American Gods Revealed: The Mythology Behind American Gods Part 1 of 2

StoryDive
StoryDive
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Published 2017-04-24
Neil Gaiman 's highly acclaimed novel, American Gods has finally been adapted into a TV series by the Starz Network. With the first episode premiering in a few days, I thought this might be a good time to go over the mythology behind some of the gods, spirits, mythical creatures and deities who will appear in the show. The Norse God, Wednesday, the Leprechaun, Mad Sweeney, The Spider Spirit, Mr Nancy, The Slavic Demon, Chernobog, and the others, all have fascinating backstories and mythologies, from a number of different cultures around the world. And yet, they all ended up in the good old U. S. of A. As for the New Gods, Technical Boy, Mr. World and Media. I did not feature them in this video, but if you would like me to do a video about them as well, let me know in the comments below.

So, Let's take a look at the myths and stories that inspired Neil Gaiman's novel.

If you would like to give some insight into any of the characters or mythology in this video, the American Gods novel, or the series, please do so in the comments below.

All of the clips and images featured in this video are credited in accordance with the Youtube Fair Use Guidelines. Except for images taken from the Wikipedia Commons.

Instrumental produced by Chuki.
youtube.com/user/CHUKImusic
All Comments (21)
  • @JL0ndon
    I met Neil Gaiman the day Michael Jackson died. I know that’s random but it was at his soon to be wife’s concert. He was by himself propped up on a wall checking his phone. No one else went up to him. I think he was intimidating. I began to talk to him about writing. Saying that i was starting university for writing soon. He was really nice, i mean he wasn’t very talkative but he gave me 5 minutes of his time and gave me some good advice. I asked what makes a good writer and he said it takes being a good reader to write. I asked him quickly if sandman was ever getting a movie and he said that’s what he was doing in LA. That was 2009 and I’m still waiting. At least American Gods got made!
  • @ericworley4361
    Its mind boggling when you realize that Mad Sweeney is also Pornstache from Orange is the New Black. How they came to the idea that Mendez should play basically the physical embodiment of Irish/Scottish folklore and legend is a real mystery. But they made a shockingly great choice.
  • @quantumleap5156
    I read how Anansi took the stories in my elementary story book. I loved the story because Ananzi demonstrated creativity, intelligence, and a dry wit each time he outsmarted his opponents.
  • @sarahfin7173
    About Bilques, in the book there is a reference to her alter/bedside table, where there is a statue thats description is similar to the Venus of Willendorf and other "venus sculptures" made by the people of ice age Europe. I always imagined her as that ancient nameless goddess. She's my favorite.
  • @Allyourbase1990
    This was honestly one of the best shows I’ve seen. The fact that they ended it before the final season really pissed me off . I hope they bring it back one day
  • @Ali-xx9iz
    When Sweeney's real identity was found out in season two, it was one of the best moments in the series
  • @nerthus4685
    Kali is still worshipped in India, especially in West Bengal. "Calcutta" is an anglicized version of Kali Ghata, where people bathe after worshipping Kali.
  • @skingftl
    Bilquist in the show arrived after the Iran Revolution and the overthrow of the Shaw in the late 70's. Remember the Disco scene? Then the next thing you see is she's on a jet with a Hollywood brochure in her hand.
  • @OneInAMillion432
    Another interesting thing about the Queen of Sheba/Bilquis is that some of the Yoruba people of Nigeria believe that she was actually a Yoruba noble woman, ‘Bilikisu Sungbo’. They believe that she constructed Sungbo Erodo, a series of fortifications in Ijebu Ode. Also it’s rumoured her resting place is somewhere near the remains of these fortifications.
  • @jamesgordon698
    I grew up with my mother telling me the Ananzi story 😊
  • @StoryDive
    Hello Everyone. I hope you enjoyed the first episode of American Gods. I definitely did. I really like the direction they're going with it, and I'm excited to see where they go next. I have to admit I was surprised by some of the changes from the source material. Some changes I didn't fully understand, for instance the opening scene with the Norse explorers is different in the novel, and I prefer the novel version much better, but aside from that I can understand why they made most of changes they did. At least this will keep the people who have read the novel on their toes. The direction and cinematography were stellar, but to me the most impressive aspect of the episode was the acting. Ian McShane and Ricky Whittle put in especially great performances, and the rest of the cast was also very impressive. I wanted to do a video review of this episode, but I got to it too late, and at this point it's been covered by many channels on youtube. I will make a follow up video to this video at some point , and reveal more of the mythology behind the gods in the novel and series. So stay subbed for that. BTW, what did you think of the episode?
  • @StoryDive
    Hello everyone! I just made a second video covering all the godly and mythological characters I didn't cover in this video. And all the remaining characters in the novel who might show up next season. Check it out: https://youtu.be/VcOXbMkP6n0