Warhammer’s Real World Origins of the Chaos Gods – PRIME
Everything starts somewhere, even something that exists outside the flow of time.
Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40k, and Age of Sigmar all have their fair share of antagonists and villains (in fact, some would argue there are ONLY antagonists in 40k). However, regardless of what system you’re playing in, the 4 Greater Gods of Chaos are present, working across time and space to turn the universe into a blasted reflection of their own twisted realm.
As nice as it is to know that these powerful entities exist only in the world of the game, their inspiration comes from real-world belief systems, so you might not be as safe as you think. Let’s explore the real-life origins of the Warhammer Chaos gods and how directly they translate into the game. Note that this will only be focused on the primary gods, so my apologies to any Malal/Malice or Horned Rat fans out there.
Nurgle
This one is probably the easiest as his name is almost a direct copy of the name of the real world Mesopotamian god Nergal, consort of Ereshkigal and god of war, pestilence, and death. He represented the inherently destructive nature of humanity, which plays well into Nurgle as a representative of the natural cycle of life and death. Also giving credence to the connection is that Nergal was occasionally called upon for relief from disease or protection from enemies since it can be theorized that Nurgle is the least inherently evil of all the Chaos gods. All Nurgle wants is to perpetuate the cycle of life, death, rot, and rebirth, even if that means accelerating the process through virulent diseases.
Ancient Mesopotamian relief carving of Nergal. Iraq, first or second century AD
While it is hard to view this as anything OTHER than evil, we have to look at Nurgle outside the moral compass, since he does not exist within it, and it can be argued that his contagions are just another step in the cycle, since the diseases are life as well and he is trusting the “hosts” with their care. It can also be viewed that Nurgle is actually a combination of Nergal and his consort Ereshkigal, the Queen of the underworld and primary god of death and the underworld, representing the more natural death cycle Nurgle is associated with. Also of special note is Ereshkigal’s sister goddess, Inanna, known to later cultures as Ishtar, who plays both a reference to Slaanesh and the Aelven diety Isha. Ereshkigal traps her sister in the underworld, similar to the Warhammer canon of Nurgle trapping the goddess Isha and trying his poxes out on her.
Khorne
The bull-headed daemon god of war can find inspiration in several places across multiple cultures (after all, wherever there is society, there is war). Like Nurgle, he owes at least a bit of his inspiration to Nergal, who is depicted as having the head of a bull or a lion, a theme repeated on the horned heads of the Bloodthirsters. With the stark, angular runes associated with Khorne, it also isn’t a far stretch to pull some inspiration from Norse war gods, specifically Odin of the Æsir. While it is, of course, easier to compare Odin to Sigmar or the Emperor, his warlike and conquering nature falls easily in line with the desire for constant warfare present in the followers of Khorne.
Statue of Ares from Hadrian’s Villa.
Also, there’s Valkia, who is a LITERAL valkyrie, so until the recent arrival of the Stormcast Eternals, Khorne had a leg up on the followers of Sigmar as the primary Teutonic god. Ares is also an obvious inspiration, referenced as representing the more distasteful aspects of warfare in the Greek pantheon, like bloodshed and slaughter, while his sister Athena represented the noble aspects of strategy and honor.
Tzeentch
Inspired less by ancient mythology and more by modern science fiction, Tzeentch bears several similarities to Lovecraftian entities, specifically Nyarlathotep. In the mythos, Nyar is described as being one of the only Outer Gods to actively walk the human world in their form, and he manipulates events both for his own amusement and at the behest of the dark god Azazoth.
Nyarlathotep in “The Dweller in Darkness” by August Derleth.
If that doesn’t sound Tzeentchian, I don’t know what does, but as a formless being of fathomless intellect and plans within plans spanning back and forth in time, Tzeentch easily represents a combination of all the Lovecraftian pantheons. His raven-headed followers could be inspired both by the fact that ravens have been seen as a sign of intellect and omens for centuries, but also in reference to Huginn and Muninn, the twin ravens of Odin who fly across Midgard and report their finding to Odin.
Slaanesh
The hermaphroditic god of pleasure and excess can find his inspiration in fewer places than the others, but there are still references. One of the primary candidates is Dionysus/Bacchus, the Greek god of wine, fertility, and madness (as well as theatre, but we won’t get into that), and lord of the Maenads. These female worshippers would work themselves into mad frenzies and literally tear their foes to shreds during a period of madness called the bakkheia. I don’t know about you, but those ladies sound a lot like Daemonettes to me, and the heights of ecstatic pleasure Bacchus provides are in direct parallel with Slaanesh’s entire MO.
Ludovisi Dionysus, with panther, satyr and grapes on a vine, Rome, 2nd century AD
Bacchus even gives him namesake to the Bacchanalia, a ritual carnival where drink, sex, and ritual killings were enacted, which bears similarities not only to the euphoric battle rages of Slaanesh daemons but also to the Death Night rituals of the Dark Elves, who at least partially owe their allegiance to Slaanesh, even if only accidentally.
The ancient world gives and gives.
