THEOI

PANTHEONS

Theoi -- The Greek & Roman Gods

"But let us now go to bed and turn to love-making."
"For never before has love for any goddess or woman"
"so melted about the heart inside me, broken it to submission,"
"as now: not that time when I loved the wife of Ixion"
"who bore me Peirithroös, equal of the gods in counsel,"
"nor when I loved Akrisios’ daughter, sweet-stepping Danaë,"
"who bore Perseus to me, pre-eminent among all men,"
"nor when I loved the daughter of far-renowned Phoinix, Europa"
"who bore Minos to me, and Rhadamanthys the godlike;"
"not when I loved Semele, or Alkmene in Thebe,"
"when Alkmene bore me a son, Herakles the strong-hearted,"
"while Semele’s son was Dionysos, the pleasure of mortals;"
"not when I loved the queen Demeter of the lovely tresses,"
"not when it was glorious Leto nor yourself, so much"
"as now I love you, and the sweet passion has taken hold of me."
— Zeus to Hera, The Iliad, Book 14

Origins

The World was born of the great chasm, Chaos, from whence arose Gaia, who birthed her equal, Uranus, to enshroud her in the sky. To Uranus, Gaia bore 12 great Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hundred-Handed — but Uranus, fearful of his children’s power and hateful of their appearance, confined the Cyclopes and the Hundred-Handed in Tartarus, far beneath Gaia, which caused her great pain. She fashioned a knife of flint and bestowed it upon her son, Cronus, who castrated his father and flung his genitals into the sea. Now preeminent, he took his sister Rhea for a wife, and to Cronus she bore six children — three daughters, and three sons.

But Cronus, who had learned well the lesson of his father Uranus, had no desire to be overthrown himself. Though at first he freed them, in time he re-imprisoned the Hundred-Handed and Cyclopes in Tartarus, fearful of their power. Told he was destined to be overthrown by his own issue, he swallowed each of his six children, three daugh- ters and three sons, as they were born. But Rhea, with the aid of Uranus and Gaia, tricked Cronus — swaddling a great stone that Cronus unthinkingly devoured, she spirited her youngest son, Zeus, to safety. When he was grown, he re- turned and overcame Cronus, who was made to vomit up his five children and a single stone.

Cunning Zeus freed the Hundred-Handed and the Cyclopes from Tartarus, and they in turn gave him thunder and lightning, the greatest of weapons. The terrible decade-long war between the Titans and the Theoi that followed came to be known as the Titanomachy, and when it ended triumphant Zeus imprisoned the Titans in Tartarus, setting the Hundred-Handed to guard its gates that they might never escape. Zeus then drew lots with his brothers, Hades and Poseidon, to determine how to split the rule of the world between them: Zeus drew the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the dread realm of the dead — the earth itself was left in common between them.

From high on Olympus, Zeus still reigns over the Theoi, ever-watchful of his many, many children — for after all, he too bears a certain destiny.

Core Membership

Many are the Gods of Greece and Rome, but the greatest among them are the Dodekatheon, who reside atop Mount Olympus. Which deities are reckoned among their number has varied over time and in different cultures (and has traditionally excluded Hades, who dwells in the Underworld, and Persephone, who dwells there half the year), but membership in the Dodekatheon should not be confused with influence, power, or the devotion of their faithful.

• APHRODITE ~~ Goddess of Beauty & Love
• APOLLO -- God of Music, Prophesy & Healing
• ARES -- God of War
• ARTEMIS ~~ Goddess of the Hunt
• ATHENA ~~ Goddess of Heroes, Law, Strategy & Wisdom
• DEMETER ~~ Goddess of Agriculture
• DIONYSUS -- God of Revelry
• HADES -- God of the Underworld
• HEPHAESTUS -- God of Craft & Industry
• HERA -- Goddess of Marriage
• HERMES -- God of Boundaries and Travel
• HESTIA ~~ Goddess of Hearth & Sacrifice
• PERSEPHONE ~~ Goddess of that which Rises from the Earth
• POSEIDON -- God of the Sea
• ZEUS -- God of the Sky

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ELDER GODS

~ NYX -- Goddess of Night

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Divine Heroes

~ Cercyon -- Master Fabricator

~ Morpheus -- The Phantasm

~ Mors -- Pale Death or Eager Teeth

~ Gerlind -- Ghost of a woman who sacrificed herself for her two lovers. She now follows Lady Mors.

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COSMOLOGY

The Terra Incognitae that the Theoi inhabit are tied closely to geographical features, the most prominent of which are mountains and caves, any of which may ultimately lead to Mount Olympus or the Underworld. They are far from the only such lands, though — many of the isles in the Aegean have a mythic counterpart that no longer exists in the World, and the Titan River Okeanos surrounds them all in an eternal rushing torrent.

Mount Olympus

Haven of the Theoi, this Overworld is patterned on the Mount Olympus the World knows, riddled with deep gorges that seat the palaces of the Olympians, those Gods and Goddesses rule from this shining mountain. Here, they consume ambrosia and nectar; here, they attend prayers, the sacrifices dispensed by ever-vigilant Hestia who guards the hearth; here, they needle at each other until, inevitably, someone snaps.

Pantheon, Agora of the Gods: Atop the peak of Olympus sits the Pantheon, a palace dedicated to all and to none. Here is the hearth of Olympus, and the thrones for all the Gods and Goddesses who live in its gorges. Here is where the arguments take place, where humiliation is inflicted, and — when the time is right — war is planned.

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REALMS OF THE THEOI

•  :OLYMPUS -- Fortress home of the Olympian Gods
•  :AVERNUS -- The classical Underworld ruled by Hades

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