As in Players
HandbookDelos is the northern most island in the inner ring. The temperature is fairly temperate for much of the year.
Race: Kalipolis is inhabitated by gnomes. All types of gnomes live here and they are all treated as equals. Other races are welcome into the city as long as they obey the rules of the gnomes. Non-gnomes may not vote in the council meetings unless they have been voted in a citizens.
Location:
Size:
Government: The government of kalipolis is Gnoman Democracy.
Economics: Kalipolis is a very capitalist place. All the citizens decided what they will with their land and money.
Places of Note:
Hall of Council:
Race: Sagacity is mainly inhabited by halflings. It does however support many other races for the fact that it is a port city. The number of non-halflings is not very large percentagely when compared to other port cities around the world. The reason for the low percentage is that people only really go to Sagacity for agricultural needs. Halflings produce some of the best crops in the world. In atlantis have halfling crops is a rarity and only the senators and equestrians can afford it.
Location: Sagacity is located in the south west part of Delos. It is located at the northean shore of Merchant Sea. A river runs through the center of the city.
Size: Sagacity has over 50,000 residents in it.
Government: the government of the town is the government described latter as the Fellowship of Halflings.
Places to See:
The Temple of Demeter
In the center of Sagacity is the Temple of Athena. Meleager was a great farmer and warrior, and always thanked Athena for each of his victories. So, when he got to old to fight anymore, Athena decided that Meleager deserved a special place where he could live his life out and could farm on the richest farmlands in the world. So Athena sliced the ground with her spear and there formed a river and when the water from this river touched the shore the shore sprouted into farm land.
The Farmlands of Sagacity:
Is located in the heart of the fellowship of hobbits. This is the capital of the fellowship. The mayor of this city-state is the mayor of the whole fellowship. Sagacity is the most important port among the halfling city-states.
All the rest as Player Handbook
Rock Gnomes are the Base Gnomes.
Ability Scores: -2 Str, +2 Int, -2 Wis, +2 Cha
Bonuses: as players handbook
Hindrances: as players handbook
Life Expectancy: 350 yrs
Forest Gnomes are the smallest of the Gnomes ranging from 2 to 2 1/2 feet. They live in the forests of Delos. Their skin is barked colored gray and green. They have dark hair and blue, brown or green eyes.
Ability Scores: -4 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Cha
Bonuses: as player handbook
Hindrances: as Player's Handbook
Life Expectancy: 500 yrs.
Svirfnebline are gnomes which make their homes deep underground. Their skin is the color of rocks, usually grey or brownish. Their eyes are grey, males are bald.
Ability Scores: -2 Str, +2 Con, +2 Wis, -2 Cha
Bonuses: as Player's Handbook
Hindrances: as Player's Handbook
Life Expectancy: 250 yrs.
Personality: Goblins are a very war like race. They believe the only way to enter into the Elysian Fields is to be a great warrior.
Physical Description Goblins are about 3 1/2 ft. tall. They are much broader than any of the other races on the island of Delos. They have gray to green skin. Their hair ranges from brown to white. They are usually fairly dirty and have deep yellow teeth.
Relations:Goblins are a very war like race and do not make peace with anyone unless it serves their purpose. They are hated enemies of halflings and gnomes. The kobolds sometimes ally with the goblins and sometimes are at war with them.
Alignment: Goblins are usually evil. They are a war like race who like to plunder cities for their own gain. Killing to a goblin is just a part of life and it is better to be the killer than the one who is going to be killed.
Lands: Goblins live all over Delos but they mainly live in the hilly forests.
Religion: see religion later. Their gods are: Ares, Atlas, Poseidon, and Uranus.
Language: Goblins speak a tongue which is very course and with many animal type noises in it. Their tongue is very close to orc.
Names:
Adventurers: Goblins would become adventurers to gain money and respect. Being a warrior is the way of life for Goblins. Being a great warrior is all that matters to Goblins.
Racial Traits
as above
Valley gobins are goblins which live between two great hills or in between mountains. They are believed to be decendants of hill goblins. They were probally driven out because they were undesarables. There is a myth that the valley goblins are the babies which were to weak and thrown to their death. It is believed that one of these unwanted babies where thrown and fell into a river. The baby goblin floated until it came to Filia, one of the daughters of Poseidon. She cared for the goblin and anyother goblins which were thrown from the cliff into the river. Filia asked if Poseidon could buid islands in the river for these goblins she loved so much. Poseidon who loved his daugther very much, did what she asked. From the series of island the valley goblins have become great sailors. They have sailed the world and have come common to customs and etiquete of the world.
Ability Scores: -2 Str, +2 Dex
Advantages: as above
Hindrances: as above
These goblins live in the high mountains of Delos. They live in the dark caves if these great mountains. They are called gold goblins because of all the gold that exists in these mountains. It is said that these goblins will supply their whole army with golben weapons. This is not true but it is a common myth about the gold goblins. They are adept at mining and metal crafting.
Ability Score Adjustments: -2 Str, +2 Con, +2 Dex, -2 Cha
Advantages: as above
Hindrances: as above
As in Players
Handbook
As in players handbook
Advantages: As Player's Handbook
Hindrances: As Players Handbook
Advantages: As Player's Handbook
Hindrances: As Player's Handbook
Personality: Kobolds are very deceitful race. They use trickery to get what they want. They are a very weak race and will not engage into most battles unless they out number the foes by at least 2 to 1.
Physical Description: Kobolds are reptiles who have a thin layer of scales.
Relations: Kobolds are enemies of Halfling and gnomes most of the time. Kobolds are usually henchmen for goblin armies.
Alignment: kobolds are an evil race. They are also very chaotic unlike goblins. Kobolds believe that when combat starts it is each man for himself. This is also true for their society. Kobolds society is not organized into social groups. The simple rule is the strong survive and make the rules.
Lands: Kobolds live in the mountains of Delos and in the swamps.
Religion: Kobold religion is described later under religion. Their gods are: Cronus, Hades, Hecate, and Hephestus.
Language:
Names:
Adventurers: Kobolds would be attracted to adventuring for personal gain. They would try to prove how strong, in order to gain respect. They would also adventure to make some money.
Racial Trais
As above
Swamp Kobolds are Kobolds that live in the swamps of Delos. They build large dirt mound for their lairs in the swamp. They have webbed fingers and toes and can swim as well as they can walk. They have become very profiecient at hiding in the swamps of their homelands in hope to catch a prey.
Advantages: as above
Hindrances: as above
Molossus was a great hero in the history of the people of Delos. He was able to unite all of the people under one city state. He was the last king of all of Delos. He was a great warrior and after his death written history began. before him the people of Delos were very barbaric and were all fighting with one another. After his death their was peace and all of the people lived in peace with each other.
As time went on short lived races such as goblins and kobolds forgot about Molossus and saw that their was no point in the races living in unity with each other. The goblins were very war like and declared war on the rest of the island. They road their wolves and began a strong invasion. This made the halflings and Gnomes join sides to stop the goblins and the kobolds join the goblins. Their were wars one after another and most of the history Of Delos is war between city states and then uneasy peace and more war.
Since all of the city states were fighting each other the elves were able to conquer the people of Delos very easily. The elves control the people of Delos with the use of very little military because they were so small.
This was short time in which the people of Delos ruled themselves. There was still much fighting between the people of Delos.
The Atlantean Empire was growing and the people of Delos have always been an easy target for conquest.
Delos is separted into many different city-states. Each city-state has it's own for of government and Rules and how it social classes work.
These are some governments which certain races have.
The Gnomes have a government in which all of the people have a vote. Their are not elected officals all of the gnomes have a vote and decide everything. Anytime there is a vote that comes up all of the gnomes vote. All the gnomes mean any gnome (male or female) over the age of adult hood. Generals of armies are elected by the people. Gnomes vote on anything which effects the city-state including judicial decesions.
Gnomes own their own land.
Goblins live in a society where military takes presedent over everything else. Their are no real political offices, their are political/ military offices. This means that goblins whole society is based around their martial lives.
Brevet is the head leader of the army. He is the strongest an mightiest warrior in the city-state. He has command over the whole army and they must follow his every command or get executed for treason.
Caveat is the second in command of the Goblins. He is in command of the army of the Goblins.
Behest is of equal level of the Caveat. He is the commander of the navy.
All of the men of town where in the army. They did not have private houses, instead they lived in the barracks. They did not live with their wives for women would make them weak. Goblins do marry but they do not live with their wives.
Women are thought of as caregivers. They are to care for their children. When a male child reaches the age of 5 he is taken to the barracks and taught in the art of war. From then on the child home will be the barracks.
Female children on the other hand are raised by their mother to become caregivers to children. Women are not judged on their looks, instead they are judged on their breeding abilities. Women who are larger are considered to be the more desired.
The farms of the land were cared for by slaves. Through the goblins conquest they have enslaved many other nations and have turned these people into slaves. The slaves are watched by goblins guards and are allowed to reprend slaves but are not allowed to kill them unless they are given the order to do so.
Goblin males on a whole do not really spend anytime with anything but war. Even the priest of the town are expected to be warriors. Usually the priest become officers in the army for the fact that they have the ability to heal battle damaged warriors.
Religion plays a major roll in the society of Goblins. Goblins usually offer their foes as sacrafices up to their gods. The Goblin's favored gods love to see the blood spilt of the weak.
Halflings live in a government where everyone and everything is held in common. The city-state as a whole owns everything and nothing is owned by the people. The head office held in a halfling town is called a mayor.
The Mayor is incharge of making sure the town runs smoothly. He keeps the town's economic records. The Mayor is incharge with dealing with people outside of the village. Halflings are friendly but most do not care to leave their homelands. It is the mayors job to control imort and export. The mayor is usally a young go getter who wants to see the world.
The Seriff is incharge of keeping order in the town. He and Marshals make sure that people follow the laws of the land. Usually, their are not many up roars among the halflings. The Seriff is also the commander of the village's milita.
Laws have been set by a consition which is has been established thousands of years in the past. The community as a whole usually interpret the laws a certain way.
Halfling towns do not have any private property. Halflings tend the fields of the town. The fields of the town are common for everyone.Their are no private fields for each person. Their is also a pastor that is common for the whole town. All of the crops and cattle are property of the town. There are no kind of coinage and no taxes. Everything is common for the halflings. This makes it interesting when Halflings leave their society and go into another one, for most cultures don't like to "share" with strangers.
Kobolds do not have any real form of government. The Kobolds just settle any problems with their swords. Their are no official laws or rules that the Kobolds addhere to. They just follow anything they feel like doing.
When someone is murdered it is expected for the Kobold to kill in revenge. Their is no law saying that he has to seek revenge but their is no law against it.
If their is someone in town that the Kobolds don't like they will ask him to leave if he does not leave then they may kill him. The Kobolds might just kill him before asking him to leave.
In Kobold society the strong survives. Their are no rules so the weak are not pertected by any rules. The strong can go around rapping and pilaging and their are no official laws that he is breaking. These of course would not make him very popular and he will probally will be attacked by relatives of the people who he has killed or rapped. Aimless murder is against some of the customary laws of the Kobolds.
The Customary Laws are:
1) Don't kill without reason.
2)
God of Love, Beauty
Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture. According to Hesiod, she was born when Uranus (the father of the gods) was castrated by his son Cronus. Cronus threw the severed genitals into the ocean which began to churn and foam about them. From the aphros ("sea foam") arose Aphrodite.
After her birth, Zeus was afraid that the gods would fight over Aphrodite's hand in marriage so he married her off to the smith god Hephaestus, the steadiest of the gods. He could hardly believe his good luck and used all his skills to make the most lavish jewels for her. He made her a girdle of finely wrought gold and wove magic into the filigree work. That was not very wise of him, for when she wore her magic girdle no one could resist her, and she was all too irresistible already. She loved gaiety and glamour and was not at all pleased at being the wife of sooty, hard-working Hephaestus.
Aphrodite loved and was loved by many gods and mortals. Among her mortal lovers, the most famous was perhaps Adonis. Some of her sons are Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios and Aeneas. She is accompanied by the Graces.
Her attributes are the dolphin, the dove, the swan, the pomegranate and the lime tree.
Symbol: Seashell
Domain: Chaos, Healing, Luck, Sun, Trickery
Alignment: any non-evil
Nonweapon Proficiencies Required:
Omen-Reading: Omens from APhrodite are often associated with the sea.
Duties: Every ten days, the priestess must release white doves, and every new moon they must throw an object of art and beautiful jewelry into the sea. They also must do what they can to aid anyne who is in trouble because of a forbidden love. Her festival is the Aphrodisiac which was celebrated in various centers of Delos and especially in Kalipolis. Her priestesses were not prostitutes but women who represented the goddess and sexual intercourse with them was considered just one of the methods of worship.
Rights: Since they can not marry, Aphrodite's priest are supported by the people of the town. They collect money to support themselves adn their temple.
Restrictions: Only women may become priests of Aphrodite. Priest of Aphrodite may never marry.
Epimetheus ("afterthought") is the son of Iapetus and Clymene. He foolishly ignored his brother Prometheus' warnings to beware of any gifts from Zeus. He accepted Pandora as his wife, thereby bringing ills and sorrows to the world.
Titan of Afterthought
Symbol:Pandora's Box
Domain: Chaos, Destruction, Earth, Healing,
Alignment: any
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Epimetheus does not give good omens. He usually will give an omen after the event already occured.
Duties:
Rights:
Restrictions:
Dionysus was the god of
wine, agriculture, and fertility of nature, who is also the patron god of
stage. On the other hand, Dionysus also represents the outstanding features of
mystery religions, such as those practiced at Eleusis: ecstasy, personal
delivery from the daily world through physical or spiritual intoxication, and
initiation into secret rites.
Dionysus, also referred to as Zagreus in this account, is the son of Zeus and Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. Hera gets the Titans to lure the infant with toys, and then they rip him to shreds eating everything but Zagreus' heart, which is saved by either Athena, Rhea, or Demeter. Zeus remakes his son from the heart and implants him in Semele who bears a new Dionysus Zagreus.
Briefly, Dionysus returns to Thebes, his putative birthplace, where his cousin Pentheus is king. He has returned to punish the women of Thebes for denying that he was a god and born of a god. Pentheus is enraged at the worship of Dionysus and forbids it, but he cannot stop the women, including his mother Agave, or even the elder statesmen of the kingdom from swarming to the wilds to join the Maenads (a term given to women under the ecstatic spell of Dionysus) in worship. Dionysus lures Pentheus to the wilds where he is killed by the Maenads and then mutilated by Agave.
God of Mirth, Madness
Symbol: A Grape Vine
Domain: Chaos, Death, Healing, Luck, Plant, Water
Alignment: any except lawful good
Noweapon Proficiency Required: Profession(brewer)
Omen-Reading: Omens from Dionysus take form of hallucinations, especially while drinking wine.
Duties: Priests should live their lives as one big party. The only duty that they have is to cultivate grapevines and make wine, which they sell to earn money to support the temple.
Rights: They have no rights because they really do not form any big function in society, besides making very good wine.
Restrictions: There are no restrictions because Dionysus is a very fun loving god.
Prometheus was the son of
Iapetus who was one of the Titans. He tricked the gods into eating bare bones
instead of good meat. He stole the sacred fire from Zeus and the gods.
Prometheus did not tell Zeus the prophecy that one of Zeus's sons will
overthrow him. In punishment, Zeus commanded that Prometheus be chained for
eternity in the Caucasus. There a vulture would eat his liver, and each day the
liver would be renewed. So the punishment was endless, until Heracles finally
killed the bird.
Titan of Forethought and Fire Bringer and Creator of Man
Symbol: Flaming Torch
Domain: Fire, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Magic, Protection, Sun, Trickery
Alignment: any good
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Prometheus gives omens by speaking to the priest.
Duties: Prometheus' priest are responsible for providing guidance to all the people of the city-state.
Rights:
Restrictions:
Ares, the god of war, is tall
and handsome, but vain and as cruel as his brother Hephaestus was kind. His
sister Eris, the goddess of strife, is his constant companion, but he is also
attended by his sons Deimos and Phobos, as well as Enyo, an old war-goddess.
When Ares heard the clashing of arms, he grinned with glee, put on his gleaming helmet, and leapt into his war chariot. Brandishing his sword, he rushed into the thick of battle, not caring who won or lost as long as blood was shed. A vicious crowd followed at his heels, carrying with them Pain, Panic, Famine and Oblivion. Once in a while, Ares was wounded. He was immortal but whenever he would get hurt he would run back to his father, Zeus and was healed. Needless to say, Zeus was very disgusted with his son. Ares was mainly worshipped in Carnage, a region known for its fierce goblins.
God of War, Killing, Strife
Symbol: Spear
Domain: Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Strength, War(sword)
Alignment: any non-good
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Omens from Ares come in the form of a violent event, such as a wolf eating a deer, could mean that the army should attack because they will be victors like the wolf.
Duties: They are expected to do all they can to create striff and warfare. There is also a great rivalry between Ares and Athena, any time these worshippers meet there will be blood shed.
Rights: Priest of Ares are always leaders in the army.
Restrictions: Only males may be priest of Ares.
Titan of Strength
Atlas is a scion of the Titans, the race of giants, and the son of Iapetus and the nymph Clymene. He is the father of the Hesperides, the Hyades and the Pleiades.
In the revolt of the Titans against the gods of the Olympic, Atlas stormed the heavens and Zeus punished him for this deed by condemning him to forever bear the earth and the heavens upon his shoulders. Hence his name, which means "bearer" or "endurer".
To complete the eleventh of his twelve labors, Heracles had to obtain the golden apples of the Hesperides, and he asked Atlas for help. Heracles offered to bear Atlas's burden in his absence, when he went to retrieve the apples. Atlas agreed to perform the task readily enough, since he did not plan on ever bearing that burden again. When Atlas returned with the apples, Heracles requested him to assume the load for a moment, saying he needed to adjust the pad to ease the pressure on his shoulders. After Atlas bore the world again, Heracles walked off with the golden apples.
Symbol: World or Globe
Domain: Air, Destruction, Earth, Protection, Strength, War(Great club)
Alignment: any non-good
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Atlas omens can be seen on the side of mountains.
Duties:
Rights:
Restrictions:
God of Water, Earthquakes,
Creation
Poseidon is a god of many names. He is most famous as the god of the sea. The son of Cronus and Rhea, Poseidon is one of six siblings who eventually "divided the power of the world." His brothers and sisters include: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Zeus. The division of the universe involved him and his brothers, Zeus and Hades. Poseidon became ruler of the sea, Zeus ruled the sky, and Hades got the underworld. The other divinities attributed to Poseidon involve the god of earthquakes and the god of horses. The symbols associated with Poseidon include: dolphins, tridents, and three-pronged fish spears.
Poseidon was relied upon by sailors for a safe voyage on the sea. He lived on the ocean floor in a palace made of coral and gems, and drove a chariot pulled by horses. However, Poseidon was a very moody divinity, and his temperament could sometimes result in violence. When he was in a good mood, Poseidon created new lands in the water and a calm sea. In contrast, when he was in a bad mood, Poseidon would strike the ground with a trident and cause unruly springs and earthquakes, ship wrecks, and drownings.
Poseidon was similar to his brother Zeus in exerting his power on women and in objectifying masculinity. He had many love affairs and fathered numerous children. Poseidon once married a Nereid, Amphitrite, and produced Triton who was half-human and half-fish. He also impregnated the Gorgon Medusa to conceive Chrysaor and Pegasus, the flying horse. The rape of Aethra by Poseidon resulted in the birth of Theseus; and he turned Caeneus into a man, at her request, after raping her. Another rape involved Amymone when she tried to escape from a satyr and Poseidon saved her. Other offspring of Poseidon include: Eumolpus, the Giant Sinis, Polyphemus, Orion, King Amycus, Proteus, Agenor and Belus from Europa, Pelias, and the King of Egypt, Busiris.
One of the most notorious love affairs of Poseidon involves his sister, Demeter. Poseidon pursued Demeter and to avoid him she turned herself into a mare. In his lust for her, Poseidon transformed himself into a stallion and captured her. Their procreation resulted in a horse, Arion. Poseidon is Goblin for "Husband" (possibly of wheat), and therefore it is thought that he and Demeter (goddess of wheat) are a good match because they reign as the god and goddess of fertility.
Another infamous story of Poseidon involves the competition between him and the goddess of war, Athena, for the city of Sagacity. To win the people of the city over, Poseidon threw a spear at the ground and produced the Spring at the Acropolis. However, Athena won as the result of giving the people of Athens the olive tree. In his anger over the decision, Poseidon flooded the Attic Plain. Eventually, Athena and Poseidon worked together by combining their powers. Even though Poseidon was the god of horses, Athena built the first chariot. Athena also built the first ship to sail on the sea over which Poseidon ruled.
Poseidon often used his powers of earthquakes, water, and horses to inflict fear and punishment on people as revenge. Though he could be difficult and assert his powers over the gods and mortals,
Symbol: Trident
Domain: Animal, Chaos, Destruction, Earth, Evil, Strength, Travel, Water
Alignment: any non-good
Noweapon Proficiency Required: Swim
Omen-Reading: Omens from Poseidon come in form of storms, trembling ground, or visits from hideous, newly created monsters.
Duties: Priest must sacrafice a bull into the sea at least once a month. They are expected to bless the boats of fishermen, an at least one priest must be taken along on any long sea voyage.
Rights: If happy with his priest he will give them a paladin-quality war horse or create a spring in a place of the priest's choosing.
Restrictions:
Uranus, also known as Ouranos,
was the embodiment of the sky or heavens, and known as the god of the sky. He
was the first son of Gaea (the earth) and he also became her husband. According
to Hesiod, their children included the Titans: six sons (Oceanus, Coeus, Crius,
Hyperion, Iapetus and Cronus) and six daughters (Theia, Rhea, Themis,
Mnemosyne, Phoebe and Tethys). There were other offspring: the Cyclopes, (who
were named Brontes, Steropes and Arges and were later known as "one eyed
giants"), and also the three monsters known as the Hecatonchires, who each had
one hundred hands and fifty heads. Their names were Briareus, Cottus and Gyes.
Other offspring of Uranus and Gaea were the Erinyes, who were spirits of
punishment and goddesses of vengeance. The Erinyes avenged wrongs which were
done to family, especially murder within a family. After Uranus had been
castrated, his blood fell to earth (Gaea) and conceived the Giants. These were
of monstrous appearance and had great strength . Similiarly, in some versions
Aphrodite is believed to have risen from the foam created by the sex organs of
Uranus after they were thrown into the sea by his son Cronus.
Uranus was aghast by the sight of his offspring, the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. (In a differing version Uranus was frightened of their great strength and the fact that they could easily depose him). He hid them away in Tartarus (the bowels of the earth) inside Gaea, causing her intense pain. The discomfort became so great that she asked her youngest son, Cronus, to castrate his father, as this would cease his fertility and put an end to more monstrous offspring. To accomplish this deed Gaea made an adamantine sickle, which she gave to Cronus. That night Uranus came to lay with Gaea. And as the sky god drew close, Cronus struck with the sickle and cut off Uranus's genitals. From the blood that fell from the open wound were born nymphs and giants, and when Cronus threw the severed genitals into the sea a white foam appeared. From this foam Aphrodite the goddess of love and desire was born.
A slightly differing version tells of Uranus being so vast that he could cover Mother Earth (Gaea) and easily take advantage of her fruitfulness, but Gaea tired of her exuberant fertility and begged her sons to free her from the excessive embrace of Uranus. All refused except Cronus. Armed with a sickle he castrated Uranus, and the blood which fell from the mutilation gave birth to the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants and the Meliae (Nymphs of the manna ash trees). And when Cronus threw the sickle into the sea the island of Corfu, home of the Phaeacians, sprang up).
After Uranus (the sky) had been emasculated, the sky separated from Gaea (the earth) and Cronus became king of the gods. Later, Zeus (the son of Cronus) deposed his father and became the supreme god of the Delos Pantheon.
God of Sky
Symbol: Stars
Domain: Air, Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Fire, Sun, War(sword)
Alignment: any non-good
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Omens from Uranus are so subtle as to go almost unnoticed, for he is quite fearful of revealing his presence. Still, the especially wise and astute may detect his hand in unusual events in heavens.
Duties: Uranus' priest duty is to prepare the world for the return of Uranus.
Rights: None
Restrictions: They are a secret sect and would be persecuted if people knew they were priest of Uranus.
God of Wisdom, Crafts, War
Athena, the goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. She was the favorite child of Zeus. She had sprung fully grown out of her father's head. Her mother was Metis, goddess of wisdom and Zeus' first wife. In fear that Metis would bear a son mightier than himself. Zeus swallowed her and she began to make a robe and helmet for her daughter. The hammering of the helmet caused Zeus great pain in the form of headaches and he cried out in agony. Skilled Hephaestus ran to his father and split his skull open and from it emerged Athena, fully grown and wearing her mother's robe and helmet. She is the virgin mother of Erichthnonius.
Athena and her uncle Poseidon were both very fond of a certain city in Greece. Both of them claimed the city and it was decided that the one that could give the finest gift should have it. Leading a procession of citizens, the two gods mounted the Acropolis. Poseidon struck the side of the cliff with his trident and a spring welled up. The people marveled, but the water was as salty as Poseidon's sea and it was not very useful. Athena's gift was an olive tree, which was better because it gave the people food, oil and wood.
Athena's companion was the goddess of victory, Nike, and her usual attribute is the owl. Athena possessed the Aegis.
Symbol: Owl
Domain: Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Protection, War(spear)
Alignment: Lawful Good
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Omens from Athena are usually delivered by owls.
Duties: They must dedicate themselves to learning the arts of combat and the crafts of peace, and be ready to fight whenever they encounter worshipers of Ares.
Rights:
Restrictions: Her priest must remain chaste.
The earth goddess par
excellence, who brings forth the fruits of the earth, particularly the various
grains. She taught mankind the art of sowing and ploughing so they could end
their nomadic existence. As such, Demeter was also the goddess of planned
society. She was very popular with the rural population. As a fertility goddess
she is sometimes identified with Rhea and Gaea.
In systematized theology, Demeter is a daughter of Cronus and Rhea and sister of Zeus by whom she became the mother of Persephone. When Persephone was abducted by Hades, lord of the underworld, Demeter wandered the earth in search of her lost child. During this time the earth brought forth no grain. Finally Zeus sent Hermes to the underworld, ordering Hades to restore Persephone to her mother. However, before she left, Hades gave her a pomegranate (a common fertility symbol). When she ate from it, she was bound to spend a third of the year with her husband in the infernal regions. Only when her daughter is with her, Demeter lets things grow (summer). The dying and blossoming of nature was thus connected with Demeter.
In the Eleusinian mysteries, Demeter and Persephone were especially venerated. When she was looking for her daughter, in the shape of an old woman called Doso, she was welcomed by Celeus, the king of Eleusis. He requested her to nurse his sons Demophon and Triptolemus 1. To reward his hospitality she intended to make the boy Demophon immortal by placing him each night in the hearth, to burn his mortal nature away. The spell was broken one night because Metanira, the wife of Celeus, walked in on her while she was performing this ritual. Demeter taught the other son, Triptolemus, the principles of agriculture, who, in turn, taught others this art. In Demeter's honor as a goddess of marriage, women in Sagacity, and other centers in Delos, celebrated the feast of Thesmophoria (from her epithet Thesmophoros, "she of the regular customs"). Throughout Classical times members of all social strata came from all parts of the Mediterranean world to be initiated in and celebrate her Mysteries at Eleusis.
Her usual symbolic attributes are the fruits of the earth and the torch, the latter presumably referring to her search for Persephone. Her sacred animals were the snake (an earth-creature) and the pig (another symbol of fertility).
God of Agriculture
Symbol: Mare's Head
Domain: Air, Animal, Healing, Plant, Water
Alignment: any non-evil
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Demeter send Omens through the crops.
Duties: Priest must spend a year on Eleusis being intitiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries(The secrets of earth fetility). After that, they must return to Eleusis every Feburary to help with the ceremonies surrounding the Lesser Mysteries, and every five years in September to help with the greater Mysteries. Though it is permissible to miss the Lesser Mysteries for a good reason, any priest missing the Greater Mysteries loses his clerical abilities until he attends the next set of Greater Mysteries in five years. Demeters festival is called Thesmophia. The priest also must perform marriage rites.
Rights:
Restrictions:
Hermes, the herald of the
Olympian gods, is son of Zeus and the nymph Maia, daughter of Atlas and one of
the Pleiades. Hermes is also the god of shepherds, land travel, merchants,
weights and measures, oratory, literature, athletics and thieves, and known for
his cunning and shrewdness. He was also a minor patron of poetry. He was
worshiped throughout Delos. Festivals in honor of Hermes were called Hermoea.
According to legend, Hermes was born in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. Zeus had impregnated Maia at the dead of night while all other gods slept. When dawn broke amazingly he was born. Maia wrapped him in swaddling bands, then resting herself, fell fast asleep. Hermes, however, squirmed free and ran off to Thessaly. This is where Apollo, his brother, grazed his cattle. Hermes stole a number of the herd and drove them back to Delos. He hid them in a small grotto near to the city of Pylos and covered their tracks. Before returning to the cave he caught a tortoise, killed it and removed its entrails. Using the intestines from a cow stolen from Apollo and the hollow tortoise shell, he made the first lyre. When he reached the cave he wrapped himself back into the swaddling bands. When Apollo realized he had been robbed he protested to Maia that it had been Hermes who had taken his cattle. Maia looked to Hermes and said it could not be, as he is still wrapped in swaddling bands. Zeus the all powerful intervened saying he had been watching and Hermes should return the cattle to Apollo. As the argument went on, Hermes began to play his lyre. The sweet music enchanted Apollo, and he offered Hermes to keep the cattle in exchange for the lyre. Apollo later became the grand master of the instrument, and it also became one of his symbols. Later while Hermes watched over his herd he invented the pipes known as a syrinx (pan-pipes), which he made from reeds. Hermes was also credited with inventing the flute. Apollo, also desired this instrument, so Hermes bartered with Apollo and received his golden wand which Hermes later used as his heralds staff. (In other versions Zeus gave Hermes his heralds staff).
Being the herald (messenger of the gods), it was his duty to guide the souls of the dead down to the underworld, which is known as a psychopomp. He was also closely connected with bringing dreams to mortals. Hermes is usually depicted with a broad-brimmed hat or a winged cap, winged sandals and the heralds staff. It was often shown as a shaft with two white ribbons, although later they were represented by serpents intertwined in a figure of eight shape, and the shaft often had wings attached. The clothes he donned were usually that of a traveler, or that of a workman or shepherd. Other symbols of Hermes are the cock, tortoise and purse or pouch.
The offspring of Hermes are believed to be Pan, Abderus and Hermaphroditus. Hermes as with the other gods had numerous affairs with goddesses, nymphs and mortals. In some legends even sheep and goats. Pan, the half man half goat, is believed to be the son of Hermes and Dryope, the daughter of king Dryops. Pan terrified his mother when he was born, so much so that she fled in horror at the sight of her new born son. Hermes took Pan to Mount Olympus were the gods reveled in his laughter and his appearance and became the patron of fields, woods, shepherds and flocks. Abderus, a companion of the hero Heracles, is also thought to be a son of Hermes, he was devoured by the Mares of Diomedes, after Heracles had left him in charge of the ferocious beasts. Hermaphroditus (also known as Aphroditus) was conceived after the union of Hermes and Aphrodite. He was born on Mount Ida but he was raised by the Naiads (nymphs of freshwater). He was a androgynous (having the characteristics of both sexes) deity, depicted as either a handsome young man but with female breasts, or as Aphrodite with male genitals.
It was Hermes who liberated Io, the lover of Zeus, from the hundred-eyed giant Argus, who had been ordered by Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, to watch over her. Hermes charmed the giant with his flute, and while Argos slept Hermes cut off his head and released Io. Hera, as a gesture of thanks to her loyal servant, scattered the hundred eyes of Argos over the tail of a peacock (Heras' sacred bird). Hermes also used his ingenuity and abilities to persuade the nymph Calypso to release Odysseus, the wandering hero, from her charms. She had kept Odysseus captive, after he was shipwrecked on her island Ogygia, promising him immortality if he married her, but Zeus sent Hermes to release Odysseus. Legend says that Calypso died of grief when Odysseus sailed away. Hermes also saved Odysseus and his men from being transformed into pigs by the goddess and sorceress Circe. He gave them a herb which resisted the spell. Hermes also guided Eurydice back down to the underworld after she had been allowed to stay for one day on earth with her husband Orpheus.
Known for his swiftness and athleticism, Hermes was given credit for inventing foot-racing and boxing. At Olympia a statue of him stood at the entrance to the stadium and his statues where in every gymnasium throughout Delos. Apart from herms, Hermes was a popular subject for artists. Both painted pottery and statuary show him in various forms, but the most fashionable depicted him as a good-looking young man, with an athletic body, and winged sandals and his heralds staff.
God of Travel, Trade, Thievery, Gambling, Running
Symbol: Caduceus
Domain: Chaos, Good, Healing, Luck, Magic, Travel, Trickery,
Alignment: any non lawful
Noweapon Proficiency Required: Bluff
Omen-Reading: Omens from Hermes include an unusually good or bad run of luck or a sudden gust of wind.
Duties: All of Hermes priest must keep physically fit and able to run long distances. They often serve as professional arbiters, since it is well known that Hermes will punish any priest he catches taking bribes. Hermes feast is called Hermoea
Rights:
Restrictions:
God of Music and Nature
The god of shepherds and flocks, who was especially popular in Arcadia. He is a son of the god Hermes. He was depicted as a satyr with a reed pipe, a shepherd's crook and a branch of pine or crown of pine needles. He had a wrinkled face with a very prominent chin. On his forehead were two horns and his body was hairy. He was a swift runner and climbed rocks with ease. Pan belonged to the retinue of Dionysus.
Pan was also a god of fertility, unbridled male sexuality and carnal desire. He chased nymphs through the forests and mountains in the shape of a goat. Pan was not very liked by the other gods
Symbol: Pan Pipes
Domain: Air, Animal, Chaos, Healing, Luck, Plant, Trickery
Alignment: any non-lawful
Noweapon Proficiency Required: Perform(Pan Pipes)
Omen-Reading: Pan's omens are realted to the forest.
Duties: Priest of Pan are suppose to enjoy their lives and all the carnal pleasures of it. They perform music to make money for their temples.
Rights:
Restrictions:
Cronus, the son of Uranus and
Gaea and the youngest of the twelve Titans. His wife was also one of the
Titans, since he married his sister Rhea. Their offspring were Demeter, Hestia,
Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus.
It is written that Uranus, who in one version, hid his children away in the bowels of the earth (Tartarus) as he was aghast at the sight of them, in reality he was fearful of their great strength and power. Gaea found her offspring uncomfortable and also painful and when she found the discomfort too much to bear she hatched a plan, which was to end the passions of Uranus, so no more offspring could be produced and that would be the ending of her hurt. But to achieve this she required the help from one of her children. She asked them all, but only her youngest child Cronus would heed her call. To help Cronus accomplish his task Gaea gave him a adamantine sickle to serve as his weapon.
Cronus lay in wait hidden from view, and when Uranus came to lay with Gaea Cronus struck. With one mighty blow from the sickle Cronus severed the genitals from Uranus' body. From the blood which fell to the earth (Gaea) where born the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants and also the Meliae (Nymphs of the manna ash trees). In other versions Aphrodite was born from the foam created from the sex organs of Uranus, after they had been thrown into the sea by Cronus.
Once Cronus had castrated Uranus, he and his wife Rhea took the throne. Under their power a time of harmony and prosperity began, which became known as the "Golden Age"; a time when it was said that people lived without greed or violence, and without toil or the need for laws. But not all was well for Cronus, as it was fated that he would be overthrown by one of his own children. To prevent this from happening he began to swallow his newborn, taking them at birth then swallowing them whole, retaining them inside his own body where they could do him no harm.
Rhea did not like the thoughts of loosing all her children, and with the help of Gaea she saved Zeus from this fate. Rhea wrapped a stone in Zeus' swaddling clothes which Cronus took and immediately swallowed thinking it was the child. Gaea and Rhea's plan worked well and the baby Zeus was taken to Crete, and there, in a cave on Mount Dicte, the divine goat Amaltheia suckled and raised the infant Zeus. When Zeus had grown into a young man he returned to his fathers domain, and with the help of Gaea, compelled Cronus to regurgitate the five children he had previously swallowed. (In some versions Zeus received help from Metis who gave Cronus an emetic potion, which made him vomit up Zeus' brothers and sisters). Zeus led the revolt against his father and the dynasty of the Titans, defeated and then banished them.
God of Sinster Ambitions
Symbol: Sickle
Domain: Destruction, Evil, Trickery,
Alignment: any non-good
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Because of his imprisonment he can not send omens.
Duties: Priest must recruite worshippers to him. This is the only way that he can be set free of inprisonment. Every year they have festivals to attract new worshippers.
Rights: None
Restrictions: The priest are looked down on because the worship such a worthless god.
Hecate is the goddess of the crossroads. She is most often depicted as having three heads; one of a dog, one of a snake and one of a horse. She is usually seen with two ghost hounds that were said to serve her. Hecate is most often mispercepted as the goddess of witchcraft or evil, but she did some very good things in her time. One such deed was when she rescued Persephone, (Demeter's daughter, the queen of the Underworld and the maiden of spring), from the Underworld. Hecate is said to haunt a three-way crossroad, each of her heads facing in a certain direction. She is said to appear when the ebony moon shines.
Goddess of Magic, Moon, Abundance
Symbol: Setting Moon
Domain: Air, Chaos, Death, Destruction, Earth, Evil, Fire, Knowledge, Magic, Trickery, Water
Alignment: any evil
Noweapon Proficiency Required: Knowledge(arcana)
Omen-Reading: Omens from Hecate genrerally come in the form of some magical communication, and are accompanied by the eerie sound of baying dogs.
Duties: Priest are required to sacrafice honey and black ewes to her on nights of a full moon. Failure to do so results in a loss of all magical abilities until the propewr sacrafice is made on a full moon night.
Rights:
Restrictions:
God of Death, Wealth
Hades is the lord of the dead and ruler of the nether world, which is referred to as the domain of Hades or, by transference, as Hades alone. He is the son of Cronus and Rhea. When the three sons of Cronus divided the world among each other, Hades was given the underworld, while his brothers Zeus and Poseidon took the upperworld and the sea respectively. He ruled the underworld together with Persephone, whom he abducted from the upperworld. Zeus ordered him to release Persephone back into the care of her mother Demeter, but before she left he gave her a pomegranate. When she ate it, it bound her to the underworld forever/
Hades sits on a throne made of ebony, and carries a scepter. He also has a helmet, given to him by the Cyclopes, which makes him invisible. Hades rules the dead, assisted by various (demonic) helpers, such as Thanatos and Hypnos, the ferryman Charon, and the hound Cerberus. Many heroes from Delos mythology have descended into the underworld, either to question the shades or trying to free them. Although Hades does not allow his subjects to leave his domain, on several occasions he has granted permission, such as the time Orpheus requested the return of his beloved Eurydice.
Hades possesses the riches of the earth, and is referred to as 'the Rich One'. Possibly also because, as Sophocles writes, 'the gloomy Hades enriches himself with our sighs and our tears'. Of all the gods, Hades is the one who is liked less and even the gods themselves have an aversion of him. People avoided speaking his name lest they attracted his unwanted attention. The narcissus and the cypress are sacred to him.
Symbol: Black Ram
Domain: Death, Earth, Evil, Healing, Magic, Trickery
Alignment: any evil
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Omens from Hades is rare and come in form of an unexpected death or wealth.
Duties: With their faces averted they sacrificed black sheep, whose blood they let drip into pits, and when they prayed to him, they would bang their hands on the ground.
Rights:
Restrictions:
Hephaestus, the god of
fire, especially the blacksmith's fire, was the patron of all craftsmen,
principally those working with metals. He was worshiped predominantly in
Athens, but also in other manufacturing centres. He was the god of olcanos.
Later, the fire within them represented the smith's furnace. Hephaestus was
associated with Mount Etna, which is on the island of Sicily. Known as the lame
god, Hephaestus was born weak and crippled. Displeased by the sight of her son,
Hera threw Hephaestus from Mount Olympus, and he fell for a whole day before
landing in the sea. Nymphs rescued him and took him to Lemnos, where the people
of the island cared for him. But other versions say Zeus threw him from Mount
Olympus after Hephaestus had sided with his mother, Hera, in a quarrel. This
legend says that Hephaestus fell for nine days and nine nights, and he landed
on the island of Lemnos. It was on Lemnos where he built his palace and forges
under a volcano.
To gain revenge for his rejection by Hera, Hephaestus fashioned a magic throne, which was presented to her on Mount Olympus. When Hera sat on the throne, it entrapped her, making her a prisoner. The gods on Mount Olympus pleaded with Hephaestus to return to their heavenly domain, as to release Hera, but he refused. Dionysus gave the smith god wine, and when Hephaestus was intoxicated, Dionysus took him back to Mount Olympus slumped over the back of a mule. This scene was a favourite in Delos art. Hephaestus released Hera after being given the beautiful Aphrodite as his bride. Dionysus was rewarded by being made one of the Olympian Pantheon.
Hephaestus is known as the son of Hera and Zeus, although Zeus had nothing to do with the conception. Hephaestus was parthenogenetic, meaning he was conceived without male fertilisation. Hera was jealous of Zeus after he had an affair with Metis, from which the goddess of prudence was pregnant with Athena. However, Gaea had warned Zeus that Metis would bear a daughter, whose son would overthrow him. To prevent this, Zeus swallowed Metis, so he could carry the child through to the birth himself, although Zeus could not give birth naturally. For retribution Hera produced (parthenogeny) Hephaestus, and legend says, that Hephaestus split the head of Zeus with an axe, from which Athena appeared fully armed.
One particular legend says that Hephaestus wished to marry Athena, who was also a patron of smiths, but she refused because she found him ugly. Another legend says that Athena disappeared from their bridal bed but Hephaestus did not see her vanish, and spilt his seed on the floor.
Aphrodite, in some versions, was the wife of Hephaestus, and he was suspicious that Aphrodite had been committing adultery. To catch her being unfaithful he fashioned an extraordinary chain-link net, so fine and strong no one could escape from it. Then one day he surprised Aphrodite and the war god Ares as they lay together in bed. He threw his magic net over them and hauled them before the Olympian gods and exhibited them as they were, naked and wrapped in each others arms. Hephaestus asked the assembled gods for just retribution, but they did the total opposite. The gods roared with laughter at the sight of the naked lovers, after which they allowed the couple to go free.
Being a great craftsman Hephaestus manufactured wonderful articles from various materials, primarily from metal. With help from the Cyclopes, who were his workmen and assistants, he fashioned the thunderbolts for Zeus and his sceptre. He made weapons and armour for the other gods and heroes. For Athena, he made her shield or aegis and for the god of love, Eros, he made the arrows. The wonderful chariot which the sun god Helios rode across the sky was made by Hephaestus and in some versions it was a golden cup or goblet. He also fashioned the invincible armour of Achilles. Hephaestus helped to create the first woman, with the assistance of other gods, after Zeus had ordered that there be a new kind of human. Zeus plotted against Prometheus because he and his race of mortals had only included one gender, which was male, and so Hephaestus formed the first woman from clay. Her name was Pandora (all gifts) and from a supernatural jar, she released the evils of the world on mankind.
Hephaestus and Athena were honoured with the festival "Chalceia" on the 30th day of the month Pyanopsion.
God of Smithing, Craft
Symbol: Hammer and Anvil
Domain: Earth, Fire, Good, Healing, Strength
Alignment: any non-evil
Noweapon Proficiency Required: Craft
Omen-Reading: Omens from Hepaestus often appear in the flames of forges.
Duties: Priest must be kind to people who are misformed and harbor them. His festival is called Chalceia.
Rights:
Restrictions:
The son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis. Apollo was the god of music (principally the lyre, and he directed the choir of the Muses) and also of prophecy, colonization, medicine, archery (but not for war or hunting), poetry, dance, intellectual inquiry and the carer of herds and flocks. He was also a god of light, known as "Phoebus" (radiant or beaming, and he was sometimes identified with Helios the sun god). He was also the god of plague and was worshiped as Smintheus (from sminthos, rat) and as Parnopius (from parnops, grasshopper) and was known as the destroyer of rats and locust. Apollo being the god of religious healing would give those guilty of murder and other immoral deeds a ritual purification. Sacred to Apollo are the swan (one legend says that Apollo flew on the back of a swan to the land of the Hyperboreans, he would spend the winter months among them), the wolf and the dolphin. His attributes are the bow and arrows, on his head a laurel crown, and the cithara (or lyre) and plectrum. But his most famous attribute is the tripod, the symbol of his prophetic powers.
When the goddesss Hera, the wife of Zeus (it was he who had coupled with Leto) found out about Leto's pregnancy, she was outraged with jealousy. Seeking revenge Hera forced Leto to roam the earth in search of a place to give birth. Sicne Hera had forbidden Leto to stay anywhere on earth, either on terra-ferma or an island at sea, the only place to seek shelter was Delos, being in the center of the Aegean, and also difficult to reach, as there were strong under-currents, because it was said to be a floating island. Because it was a floating island, it was not considered either of Hera's prohibitions, and so Leto was able to give birth to the divine twins Apollo and Artemis (before Leto gave birth to Apollo, the island was encircled by a flock of swans, this is why the swan was sacred to him). As a gesture of thanks Delos was secured to the sea-bed by four columns to give it stability, and from then on it became one of the most important sanctuaries to Apollo. (A variation of Apollo's birth was that the jealous Hera had incarcerated Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, but the other gods intervened forcing Hera to release Ilithyia, which allowed Leto to give birth ).
Apollo's first achievement was to rid Pytho (Delphi) of the serpent (or dragon) Python. This monstrous beast protected the sanctuary of Pytho from its lair beside the Castalian Spring. There it stood guard while the "Sibyl" gave out her prophecies as she inhaled the trance inducing vapors from an open chasm. Apollo killed Python with his bow and arrows (Homer wrote "he killed the fearsome dragon Python, piercing it with his darts"). Apollo not only took charge of the oracle but rid the neighboring countryside of widespread destruction, as Python had destroyed crops, sacked villages and polluted streams and springs. However, to make amends for killing Python, as the fearsome beast was the son of Gaea, Apollo had to serve king Admetus for nine years (in some versions eight) as a cowherd. This he did, and when he returned to Pytho he came in the guise of a dolphin bringing with him priests from Crete (Apollo's cult title "Delphinios" meaning dolphin or porpoise, is probably how Delphi was so named). After killing Python and taking possession of the oracle, the god of light (Phobus) became known as "Pythian Apollo". He dedicated a bronze tripod to the sanctuary and bestowed divine powers on one of the priestesses, and she became known as the "Pythia". It was she who inhaled the hallucinating vapors from the fissure in the temple floor, while she sat on a tripod chewing laurel leaves. After she mumbled her answer, a male priest would translate it for the supplicant. Delphi became the most important oracle center of Apollo, there were several including Clarus and Branchidae.
Apollo, as with Zeus his father, had many love affairs with goddesses and mortals. Apollo's infatuation for the nymph Daphne, which had been invoked by the young god of love Eros, because Apollo had mocked him, saying his archery skills were pathetic, and Apollo's singing had also irritated him. Daphne was the beautiful daughter of the river god Ladon, and she was constantly pursued by Apollo. To escape from Apollo's insistent behavior, she fled to the mountains, but the persistent Apollo followed her. Annoyed by this, she asked the river god Peneus for help, which he did. As soon as Apollo approached Daphne, he tried to embrace her, but when he stretched out his arms she transformed into a laurel tree. Apollo, distraught by what had happened, made the laurel his sacred tree. Apollo also loved Cyrene, she was another nymph, and she bore Apollo a son: Aristaeus, a demi-god, who became a protector of cattle and fruit trees, and a deity of hunting, husbandry and bee-keeping. He taught men dairy skills and the use of nets and traps in hunting.
The most famous mortal loves of Apollo was Hecuba, she was the wife of Priam, the king of Troy. She bore him Troilius. Foretold by an oracle, as long as Troilius reached the age of twenty, Troy could not be defeated. But the hero Achilles ambushed and killed him, when the young prince and his sister Polyxena secretly visited a spring. Apollo also fell in love with Cassandra, the sister of Troilius, and daughter of Hecuba and Priam. He seduced Cassandra on the promise that he would teach her the art of prophecy, but having learnt the prophetic art she rejected him. Apollo, being angry of her rejection punished her, by declaring her prophecies never to be accepted or believed.
Asclepius, the god of healing, was also Apollo's offspring, after his union with Coronis, who was daughter of Phlegyas, king of the Lapiths. While she was pregnant by Apollo, Coronis fell in love with Ischys, son of Elatus, but a crow informed Apollo of the affair. Apollo sent his twin sister Artemis to kill Coronis, and Artemis carried out he brothers wishes. While her body was burning on the funeral pyre, Apollo removed the unborn child, and took him to Chiron, who raised the child Asclepius.
Apollo also, as did his father Zeus, fall in love with one of his own gender, Hyacinthus, a Spartan prince. He was very handsome and athletic, which inflamed the passions of Apollo. One day while Apollo and Hyacinthus were practicing throwing the discus, Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, who was also attracted to the young prince, and jealous of Apollo's amorous affection towards the boy, made the discus veer off course by blowing an ill wind. The discus, which Apollo had thrown, hit Hyacinthus, smashing his skull. Apollo rushed to him, but he was dead. The god was overcome with grief, but to immortalize the love he had for the beautiful youth, he had a flower grow were his blood had stained the earth. Apollo also loved the young boy Cyparissus, a descendant of Heracles. The impassioned Apollo gave Cyparissus a sacred deer, as a love token. The young deer became tame, and was the constant companion of the boy, until a tragic accident occurred. As the young deer lay sleeping in the shade of the undergrowth, Cyparissus threw his javelin, which by chance hit, and killed the deer. Grief-stricken by what had happened, Cyparissus wanted to die. He asked Apollo to let his tears fall for all eternity. With apprehension Apollo transformed the boy into a tree, the cypress, which became the symbol of sorrow, as the sap on its trunk forms droplets, like tears.
Apollo could also be ruthless when he was angered. The mortal Niobe, boasted to Apollo's mother Leto, that she had fourteen children (in some versions six or seven), which must make her more superior than Leto, who had only bore two. Apollo greatly angered by this slew her sons, and Artemis killed Niobe's daughters. Niobe wept so much that she turned into a pillar of stone. Apollo was infuriated when the satyr Marsyas challenged Apollo to music contest. After winning the competition, Apollo had Marsyas flayed alive, for being so presumptuous, as to challenge a god.
Apollo was worshiped throughout Delos, at Delphi every four years they held the Pythian Games in his honor. He had many epithets, including "Pythian Apollo" (his name at Delphi), "Apollo Apotropaeus" (Apollo who averts evil), and "Apollo Nymphegetes" (Apollo who looks after the Nymphs). As the god of shepherds he also had the cult titles "Lukeios" (from lykos; wolf), protecting the flocks from wolfs, and "Nomius" (of pastures, belonging to shepherds). Being the god of colonists, Apollo influenced his priests at Delphi to give divine guidance, as to where the expedition should proceed. This was during the height of the colonizing era circa 750-550 BCE.
God of Light, Propecy, Music, Healing
Symbol: Lyre
Domain: Air, Fire, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Sun,
Alignment: any good
Noweapon Proficiency Required: Heal
Omen-Reading: Omens from Apollo are generally delivered through his oracles.
Duties: Priest are healers of sin. Priest must organize the Pythian Games every four years.
Rights: Apollo's priest collect money for their prophecies.
Restrictions:
The daughter of Leto and Zeus, and twin sister of Apollo. Artemis is the goddess of the wilderness, the hunt and wild animals, and fertility (she became a goddess of fertility and childbirth mainly in cities). She was often depicted with the crescent of the moon above her forehead and was sometimes identified with Selene (goddess of the moon). Artemis was one of the Olympians and a virgin goddess. Her main vocation was to roam mountain forests and uncultivated land with her nymphs in attendance hunting for lions, panthers, hinds and stags. Contradictory to the later, she helped in protecting and seeing to their well-being, also their safety and reproduction. She was armed with a bow and arrows which were made by Hephaestus and the Cyclopes.
In one legend, Artemis was born one day before her brother Apollo. Her mother gave birth to her on the island of Ortygia, then, almost immediately after her birth, she helped her mother to cross the straits over to Delos, where she then delivered Apollo. This was the beginningsof her role as guardian of young children and patron of women in childbirth. Being a goddess of contradictions, she was the protectress of women in labor, but it was said that the arrows of Artemis brought them sudden death while giving birth. As was her brother, Apollo, Artemis was a divinity of healing, but also brought and spread diseases such as leprosy, rabies and even gout.
Being associated with chastity, Artemis at an early age (in one legend she was three years old) asked her father, the great god Zeus, to grant her eternal virginity. Also, all her companions were virgins. Artemis was very protective of her purity, and gave grave punishment to any man who attempted to dishonor her in any form. Actaeon, while out hunting, accidentally came upon Artemis and her nymphs, who bathing naked in a secluded pool. Seeing them in all their naked beauty, the stunned Actaeon stopped and gazed at them, but when Artemis saw him ogling them, she transformed him into a stag. Then, incensed with disgust, she set his own hounds upon him. They chased and killed what they thought was another stag, but it was their master. As with Orion, a giant and a great hunter, there are several legends which tell of his death, one involving Artemis. It is said that he tried to rape the virgin goddess, so killed him with her bow and arrows. Another says she conjured up a scorpion which killed Orion and his dog. Orion became a constellation in the night sky, and his dog became Sirius, the dog star. Yet another version says it was the scorpion which stung him and was transformed into the constellation with Orion, the later being Scorpio. Artemis was enraged when one of her nymphs, Callisto, allowed Zeus to seduce her, but the great god approached her in one of his guises; he came in the form of Artemis. The young nymph was unwittingly tricked, and she gave birth to Arcas, the ancestor of the Arcadians, but Artemis showed no mercy and changed her into a bear. She then shot and killed her. As Orion, she was sent up to the heavens, and became the constellation of the Great Bear (which is also known as the Plough).
Artemis was very possessive. She would show her wrath on anyone who disobeyed her wishes, especially against her sacred animals. Even the great hero Agamemnon came upon the wrath of Artemis, when he killed a stag in her sacred grove. His punishment came when his ships were becalmed, while he made his way to besiege Troy. With no winds to sail his ships he was told by the seer Calchas that the only way Artemis would bring back the winds was for him to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. Some versions say he did sacrifice Iphigenia, others that Artemis exchanged a deer in her place, and took Iphigenia to the land of the Tauri (the Crimea) as a priestess, to prepare strangers for sacrifice to Artemis.
Artemis with her twin brother, Apollo, put to death the children of Niobe. The reason being that Niobe, a mere mortal, had boasted to Leto, the mother of the divine twins, that she had bore more children, which must make her superior to Leto. Apollo being outraged at such an insult on his mother, informed Artemis. The twin gods hunted them down and shot them with their bows and arrows; Apollo killed the male children and Artemis the girls.
There were festivals in honor of Artemis, such as the Brauronia, which was held in Brauron; and the festival of Artemis Orthia, held at Carnage, when young Spartan boys would try to steal cheeses from the altar. As they tried they would be whipped, the meaning of Orthia and the nature of the ritual whipping has been lost and there is no logical explanation or translation. Among the epithets given to Artemis are: Potnia Theron (mistress of wild animals) this title was mentioned by the great poet Homer; Kourotrophos (nurse of youth's); Locheia (helper in childbirth); Agrotera (huntress); and Cynthia (taken from her birthplace on Mount Cynthus on Delos). When young girls reached puberty they were initiated into her cult, but when they decided to marry, which Artemis was not against, they were asked to lay in front of the altar all the paraphernalia of their virginity, toys, dolls and locks of their hair, they then left the domain of the virgin goddess.
God of Hunting, Wildbeasts, Childbearing
Symbol: Bow and Arrow on a Lunar Disc
Domain: Animal, Good, Healing, Plant, Protection, Water
Alignment: neutral
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Omens are always delivered by wild beasts.
Duties: They live in the forest and must protect the animals. They also must sacrafice bull testes too her.
Rights:
Restrictions: Only women can be priest of Artemis, and they must remain virgins or lose their powers forever.
Gaea, known as Earth or Mother
Earth (the common noun for "land" is ge or ga). She was an early earth goddess
and it is written that Gaea was born from Chaos, the great void of emptiness
within the universe, and with her came Eros. She gave birth to Pontus (the Sea)
and Uranus (the Sky). This was achieved parthenogenetically (without male
intervention). Other versions say that Gaea had as siblings Tartarus (the
lowest part of the earth, below Hades itself) and Eros, and without a mate,
gave birth to Uranus (Sky), Ourea (Mountains) and Pontus (Sea).
Gaea took as her husband Uranus, who was also her son, and their offspring included the Titans, six sons and six daughters. She gave birth to the Cyclopes and to three monsters that became known as the "Hecatonchires". The spirits of punishment known as the Erinyes were also offspring of Gaea and Uranus. The Gigantes, finally, were conceived after Uranus had been castrated by his son Cronus, and his blood fell to earth from the open wound.
To protect her children from her husband, (the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires, as he was fearful of their great strength), Gaea hid them all within herself. One version says that Uranus was aghast at the sight of his offspring so he hid them away in Tartarus, which are the bowels of the earth. Gaea herself found her offspring uncomfortable and at times painful, when the discomfort became to much to bear she asked her youngest son Cronus to help her. She asked him to castrate Uranus, thus severing the union between the Earth and Sky, and also to prevent more monstrous offspring. To help Cronus achieve his goal Gaea produced an adamantine sickle to serve as the weapon. Cronus hid until Uranus came to lay with Gaea and as Uranus drew near, Cronus struck with the sickle, cutting the genitalia from Uranus. Blood fell from the severed genitals and came in contact with the earth and from that union was born the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants and the Meliae (Nymphs of the manna ash trees).
After the separation of the Earth from the Sky, Gaea gave birth to other offspring, these being fathered by Pontus. Their names were the sea-god Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto and Eurybia. In other versions Gaea had offspring to her brother Tartarus; they were Echidna and Typhon, the later being an enemy of Zeus. Apollo killed Typhon when he took control of the oracle at Delphi, which Gaea originally provided, and then the "Sibyl" sang the oracle in Gaea's shrine.
It was Gaea who saved Zeus from being swallowed by Cronus, after Zeus had been born, Gaea helped Rhea to wrap a stone in swaddling clothes, this was to trick Cronus in to thinking it was Zeus, because Cronus had been informed that one of his children would depose him, and so to get rid of his children he had swallowed them, Gaea's trick worked and Zeus was then taken to Crete.
Gaea being the primordial element from which all the gods originated was worshiped throughout Greece, but later she went into decline and was supplanted by other gods. In Roman mythology she was known as Tellus or Terra
God of Fertility, Health, Prophesy
Symbol: Basket of Fruit
Domain: Air, Animal, Earth, Healing, Plant, Protection, Sun, Water
Alignment: neutral
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Omens from Gaea come in any form related with nature, such as foul weather, plauges, abudant crops, etc.
Duties: The primary duty of priests of Gaea is overseeing planting and animal husbandry. They must also minister to the sick, and often serve as oracles for their communities.
Rights:
Restrictions:
The queen of the Olympian deities. She is a daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and wife and sister of Zeus. Hera was mainly worshipped as a goddess of marriage and birth. It is said that each year Hera's virginity returns by bathing in the well Canathus. The children of Hera and Zeus are the smith-god Hephaestus, the goddess of youth Hebe, and the god of war Ares. According to some sources, however, her children were conceived without the help of a man, either by slapping her hand on the ground or by eating lettuce: thus they were born, not out of love but out of lust and hatred.
Writers represented Hera as constantly being jealous of Zeus's various amorous affairs. She punished her rivals and their children, among both goddesses and mortals, with implacable fury. She placed two serpents in the cradle of Heracles; she had Io guarded by a hundred-eyed giant; she drove the foster-parents of Dionysus mad, and tried to prevent the birth of Apollo and Artemis. Even Zeus usually could not stand up to her. Sometimes when he got angry, he chained her to the mountain of Olympus by fastening anvils to her feet. However, most of the time Zeus resorted to stratagems: he either hid his illegitimate children, or he changed them into animals.
Hera's main sanctuary was at Argos in the Peloponnesus, where she was worshipped as the town goddess. Also, in this town the Heraia, public festivities, were celebrated. Other temples stood in Olympia, Mycene, Sparta, Paestum, Corinth, Tiryns, Perachora, and on the islands of Samos and Delos.
The peacock (the symbol of pride; her wagon was pulled by peacocks) and the cow (she was also known as Bopis, meaning "cow-eyed", which was later translated as "with big eyes") are her sacred animals. The crow and the pomegranate (symbol of marriage) are also dedicated to her. Other attributes include a diadem and a veil. Hera is portrayed as a majestic, solemn woman.
God of Marriage
Symbol: Fan of Peacock Feathers
Domain: Animal, Chaos, Healing, Knowledge, Protection, Trickery
Alignment: any except lawful good
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Omens from Hera include visits from peacocks and other beautiful birds, a hrash voice audible only to one person, or message carried by a married women.
Duties: They must defend the honor of Hera, if some one offends Hera the person who did so must die. The priest must also do marriage and birth rites. Priest must arrange her festival of Heraia
Rights:
Restrictions: Hera's priest must be female.
In Greek mythology, Rhea is the
mother of the gods, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She is married to her brother
Cronus and is the mother of Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon and Zeus.
Cronus, jealous of the future power of his children and to secure his dominion, ate his own children but Rhea managed to rescue one son, Zeus. She hid him in the Dictean Cave in Crete and gave Cronus a stone wrapped in the clothes of the infant, which he swallowed. Thus Rhea succeeded in making him believe that he had killed all of his children. When Zeus reached maturity he overpowered and dethroned his father and made Cronus disgorge his siblings.
God of Fertality, Life
Symbol: Female Face
Domain: Air, Animal, Earth, Fire, Healing, Plant, Protection, Sun, Water
Alignment: any non-evil
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Omens from Rhea usually take form of a dream.
Duties: The priest of Rhea must ensure that Rhea is forever honored for her part in installing the Olympian gods. They also must perform ceremonioes related to the fertility of both men and beast, and will go to any length to aid a mother in need of assitance. Their temples often serve as temporary homes for orphans, whom they place with loving families that have np children of their own.
Rights:
Restrictions:
Zeus, the youngest son of Cronus and Rhea, he was the supreme ruler of Mount Olympus and of the Pantheon of gods who resided there. Being the supreme ruler he upheld law, justice and morals, and this made him the spiritual leader of both gods and men. His other attributes as well as lightning were the scepter, the eagle and his aegis (this was the goat-skin of Amaltheia).
Before the abolition of monarchies, Zeus was protector of the king and his family. Once the age of Greek kings faded into democracy he became chief judge and peacemaker, but most importantly civic god. He brought peace in place of violence, Hesiod (circa 700 BCE) describes Zeus as "the lord of justice", Zeus was also known as "Kosmetas" (orderer), "Soter" (savior), "Polieos" (overseer of the polis -city) and also "Eleutherios" (guarantor of political freedoms). His duties in this role were to maintain the laws, protect suppliants, to summon festivals and to give prophecies (his oldest and most famous oracle was at Dodona, in Epirus -northwestern Greece). As the supreme deity Zeus oversaw the conduct of civilized life. But the "father of gods and men" as Homer calls him, has many mythological tales.
His most famous was told by Hesiod in his Theogony, of how Zeus usurped the kingdom of the immortals from his father. This mythological tale of Zeus' struggle against the Titans (Titanomachy) had been caused by Cronus, after he had been warned that one of his children would depose him. Cronus knowing the consequences, as he had overthrown his father Uranus. To prevent this from happening Cronus swallowed his newborn children Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon, but his wife Rhea (who was also his sister) and Gaea her mother, wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes in place of the infant Zeus. Cronus thinking it was the newborn baby swallowed the stone. Meanwhile Rhea had her baby taken to Crete, and there, in a cave on Mount Dicte, the divine goat Amaltheia suckled and raised the infant Zeus.
When Zeus had grown into a young man he returned to his fathers domain, and with the help of Gaea, compelled Cronus to regurgitate the five children he had previously swallowed (in some versions Zeus received help from Metis who gave Cronus an emetic potion, which made him vomit up Zeus' brothers and sisters). However, Zeus led the revolt against his father and the dynasty of the Titans, defeated and then banished them. Once Zeus had control, he and his brothers divided the universe between them: Zeus gaining the heavens, Poseidon the sea and Hades the underworld. Zeus had to defend his heavenly kingdom. The three separate assaults were from the offspring of Gaea: they were the Gigantes, Typhon (Zeus fought them with his thunder-bolt and aegis) and the twin brothers who were called the Aloadae. The latter tried to gain access to the heavens by stacking Mount Ossa on top of Mount Olympus, and Mount Pelion on top of Mount Ossa, but the twins still failed in their attempt to overthrow Zeus. As he did with the Titans, Zeus banished them all to "Tartarus", which is the lowest region on earth, lower than the underworld.
According to legend, Metis, the goddess of prudence, was the first love of Zeus. At first she tried in vain to escape his advances, but in the end succumbed to his endeavor, and from their union Athena was conceived. Gaea warned Zeus that Metis would bear a daughter, whose son would overthrow him. On hearing this Zeus swallowed Metis, the reason for this was to continue to carry the child through to the birth himself. Hera (his wife and sister) was outraged and very jealous of her husband's affair, also of his ability to give birth without female participation. To spite Zeus she gave birth to Hephaestus parthenogenetically (without being fertilized) and it was Hephaestus who, when the time came, split open the head of Zeus, from which Athena emerged fully armed.
Zeus had many offspring; his wife Hera bore him Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe and Eileithyia, but Zeus had numerous liaisons with both goddesses and mortals. He either raped them, or used devious means to seduce the unsuspecting maidens. His union with Leto (meaning the hidden one) brought forth the twins Apollo and Artemis. Once again Hera showed her jealousy by forcing Leto to roam the earth in search of a place to give birth, as Hera had stopped her from gaining shelter on terra-firma or at sea. The only place she could go was to the isle of Delos in the middle of the Aegean, the reason being that Delos was, as legend states, a floating island. One legend says that Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Dione
Besides deities, he also fathered many mortals. In some of his human liaisons Zeus used devious disguises. When he seduced the Spartan queen Leda, he transformed himself into a beautiful swan, and from the egg which Leda produced, two sets of twins were born: Castor and Polydeuces and Clytemnestra and Helen of Troy. He visited princess Danae as a shower of gold, and from this union the hero Perseus was born. He abducted the Phoenician princess Europa, disguised as a bull, then carried her on his back to the island of Crete where she bore three sons: Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon. Zeus also took as a lover the Trojan prince Ganymede. He was abducted by an eagle sent by Zeus (some legends believe it was Zeus disguised as an eagle). The prince was taken to Mount Olympus, where he became Zeus' cup-bearer. Zeus also used his charm and unprecedented power to seduce those he wanted, so when Zeus promised Semele that he would reveal himself in all his splendor, in order to seduce her, the union produced Dionysus, but she was destroyed when Zeus appeared as thunder and lightening. Themis, the goddess of justice bore the three Horae, goddesses of the seasons to Zeus , and also the three Moirae, known as the Fates. When Zeus had an affair with Mnemosyne, he coupled with her for nine consecutive nights, which produced nine daughters, who became known as the Muses. They entertained their father and the other gods as a celestial choir on Mount Olympus. They became deities of intellectual pursuits. Also the three Charites or Graces were born from Zeus and Eurynome. From all his children Zeus gave man all he needed to live life in an ordered and moral way.
Zeus had many Temples and festivals in his honor, the most famous of his sanctuaries being Olympia, the magnificent "Temple of Zeus", which held the gold and ivory statue of the enthroned Zeus, sculpted by Phidias and hailed as one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World". Also the Olympic Games were held in his honor. The Nemean Games, which were held every two years, were to honor Zeus. There were numerous festivals throughout Greece: in Athens they celebrated the marriage of Zeus and Hera with the Theogamia (or Gamelia). The celebrations were many: in all, Zeus had more than 150 epithets, each one being celebrated in his honor.
God of Heavens, Law
Symbol: Fist Filled with Ligntning Bolts
Domain: Air, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Strength, War(javlin)
Alignment: any Lawful
Noweapon Proficiency Required:
Omen-Reading: Omens from Zeus take many forms, including thunder, animals acting in peculiar ways, and unusual celestial events.
Duties: Priests must arrange the Olypmic games every four years and the Nemean Games every two years. They must arrange Theigamia (a festival for Hera and Zeus marriage). They must serve as judges. They also must maintain a temple of suitable grandeur. At least once in their lives they must visit he sacred oak tree at Dodona, where Zeus speaks his oracles in the rustling leafs.
Rights:
Restrictions:
| Abderus | Acamas | Acastus | Acherusia | Achilles | Acrisius |
| Actaeon | Adrastus | Aea | Aeacus | Aegealeus | Aegeus |
| Aegiale | Aegisthus | Aerope | Aeson | Aethalides | Aethra |
| Agamedes | Agamemnon | Agelaus | Agis | Agrius | Aias |
| Ainia | Ajax | Alcaeus | Alcathous | Alcimede | Alcinous |
| Alcmaeon | Alcmene | Aletes | Alphesiboea | Altes | Althaea |
| Amphiaraus | Amphilochus | Amphinomus | Amphitryon | Amyntor | Androgeus |
| Andromache | Antenor | Antianara | Antibrote | Anticlea | Antigone |
| Antilochus | Antinous | Antiope | Antiphates | Antiphus | Antor |
| Aphareus | Apsyrtus | Arcesius | Ardeas | Arete | Aretus |
| Argea | Argo | Ariadne | Arion | Arisbe | Aristomaches |
| Arne | Arsinoe | Ascalaphus | Assaracus | Asterion | Astrabacus |
| Astyanax | Astydamea | Astyoche | Atalanta | Athamas | Atreidae |
| Atreus | Auge | Autolycus | Automedon | Autonoe | Azan |
| Baius | Balios | Battus | Bebryces | Bellerophon | Bianor |
| Bias | Branchus | Busiris | Butes | Buzyges | Byblis |
| Cadmus | Caeneus | Caenis | Calais | Calchas | Capaneus |
| Capys | Cassandra | Castor | Cebriones | Celeus | Cepheus |
| Cercyon | Chryseis | Chryses | Chrysippus | Chrysothemis | Cinyras |
| Circe | Cleite | Clitus | Clymenus | Clysonymus | Clytemnestra |
| Roll 2d8: | Race |
| 2-4: | Gnome |
| 5-7: | Goblin |
| 8-10: | Halfling |
| 10-12: | Kobold |
| 13-15: | Mixed |
| 16: | Other |
| Roll 2d8: | Government |
| 2-3: | Dictatorship |
| 4-6 | Oligarchy |
| 7-10 | Monarchy |
| 10-11 | Tribal |
| 12-13 | Theocracy |
| 14-16 | Special Racial |
| Roll 1d8: | Size |
| 1 | Thorp: 20-80 |
| 2 | Hamlet: 81-400 |
| 3 | Village: 401-900 |
| 4 | Small Town: 901-2,000 |
| 5 | Large Town: 2,001-5,000 |
| 6 | Small City: 5,001-12,000 |
| 7 | Large City: 12,001-25,000 |
| 8 | Metropolis: 25,0001+ |