Why Neil Gaiman Chose These Gods

Published May 11, 2017 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hello, gentlemen!

I just finished up the first Confessional, and I had some ideas I wanted to share with the three of you, and the rest of the listeners.

I agree that I would be too over the top to devote an episode to the background of each god, or use cluncky exposition to explain who everyone is. As a reader of the book, I believe the carousel scene would be perfect to show both the viewer and Shadow who everyone really is and what they look like (that’s pretty much what happens in the book, anyway).

As for why Neil Gaiman chose certain characters over the others, I believe he actually wanted to use mythological characters that could be/were real. For example, if you go far enough back in the family trees of Nordic/Germanic rulers, you’ll see Beowulf, or Thor, or other legendary kings, or the fact the Queen of Sheba is a biblical figure, and Mad Sweeney is based entirely on Buile Shuibhne (the list goes on for all the characters). I think the idea is that these people were alive at one point, and were so loved or so hated, that peoples’ belief in them brought them to life again (look into Tulpas). Eventually, enough belief over a long enough period of time made them Gods. But that’s just my theory.

Thanks again for the amazing podcasts,

Niko

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