Crom (Earth-616)

Crom
Name	Crom
Aliases	Crom Cruach, Lord of the Mound, Dark Lord of the Mound, Lord of the Great Mountain, God of the Great Mountain, King of Gods
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Council of Godheads, Morrigan, Lir, Mannanan
Relatives	Children: Unnamed sons
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Irises: Black
Hair	Grey-haired, Black (formerly)
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Tuatha de Danaan
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Personal Information
Identity	No Dual
Occupation	God of storms, death and eternity; Dark God of the Cimmerians; Celtic god of agriculture and fertility
Base of Operations	Presumed at Mount of Crom, Cimmeria
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas, John Buscema
First	Conan the Barbarian #1 (July, 1970) (Mentioned) King Conan #8 (August, 1981) (Depicted)
First	Conan the Barbarian #1 (July, 1970) (Mentioned) King Conan #8 (August, 1981) (Depicted)

Crom was a deity associated with storms, death, and eternity, prominently worshipped during prehistoric and ancient times. Originally a Cimmerian god, Crom later became integrated into the Celtic pantheon as a member of the Tuatha de Danaan. His worship spanned several millennia, and he played a significant role in the mythologies of various cultures.

History

Origins

Crom was hailed as god of storms, death, and eternity, with evidence of his veneration on Earth as early as 18,000 B.C. and continuing until around 8,000 B.C. He was a member of the Council of Godheads, a coalition of leaders and delegates from Earth's various pantheons. Crom's sons were also revered as storm deities.

Pre-Cataclysmic Age

Crom, an ancient god

Crom rose to prominence by defeating the ancient demon Shuma-Gorath. Over 21,000 years ago, early humans suffering under Shuma-Gorath's tyranny called upon Crom for aid. Crom instructed them to read from three Iron-Bound Books, ancient tomes created by Shuma-Gorath, Skelos, Vathelos, and others to manipulate humanity. When the humans complied, Crom manifested as a flame-headed storm cloud and subdued the demon with lightning, imprisoning it within what became known as Ben Morgh (Mount Crom) in Cimmeria.

Age of Acheron

By 13,000 B.C., Crom was invoked by King Bafomai's Elite Guard in Python, a city-state of the ancient kingdom of Acheron, just before its fall. This marked one of the earliest recorded instances of Crom's influence in human affairs.

Around 10,000 B.C., the sorcerer Kulan Gath and his wife Vammatar attempted to release and enslave Shuma-Gorath using the Iron-Bound Books but were thwarted by Crom.

Hyborian Age

Crom and his undead army

During the Hyborian Age, Crom became the primary deity of the Cimmerians, a fierce and hardy people. He was revered as Crom, Lord of the Great Mountain, a grim and savage god who cared little for humanity. According to Cimmerian belief, Crom breathed into men the strength to strive and slay but otherwise remained distant. Subordinate deities in his pantheon included Father Lir, his son Mannanan, and the war goddess Morrigan.

The Cimmerians believed in a bleak afterlife, where the souls of the dead wandered Crom's grey realm aimlessly for eternity. They did not create idols of Crom, as they believed it presumptuous to depict a god's likeness. Instead, they worshipped him by bowing before a large, unadorned stone.

Interfering in mortal affairs

Crom was known to care little for his followers who wandered away from Cimmeria, even if they prayed to him. He rarely listened to invocations of his name, and his interventions in mortal affairs were infrequent and unpredictable. During the Hyborian Age, it was commonly debated whether certain events were Crom's doing or mere coincidence.

Crom's influence occasionally extended beyond Cimmeria. In the town of Red Tree Hill, on the border between Nemedia and Aquilonia, some townsfolk began worshipping Crom after an inquisitor was struck by lightning while attempting to execute Conan the Cimmerian. The event occurred after Conan invoked Crom's name in defiance.

Conan's Patron God

Acknowledging Conan's loyalty

Although Crom was typically depicted as aloof and uninvolved in mortal affairs, he occasionally intervened on behalf of the Cimmerian warrior Conan. When Conan's wife was abducted by a demon, he secretly sacrificed a bullock to Crom. In another instance, facing certain death at the hands of a sorcerer, Conan was transported to Crom's realm. Crom appeared as a towering, austere figure seated on a throne in a gloomy hall. He admonished Conan for never formally worshipping him but acknowledged Conan's unwavering loyalty. Crom intervened to save Conan from the sorcerer's black magic, enabling him to recover and ultimately slay his adversary.

Crom also intervened when Conan and a band of Kozaki raiders were trapped in a snowstorm. Near death, Conan was summoned before Crom and his Undead Warriors, who urged him to survive. Conan awoke with renewed strength. In another encounter, Conan and a group of Cimmerian captives invoked the wrath of Crom to defeat their Hyperborean captors. A chasm opened, unleashing a legion of Undead Warriors who slaughtered the Hyperboreans.

Life and Death of Conan

Manifesting as his Mount before Conan

Conan met his demise at the hands of the death god Razazel, crushed beneath the rubble of the deity's arrival. Upon his death, Conan found himself transported to Mount Crom, where he encountered the god himself. Crom, manifesting as the mountain, belittled Conan for his arrogance and lack of respect, chastising him for his presumption in climbing the sacred peak. Crom revealed that he cared little for the affairs of Earth or the wars of gods, which he dismissed as cyclical events occurring every few eons. He emphasized that his people, the Cimmerians, already possessed the inner strength needed to fight and survive. Frustrated by Crom's refusal to intervene, Conan challenged his god in anger. In response, Crom cursed him to die an old man's death, sending him back to life in the Tower of Razazel to face his final battle.

Pre-Roman Britain

Crom continues to vigilantly watch over humanity

After the Hyborian Age, Crom's worship was adopted by the Celts, who revered him as Crom Cruach, a deity associated with agriculture and fertility. The Celts practiced human sacrifice, offering children to Crom Cruach in exchange for bountiful crops. According to legend, St. Patrick crippled Crom Cruach to end these sacrifices, marking the decline of his worship in Britain.

Modern Age

In the modern era, Crom is said to remain atop his mountain, observing humanity. He is known to test those of great strength, often hurling doom and curses their way.

See Also

• 4 appearance(s) of Crom (Earth-616)
• 5 minor appearance(s) of Crom (Earth-616)
• 87 mention(s) of Crom (Earth-616)
• 5 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Crom (Earth-616)
• 521 invocation(s) of Crom (Earth-616)
• 9 image(s) of Crom (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Crom on Wikipedia.org