Before we say one Pantheon is evil, we must remember the time period these myths were being recited. Take the Norse Pantheon for example. At the height of when the Norse Gods were being worshiped, times were very brutal and harsh. The Norse people themselves were very hardy and actively sought to expand their borders. The myths centered around the Norse Gods reflect these times. Does that make the Gods necessarily evil, personally I do not feel so.

Many people also look at the Greco Roman Pantheon and commonly point to the myths that mention wrath and rape and any other number of things. I invite everyone to stop and think for a moment. In the ancient times many of these myths were not written down but passed around through oral tradition (read Orality and Literacy by Walter J. Ong on how written history changed the meaning of language). How many of us played a little game called “telephone” growing up? Don’t you remember how an innocent phrase became completely twisted when it reached the last person? Personally it always became something very dirty when it reached me….

Does it not stand to reason that the original myths could have become twisted and changed with time as they were passed along? Was Persephone truly “raped” and forced to eat the Pomegranate seed to stay with Hades, or did She do so willingly?

We also must remember how myths changed with the growth and change of society. Societies that were once matriarchal and worshiped the Goddess more than God had the Goddess holding more power (Goddess: Myths of the Female Divine by David Leeming). As these societies changed to being more Patriarchal and brought in the God having more power, the Goddesses’ power seemed to diminish some what. I argue, as would many Pagans, that there is an equal balance of power and just as light cannot exist without dark, and one is defined and made more brilliant by the other, so too are the Gods and Goddesses.

When looking at the how the Roman Pantheon seems to be the more aged and mature version of the Greek Pantheon, we also realize that the Pantheons evolved and grew with society. Certainly the Gods would have the ability to change with time! They are the Divine after all!

No matter which God or Goddess you are thinking of following, be it Hera, Isis, Freya, Thor, Beli, or even Qi-Yu, please don’t immediately jump to thinking they are evil. Remember what could have influenced the myths! 

This is my first post to the pagan community. Having read many posts about people unsure of what pantheon to follow I thought I would share what really helped me.

First, when deciding on which Pantheon to follow, I recommend to step back from all thoughts you may immediately have about all the Pantheons. Today’s society has us thinking too much with our heads and not following our other senses. First just open yourself up to Nature. Go outside: place yourself in a park, or simply go to the beach, wherever you feel the most comfortable. Take a deep breath. Open all of your senses to Nature.  Close your eyes and just feel. What do you hear or smell? When you finally feel an inner calm, open your eyes. What do you see now? Are you more aware of every blade of grass, every leaf, each smaller wave making up the bigger waves? Do you suddenly notice the animals and insects you didn’t notice before?

When you feel this calm (or maybe you veteran pagans just wanted to try this!), now is time to begin your research on the Gods and Goddesses of our world. Go out to your local bookstore and just sit and read. Catch up on your myths. Ignore any preconceived notions that one Pantheon or another might be evil. Do not let what society has led you to believe influence you.