Changes: Many-Faced God

Revision as of 10:41, 18 October 2014

Template:Infobox religion

"There is only one god, and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: 'Not today'."

―Syrio Forel^[src]

The God of Death is a deity worshipped predominantly in the Free City of Braavos.

History

Season 1

Syrio Forel mentions his belief in the God of Death to Arya Stark during their "dancing" lessons.^[1]

Season 3

Arya Stark reveals to Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr that she has come to believe that "Death" is the one true god.^[2]

In the books

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the God of Death is referred to as the "Many-Faced God", or "Him of Many Faces", and is worshiped particularly by the Faceless Men, a guild of assassins based out of the Free City of Braavos.

The Faceless Men believe that the Many-Faced God is unknowingly worshiped by most faiths, simply under different names. Every religion either has a god of death (in polytheistic faiths), or worships a single god with dominion over death (in monotheistic faiths). Incarnations of the Many-Faced God of Death would include The Stranger in the Faith of the Seven, that has dominion over death, and the Great Other opponent of R'hllor.

Notes

There is some confusion between the God of Death and R'hllor, the Red God. It stems from a piece of dialogue spoken by Jaqen H'ghar, both in the books and in the television show, in which he refers to the god he worships (presumably the God of Death, as he is a Faceless Man) as the "Red God" —that is, R'hllor. Later, solely in the show, the words "Valar Morghulis" and "Valar Dohaeris", which in the books are used by Faceless Men, are used once between worshipers of R'hllor. While this confusion has yet to be cleared up, a likely explanation lies in the fact that the "Many-faced God of Death" is a syncretic religion, which holds that every god or set of gods is just another facet of the god of death.

References

[1] "A Golden Crown"

[2] "The Bear and the Maiden Fair"

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox religion
 | Title= God of Death
 | Image=
-| Type= Monotheistic
+| Type= Syncretic Monotheism
-| Clergy=[[Faceless Men]]
+| Clergy=([[Faceless Men]])
 | Location =[[Braavos]]
+| Members = [[Arya Stark]]}}
-}}
-{{Quote|- What do we say to the God of Death?<br>- Not today.|[[Syrio Forel]] and [[Arya Stark]]|The Pointy End}}
+{{Quote|There is only one god, and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: 'Not today'.|[[Syrio Forel]]|A Golden Crown}}
-The '''God of Death''' is a deity worshiped predominantly in the [[Free Cities|Free City]] of [[Braavos]].
+The '''God of Death''' is a deity worshipped predominantly in the [[Free Cities|Free City]] of [[Braavos]].
 ==History==
 ===[[Season 1]]===
-[[Syrio Forel]] preaches his belief in the God of Death to [[Arya Stark]] during their [[Water Dance|dancing]] lessons.<ref>[[A Golden Crown]]</ref>
+[[Syrio Forel]] mentions his belief in the God of Death to [[Arya Stark]] during their "[[Water Dance|dancing]]" lessons.<ref>"[[A Golden Crown]]"</ref>
 ===[[Season 3]]===
-Arya Stark reveals to [[Beric Dondarrion]] [[Thoros of Myr]] that she has come to belief that "Death" is the only real god.
+Arya Stark reveals to [[Beric Dondarrion]] and [[Thoros of Myr]] that she has come to believe that "Death" is the one true god.<ref>"[[The Bear and the Maiden Fair (episode)|The Bear and the Maiden Fair]]"</ref>
 ==In the books==
-In the ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' novels, the God of Death is referred to as the "Many-Faced God", or "Him of Many Faces", and is worshiped, particularly, by the [[Faceless Men]]: a guild of assassins based out of the Free City of Braavos.
+In the ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' novels, the God of Death is referred to as the "Many-Faced God", or "Him of Many Faces", and is worshiped particularly by the [[Faceless Men]], a guild of assassins based out of the Free City of Braavos.
-The Faceless Men believe that the Many-Faced God is unknowingly worshiped by most faiths, simply under different names. Every religion either has a god of death (in polytheistic faiths), or worships a single god with dominion over death (in monotheistic faiths). For example, in the [[Faith of the Seven]], the aspect of the Seven-in-One godhead with dominion over death is known as "the Stranger"; the Faceless Men consider this to be another incarnation of the Many-Faced God of Death.
+The Faceless Men believe that the Many-Faced God is unknowingly worshiped by most faiths, simply under different names. Every religion either has a god of death (in polytheistic faiths), or worships a single god with dominion over death (in monotheistic faiths). Incarnations of the Many-Faced God of Death would include [[The Stranger]] in the [[Faith of the Seven]], that has dominion over death, and the [[Great Other]] opponent of [[R'hllor]].
 ==Notes==
-There is some confusion within the television show between the God of Death and [[R'hllor]], the Lord of Light worshiped by [[Melisandre]] and [[Thoros of Myr]]. This stems from a piece of dialogue spoken in the show by [[Jaqen H'ghar]]. He refers to the god he worships (presumably the God of Death, as he is a Faceless Man) as the "Red God", another name for R'hllor. Later, the words "Valar Morghullis" and "Valar Doheris", which in the books are used by and to refer to Facelesss Men, are instead used between worshipers of R'hllor. This confusion has yet to be cleared up within the show.
+There is some confusion between the God of Death and [[R'hllor]], the Red God. It stems from a piece of dialogue spoken by [[Jaqen H'ghar]], both in the books and in the television show, in which he refers to the god he worships (presumably the God of Death, as he is a Faceless Man) as the "Red God" —that is, R'hllor. Later, solely in the show, the words "Valar Morghulis" and "Valar Dohaeris", which in the books are used by Faceless Men, are used once between worshipers of R'hllor. While this confusion has yet to be cleared up, a likely explanation lies in the fact that the "Many-faced God of Death" is a syncretic religion, which holds that every god or set of gods is just another facet of the god of death.
 ==See also==
+*{{AWOIAF|Many-Faced God}}
-*[http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Many-Faced_God Many-Faced God at A Wiki of Ice and Fire]
 ==References==
 {{Reflist}}
 {{Religions}}
+{{Braavos}}
 [[Category:Religion|God of Death]]
+[[Category:Braavos]]
+[[Category:Deities|Death]]

v • d • e Religions
Westeros	Old Gods · Faith of the Seven · Drowned God
Major religions in Essos	Lord of Light · Black Goat · Bearded Priests of Norvos · Great Stallion · Great Shepherd · Ghiscari religion · Moonsingers · Lion of Night & Maiden-Made-of-Light
Other cults in Essos	Many-Faced God · Old Gods of Valyria · Weeping Lady · Bakkalon · Hooded Wayfarer · Moon-Pale Maiden · Merling King
Sothoryos	Fertility goddess

v • d • e Braavos
Institutions	Faceless Men · First Sword of Braavos · Iron Bank of Braavos · Sealord of Braavos
Places	Arsenal of Braavos · House of Black and White · Isle of the Gods · Long Canal · Moon Pool · Moonsinger Lane · Palace of Justice · Ragman Harbor · Ragman Lane · Red Temple of Braavos · Salty Town · Sealord's Palace · Sheelba Square · Sweetwater River · Temple of the Moonsingers · Titan of Braavos
Culture	Bravo · Many-Faced God · Moonsingers · Water dance

Wiki of Westeros