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21 March 2014

Exploring Atlantis 5: The Greek Pantheon Part 1

There are only a few pantheons detailed in the Atlantis: The Second Age rulebook. The Greek pantheon isn't one of them. (In this version of the game, the Atlanteans don't worship Poseidon. Instead they worship a group of African gods that, for the most part, are represented in present day Voudon.) This means I'll have to create some gods for Phoibe the priestess to interact with. Fortunately, there are rules that cover this.

 Each pantheon has an overall set of tenets called Dogma. These are rules that worshipers are expected to follow. The example pantheons in the book all have 5 or 6 tenets each. For the Greek pantheon I have chosen the following tenets:

Sacrifice to the gods. It is their due.
Strive for excellence in all that you attempt.
Do not discard the gifts of the gods. Pursue any talents you may have.
Participate in religious festivals. It is a duty as well as a privilege.
Hubris is not pleasing to the gods. Do not think to place yourself above them.

Each god also has a persona, or description, a symbol or symbols that are associated with the god, a realm, where they usually reside (in Atlantis, the gods are physically present in the world. Your character can visit them, though surviving such a trip is questionable.), and one to three Dominions, purviews they hold power over. For every dominion a god has, there is an accompanying Precept, which defines two duties expected of followers and three actions which are proscribed for followers. (The pantheons in the book promptly break this rule. There seems to be little correspondence with the number of duties or proscriptions and the number of Dominions they possess. So I decided to create two duties and three proscriptions for each of my gods and call it a day.)      

The Greek gods reside atop Mount Olympus, though a few have residences elsewhere. Zeus reigns over the other gods as head of the pantheon. They appear and act much as mortals do, though they are immortal and unaging. Unless otherwise stated, this is the realm for all of the Greek pantheon.

Athena
 Persona: Athena is the goddess of  craft, wisdom, law, knowledge and war. She is the patron of the city of Athens, and is often involved with heroes and their undertakings. Athena is brave, thoughtful, deliberate, and just. She is one of the virgin goddesses of the Greek pantheon. Athena is usually armed and armored with a spear, goatskin cloak, helmet, and shield.
Symbol: The owl
Realm: Olympus
Dominion: Craft, War, Law
Precepts: Teach those who are willing to learn. Learn from those who are willing to teach.
                  Uphold the law wherever you travel. But remember, the purpose of law is to 
                  serve justice, or the law serves no purpose.
                  Do not take part in an unjust war.
                  Do not take credit for the works of others.
                  Knowledge is sacred. Do not cause it to be lost. 


 I will post other Greek gods as time permits. At the very least I need two more for Phoibe, since a character with the Talent: Dominion Access gets one primary god for free and one additional god for every 5 points in Lore: Theology that the character possesses.
 
 




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