Yes, I believe you're right about that. His invocations of Crom in certain situations are probably his way of reminding himself of this as much serving as a curse. Among the Cimmerians, it likely serves as a type of challenge as well, effectively: "Prove yourself!"

Yeah, the only times I can think of that he called on Crom were when he faced the supernatural or thought he saw Crom’s hand in something.

Can't remember which story but I remember A line that was something to the effect that there is no point in praying to Crom because praying is weakness and crom despises weakness.

@riftvallance2087 Yeah, Conan remarks that Crom will "send dooms" when someone asks his aid.

@@riftvallance2087 From "The Tower of the Elephant" - "His gods were simple and understandable. Crom was their chief, and he lived on a great mountain, whence he sent forth dooms and death. It was useless to call on Crom, because he was a gloomy, savage god, and he hated weaklings. But he gave a man courage at birth, and the will and might to kill his enemies, which, in the Cimmerian's mind, was all any god should be expected to do."

Yeah, it's unclear whether Crom answers Conan or Valeria simply breaks the bonds of death somehow and returns to aid him (as Belite promised she would). I believe there's a story in pastiche Conan (maybe a comic) where Crom intervenes on Conan's behalf when Conan is about to die an unworthy death; but this is the only time we see that happen. In the movie, when Conan finds that cave with the dead warriors, he says "Crom," but the soundtrack calls that scene "Atlantean Sword," so I'm not sure what to make of it.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive interesting. It's quite possible (maybe more likely) that the king in that hidden hall was just Conan's first big treasure trove which he saw more as a gift from Crom and not actually his God of steel. Conan showing reverence in that scene made it seem to me that the corpse was more than just an ancient king. How the scene plays out is that he takes the sword and as Conan is appraising it the camera comes back in hard on the dead king, back to Conan, and then the king's hand appears to move, undead like, until his entire body collapses and startles Conan out of his intoxocated reverie over the sword to stone sober when the corpse collapses on the floor. He seems to have realized that he was shown favor and is humbled, but I saw it as his realization that Crom was the corpse. Maybe I'm wrong on both accounts, the movie is based on the books, but not exact and it's been a long time since I read them.

@@matthewbittenbender9191 I suspect that Conan saying "CROM!" is not so much INVOKING him as saying something like "JESUS H CHRIST!" when you encounter something startling. OR, maybe, "OH SHIT!"

Thanks very much! I appreciate the feedback on it! I love doing this kind of thing.

Absolutely!

says on the front "GET WELL!" open it up it says "or not. i don't give a shit"

@@fistovuzi LOL! Indeed.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive there was a video game released a few years back called Conan:Exiles and being a Howard fan i gave it a go. i was always struck by how lore-friendly the game was, their l"ore-master" was very good (his name is Joel Bylos). anyway, as part of this game you may choose patron gods, Mitra, Set, Ymir, etc and there is a whole system of devotion with benefits up to and including calling giant avatars of the gods for war and combat. if you choose Crom you get none of it, he has no altars, no system of worship. nothing. he is, in effect, the "gag" choice. but touching on what you were saying about the Cimmerian "afterlife". the Cimmerians you encounter in the game congregate in a very gloomy, foggy, depressing part of the "map". this is because they all believe they are dead, so they settled the place that resembled their conception of the afterlife. you likewise find the other Hyborian races settling in lore friendly "biomes", the Darfari in the desert, pirates on the coast, etc. Joel is currently working as lead creative director on an upcoming game based on Frank Herbert's Dune and i am hoping to see the attention to detail i saw in the Conan game.

Yes, he was very proud of his Irish ancestry, and spent a great deal of time researching this sort of material. In fact, that's how he first got in touch with Lovecraft, I believe. He wrote a letter to Weird Tales complimenting Lovecraft on his use of certain Celtic references.

Funny that... I just finished "The Horned God" yesterday. Crom Cruach being one of Slaine's main adversities in the novel.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Kinda funny since Lovecraft was known for being racist against Irish immigrants in his stories.

@@rorschach1985ify I plan to read more of Howard's correspondence with Lovecraft. I know Lovecraft's views changed over time, and he seemed to become more tolerant. It would be interesting to see how much of this they may have discussed behind the scenes.

From what I can tell in the books I've read about Irish mythology, the worship of Crom Cruach appears to be a cult, put down at some point.

In my opinion, any discussion you enjoy is by no means pointless. Thanks for the subscription!

@@TheAtlanteanArchive pointless in the grand scheme of things, priceless to us. You're welcome, glad your video popped up.

I instead jumped from the movies that are not accurate to the lore of Howard, to the Monolith edition board game of Conan. And from there I tried to find out more about Howard's tales

Thanks for the reply! You have some good thoughts on this. I think it's usually a curse on Conan's part, although, when used among the Cimmerians themselves, it might have amounted to a challenge along the lines of "Prove yourself," since they believed that Crom empowered one at birth.

That's a good observation. For one thing, he sees no alternatives. As he said to Lovecraft, he didn't believe in any coming "superman" who would right the world's wrongs.

It's translated to overman unfortunately it was mis translated as superman the first time by Kaufman he went back and changed. Unfortunately fools still see it as superman if you read thus spoke Zarathustra superman doesn't even fit in the story or the philosophy

@@Duck_Dodgers I am aware of this but it's good to know when somebody else acknowledges it, considering how many KZfaq channels popped up preaching nietzsche but keeps saying superman instead of overman

That's something I wish Howard had written more about: what Conan's life was like in Cimmeria and how he eventually chose to leave. As you say, he's far from being an ignorant savage, and he has a code of honor. In The Tower of Elephant, he actually feels shame at the evil that men are capable of. Thanks for the comment!

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Conan does indeed have a code of honor, which he will NEVER compromise. It may be nothing recognizable to others, but it IS there, and he always lives by it.

Yeah, it's basically the power to make something of oneself, and the freedom to do it without constraint. From what I've read of his thoughts on these things, Howard felt that the structure of civilization was stifling to the individual. Thanks for commenting!

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Very much true, on all accounts, you've really put in a lot of thought into this am very impressed. And maybe Howard had a point to an extent, there must be a balance between the barbarian and civilisation.

Yeah, it was great. I love the scene where Conan first meets Akiro, the wizard, who immediately tries to psych him out. Then they burst out laughing at each other. Great stuff.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive “Crom laughs at your four winds!”

@@TheAtlanteanArchive 2nd best movie score ever after Star Wars 77 👍🏻

@@English_MoFo It's awesome.

Thank you for the feedback! That's fascinating info. Whenever Howard took an interest in something, he dove into it almost obsessively, so these are definitely details that I could see him ferreting out and building into his world. I do think it likely that Howard meant for Conan's usage of "Crom" to be a curse, although, among the Cimmerians themselves, I could see it being invoked as a challenge along the lines of "Prove yourself." It would be interesting to know prompted Howard to build a theology discussion into QotBC. Conan does some musing in TPotS and talks about Cimmerian beliefs a bit, but the discussion with Belite does stand out. Thanks again! That is great info, and I'll make note of it.

^^ To put it another way, Crom can be in no way construed as being like a Shepherd, and that's the symbolic linkage for the rod and the staff. To put it another way, the business of a shepherd is to Domesticate a flock; and Crom does not necessarily care for domestication. See also: Habituation.

@@jamespfp I appreciate your thoughts here. In line with that, the "rod and staff" imagery associated with the shepherd can involve treatment of the sheep that may seem harsh ("tough love" in the modern parlance). The psalmist writes in appreciation of it anyway, for he deems it to be for his good. Crom lacks any such instincts or motivations.

That's a great story. It sounds like she was a bit more helpful than Howard's Crom!

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Yeah she certainly was until she got older, but by then he was calling her by her actually name. It a fond memory, especially when his Nana would have him repeat all our name back one after the other. But everytime time he got to her name it was Crom.

Yes, Howard was very much into that kind of lore.

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I wish I'd gotten into the stories when I was younger.

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Yeah, Howard never really developed an internally consistent lore.

Thank you!! It was fun interviewing him. BTW, Channel 45 had its own horror host: "Ghost Host," who came on Saturdays as well. That was the same guy who played Captain Chesapeake.

​@@TheAtlanteanArchiveI missed out on that one lol

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I didn't start reading Conan until I was older (in my 30s). Howard's work varies widely in quality. Yes, it's pulp, but some of it has real excellence (his intro to The Phoenix on the Sword is truly amazing). As for the lesser efforts, well, I once told someone that those works are like reading something written by a 12-year-old boy who has just discovered girls and weight-lifting. 😄 Thanks for commenting!

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Haha, well said! I'm sure you already know about it, but give "The Whole Wide World' w/ Vincent D'Onofrio a look if you haven't already. REH was born in Peaster, TX, about 20 minutes from where I live. -Cheers!-

@@philarmstrong3765 Good film that. He was a lonely old soul. So was Lovecraft, and it definitely coloured their philosophies, unfortunately.

The Tower of the Elephant is hands-down some of Howard's best writing. It's thought-provoking on several levels.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Specially that part about the lack of manners in "civilized" people...

That's an interesting idea. Thanks for that. I'll have to go back and re-read The Shadow out of Time. It's been a while.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Very welcome, I would be very keen to see what you think, even if you think I am out of my tree :D

Crom as a Yithian host, fascinating how you combined the mythos. I believe Howard and Lovecraft would have been pleased.

I have an idea for a short story

Interesting. The Conan stories should be entering the public domain in a few years right?

@@dexocube As far as I know, all of Howard's Conan stories are in the public domain.

Thanks for that! I hadn't heard of it.

LOL! Yes, I think it was a demon spawn.

I would so love to know what an older, more mature and experienced Howard would have written, and how he would have reflected on his earlier efforts.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive I agree, I always think it is such a shame that both Howard and his pal Lovecraft died in the ways they did, and well before their respective times. Within a year of each other too. Both deserved to see more recognition in their lifetimes and to experience a little of the legacy they helped create. But maybe their demons made them what they were as writers?

Interesting! I'll look that up.

That’s fascinating. Kinda combines the sky father creator with the Mother Earth goddess. Sky father is a deadbeat, but mother is loved.

Yes, you're probably right about the origin of the name. Howard studied Celtic history and lore.

Thank you! Yes, there's more to these stories than a lot of people appreciate from surface-level readings.

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for leaving a comment.

Yep, I'm Gen X (born in '73). I miss the days of local, independent stations with the kids' shows and other aspects of local color (including cheesy commercials - lol). From what I've seen, it looks like Howard was moving more toward writing westerns, although I do think that, given enough time, he would have circled back around to Conan and his times. He definitely had the imaginary scope to give Tolkien some competition.

Yes, the action is almost non-stop in that story.

@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115 Thank you!

@@TheAtlanteanArchive You have very good material here, and just like my favourite poitician nce said, we'll follow your career with interest.

I agree. He felt like he was out of his proper place and time, and this left him troubled, but his quality really shines through his work. He was a man who felt and thought deeply.

@darrenrenna Actually, that's one I haven't read. Thanks for putting me onto that. I'll check it out!

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Just came across these stories recently, I got the feeling that these are stories written well before Conan with Howard still fleshing out his Hyborian Age.

@@darrenrenna Yes, writers often have core ideas in mind for a long time before they figure out just the right way to frame them in a story.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Yes, often makes for great reading to get into the early iterations of a great author's ideas. Like looking at the first sketches from a great artist.

@@darrenrenna That's a great way to put it.

That's one I hadn't heard of before. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out.

I second a dive into the lore of Elric of Melniboné. A fascinating anti-hero and one not often talked about, yet he has quite a number of long-time fans, a fairly solid body of work, and some more modern characters very likely have taken inspiration from him, notably Geralt of Rivia (i.e. the Witcher).

@@DarkVeghetta I'll definitely be taking a look at Elric.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Looking forward to it.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Elric is brilliant. Moorcock just published a new volume a few months ago.

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. I try to do those for most of my videos.

Howard built a lot more into them than most people suspect, largely (I believe) because they're quick to dismiss pulp writers.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive I like the cosmic sci fi horrors and how it’s placed in ancient times… like Lovecraft and idk Heavy Metal! Mashed together! It’s just really cool! If I were to begin reading Howard’s work what would or should check out first?

@majorgrubert5887 The Phoenix on the Sword was the first Conan story. After that, I think it goes: The Frost Giant's Daughter, The God in the Bowl, The Tower of the Elephant, and The Scarlet Citadel. In my opinion, The Tower of the Elephant would be best to read after The Phoenix on the Sword, and then The Scarlet Citadel. These are some of Howard's finest efforts, and certainly among the best Conan stories. This is the first in a three-volume collection that has all of Howard's Conan stories in order (I believe they're all in the public domain, so you don't have to buy the books to read them. The Amazon description info will give you the order of the stories, though). The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian: The Original Adventures of the Greatest Sword and Sorcery Hero of All Time! a.co/d/5KprcpY

I'll be covering a lot of different ground, but I'm fascinated by the way Howard wrote his worldview into his tales.

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Thank you!

Howard, Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith did a lot of research and adapted what they found in the creation of their worlds.

@@TheAtlanteanArchive Indeed theosophy offers a rich world of fiction with Helena Petrona Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine (TSD). TSD is supposed to be "spiritual archeology" and it mentions one primitive race of humans, the lemurs, who lived in the lost continent of Lemuria located between Madagascar an India. Indeed in Madagascar and India there are some animals called lemurs. Probably Blavatsky thought that it would be cool to imagine a lost continent as the bridge between both, and since these were remote lands in 19th century, and sea bottom was a mystery, then no one would fact check her. But then Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift which brought lots of resistance from scientists. After all it would render papers obsolete,band who was this Wegener, a simple meteorologist in Iceland to propose something expert geologists did not propose. After WWII when sea bottom was mapped in low resolution (one pixel is more than 3 miles wide) which we have today, it became evident Wegener was right. Under continental drift, India, once attached to Madagascar, moved to its current position. It means no lost continent. Also, there is a lack of interest of theosophy to visit Richat structure, a place in Mauritania that fits all the descriptions of Plato. 23 miles wide concentric circles, salt shows it had sea from water, mountains in the north, an opening to the sea in the south, and stones made of 3 colors that locals use to build houses today. You can see it in Google Earth. There is not such huge structure under the sea in the Atlantic or Mediterranean sea. Even with 3+ miles resolution you should see at least a blurry patch of these circles but no. There is nothing like that in sea bottom maps. Richat structure even shows signs of water flow in the sand and the wavy dunes you see in the bottom of a water flow. These dunes are miles wide, suggesting a truly cataclysmic water flow. TSD had its chance to find something science could not. Instead it went the path of fiction, and the universe loves to prove humans wrong. I understand followers of theosophy. TSD is such dense reading with unfamiliar jargon and names organized in a timeline of spirits and physical manifestations that outshines LOTR. But facts prove it is fiction. It would be cool to think that ancient ones buried pyramids to protect them from the evil corruption of pagan Turanian mobs that defiled sculptures and wall inscriptions to add sexual themes, and devastated civilizations. Probably franchises like Star Wars got inspired too by adding the Yuuzan Vong, the world enders civilization. But to be honest they seem too underpowered and primitive to face powerful Jedis. I understand why people want TSD to be historical. It is a great fiction book.

Thank you!

That's an interesting angle, and may well explain why Conan said that Crom gave strength at birth. I hadn't considered the possibility that he was specifically a fertility god, but it makes sense for the reasons you suggest. It also helps to explain the contrast with the gods of the southern nations, where life was easier. Good thoughts! Thank you!

@TheAtlanteanArchive well maybe not a full blown fertility god but maybe an evolution from one. Cimmereia is on the fringes of habitable hyborea. I pictured crom sitting on his mountain like a husband that goes and bangs on stuff in a garage to get away from the constant pestering of his family. He did the things now let him have his me time. He gave you what you needed to survive and if you didn't equip yourself correctly it ain't on him. And cimmerian women being much more on an equal footing to the running of the village and everyday life, instead of being pampered or subjugated like most everywhere else, was also croms gift. The tools to survive were given. In a place where mere survival was harshest, the very things conan discovers and hates in humanity and civilization are only possible due to "1st world problems". When the southern countries have life so easily, they need to find ways to muck it up. Like in the matrix when Anderson explains to morpheus about creating a utopia for humanity and humanity rejecting it because it's in our nature to put ourselves into as much strife as possible at almost every turn.

@@tonyb7615 It's certainly a recurring theme in science-fiction. In one episode of Star Trek, Kirk says that man was meant to scratch and claw his way along, that he wasn't meant for paradise. Just about every sci-fi story I've ever read or watched where humanity is enjoying some sort of golden age also depicts man as lapsing into apathy and even regressing.

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I agree that Conan is pretty much Crom's ideal follower. In some ways, I'd say he's Howard's ideal man.

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

For some reason, I never got notification of your comment, so I'm only just now seeing it. Thanks for the feedback! That prayer before the Battle of the Mounds was one of the best moments in the film, and probably one of the best moments in Schwarzenegger's career. He delivered it perfectly.

😄

That's certainly a possibility. Even theologians have noted that people often derive their idea of God in part from their relationships with their fathers.

Thank you!

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Thank you!

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Let me know if there's any specific content you'd like to see in the future.

I'll work on that. Thank you.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Yes, being born in the midst of a battle forever connected him with war and conflict.

So far, it's Fall-Behind-Ober, as I haven't gotten the videos done that I wanted to do! Real life intrudes again, unfortunately. A Lovecraft emphasis month would be fun, though!

Thank you!

Yeah, I would definitely hold on to that!

Yes, Calvinistic determinism.

Sounds good. Do you have a link?

its projection, he's projecting his unconscious values onto the enemies of conan

You might have to be more specific about WHICH "first book" you're looking for. Is it the first book by publication date, or the first in Conan's TIMELINE?

The Del Ray books have them in order, I believe. Check out volume one here: a.co/d/40i7eKR

@@mikegrossberg8624 first in timeline that tells Conan saga from the beginning thanks

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It's from Robert E Howard's Conan story "Queen of the Black Coast."

Thank you!

I can try to do that sometime.

😆

Nietzsche, from "The Gay Science." His Parable of the Madman.

This is all I could find on that: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krum?wprov=sfla1

@@TheAtlanteanArchive awesome thanks! When I was reading Byzantine Roman history I came across that name and immediately thought of Conan!

@@rayramos8435 Yep, it's very similar!