The God in the Bowl

“The God in the Bowl” is one of the original short stories featuring the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard but not published during his lifetime. Set during the fictional Hyborian Age, the plot sees Conan robbing a temple museum only to become the prime suspect in a murder mystery. The story first saw publication in September 1952 in Space Science Fiction and has been reprinted many times since.

In the Nemedian municipality of Numalia, the second largest city of Nemedia, Conan enters a museum and antique house called the Temple of Kallian Publico.

While robbing the museum, Conan becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. The strangled corpse of the temple’s owner and curator, Kallian Publico, is found by a night watchman. Though the Cimmerian is the prime suspect, the investigating magistrate, Demetrio, and the prefect of police, Dionus, show forbearance. The two allow Conan to remain free and keep his unsheathed sword while their men search the premises. A combination of Conan’s physique, his glare, and his insistence that he’ll disembowel the first person who tried to apprehend him keeps the guards at bay.

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The edited version by L. Sprague de Camp appears in the following places: