Lovecraft Mythos
When Lovecraft conceived his imaginary mythology, he apparently never laid out a definitive plan to follow. [Probably due to being paid as a pulp writer in the 1930’s] Instead, he simply launched into writing his stories, adding matter-of-fact references to the various deities and monsters of the mythos. Furthermore, Lovecraft often used these references capriciously, indicating that he probably favored drama over consistency (a noteworthy example is Lovecraft’s use of Old Ones, a term whose meaning varied from story to story). Lovecraft’s central deities are Azathoth and Yog-Sothoth, both representing opposing cosmic principles. Azathoth, the “blind and idiotic” ruler of the pantheon, occupies the literal center of the universe, whereas Yog-Sothoth, Azathoth’s co-ruler, embodies the infinite, existing in all places and in all times. Next in the hierarchy is Shub-Niggurath (whom Lovecraft mentions but never describes in his stories), representing a kind of pagan fertility god. Attending Azathoth at his court are the Other Gods, mysterious beings that dance mindlessly around Azathoth’s throne in cadence to the piping of a demonic flute, and Nyarlathotep, the avatar and messenger of Azathoth and the Other Gods. Nyarlathotep is the only being that can interact intelligently with human beings, though he often manifests himself in human form to disguise his true appearance. The topmost tier of deities is served by earthbound, non-human beings. Cthulu is regarded as the priest of the gods, while Dagon appears to be his subordinate. The lowest tier consists of the Elder Things and the Mi-go, both extraterrestrial races, and the Deep Ones, ocean-dwelling humanoids, which serve Cthulhu and Dagon. Because of the additions of later authors, the mythos pantheon has grown considerably and is now populated by deities and beings never conceived of by Lovecraft. Nevertheless, the original schema, which places Azathoth and Yog-Sothoth at the top of the pantheon, is still widely recognized by many mythos writers.
According to Robert M. Price [Pulp writer of Conan, and peer to Lovecraft] in his essay “Lovecraft’s ‘Artificial Mythology’", Lovecraft never intended his pantheon of beings—occasionally referred to as the Old Ones—to be supernatural creatures but instead powerful extraterrestrials. For naive humans to worship these beings as gods or to deride them as devils was to feebly attempt to anthropomorphize them and thus render them into mundane and explainable terms. What early humans could not understand they characterized as divine; thus, prescientific cultures deified incomprehensible entities like Azathoth. Though humans might try to placate or earn the favor of these beings by worshiping them, the Old Ones were not welcoming of such veneration and moreover were quick to exploit their gullible worshipers to further their own agenda.
Lovecraft’s inspiration was to tear humanity from its supposed vaunted place in the universe by forcing his characters to confront alien beings far older and wiser than humankind. Unfortunately, August Derleth, as well as other writers who followed after him, misinterpreted Lovecraft’s original conception and took the Old Ones to be literally supernatural and godlike. Derleth further distorted Lovecraft’s vision by concocting a parallel to the Christian narrative of Satan warring against Heaven, pairing the devils of Lovecraft’s mythos (the Old Ones) against a race of benevolent Elder Gods with humanity’s fate hanging in the balance. “Religious fiction” of this sort could not be further from Lovecraft’s fundamental notion of an indifferent, nihilistic universe.