Dagon (Old One) (Earth-616)

This page is about the aquatic monster, possibly one of the Great Old Ones, created by H.P. Lovecraft.

For the mythological god, the fallen angel, and the Kushite god, please consult this page.
A few references might consequently be present on both pages, notably due to the fact both the aquatic monster and the Kushite god were active in the Hyborian Age.

Dagon
Name	Dagon, possibly Ea
Aliases	"Sea God", Fish-God, the Father of Fishes, possibly Ea
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Unnamed race of fish-men (servants); possibly Old Ones
Relatives	Unnamed race of fish-men, Dagoth, Khosatral Khel (offspring)
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Irises: No Visible
Hair	No Hair At All
Unusual Features	Possibly multiple forms: gigantic squid form; Polyphemus-like with scaly arms and hideous head)
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Aquatic monster, possible Old One, possible Annunaki or degenerated god (giant monster, possibly Ea)
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Personal Information
Occupation	Fish-God
Base of Operations	Active in an isle in South Pacific Formerly Hyboria
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Syd Shores, H.P. Lovecraft, Chuck Dixon, Gary Kwapisz, Gary Kwapisz, Neil Hansen, Flint Henry, Timothy Truman, Richard Corben
First	Bible Tales for Young Folk #2 (June, 1953) (Mention of Philistine god) Bible Tales for Young People #4 (October, 1953) (Statue of the Philistine god) Savage Sword of Conan #176 (June, 1990) (Vision of the aquatic monster) Haunt of Horror: Lovecraft #1 (June, 2008) (Aquatic monster)
First	Bible Tales for Young Folk #2 (June, 1953) (Mention of Philistine god) Bible Tales for Young People #4 (October, 1953) (Statue of the Philistine god) Savage Sword of Conan #176 (June, 1990) (Vision of the aquatic monster) Haunt of Horror: Lovecraft #1 (June, 2008) (Aquatic monster)

Dagon was one or many beings of multiple origin: Fallen angel, god (degenerated, Hyborian Age death god, Annunaki), demon, gigantic aquatic creature...).

The entity described here, known as Dagon, was an eldritch and horrific creature, tied to the sea, sire of monstrous spawn, and possibly one of the Great Old Ones.

History

Preface

Dagon had multiple origins, or rather many beings have used his names and posed as each other:

• Dagon was the name of a gigantic aquatic creature, suspected to be one of the Great Old Ones or a degenerated god.
  • Alternatively, it has been theorized that Ea (also presented as the Annunaki Dagon's younger brother) became the monstrous aquatic Dagon.
• Dagon ("Enlil" in Sumer, "Ellil" in Babylon), first born son of Anu and Ki, and the Annunaki god of wind and air.
• Dagon was an Hyborian death god worshiped as early as 16,000 BC in Kush.
• Dagon was an angel living in Heaven who, according to unconfirmed sources, became a fallen angel, cast out of Heaven, possibly for participating in Lucifer's rebellion.

This page will only treat of the aquatic monster and possible Old Ones. Exceptions will include information concerning examples were both the aquatic monster and the Annunaki/Kushite god (and the fallen angel) can fit, such as Dagon's worship among the Philistines, and cases where the lack of information prevent to confirm which Dagon is mentioned (such as in mentions of the Talons of Dagon).

Any connections between these Dagon remain speculative.

Origins

Dagon was the name of a gigantic aquatic creature, suspected to be one of the Great Old Ones or a degenerated god. A loathsome horror upon Earth, it allegedly predated the coming of Men, as did his worship.

Alternatively, it has been theorized that Ea (also presented as the Annunaki god Dagon's younger brother) became the monstrous aquatic Dagon.

Early years

Dagon was the progenitor of hellish spawn, including Khosatral Khel, Dagoth, and the fish-men:

• The god Khosatral Khel was worshiped before the Great Cataclysm by the Dagonians, ages before the Age of Conan, and ruled over the city of Dagon/Dagonia and the empire of Dagonia (on the isle of Xapur, in the Vilayet Sea, during the Hyborian Age).
• the sea-demon Dagoth, was worshiped in the city of Kalumesh (off the coast of Cornwall, near the little town of Penmallow in the Modern Age). Himself served a greater evil, Shuma-Gorath.
• a race of fish-men who served him.

Fishmen worshiping Dagon inhabited a city on the oceanic floor of the Western Sea that was ancient before Man walked the Earth.

Human worship

It is speculated that Dagon/Enlil usurped the name and followers of the monster Dagon who predated him.

Pre-Cataclysmic Age

Circa 18,500 BC, the fishmen in the oceanic floor of the Western Sea worshiped Dagon, since before Man walked the Earth.

Great Cataclysm aftermaths

The following events can't be clearly set in time, due to the lack of information on that matter.
Many cities of his spawn were destroyed in violent events:

• Kalumesh sank after being accursed by the Elder Ones, who represented good, and who abandoned its people to the cult of Dagoth. Though the cataclysm was unnamed and undated, it could have been the Great Cataclysm (see notes at Kalumesh's page).
• The city of Dagon was overran and destroyed by the Yuetshi, and Khosatral was forced into slumber.
• The city of fishmen in the the Western Sea was leveled and buried by the Great Cataclysm (18,000 BC), and would end up in Ophir in the Hyborian Age (though the fish-men may have survived (see "the fishmen during the Hyborian Age").

Hyborian Age

In the Hyborian Age, Dagon was seen by some as a benevolent god, the father of fishes, despite his true nature, and his jealousy-driven goal of returning all life to the sea. He had disciples who "[became] one with the sea", turning into fish-men (or "men of the sea), in the name of Dagon. Those disciples were mentioned in tales, presented as mermaids and sirens. They raided villages to capture new members, who were controlled and transformed by Dagon.

In a possible future, Conan was confronted to such a group, and was turned by Dagon into one of his mindless slaves.

The following tales could be tied to the Kushite god, as they are tied to Black Coast, but could as well be related to the aquatic monster, as they were set in the Western Ocean.

• An area within the Western Ocean was considered forbidden, to enter being to defy the curse of Dagon, as the black corsair Ahmaan the Merciless had vanished there a century before the Age of Conan.
• The Talons of Dagon were a hoard of ancient jewels, dwarfing the fabled treasure-trove of Cap'n Bloodraven, and as fabled as the Phoenix-Trove or the Treasure of Tranicos.

Antiquity

Biblical times

The ancient Philistines had a legend about Dagon, the Fish-God, and worshiped him.

The Israelites, then including many idol-worshipers, went to battle with the Philistines, bringing the Ark of the Covenant to ensure their victory. Allegedly, due to God being angry with the Israelites for worshiping idols, the Philistines won the battle and took the Ark. They brought it to their city of Ashdod and placed the Ark in the temple of Dagon. The two next nights, the statue of Dagon fell or broke, and the Philistines returned the Ark to the Israelites, as the prophet Samuel had said they would.

The Micronesian votive idol

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At some point, Ulysses Bloodstone somehow came into possession of a Micronesian votive idol which possibly represented Dagon, which ended up in his curios.

20th century

Fish-men lived on a putrid isle in South Pacific, possibly sunken for millions of years, and worshiped Dagon and sacrificed humans to him at his altar, a Cyclopean monolith.

Personality

Dagon was a jealous god who wished to have all life return to the sea.

Notes

• Dagon was an Assyro-Babylonian and Levantine (Canaanite) deity.
  • It was later used by H.P. Lovecraft in the stories "Dagon", adapted by Richard Corben in Haunt of Horror: Lovecraft #1 (August, 2008), and The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
  • It remains to be seen what relation, if any, exist between the mythological Dagon (existing in Marvel Comics as the Annunaki (Mesopotamian) god and Robert E. Howard's Kushite god) and Lovecraft's Dagon (the monster and possible Old One) are the same entity in the Marvel Universe.
• First appearing in Marvel Premiere, Sligguth, as the son of an Elder God worshiped by the people of the New England coastal city of Starkesboro, humans transformed into Serpent-Men, is considered as inspired either by H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon or by Cthulhu, while the Serpent-Men stand for the Deep Ones and Starkesboro for Innsmouth.
• Evasive references of Dagon (presumably the monster and possible Old One) are made through history:
  • In Wales during the period the Roman Empire occupied the British Isles, a moor was known as Dagon-Moor, a mound as Dagon's Barrow, a lake Dagon's Meer, another place Dagon's Ring. The relation, if any, of those places to Dagon is unknown.
  • In Cimmeria during the Hyborian Age, which became the British Isles during the Modern Age, a cavern was known as Dagon's Cave (at least during the Modern Age). The relation, if any, of that place (or its reptilian inhabitant, the Dark People) to Dagon is unknown.

Trivia

• Previous accounts stated that Dagon was possibly Dagoth's precursor or ancestor, instead of its progenitor. The Demons' profile in Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities #1 and in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #3 confirmed him the progenitor of both, as well as of fishmen.

See Also

• 1 appearance(s) of Dagon (Old One) (Earth-616)
• 2 minor appearance(s) of Dagon (Old One) (Earth-616)
• 5 mention(s) of Dagon (Old One) (Earth-616)
• 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Dagon (Old One) (Earth-616)
• 2 invocation(s) of Dagon (Old One) (Earth-616)
• 4 image(s) of Dagon (Old One) (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Dagon at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Father Dagon and Mother Hydra at Deep One, Wikipedia
• Dagon at the H.P. Lovecraft Wiki