History DarkIsNotEvil / MythsAndReligion

** The [[EasternZodiac Chinese Zodiac]] has the Snake as one of it's animals. Obviously with the [[SnakesAreSinister dubious reputation]], Snakes get commonly thrown into the villain line-up. However for the Chinese, they are seen as very intelligent, intuitive and opportunistic (considering the Snake cheated in its race against the Horse.)

* The Yin principle of Myth/ChineseMythology and Taoism. Meaning literally "darkness"/"shadow", not only [[TheSacredDarkness is it vital for existence]] (and for medicine: a healthy mind and body need equal amounts of Yin and Yang), but it is arguably better than its light counterpart, Yang, as it symbolizes calmness and peace (as opposed to [[LightIsNotGood aggression and war]]).

** The [[EasternZodiac Chinese Zodiac]] has the Snake as one of it's animals. Obviously with the [[SnakesAreSinister dubious reputation]], Snakes get commonly thrown into the villain line-up. However for the Chinese, they are seen as very intelligent, intuitive and opportunistic (considering the Snake cheated in it's race against the Horse.)

** Hecate (goddess of witches and ghosts) helped Demeter search for Persephone lending the former one of her torches, transformed the Trojan queen Hecuba into her dog after she drowned, and when Hera turned a slave-girl of Heracles' mother into a polecat for sabotaging her attempt to prevent Heracles' birth, Hecate adopted the polecat[[note]]Consider here people thought by then polecats mated through the ears, and gave birth through the mouth.[[/note]]. She's also usually depicted with one or two burning torches up to being considered a bringer of light by some because of that, in Classical period was often described as wearing saffron robes (with some modern artwork even depicting her clad in white instead of black because of such association with light), and is even considered to be a much nicer deity to mortals than most others of the same mythos.

** The [[EasternZodiac Chinese Zodiac]] has the Snake as one of it's animals. Obviously with the [[SinisterSnake dubious reputation]], Snakes get commonly thrown into the villain line-up. However for the Chinese, they are seen as very intelligent, intuitive and opportunistic (considering the Snake cheated in it's race against the Horse.)

** Hecate (goddess of witches and ghosts) helped Demeter search for Persephone lending the former one of her torches, and when Hera turned a slave-girl of Heracles' mother into a polecat for sabotaging her attempt to prevent Heracles' birth, Hecate adopted the polecat[[note]]Consider here people thought by then polecats mated through the ears, and gave birth through the mouth.[[/note]]. She's also usually depicted with one or two burning torches up to being considered a bringer of light by some because of that with some modern artwork even depicting Hecate clad in white instead of black because of such association, and in Classical period she was often described as wearing saffron robes, and is even considered to be a much nicer deity to mortals than most others of the same mythos.

** Hades. Even though he is [[EverybodyHatesHades portrayed as a Satan analogue]] nowadays, in the original myths he was described as grim and stern, but not evil. Ancient Greeks were wary him more because of the natural fear of death and unknown, rather than him being particularly malicious. Hades was actually one of the few gods that didn't harm mankind directly, even proving willing to work with people, who ventured into his kingdom demanding something from him. He was also the giver of earthly wealth - both precious stones and metals and seeds. The worst thing he ever did was kidnap Persephone, which is rather insignificant compared to the exploits of his brothers, [[DependingOnTheWriter and he didn't even do it in some stories]]. Even then he and Persephone actually have a [[HappilyMarried happy and loving marriage]], which was very rare in the Greek pantheon.

** Hecate (goddess of witches and ghosts) helped Demeter search for Persephone lending the former one of her torches, and when Hera turned a slave-girl of Heracles' mother into a polecat for sabotaging her attempt to prevent Heracles' birth, Hecate adopted the polecat[[note]]Consider here people thought by then polecats mated using the ears, and gave birth through the mouth.[[/note]]. She's also usually depicted with one or two burning torches up to being considered a bringer of light by some because of that with some modern artwork even depicting Hecate clad in white instead of black because of such association, and in Classical period she was often described as wearing saffron robes, and is even considered to be a much nicer deity to mortals than most others of the same mythos.

** Hecate (goddess of witches and ghosts) helped Demeter search for Persephone lending the former one of her torches, and when Hera turned a slave-girl of Heracles' mother into a polecat for sabotaging her attempt to prevent Heracles' birth, Hecate adopted the polecat. She's also usually depicted with one or two burning torches up to being considered a bringer of light by some because of that[[note]]Some modern artwork even depicts Hecate clad in white instead of black because of such association, and in Classical period she was often described as wearing saffron robes[[/note]], and is even considered to be a much nicer deity to mortals than most others of the same mythos.

* In Filipino Mythology monsters are usually AlwaysChaoticEvil, but there are exceptions; [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapre The Kapre]], for example, is a sasquatch like creature that usually only reveals itself to people because it wants to be their friend ([[InterspeciesRomance or more]]) and will follow them throughout life afterward, implicitly protecting the people they like. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_%28legendary_creature%29 The Alan]], meanwhile is a [[TheGrotesque deformed]], [[TheTrickster mischievous]] [[WingedHumanoid bird-like]] creature with [[BodyHorror backwards facing hands and feet]], that steals [[{{Squick}} drops of menstrual blood, miscarried fetuses, afterbirth and other reproductive waste]]...[[ParentalSubstitute and turns them into human babies that they raise lovingly as their own]].

* The [[http://yokai.com/haradashi/ Haradashi]], a lesser known {{Youkai}} of [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Japanese folklore]] is a [[OurMonstersAreWeird strange being that has a face on its belly]] and looks pretty monstrous but is actually a friendly creature that seeks out to cheer up lonely and sad persons and will perform a hilarious belly dance to brighten your day if you offer it some sake.
** Originally, [[AnIcePerson Yuki-Onna]] were depicted as nothing more than evil, deceitful snow spirits. However in more modern retellings, these beautiful women gained a demure, romantic nature as their popularity grew. Now instead of purposely leading strangers to their doom, Yuki-Onna are now more likely to become your [[YamatoNadeshiko lovely snow waifu]] longing to be loved.
* [[ScaryScorpions Scorpio]] of the WesternZodiac inherit perhaps the darkest Zodiac Sign. But among their more positive traits are determination, bravery, loyalty and honesty. Though it's also quite true for actual scorpions, who'd prefer snuggling under a rock in the shade, than attacking humans...[[CreepyCute such lovely creatures]].
* {{Baphomet}} as is currently most pictured (a winged, satyr-like, entity with a goat's head and a torch between the horns) is actually a symbol of oneness and a dualistic figure of binary opposites totally unrelated to Satan despite its looks.

* While Christianity usually uses [[LightIsGood light as a metaphor for good]] and [[DarkIsEvil dark as a metaphor for evil]], lots of cathedrals, especially old Gothic and Eastern Orthodox ones, [[CreepyCathedral are pretty grim, dark, and gloomy inside]]. Furthermore, priests and nuns tend to dress in black, but uphold God's principles.
** Due to age and the windows not being cleaned, Clean stained glass dims light but does not dull it. One of the major reasons people began to use stained glass was to make churches more aesthetically pleasing; In other words, they darken ordinary light precisely to make it and the sacred space it fills holier and more beautiful. Besides, dark and gloomy is probably what all old buildings looked like at the time.

** While [[OurAngelsAreDifferent true angels]] look [[AngelicAbomination Lovecraftian]] enough to qualify as {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, they're still [[AlwaysLawfulGood wise and benevolent]]. However, they're not perfect, as ''[[Literature/BookOfJob Job]]'' alludes to them being capable of committing follies but still held to the standard of being holier than humans.

** Hell, as defined in ''Literature/TheBible'', isn't Satan's base of operations. Rather, it's the place for eternal punishment against all who ever sinned against God, ''including'' Satan and his fellow demons. If anything, Hell would be ran by God Himself and His angels, not by demons as with the very common misconception of Hell - though it is a Place for Punishment rather than a non-evil being. Satan - in this analogy - would be the scariest inmate in a prison, but he's in no way the leader or king.
* In Jewish mythology, Satan himself. The original Satan is not a "fallen angel," but a prosecuting angel. During the Days of Awe and on Yom Kippur (the Day of Repentance), his job is to prove to God that humanity is too sinful to continue to survive, while the humans' job is to acknowledge and repent of all their sins so that God would forgive them. Therefore Satan isn't actually evil - he is JustDoingMyJob. Although, as time went on, his character became embellished with stories of his deliberately ''tempting'' humans into sin to gather evidence against them, and over time he gained a reputation as a shady business dealer, which eventually got him conflated with the Devil. Many Jews today still see him as more of a prosecuting attorney in the Divine Court than a bad guy.

** Hades. Even though he is [[EverybodyHatesHades portrayed as a Satan analogue]] nowadays, in the original myths he was described as grim and stern, but not evil. Ancient Greeks were wary him more because of the natural fear of death and unknown, rather than him being particularly malicious. Hades was actually one of the few gods that didn't harm mankind directly, even proving willing to work with people, who ventured into his kingdom demanding something from him. He was also the giver of earthly wealth - both precious stones and metals and seeds. The worst thing he ever did was kidnap Persephone, which is rather insignificant compared to the exploits of his brothers, [[DependingOnTheWriter and he didn't even do it in some stories]]. Even then he and Persephone actually have a happy and loving marriage which was very rare in the Greek pantheon.