I was just reading up on Skyrim on the UESP, and the first line of the article on Alduin says "Alduin is the Nordic variation of Akatosh, and only superficially resembles his counterpart in the Eight Divines". When I read this I just figured that he's as powerful and almost identical to Akatosh, except the evil version (like dark Lugia I guess? xD). But then I went to the Akatosh article and it said "Akatosh (Auri-El to the Aldmer and Alduin to the Nords) is the chief deity of the Nine Divines ". Now this is confusing because it says he is the chief diety of the Nine Divines, but he is also Alduin, one of the biggest baddest beings in all the land. In fact, the Nords call him "The World Eater". That doesn't sound very divine to me.

So what's the deal? Are they the same entity? Because Akatosh basically saved the world in Oblivion, and if he's also Alduin then all I can make of this is that he wanted to destroy the world himself so he defeated Dagon before he could steal his glory. So I've sorta guessed they aren't the same being, but how exactly are they related? I figured you guys could shed some light on my nooby knowledge of canon

Maybe it "saved" the world in Oblivion, so he could destroy it. Maybe the dragonfires were stopping him from coming to this world?

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Alduin



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If I remember what I was told here correctly, for some reason, Akatosh was bound to the Cyrodiilic empire (something to do with the amulet of kings) for a long time and had to serve them, and so they came to believe him to be benevolent. Now (possibly due to his servitude and destruction of the amulet of kings in Oblivion) he has fulfilled his duty and is free and can continue to be an [censored].

Just what I was told. Could be totally off.

I think they mean that he's the equivalent of Akatosh to the Nords in the role he plays (the chief deity of the Nordic religion). The destruction of the world is a natural process to him. He doesn't take it personally, so he isn't evil, he's just a divine being doing what he knows to do. Except he doesn't know that a new dragon born is coming to kill him.

Sounds plausable. Since it was only his avatar in Oblivion, maybe his true body is locked away under the frozen tundras of Skyrim waiting to be reanimated.

But as the guy up there said, it's only a superficial resemblance. Still, I'd like to know the relationship between the two.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Akatosh

Sounds like it.

I haven't read anything in the last two games that eluded to Akatosh potentially being an enemy of the people.

Alduin only resembles Akatosh superficially.

Maybe he's like Sheogorath/Jyggalag. He can't stop himself from becoming Alduin.

One of the abilities the gods in Tamriel have is that they can be several things simultaneously. Alduin and Akatosh are both the same and separate beings at the same time.

If I understand correctly, Alduin and Akatosh are two names for the same entity. There aren't two different sides to him, it's more of a "Imperial view" (good) and "Nordic view" (bad) of the same being.

I wouldn't put it past a Divine to change Their Avatar depending on who's looking at Them. After all, vanity is important when you're eating the mortal plane.

Not to be an ass, but that'd be a bit out there. Akatosh more than likely resembles him because he's a dragon and is the chief god of a pantheon.

I do not know where I read the article, but I think Akatosh and Alduin are the same, which is the god of time, and the beginning and the end.

They may be two aspects of the cycle of creation, I'd be willing to believe that.

Alduin's true form: http://masseffect.neoseeker.com/w/i/masseffect/thumb/f/f0/Reaper.jpg/270px-Reaper.jpg

:flamethrower:

What was the original name?

In ther same set of often humorous stories (from the developers I think) that had the stuff about snow whales, there's a story that appears to hint at the events in Oblivion and Skyrim, with this girl who painted cows. It mentions the dragon (Alduin/Akatosh) sleeping until some point in the future, and Dagon wanting to get vengeance on the house of Alessia (the girl was Allessia I think).

Random, but I thought it interesting.

I think this link to Cipher 8's thread on his theory regarding the background story for Skyrim's main plot would be of the interest to the OP. It's a good read, at the very least:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1152130-the-story-behind-skyrim-v20/

"Sooo is Akatosh a two-faced [censored]?" but it wasn't censored xD

Each race has present a Stasis-aligned Time-Entity, one that is intricately tied to their creation myths, as that Time-Entity coincides with the IS, versus the IS-NOT.
The Aldmer have Auriel, the Imperials have Akatosh, the Yokudans had Akel/Tall-Papa, the Khajiit have Alkosh, etc

The thing to note is the distinct foundational similarities between all of these, not necessarily in their bodily descriptions, but in the events that are attributed to them and in the roles they occupy.
Each cultural representation may be considered a plausible viewing of the essence of the Time God, perhaps anologized as viewing the Time God through a unique Funhouse Mirror for each race.

That anology, however, implies that the interpretation is done at a subjective individual level, and has no bearing on the actual being of a God. http://www.imperial-library.info/content/where-were-you-when-dragon-broke-complete-version, as they are quite firmly attempting to edit out the undeniable presence of one culture's Time-God within their culture's Time-God, which then sensibly results in a breaking of Time.

It's unclear what the exact correct interpretation should be. Recent writings suggest that all the different aspects existed alongside one another in the Dawn and warred with each other. But even in that multiplicity, each culture's aspect still fulfilled the definitive essence of the role, and the events that play out on all sides are interchangable. Suggesting again a united theme. And even in that multiplicity, especially coupled with the Selectives mentioned above, the view of all-as-one is not out of place.

To appropriate one of Proweler's metaphors used to describe the events of the Shivering Isles, perhaps the best way to look at this situation of Gods is that all the aspects are merely actors in a play, where the respective aspects don the respective roles and are therefore understandable as the same.
EDIT: In other words, to the audience, Macbeth is still the same character, no matter who in particular is playing his role.

maybe they are two different deitys and at the end of the game akatosh comes and kills alduin, I just cant picture one guy taking on something the size of alduin (the world eater has got to be pretty big)

This is all we know so far. The game should clarify who he is exactly and why he's so different. The truth is I don't think we've ever seen Akatosh in a TES game, only his Avatar in Oblivion. Though in the lore Akatosh is considered quite nice and friendly (once you get on his good side) in stories like King Edward.

Alduin IS NOT the chief deity of the Nordic Pantheon. Alduin is the world-eater, who destroys the kalpa and brings on another. Shor is the closest the nords have to a chief deity.

Here's a coincidence, Akatosh in Cyrodillic tradition is depicted with two heads. Though his two-headedness reflects Akatosh's relationship with Lorkhan.

I know there is great debate with respect to some of the things at The Imperial Library in terms of whether or not they're canon, but if one in particular is, it strongly suggests that the world has been created and destroyed many times over, and furthermore, that Mehrunes Dagon once attempted to save the world from being devoured by gradually hiding and re-adding bits of the world each time it was created, so that each world created was successively larger than the last. Eventually, he hoped that the world would be too large for Akatosh/Alduin to "eat." Akatosh/Alduin discovered this treachery, and banished Dagon to Oblivion, from whence he could only be exonerated if he managed to destroy every last excess bit of the world he had added. The covenant with St Alessia and the Dragon Fires prevented Dagon from reaching Nirn to do so, however.

I can only speculate that Mehrunes Dagon's attack on Tamriel may well have been - far from the desire simply to destroy for its own sake - an effort to eliminate this excess matter on Nirn (perhaps this excess is Tamriel itself?) in hopes of freeing himself.

If so, then Akatosh/Alduin's covenant with Alessia - far from the benevolent protection of his former prey, which never made sense to me anyway - was in actuality a device to ensure Dagon's captivity, and a way to preserve creation for the appointed time, before the time of devouring/destruction came again, and Martin becoming the Avatar of Akatosh was merely a means of containing Dagon yet again (with the added bonus of snuffing out the line of Dragonborn once and for all, opening the way to the time of devouring... which will begin in Skyrim.)

That's just a theory, though.

Alduin destroys the world so he can create it again. Like in the Noah story.