A sneak peak at one of the pieces of art for the Cults of Glorantha. It is only appropriate we start with Orlanth, Lord of Storms, King of the Gods, and Lightbringer!
What’s the mythological resonance / symbolism for the vajra-looking thing Orlanth holds in his hands? the vajra is the thunderbolt, or vice versa. It actually was originally a Greek artistic convention, later adopted in Greco-Buddhist art.
Four arms. Four weapons. I mean Orlanth needs to be able to use his Thunderbolt, his Dragon Head, his Sword, and the Shield of Arran at the same time. And if he needs to throw the Lightning Spear – there’s another arm.
How big is Orlanth? He’s as big as he needs to be. He’s a god after all. And Orlanth has multiple arms as he needs them for all his weapons. Just check out Gods War.
Then there is Humakt, who is never depicted with extra arms and sometimes depicted with only one arm holding his sword up at a right angle.