Lore:Akatosh

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ON-icon-heraldry-Deities Akatosh.png
Akatosh says: Serve and obey your Emperor. Study the Covenants. Worship the Nine, do your duty, and heed the commands of the saints and priests.Ten Commands: Nine Divines
Akatosh

Akatosh, known as Auri-El (or Auriel) to the Aldmer and Bosmer, Bormahu (Father) to the dragons, possibly Satakal to the Crowns,[1] Dragon of Time to the Nedes, and Alkosh to the Khajiit is the chief deity of the Eight or Nine Divines (the prescribed religious cults of Cyrodiil and its provinces). He is present in most Tamrielic religions. His avatar is a golden dragon, and he is often called the Dragon God of Time, and the Lord of the Dragons. He is generally considered to be the first of the Gods to form in the Beginning Place; after his establishment, other spirits found the process to be easier and the various pantheons of the world emerged. The Aedric spirit is the ultimate God of the Cyrodilic Empire, where he embodies the qualities of endurance, invincibility, and everlasting legitimacy while promoting the virtues of duty, service, and obedience. Akatosh is thought to be the father of all dragons, and their leader Alduin was titled "First-Born of Akatosh". Alduin later came to proclaim himself a god, prompting Paarthurnax to turn on him for forsaking his duty to Akatosh, and resulting in history considering Alduin to be the Nordic aspect of Akatosh. Akatosh is the patron of the Akatosh Chantry, the religious order devoted to the worship and glorification of him, who refer to him as the "Great Dragon". The Warp in the West and other Dragon Breaks are thought to result from Akatosh's temporary loss of control over the flow of time.

Most traces of Akatosh disappeared from ancient Chimer legends with their exodus due to his association with the Altmer, although they would return in a fashion with the Dunmer. Akatosh's aspects of immortality, historicity, and genealogy, would resurface in Almalexia, the most popular traits of Akatosh being seen in Morrowind's most popular divine Tribunal. Although female instead of male, Almalexia also takes on the role as a progenitor figure like Akatosh.

Akatosh was involved in the forging of the Covenant with the new Empire of humanity, and his blood was mystically joined with Alessia and her heirs. The Amulet of Kings was the primary token of this patronage, and it allowed the new Empire of Cyrodiil to benefit from the stabilizing influence of White Gold Tower, maintaining the barrier between Mundus and the Planes of Oblivion. When that barrier was threatened during the Oblivion Crisis, Martin Septim was able to summon Akatosh's spirit and transform himself into the avatar of Akatosh, which appeared in the shape of a giant dragon made of fire. This avatar dragon defeated Mehrunes Dagon, reestablishing the mystical barrier between Tamriel and the Daedric Realms. The avatar transformed into a statue, now located inside the ruined Temple of the One.

In the elven tradition, Auriel is credited with creating Auriel's Shield and Auriel's Bow, and used the latter to fire the Heart of Lorkhan into what is today Red Mountain. However, the Cyrodilic traditions of man do not mention these artifacts as part of their stories of Akatosh and creation, and do not provide any explanation to their existence or origins. Auriel's connection to Akatosh was well known by the Alessian Order. In an attempt to correct this, at the height of their power within the First Era, they would be responsible for the Middle Dawn Dragonbreak. This was done using the Staff of Towers, the ultimate goal of was to remove all traces of elven taint from Akatosh in order to give him what they referred to as humanadic purity.

Tenets[edit]

The Tenets of Akatosh reflect the qualities of his sphere, and these are expected of his followers who truly believe in him. Endurance: gives Akatosh the ability and strength to continue and last, this is directly associated to his role as the god of time. His followers are expected to endure in a similar matter despite whatever fatigue, stress or adverse conditions they come across, and this reflects Akatosh's lasting quality. Invincibility: another key trait of Akatosh is he cannot be defeated, conquered, or subdued, and his followers who truly believe in him cannot be either. This is Akatosh's indomitable quality. Everlasting Legitimacy: is a quality that must be examined, as it not only reflects the eternal aspect of Akatosh, but also his reverence for law, reason, and the ruling principles of heredity. As such, nothing sanctioned or blessed by Akatosh can be considered unjustified, and reflects Akatosh's lawful quality.

Five Commandments of Akatosh[edit]

These commandments are those Akatosh expects all of his worshipers to follow and these commands are taught even to the faithless.

  • First Commandment: "Obey your Emperor" this command comes from the fact the Empire and Akatosh go hand in hand.
  • Second Commandment: "Study the Covenants", this command is studying the agreements made by Akatosh and his mortal followers, everyone that follows are urged to study these.
  • Third Commandment: "Worship the Eight" Akatosh isn't a Jealous God, and expects all his followers to worship and revere the Eight.
  • Fourth Commandment: "Do your duty." Akatosh expects everyone to do their duty and be responsible, failing to meet obligations is considered a sin.
  • Fifth Commandment: "Heed the commands of the saints and priests." Akatosh prefers hierarchy and order and expects his followers to follow the Church's Hierarchy.

Planet[edit]

The planet Akatosh, sometimes called AKHAT, is one of the Dominion Planets found in the skies of Mundus. According to the Warrior-Poet, Vivec, its one of the eight worlds known to the Dwemer. There are no known satellites orbiting around it, but it marks the eye of the Warrior constellation. The planet is simultaneously Akatosh and the plane of Akatosh, just like the other planets and their eponymous deities. Akatosh ruled from here before Convention took place in ME 2500.

Gallery[edit]

Depictions[edit]

Other[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • The French translation of the book The Monomyth claims Satakal is Akatosh, similarly to the mention of Jills in the French translation of A Child's Tamriel Bestiary. This claim is also present in The Morrowind teaser posted in 1999 on the official forums leading up to the release of TES3:Morrowind (Taken from an official Bethsoft post on The Storyboard 09/07/99).
  • The Ten Aphorisms of Akatosh are known to be recited by followers of Akatosh.

See Also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ French Translation of "The Monomyth". Retrieved 2024-03-19.

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.