Life
Beauty
Love. The Nine Divines.
Faith and religion play a major part in the history and culture of Tamriel with practically every race and
civilization having their own pantheon of deities and
Shrines or temples too many of them are scattered across the land
While the Daedric princes play a prominent role in the Elder Scrolls series and players will often interact with them at their shrines
The aedra are in many ways more mysterious and distant than the Daedra
Although many of the races share beliefs in certain aedra, this video is going to focus
specifically on the Imperial Pantheon worshiped in Cyrodiil known as the Nine Divines
The history of the Cyrodiilic worship of the Nine Divines goes back to the early first era
When the Ayleds were in control of Cyrodiil and used humans as their slaves.
one specific human slave,
Alessia, was inspired by the newly founded human civilization in skyrim and began praying to some of their deities
for assistance; especially
Kynareth.
Kynareth sent her son to Alessia to aid her and the humans of Cyrodiil would eventually revolt against the Ayleids, leading
Alessia to become the first empress
one of her first major acts as empress was deciding the official religion of the new Empire
A tricky task as most of her people were accustomed to the gods of the Ayleids
But she didn't want to upset her Nordic allies who vehemently oppose the ayleid deities.
To appease both groups,
Alessia took the least controversial deities from both groups and
Combined the Pantheons into a single one known as the Eight Divines
However the Nords primarily worshiped the god Shor,
Commonly known as Lorkan, who they believed was responsible for the direct creation of humans
The elves, including the Ayleids, hated Lorkan and blamed him for tricking their ancestors into
Giving up their immortal essences
To compromise, Alessia left Lorkan out of the Eight Divines, but identified him as the missing god, Shazzar,
Linked to the eight Divine's but absent from the Pantheon
Belief in Shazzar was eventually abandoned over time and so the Pantheon was set with five gods and three goddesses.
In the third era after Tiber Septim's death he was believed by many to have ascended to godhood and
So he was officially added to the pantheon of deities
transforming the Eight Divines into the Nine Divines
Akatosh is the dragon god of time and the chief deity of the Nine Divines
In addition Akatosh is one of the most widely worshiped deities across Tamriel,
present in some form in nearly every religion
He is generally considered to be the first of the original spirits to form and time began after his formation
Akatosh has a unique relationship with humans of Cyrodiil as he formed a covenant with
Alessia and her descendants in order to protect Tamriel from the ravages of the Daedra
This covenant was represented physically in the amulet of Kings
wearable only by descendants of Alessia with the blood of dragons in their veins
This covenant was broken during the Oblivion crisis leading the last of the Septim dynasty,
Martin, to sacrifice himself and the amulet in order to invoke the aspect of Akatosh and defeat Mehrunes Dagon
According to the ten commands of the Nine Divines
Akatosh his command is to serve and obey your emperor,
study the covenants, worship the Nine, do your duty, and heed the commands of the Saints and priests
Arkay is the god of the cycle of birth and death,
and is thus the enemy of undead that defy the cycle
Arkay is believed to be the son of Akatosh, and it is said that Arkay did not exist before the world was created
Thus sometimes been called the mortal's god
His name is often invoked during the birth of children as well as during funerals
And is generally depicted as being an eternally neutral force
His command is to honor the earth, its creatures, and the spirits both living and dead,
to guard and tend the bounties of the mortal world, and do not profane the spirits of the Dead
Dibella is the goddess of beauty, love, and art, and is among the more popularly worshiped of the Divines
While there aren't many artifacts created by the aedra on Tamriel
Dibella supposedly created the Brush of True Paint with bristles woven from her own hair
The brush allows the wielder to magically enter into a painting where they can then paint anything life-size simply by using their
imagination
Dibella's command is to open your heart to the noble secrets of art and love,
Treasure the gifts of friendship, and to seek joy and inspiration in the mysteries of love
Julianos is the god of wisdom and logic, but is also associated with literature, law, and magic
He's often worshipped by wizards and the orders of monks founded by Tiber Septim to protect the Elder Scrolls are
followers of Julianos
His command is to know the truth
observe the law and when in doubt seek wisdom from the wise
Kynareth is the goddess of the sky, air,
wind, and rain and is the patron of many sailors and travelers
She is often prayed to for blessings and especially at the birth of infants for them to be born under an auspicious sign
Kynareth created the Lord's Mail, also known as the armor of Morihaus, a piece of metal armor of unsurpassable quality
It's sacred to the Imperial Legion and is accepted as a uniform within the Legion
Kynareth's command is to use nature's gifts wisely, to respect nature's power and to fear its fury
Mara is known as the mother goddess and represents maternity, love and
agriculture
she is another nearly universal deity present in some form of practically every religion and
Is believed by some to be the wife or possible concubine of Akatosh or Lorkan
According to some myths she is responsible for transforming Arkay from a mortal into a deity
Followers of Mara teach that Mara is responsible for the gift of love present in every mortal's heart
And so she's the patron of marriage with weddings being carried out in her shrines and temples
her command is to live soberly and peacefully, honor your parents, and
Preserve the peace and security of home and family
Stendarr is the god of mercy,
justice, and charity and is the patron of magistrates, rulers and the Imperial Legion
Stendarr offers mercy and compassion to all mortals and does not distinguish between worshippers or heretics
Stendarr grants his followers the power of healing magic and is the enemy of Daedra, lycanthropes, and the undead
Stendarr's Hammer is a large hammer rumored to have once been wielded by the deity himself and
Is capable of magically smiting a target at the cost of the wielder's stamina
His command is to be kind and generous to the people of Tamriel
Protect the weak, heal the sick, and give to the needy
Talos is unique among the Nine Divines, as he is a later addition to the Pantheon and
Is believed to be the deistic form of Tiber Septim
Talos is the god of war and of mankind and is the patron of warriors and heroes
Belief in Talos is considered heresy by the Aldmeri Dominion and led to the Skyrim civil war due to the eventual
ban on Talos worship
Talos' command is to be strong for war, be bold against enemies and evil, and to defend the people of Tamriel
Zenithar is the god of wealth, labor, and
communication and is the patron of many merchants, laborers, and nobles
his followers believe that prosperity will be achieved through earnest work and
honest profit, rather than war or theft and
The common phrase among his worshippers is that Zenithar is the god that will always win
His command is to work hard and you will be rewarded
Spend wisely and you will be comfortable and never steal or you will be punished
Although worship of the Nine Divines is primarily based in Cyrodill,
the Nords of Skyrim have begun to replace their own pantheon with the Nine,
And many religions have their own versions of a number of these aedra
Despite the overall lack of physical presence on Tamriel
The Divines have fostered a strong and loyal following among mortals across Cyrodiil and beyond
While there will always be debate on the exact number and nature of the aedra there will be no shortage of people
praising the Nine