Nine Divines

The Imperial Pantheon of the Nine Divines, also the Eight and One,Dialogue with The Prophet consists of the most important religious order in Tamriel. The religion combines the Eight Divines pantheon created by Alessia with the apotheosized form of the founder of the Third Empire, Tiber Septim who became Talos, the ninth Divine. There are six gods and three goddesses. In Cyrodiil, there is a chapel in each major city venerating the divines. There are also wayshrines along the roads that are devoted to the Nine Divines. Many of these gods also appear in various combinations in the pantheons of other cultures.The Monomyth
==Pantheon==
*Akatosh – The Dragon God of Time and chief god of the pantheonVarieties of Faith in the EmpireThe Daggerfall Chronicles
*Arkay – God of the Cycle of Life and Death, and MortalsDialogue with Helgird burials and funeral rites
*Dibella – Goddess of Beauty and LoveLoading Screens (Oblivion)
*Julianos – God of Wisdom and Logic
*Kynareth – Goddess of Air, Wind, Sky and the Elements
*Mara – Goddess of Love and compassion, the Mother GoddessIn-game description in 
*Stendarr – God of Compassion, Mercy, Justice,Dialogue with Torasa Aram charity, luck,Bravil: Daughter of the Niben and righteous rule by might and merciful forbearanceLoading Screens (Skyrim)
*Talos – Hero-god of Mankind, conqueror god,The Wolf Queen, Book III God of Might, Honor,Nords Arise! State, Law,Guide to the Imperial City and ManDialogue with Heimskr
*Zenithar – God of Work and Commerce, Trader God
==Imperial Pantheon==
Including the Nine Divines – the Imperial Pantheon itself also has three additional gods.
*Morihaus (First Breath of Man) – ancient hero god of the Cyro-Nordics, associated with the Thu'um and Kynareth.
*Reman (The Cyrodiil/the Worldly God) – culture god-hero of the Second Empire, conqueror god.
*Shezarr (God of Man) – Cyrodilic version of Lorkhan, was the spirit behind all human undertaking and is sometimes associated with the founding of the Imperial Battlemages.
==Alessia and the Eight Divines==
The Eight Divines as an official religion was instituted by Alessia upon her slave revolt against the Ayleids. She is said to have consciously made a synthesis of Ayleid and Nordic gods, in order to appease both her Nord allies and the Cyrods and Ayleids she now ruled.Shezarr and the Divines
Perhaps coincidentally, the eight Aedra Alessia chose are those Aedra said to have been most active in the creation of the world. When the et'ada realized what Lorkhan had done, and how their divinity was being drained to create Nirn, most of them objected or withdrew. The eight Aedra that make up the divines, however, willingly gave of themselves to complete the act of creation, and are therefore seen as benevolent, in contrast to the more aloof merish deities.
==Popular opinion and worship==
Worship of the Imperial Pantheon started in the province of Cyrodiil, the homeland of the Imperials. The missionary arm of the religion was known as the Imperial Cult, whose aim was to bring divine inspiration and consolation to the Empire's remote provinces.For my Gods and Emperor Because Talos was not originally one of the Divines, in some religious sects the Nine Divines are referred to as "The Eight And One."
===Third Era===
By the late-Third Era, worship of the Nine Divines was prevelant in both Cyrodiil, and to some extent in Morrowind. Within Morrowind, following of the Nine Divines was dominant within the territory of Great House Hlaalu and the District of Vvardenfell after the Imperial Cult took advantage of the collapse of the orthodox Tribunal cults.A Life of Uriel Septim VII The Nords of Skyrim still largely followed their own religion,Dialogue with Jeleen during "The Missing Missionary" with even the Nords in Bruma refusing to revere the Nine in favor of their own gods,Dialogue with Isa RamanDialogue with Arentus FalviusGuide to Bruma in part due to their preferance to Ysmir compared to Akatosh.Dialogue with Cirroc
While the part that Talos played in the religion of High Rock and Hammerfell during the Third Era is unknown, the Eight Divines are part of the religion of High Rock,Varieties of Faith: The Bretons'' and some of the Eight are also venerated along the Iliac Bay region in Hammerfell. Unlike their Imperial Cult counterpart, however, the temples in these regions of these are only dedicated to one of the Eight, as opposed to all the Divines.Events of 
===Fourth Era===
While by the Fourth Era the Nords of Skyrim's cities had enthusiastically taken to the worship of the Nine, they historically had their own pantheon, which was still followed by citizens in more remote locations.Dialogue with Froki Whetted-Blade Despite Talos not being part of the religion of the Nords, the conversion of Skyrim was such a success, that the Nords came to believe that Talos was a part of their culture and traditions.Dialogue with Nura Snow-Shod Contrary to the chapel worship in Cyrodiil, the Temples in Skyrim are only dedicated to one of the Divines - with no additional shrines for the other Eight. The sole exception being the Temple of the Divines in Solitude.Events of Since Skyrim converted to the Imperial faith, Nordic burial customs include offerings to shrines of each of the Nine Divines.Dialogue with Elisif the Fair during "Elisif's Tribute"
Following the signing of the White-Gold Concordat, Talos was effectively removed from the pantheon of the Gods—and The Eight Divines worship resumed.The Great War While the ban on Talos worship was not enforced originally, following the Markarth Incident, the Emperor was forced to crack down, and permit the Thalmor entry to enforce the Concordat.Dialogue with Alvor Where required, Thalmor agents from the Third Aldmeri Dominion, ensure that the worship of Talos remains an illegal activity.Dialogue with Thalmor Justiciars The outlawing of Talos worship is one of the causes of the Stormcloak Rebellion, who see the ban on the worship of Talos as a violation of Skyrim's religious freedom.
An Imperial Liaison to the Aldmeri Dominion wrote the book known as The Talos Mistake, stating the Empire chose to remove Talos from the Nine not because of the Dominion, but because it was the right thing to do. The book states that the worship of Talos only weakened the history of Tiber Septim's mortal deeds, and pulled the people away from the Eight Divines.The Talos Mistake
The Imperial Priests of Talos within Skyrim were largely against the Empire due to the outlawing of Talos worship, believing that any true son of the Empire would never forsake Talos. Within the capital city of Solitude, attendance to the chapel of the Divines was low due to many citizens joining the Legion to fight in the war, however, the High Priest of the Eight Divines did get more visitors asking for council.Conversations between Freir and Rorlund By contrast, the population of Windhelm flocked to the Temple of Talos when the war broke out, though not always because of the war itself.Dialogue with Jora Within the city of Whiterun, Danica Pure-Spring, the priestess of Kynareth stopped most of her duties as a priestess to instead tend to the wounded soldiers of Whiterun who returned after clashes with the Stormcloaks.Dialogue with Danica Pure-Spring
==Communication with mortals and manifestation==
Prior to Alessia's pact with Akatosh, binding her soul to the Amulet of Kings, many Aedra and Daedra were able to fully interact with Nirn and its population. However, even during this period, these eight Aedra are not known to have manifested physically on the planet, but communicated through dreams and visions (as with Alessia). Their interaction with the world is relegated to blessings through their altars and shrines, and the Divines themselves are mostly seen as distant, beyond a few charismatic cults for individual Divines.Reflections on Cult Worship On rare occassions, the Divines may communicate with a follower of the Imperial Cult, turning them into an Oracle. These Oracles are on occassion, given visions by the Divines of prophecies and magical artifacts,Dialogue with Lalatia Varian during "Ring in Darkness"Dialogue with Lalatia Varian during "Boots of the Apostle"Dialogue with Lalatia Varian during "Ice Blade of the Monarch"Dialogue with Lalatia Varian during "Skull-Crusher" as well as the locations of deceased followers of the Nine.Events of "The Silver Staff of Shaming" On occasion, the Divines manifest themselves in mortal form. The Divines which have been believed to have done so are Talos,Events of "A Lucky Coin" Mara,Events of "Boots of the Apostle" and Zenithar.Events of "Ring in Darkness"
==Gallery==
Akatosh banner.png|A banner for Akatosh in 
Arkay banner.png |A banner for Arkay in Morrowind
Dibella banner.png|A banner for Dibella in Morrowind
Julianos banner.png|A banner for Julianos in Morrowind
Kynareth banner.png|A banner for Kynareth in Morrowind
Mara banner.png|A banner for Mara in Morrowind
Stendarr banner.png|A banner for Stendarr in Morrowind
Zenithar banner.png|A banner for Zenithar in Morrowind
Akatosh Stained Glass Circle.png|Akatosh' symbol wrought in stained glass.
Arkay Stained Glass Circle.png|Arkay's symbol wrought in stained glass.
Dibella Stained Glass Circle.png|Dibella's symbol wrought in stained glass.
Julianos Stained Glass Circle.png|Julianos' symbol wrought in stained glass.
Kynareth Stained Glass Circle.png|Kynareth's symbol wrought in stained glass.
Mara Stained Glass Circle.png|Mara's symbol wrought in stained glass.
Stendarr Stained Glass Circle.png|Stendarr's symbol wrought in stained glass.
Talos Stained Glass Circle.png|Talos' symbol wrought in stained glass.
Zenithar Stained Glass Circle.png|Zenithar's symbol wrought in stained glass.
==References==
cs:Božská devítka
de:Die Neun
es:Nueve Divinos
fr:Neuf Divins
nl:Negen Heiligen
pl:Dziewięć Bóstw
pt:Nove Divinos
ru:Девять Божеств
uk:Дев'ять Божеств
Category:Religions
Category:Aedra
 
Category:Lore: Imperials
Category:Pantheons