrated. Like the actors narrated these, I don't know how it doesn't have more views.
This is fantastic, this should have more views
In case you don't know this is taken from the DVD extras on Game of Thrones DVDs. There are more of them uploaded on You Tube. You are right they are great.
This is my new favorite YT channel and is what will force me to read every single GOT book before too long. The level of detail in the GOT universe is incredible and just as intriguing.
I was so hoping to hear Melisandre's voice.
"Lies and fables!"
It's amazing that unlike real world the polytheistic (such as... the seven, old gods) are Superior or major religion while monotheistic such as the great stallion (dothrakhi), lord of light (red priests and priestesses), many faced god (faceless assassins),etc are considered Minor and paganism or savagery.
This is quite interesting.
Christianity is kind of weird for a monotheistic religion. They have one God in three "forms" (the Holy Trinity: father, son, spirit).
Seems the Faith of the Seven is that but with four extra "forms".
The Seven is not Polytheism, it is Monotheism. It is based of Catholicism with there being seven faces of one God (like the trinity)
@@ObiJohnKenobi67 They refer to the Seven as "the new gods" so they're part of a whole but clearly distinct gods, the opposite emphasis of the trinity.
@@LordVader1094 It's one god, some people just mistake it for seven differen't gods. Refering to it as "gods" is an in universe misinterpretation.
@@napoleoniii8372there’s one God the trinity is the belief that there is one God and that the son is God and the Holy Spirit is God, however the son isn’t the father, the spirit isn’t the son, and the father isn’t the spirit nor the son. All three members of the trinity are seperate. However there is still one God. It is a belief that cannot be explained by human reason but is best described by the Athanasian creed which says “That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,
neither blending their persons
nor dividing their essence.
For the person of the Father is a distinct person,
the person of the Son is another,
and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.” What you are saying is called “modalism” which teaches that the trinity isn’t made up of three distinct beings but that God reveals himself in three different forms
I think I need another drink
the night is dark and full of terror
Light Far Away my ass is as well
LMFAO
... I need another drink
There is only one god and his name is Death, and there is only one thing to say to the god of Death: "not today".
icholi88 😉
damn u read Arya's mind
SAY
gay af
Thoros was the best priest in show. Unlike melisandre he doesn't burn people alive or burn other gods. He help people in his own way. He was even little savage and fighter(with his burning sword)which is why he was one of my best character throughout the show.
Nah
We see it as wrong but for her she is just following her religion to the T & doing what is right by her god. She is a much better "priest" then Thoros in that sense but Thoros is a better person then she is.
@@Levegy yea nah
thank you for the kind words sir
Nathaniel Clark “just following her religion” is an excuse not a justification, period.
If it weren’t for the human sacrifices and creepy blood magic, I’d totally join the Lord of Light if I lived in Westeros. That religion seems to be really effective. I mean, did you see what happened with Beric Dondarrian and Jon Snow?
funny that human sacrifices did nothing, but a simple prayer was enough to resurrect both characters. perhaps the Lord of Light never asked for any sacrifice or blood magic, just simple faith
The Old Gods 🍁 and the Many-Faced God 🎭 are the best imo, I would join one of them
I'm glad someone mentioned this. To me, the old gods, many face god and lord of light seem to be the only true religions that work. Haven't read the books, but I've yet to see any acts of miracles from anyone who's worshipped the seven. Even the priestess who cursed Khal drogo, actually did something significant. But for all their bluster, the faith of the seven/faith militant/andals seem to have had the shittier religion that did absolutely nothing.
@@notoyaarthur1990 i actually think that the show unintentionally displayed the gods of the seven maybe doing one thing: cursing catelyn. but then again, she says that she vowed to the "old gods and new" so it mightve been the old gods that cursed her for never loving/protecting jon. she parctices the faith of the seven so im unsure which gods seemingly cursed her.
The story of the many faced god is the most striking and eerily beautiful.
Bran (Isaac) has a nice storytelling voice
It's suggested that the Faceless Men were formed from the slaves of old Valyria, and that they may have even caused the doom of Valyria.
Many faces God: Time to go now
Game of thrones: Did I have awesome lore?
Many faced god: No. I’m told you had the best.
"Who are the faceless men? It depends who asks." Perfect 😂
Hm. The only religions that seems to work here (means you can actually SEE the power of the gods) are the ancient belief for the old gods of the forest (which make people able to mind-control different beasts and make Bran a greenseer with the power to see and even change the past) and the belief of the "Lord of Light" (which makes its priests and even random guys foresee the future and even revive deceased people).
Other religions doesn`t seem to work, their gods seem to be powerless (or just don`t exist). With the exception of the god of the Death for ... obvious reasons cuz people die.
This is what I have noticed while watching the show and reading up on the contents of the books (I have not finished them yet). GoT universe is interesting since magic does actually exist, even if it has retreated by the time the events have taken place. It seems like the gods you can see the power of are of nature in many ways... fire and the forests, etc. which may tie into the magic. I am thinking the Faceless may have it right.... death may be the only true god. I do wonder why he is helping the believers of the Lord of Light... maybe he wants to stop the Night's King and his ability to bring back the dead?
What about the Many-Faced God???
I think in the books their are accounts of at least visions from both the seven (Jaime?) and possibly the drowned god (Patchface) but it's true that it really seems like magic is stronger with he lord of light, the old gods and the many faced god ... however since they each (or at least the lord of light and the many-faced god as far as I can tell) prolcaim to be the ONLY gods ... that also contradicts that... Might just be magic in the end, no god behind it.
Gaia Seraphina didn’t the drowned god bring back Euron in the show after the drowning ritual?
The only two gods that actually exist in game of thrones are the gods of Ice and Fire.
Fire: The Lord of Light is the good one, and it is tied with the children of the forest and good magic in the world. It’s the one that made dragons and created blood and shadow magic to be accesible to it’s followers, the red priestess/priests and also was responsible for the rise of the valyrian freehold and the destruction of Valyria when they believed themselves to be gods with too much power that the Lord of Light gave them. It’s also connected to life and the forest and the sea ect. It also gives immortality to its priestess through magic (the VERY first servant of the Lord of Light and then there’s Melisandre who had lived for hundreds of years too).
Ice: It’s the god of dead 💀 and the “evil” type of magic. It’s responsible to bring the Long Night and creating the “others” (white walkers) to bring the Long night and destruction to everything that the Lord of Light (Fire) have in the world. It created the ice dragons (in the books there are ice dragons) and is responsible for death and is worshiped by the faceless men. It is the god of darkness,death and terror. It is the god that the servants of the Lord of Light speaks about and want to defeat when it attacks. In the books, there is NO night king or white walkers created by the children of the forest. That is a show thing. In the books the “others”or white walkers are the parallel of the Valyrians. They use death and ice “evil” magic to bring the Long night and bring back the undead to destroy and kill.
The outro with the skull was amazing!!!!
Dzięki za upload 5 godzin lore opowiadanego przez aktorów to po prostu miód dla uszu.
Thank you for this. A real audit of the Religions of GOT. It makes an interesting comparison with some contemporary creeds!
losing my religion house targareyens new motto
Wait, so the House of Black and White has doors made from Weirwood Trees? That's an interesting fact right there. How old is it?
"now old nan has no more tales and maester luwin will never scoff again. that's fine. i don't like scary stories anymore. because im in one."
bRAN NO
:'(
Yara: We do not fear The Storm God's winds and his waves, but you should for they bring us to you.
Me: 😍😍😍😍💖💜💙
Euron: *faraway laughing*
@Cease fire and who’s still alive? It ain’t Euron
Jonathan Pryce has the most extraordinary voice. Truly mesmerising.
oh those seven and their faith militant ...
"I challenge you to a trial by seven, so as to proof our cause is just." ... "okay, now you've won, proofing the gods aprove of your birth right" ... "Nevermind we'll wage war against you anyway. What? You thought the matter was decided by the trial? Yeah ... no."
Like monotheistic religions, you're damned until their god says otherwise. Translation: until you do as we say
The video pointed out that Maegor was not content with merely defeating the faith militant
He tried to destroy it
I was hoping the Lord of Light would be narrated by Melissandre.
qtUnicorn who does narrate it?
I prefer Thoros... I need another drink
You can draw parallels between a lot of the religions of ASOIAF and the real world.
R’hllor/The Lord of Light: Elohim
The Drowned God: Norse Mythology. Lots of Valhalla references
The Old Gods: Most ancient pantheons
The Seven: Modern Christianity
The Seven sways between Roman/Byzantine Church and Puritan reformers. Sometimes even Islamic Salafi/Wahabi elements in the Sparrows.
@@Sawrattan actually, Islamic elements are about as far from the Sparrows as one could get. Suggesting anything but oneness of god is one of the worst sins in Islam.
@@TheSamuraijim87 the parallel isn't what they believe but how they believe and act. They are moralistic, missionary, intolerant of other religions, have a rocky relationship with monarchy, strongly value the oppressed, etc. Both like Christianity and Islam.
@@Sawrattan well, then your facts are well off.
All religions are moralistic - that's the point of a system of morality.
All religions are intolerant - again, that's part and parcel of being "chosen".
Rocky relationship with monarchy? Christianity and Islam have been tied into European and Middle Eastern Monarchies for centuries.
Value the oppressed - yeah, in that respect, they are similar.
Still, they're quite different from anything to do with Islam.
@@TheSamuraijim87 To audiences from mostly Abrahamic countries, the most relatable parallels will be Christianity and Islam. Sure other religions have these things in common, but the show's target UK/US audiences are steeped in Christian history followed by interactions with Islam.
Other religions don't figure at all, that's why Game of Thrones relagates them to fringe civilisations of Westeros/Essos.
It's like the Handmaid's Tale - ostensibly Gilead is inspired by hardline Christians but today it shows strong parallels with ISIS.
Isaac Hempstead Wright did two of the narration, one when he was a kiddo and one older. I guess he really is Three Eyed Raven!
so much lore especially the lord of light wasted
(SPOILER ALERT GOT SEASON 8) The Azor Ahai prophecy feels pretty pointless now, doesn't it? He/she was supposed to bring dragons to life AND reforge lightbringer which would help defeat the night king. In the end dragons were just plot devices and not that important and all was ended by someone who had done nothing that was mentioned in the prophecy. Hope the books turn out better.
Season 8 made both Azor Ahai and the Others seem pretty pointless.
Whoever said that prophecies are actual foretellings of the future? Some may be true, some may be false stories.
Say what you will about Maegor, but an iron fist was needed to deal with the Faith Militant.
The Faith Militant did nothing wrong. The Targaryens sibling fuckers and invaders
@@detrik01 history is written by the winners 🤣
"The Lord of Light is real, and so is the Great Other"
Nope the Great Other is just an old super zombie and when you stab him then apparently it all vanishes and that dichotomy stops existing.
If the Children of the Forest created the Others to stop the First Men in Westeros and it was actually just one guy and his zombie army, then how does that explain the Long Night in Yi Ti and the Bloodstone Emperor you ask? Don't question it, shut up, give us awards, k thnx
And the fact that essos as a whole experienced the long night? What did the ice zombie go rouge? God I hated the ending. I say this with valor morghulis tattooed on my arm.
CONSUME PRODUCT NEVER QUESTION IT
I’ve always thought of the Lord of Light and the children of the forest as connected, making the Night King basically the Devil from Christian mythology. He’s not nearly as powerful as God, and when he’s vanquished, light will reign and peace will return. Makes sense with how similar the Lord of Light and the Christian God are, what with the burning of “false gods,” the claiming that He’s the only and most powerful one, and the life good death bad sentiment.
Honestly I have no clue how the faith of the seven took over. The old gods and the lord of light both demonstrably have actual power. The seven never do anything. And when the Andals showed up, there were still children of the forest in the south. Why would they give up the old gods?
GRRM needed a basic "Catholicism vs Paganism but Paganism is better" narrative in Westeros, it just doesn't make sense when you look at it
Its seems like the the faith of the seven have an actual structure? Having holy books and actively trying to spread their faith. While the people following the old gods have none of that.
godDAMN that chapter by thoros of myr was awesome
I love your videos, watched some last year and now I'm listening again, thank u!
I love this in so many ways ❤️ thank you
"so dark and full of terrors" I think i need another drink!!!!!!!!!!! lol
Till this day I love the parts narrated by the High Sparrow, Thoros, and Jaqen! I miss these characters, ugh!
Cersei blowing up the Faith leadership and suffering no consequences really contradicts this video
With the Mountain by her side, I doubt any Warrior in Kingslanding cares enough to pronounce a sentence upon her. Someone would have to execute the sentence right?
At that point she had pretty much assured her unquestioned dominance of the realm. With the Mountain by her side & the balls to openly blow up an entire sept full of priests & destroy an entire noble house none would dare question her openly.
@@st4ne4rmthevill63 Actually a lot of people would have problem with that. First the Reach Lords, who always wanted Highgarden, now have an excuse to get it: Avenging their lords.
They have money, military power, fleets and everything the Lannisters now don't.
The smallfolk would riot again, a mob can easily overpower Gregor even if he kills hundreds of them. A mob killed five dragons for their religion.
The West Lords have no respect for Cersei, they would put one of her many cousins in power and without them she has no funds or army.
Basically all the south follows the Seven so killing the High -Septon- Sparrow should have turned the Hightowers and every pious house against her.
She just proved she is insane and a danger to the realm, she has no allies, no plan and no heir.
@@luizfelipevbf5567 still the most badass scene
@@mr.god.complex lol no it wasn't. It was unbelievably cringe
I remember playing this one on my 386.
The Mother is Dany, The Shepherd is Jon, the Warrior is Brienne, the Smith is Gendry, the Father is Ned, the Crone is the Ghost of High heart, the Maiden is Sansa, and the Stranger is Arya.
*blinks rapidly*
Did you just crack the 7-
I’d say the crone is bran
Thoros is so relaxing to listen to
Seriously. Dude needs to narrate audio books or sleep files.
Why couldn't Jaqen narrate the story of the Faceless Men?
Maybe because they thought itd be weird for him to keep saying "A Man believes in the Many Faced God. A Man..." haha. 3rd person narrative bothers some. Not me.
Because his voice is so soft it would kill us all.
He probably didn't want to do it
A spinoff about the Faith Militant would be sweet!
The old gods are equivalent to kami? As they are countless spirits of nature
Please tell me who narrated what at what part. Some I couldn't make out
Ask a specific one and I'll tell you, I recognized them all
Was the faceless man narrated by the iron bank guy? I know his name starts with a T but cant remember. Also the sight one sounds like Jojen Reed but makes comments that clearly points out its bran
One very practical and nitpicky thing I dont understand is how on earth did the Westerosi build seven walled buildings? Polygonal centrally symmetric buildings exist in real life religious architecture in mosques and early christian architecture aswell(most famously the San Vitale basilica in Ravenna, Italy) but most of them are based on hexagonal or octagonal shapes which are simple to work with. Septagonal symmetry must be crazy complicated to measure and work with.
Update(asked an architect friend): septagonal stuff is definietely doable in a medieval type situation but isnt the easyest. She couldnt find any historical examples in European architecture history but there are a few pentagonal buildings so thats neat.
28:00
Chills. Every god damn time.
You forgot the Dothraki's Religion
damn, this video was well done! thank you!
a blessed weekend po from the Philippines 😘🌷✌️
this was amazing!
You know what I got from 'The Drowned God'? "Drown drown drown drown drown drown drown."
thanks to the Dumb and Dumber all this back history was wasted and for naught .
eh kinda cool and can give you an idea how a religion war can affect people for a story
who was the voice in the faceless men?
"... a terrible weapon forged with a liveblood of a loving wife's hurt." well... it was kinda right finally
So the "new gods" in "The old and the new gods" are basically the "Seven" and the old gods are the gods of the children of the forrest?
Yes
Faith of the Seven seems to be a mirror of syncretism between Roman Paganism and Roman Catholic Christianity.
'Reborn to wake the dragons from stone'... hmmmmmmm
A blade forged with the blood of a loved one?
What is dead may never die...except the show after D&D are done with it.
To bad the Knight King is just a glorified Sub-plot....
Who is this Knight King?
Night King, LOL 😂😂😂😂
During the lord of light segment that was Thoros of Myr right??
This is AWESOME
Isaac's voice changed so much it's crazy.
I’m a huge fan of this charcoal sketching like animation. Can anyone recommend the software used for this or how it was done?
Too bad Mother Rhoyne wasn't here.
Ok I'm sold. Is there a potluck after the services at the Many Face God church?
Yes. Ya dip yer hand in a pot and pull out a face and that’s yer face now.
I forgive Maegor I for burning those damn militants
The red priests should have sent mellisandre to convert robert
It must have been really difficult for all of the cast that spoke old valyrian to actually sit & learn, same with dothraki
Is there a whole thing you can purchase with all the characters speaking? Anyone know the name of it? Thanks!
It took me way too long to realize that Septs, Septas and Septons are called that because "sept-" is the prefix for "seven."
I like how the church of the seven realized how disgusting the incest was
" Hey my son and daughter are getting married isn't it great."
The seven " Dude WTF that's so gross u know what I had it u being married to ur sisters was enough but this to far."
I love how none of these gods have names
is this video spoiler free?. im at season 3 episode 8 now and id like some clarification on the religions on the show.
Winnick Play pretty much.
faceless men are so much more important than i think!
Makes you wonder what kind of world ASOIAF would be 2000 years after the main story. Aside from magic this world is so much like our own, and like our own the age of Knights and Kings must fade into the shadows of the past eventually
Who was it nararrating the Lord of Light? As a book reader, I can't tell
Lucas Kettle stannis
Thoros of Myr
ancient blade that must be reforged. i wonder if it could be referring to the stark house sword Ice that we all know what happened to, maybe reforging it with whatever catalyst is needed will make the sword lightbringer
Why didn't they mentioned that it was the children who made the white walkers
Khalid Ahmed look at history and lore season 6. There is more about the children of the forest on there. It's very good.
Khalid Ahmed Its told through the perspective of the shows characters, and they wouldn't know about that.
Ummm spoilers bruh plus its a good twist too might as well keep it a secret until it’s revealed on screen
it HAS been revealed on screen, bruv
3:33 is that cthulu
hooollyy shiiit the drowned god story, ffs,...those final lines
Who did the artwork for this video series?
They are all different faces of the many faced god.
3:29 literally Cthulhu.
Question we know both the old gods and lord of light are real because bran and melisandre but what about the 7 because the show never answered this what about the books
Mr UK In my opinion, many other characters are the representation of the seven. Sansa is the maiden, Arya the stranger, Gendry the smith, Bran the crone, etc.
But as far as any physical examples of the power of the seven, I’m not sure we’re shown that.
I think the seven are pretty much dead. Even in there heartlands they have no power.
Just because the Old Gods and Lord of Light have magic associated with them does not make them real.
But to answer your question we do have Davos supposedly meeting the Seven, Jaime dreaming of the mother, and some miracles being attributed to him (the Seven Faced God) such as Baelor surviving the viper pit and the warrior supposedly manifesting himself in a dude named the Shepherd to behead a dragon during the Dance. Also, some theories claim the Many-Faced God and the Seven are the same deity of different religions (sort of like how Christianity and Judaism have the same Abrahamic God) so you can use the magic from him as well in that case.
It took 7 days to come up with the idea that I better surrender and make this new guy a king instead of fighting him. 😂
Who voices the faceless men history? I can’t tell if it’s Varys or the banker of bravos?
I was about to ask the same thing. It's gotta be the banker from the iron bank. I know he did another bravos reading and it didnt sound enough like varys
the worlds pointiest chair
The Thoros voice actor needs to drink some Rum to sound more like him
"The faith of the seven is the official religion of the Monarchy"
The Targaryens: fuck yeah valyria, singing to my dragon, blood ritual, dragonglass wedding ceremony.
Actually after Hotd Im really interested in dragonglass/obsidian, because DRAGONglass implies connection to the Targaryen/Valyria at large, but we also know it was very important to the Children of the Forest who made their weapons of Dragonglass and used it for stuff.
I wonder if these connections are why the Song of ICE and FIRE is a thing. Bc we know its a Targaryen prophecy, and tied to the prince who was promised/Azor Ahai who brings the dawn and defeats the endless night which is also associated with the white walkers.
Again with the connection to the children and the first men who beat them back the first time.
Like ya know Azor Ahai/The prince is also SPECIFICALLY said to be born of a specific line of TARGARYENS, the line of Rhaella and Aerys (apparently).
I wonder why all this history is why Jon is ultimately the most likely candidate for being Azor Ahai in the Books.
1) hes a Targaryen through his father Rhaegar, specifically of the line of Rhaella and Aerys. Interestingly also a descendant of Rhaenyra Targaryen if Im not mistaken.
2) He has the ICE connection by being a northerner through his mother Lyanna Stark
3) being northern also means the blood of the firsg men and we already know he is a warg. The first men also helped beat the Long Night before erecting the wall. And the Children also did, so maybe thats why he is also a warg
4) he was Lord Commander of the Watch the other party that was instrumental in beating the white walkers and literally protects the realm
(This also makes sense with what King Viserys says in the show about the prophecy and stuff even though that wad added after its nice to see that there is some thought behind it and it makes sense still with the plot)
George please finish these damn books 😂