Every god in SMITE 2 is inspired or based on 'real' mythology, from various pantheons including Egyptian, Roman, Greek, and more. For this bounty, we want you to retell the lore of your favourite SMITE 2 god in video form!
We're looking for more than just a reading of their Wikipedia page though. Tell us the story in the most creative and entertaining way possible: feel free to experiment with styles, lighting, characters, write a brilliant script, use original artwork or toys in a stop-motion movie, get creative. Naturally you can use game footage, but combining it with other assets and using it in novel ways with creative edits will increase your chances of winning!
As with all bounties, we reserve the right not to award low-effort submissions even if insufficient entries are received. To win the top rewards, we're looking for creativity, originality, and quality.
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I just want to say I am working on a video for this right now, this may be a bit of a miss because of how much effort needs to go into this bounty for it. Mordred was a terrible choice for this but I'm already deep down the hole. I'll be posting the video before time runs out.
Hecate is an ancient goddess from Greek mythology, often associated with magic, witchcraft, crossroads, the night, and liminality - the thresholds between different worlds. She holds power over the realms of earth, sea, and sky. She embodies the mysteries of the unseen and the transitions between life and death, making her a key figure in both mythological and cultural contexts.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
If you are not familiar with Greek mythology, Hecate's role can be compared to close analogs:
Trivia from Roman religion, who was also a goddess of crossroads and magic;
The Morrigan from Celtic mythology, known for her connections to fate, transformation, and death;
Hel from Norse mythology, the ruler of the underworld;
Kali from Hindu mythology, a goddess representing destruction and powerful transformation.
To fully understand Hecate's significance, it is helpful to explore her mythology in greater depth.
Hecate's Lore: A Light Version
Hecate's lore is complex and rich with various mythological layers that reflect her diverse roles across different periods of Greek mythology. According to P.A. Marquardt in A Portrait of Hecate (1981), Hecate's role has often been seen as bridging the worlds of the Titans and the Olympians, embodying both celestial and chthonic elements. She was a powerful goddess who retained influence over the heavens, earth, and sea even as Zeus solidified his reign over the cosmos.
Genealogy
Hesiod's Theogony provides an important account of Hecate that places her in a major role despite her somewhat peripheral status among the Olympians. As Jenny Strauss Clay discusses in The Hecate of the Theogony, Hecate's power is depicted as spanning various realms of human activity—granting success in war, the courtroom, and even over sea voyages, provided she is properly invoked (Clay, 1984). This highlights her ambiguous nature; she is both benevolent and capricious (at the same time!), a deity whose favor was crucial for success in many... let's call it endeavors.
Hecate's functions also bear similarities to Anatolian and other ancient goddesses, such as Cybele and Artemis of Ephesus, further suggesting her role as a "Great Mother" figure (Marquardt, 1981). However, her unique liminal nature—standing at the crossroads of the mundane and the mystical - sets her apart. She was not just a motherly figure but also a protector of boundaries, which made her worship widespread among those seeking her favor at moments of transition.
Hesiod's portrayal of Hecate also emphasizes her independence. Unlike many other deities, Hecate's privileges were not diminished by Zeus; rather, they were affirmed and extended, which made her an unusual figure in the Olympian order - one who owed allegiance to no one but herself (Clay, 1984). This independence and connection to thresholds, magic, and transformation continue to shape how Hecate is depicted in modern media and games.
These works delve deeper into Hecate's origins, her mythological functions, and her evolving role in Greek religion.
Hecate in Smite 2
Hecate's skills and role are precisely captured by Hi-Rez Studios in Smite 2. As a powerful mage, she controls liminality through the use of portals and excels at manipulating crossroads to her advantage. In the game, she embodies her mythological associations by creating barriers, summoning powerful spells, and using her mastery over thresholds to influence the battlefield allowing her to effectively control the map if her abilities are used correctly.
Hecate in Popular Video Games
Hecate has appeared in a few other video games, often depicted with a focus on her associations with magic. For example, in the "Persona" series (Megami Tensei, II, and P5), Hecate is presented as a powerful demon that players can summon. Her role aligns with her mythological traits, particularly her association with darker aspects of magic and the supernatural.
Although Hecate does not appear directly, her influence is felt in the Hades series, where she is represented as the Witch of the Crossroads. In Eve Online, there is a Tier 3 Tactical destroyer named Hecate. It is a well-known spaceship, capable of delivering damage on par with a battlecruiser, helping other players transition to another realm using its powerful blasters.
p.s. I know it is not a video, and I'm aware that my submission is a post. Lets call it a tribute for fun.
Again, right on time. I've tried to do something different, giving Ares his own voice through mine (and some effects, of course) so he could tell his own Lore and who he is. My mic is improved, and I'm not that good - yet - on editing, and that goes to both audio and video, so I've made what I could primarily focusing on the script and the voice over. Hope you like it!
First off this was a really fun bounty, I've never done anything like this and I really enjoyed it. This is kind of my own take on Fenrirs lore. When I was first doing voice recordings I had no intentions of sounding like fenrir from Smite, but listening back I figured it worked great. I rewrote the script so it would be from first person. I've already been asked this and No I'm not using Ai or any special filters to sound this way. the only filter I used was an echo filter. I got the audio to sound this way by recording it twice. Once with the deep fenrir voice and once in a soft whispy voice. Then I synce up the timing of the two.
