History MisaimedFandom / MythAndReligion

** Loki similarly is often seen as a "misunderstood hero" - and while he's certainly not a GodOfEvil, he isn't exactly a "good guy" either since he essentially got Baldur killed, prevented his resurrection, and said [[JustJokingJustification it was just a joke]]. He may have been the one to help execute ideas involving trickery, but the entire story with Baldur shows that he went ''too far''. Like most of the Norse Gods, he's morally neutral. All of the others have their fair share of {{Jerkass}} moments as well, even from the point of view of the societies that made up these stories. Certainly, ValuesDissonance makes some of actions taken by certain gods seem very different today than they did to the medieval Norse. See Odin offering the dwarf whose child he just killed (admittedly, very much by accident) ''money'' in exchange in the Nibelungenlied. To the medieval Germans, this was fine. Most modern people would not approve however.

* In the story of CainAndAbel, God gives Cain some kind of "mark," so that no one will go and take revenge on him. What this mark was or might have been is not known. But somehow, some sects thought it was a change in Cain's overall skin color, and that it was not so much a protection as a curse...and used it to justify slavery and racism towards black people. Then again, the slavery and racism came first: the Mark of Cain thing was just a flimsy excuse that did not convince a huge number of people even during the time when it was current. Like modern conspiracy theories, the people who "believed in it" were usually just trying to sell their political ideas.

** We have WordOfDante to blame for that one, of course. The Church (for quite some time, [[ChristianityIsCatholic Christianity really]] ''[[ChristianityIsCatholic was]]'' [[ChristianityIsCatholic Catholic]]) demonized Judas for various reasons, a portrayal cemented in our culture by...well...Dante, whose ''[[Literature/TheDivineComedy Inferno]]'' has Judas be one of the three great historical traitors (with [[UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar Caesar's]] traitors Brutus and Cassius) deemed bad enough to be chewed upon by Satan for all eternity.

** Many people think that Hades was handed a raw deal and that the EveryoneHatesHades trope is mean - primarily because [[ValuesDissonance he was one of the few gods who, as far as we know today, never]] [[ReallyGetsAround went around cheating on his wife]], [[DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal fostering illegitimate children]], and [[JerkassGods screwed mortals over]] for no real reason except for people who are considered to have "deserved it" (ie wanting to kidnap his wife). And on top of it? His dog, Cerberus, is even named "Spot". Except that EveryoneHatesHades actually ''does'' have mythological basis. While Hades was never the GodOfEvil (Ares would actually be a better candidate, prior to when he became "Mars"), the ancient Greeks were ''not'' exactly ''fond'' of him. Ancient greeks would look away when making sacrifices to him and calling him the one who enriched himself off of the tears of man. Speaking his name was very much a curse (Which is why "Hades" was also often a synonym for "Hell") which was why so many other names for him included things like "The Zeus of the Underworld" (meaning he was just as powerful and as wise as Zeus), or even "Pluton" meaning "Wealthy one". This is the source for his ''Roman'' name, Pluto. Hades isn't the god of death - that's Thanatos - but he is the lord ''of'' the dead ''and'' everything inside the earth. This includes mineral wealth, hence why several of his nicknames derive from such a thing.