Conan Stories · Chapter
The Hyborian Age explained
This chapter provides a fictional historical background for the Conan stories, detailing the rise and fall of civilizations from the Pre-Cataclysmic Age through the Hyborian Age.
What happens
This chapter provides a fictional historical background for the Conan stories, detailing the rise and fall of civilizations from the Pre-Cataclysmic Age through the Hyborian Age. It describes the cataclysm that sank Atlantis and Lemuria, the emergence of the Hyborian peoples, the formation of kingdoms such as Aquilonia and Nemedia, and the growing power of barbarian races like the Picts, Cimmerians, and Nordheimir. The narrative culminates in the rise of the Picts under the influence of the Nemedian priest Arus and the chief Gorm, setting the stage for future conflicts.
Themes in this chapter
Civilization vs. Barbarism
The chapter contrasts the crumbling Thurian civilization with the rising barbarian races, particularly the Picts and Cimmerians, and explores the tension between civilized and savage ways.
Power and Corruption
The narrative describes the rise and fall of empires, the use of barbarian mercenaries, and the corrupting influence of power as kingdoms vie for dominance.
Fate and Destiny
The historical progression of races and kingdoms is portrayed as inevitable, with the cataclysm and subsequent rise of the Hyborians and Picts driven by forces beyond individual control.
Characters to notice
- Conan
Mentioned as the central figure of the stories set in this fictional age.
- Arus
A Nemedian priest who ventures among the Picts to introduce the worship of Mitra and inadvertently aids their rise.
- Gorm
A Pictish chief of unusual intelligence who listens to Arus and allows him to stay, later leading his people toward empire.
Key passages
“When I began writing the Conan stories a few years ago, I prepared this 'history' of his age and the peoples of that age, in order to lend him and his sagas a greater aspect of realness.”
The author created a fictional history for Conan's world to make the character and his adventures feel more authentic.
Explains the purpose of the chapter as a background for the Conan stories.
“Then the Cataclysm rocked the world. Atlantis and Lemuria sank, and the Pictish Islands were heaved up to form the mountain peaks of a new continent.”
A massive cataclysm submerged Atlantis and Lemuria while raising the Pictish Islands into new mountain ranges.
Describes the pivotal geological event that reshaped the world.
“This man was Arus, a Nemedian priest, a natural-born reformer. What turned his mind toward the Picts is not certain, but this much is history—he determined to go into the western wilderness and modify the rude ways of the heathen by the introduction of the gentle worship of Mitra.”
Arus, a Nemedian priest, set out to civilize the Picts by teaching them the peaceful religion of Mitra.
Highlights Arus's mission and its unintended consequences for Pictish advancement.