Daily Life: The Classical Gods
Before the time of the Auromian Empire or La Salvatrice, humans worshipped a wide array of gods. Many of these were based on natural phenomena, such as the sun and moon, or upon the personifications of human characteristics. Others were inspired by meetings between early humans and supernatural beings, particularly elementals and fairies. In some cases, it is hard to say whether a particular god was inspired by a spiritual being, or whether the spiritual being stepped into the role of a god that was already worshipped.
Over time, as different tribes came into contact with each other, deities were syncretised: different sun gods were all assumed to be regional aspects of the same sun god, for instance. Finally, the Auromian Empire adopted many of the gods, and associated them with the sun, moon and planets. The greatest gold dragons ritually 'became' these gods, becoming a focus for human worship. The gods chosen by the Auromian Empire became the 'classical gods,' although other lesser gods are still remembered in a far smaller scale. In the present day and age, worship of the classical gods is forbidden by the church, but they are not forgotten. They are still popular in academic and artistic circles, where they are considered allegorical rather than literal gods. Local folk religion still contains elements of their worship as well.
With the exception of the Sun, all of the classical gods are female. Some of them had masculine aspects before the Auromian Empire codified the pantheon. Scholars speculate that this is because spiritual beings almost exclusively manifest as female, or that it removed any male rivals to the Gold Dragon Emperor from his court.
Sole: The sun, representing masculinity, lordship and power. Astronomers in Tellaia, with the help of magic, were able to figure out that the solar system was heliocentric rather than geocentric. Therefore, the Sun was associated with the Auromian Emperor himself, and sun worship was the primary Imperial cult.
Le Tre Sorelle, The Three Sisters: Identified with the three moons, the three sisters are gods of time and fate. Sorellina (Little Sister) is a patron of childbirth and children; Sorellona (Big Sister) a guardian deity and the goddess of women, and Sorella Anziana (Old Sister) the goddess of time, old age, wisdom and death. In the Auromian Empire, the Three Sisters were recast as the three wives of the Emperor, and an important part of their duty was deciding when it was time for the Emperor to abdicate and a new Emperor to be chosen.
Fortuna: Lady Luck is the goddess of chance, rather than fate. As the goddess of money, she was the patron of merchants, thieves, and gamblers. She is still commonly invoked, but her role as a god has largely been forgotten. The gold dragon Fortuna was responsible for the empire's taxes and treasury.
Bellona: The goddess of war. In her aspect of God of Soldiers, she was very commonly worshiped in the Auromian Empire's armies. She is a popular subject of art and poetry, where she is used metaphorically. The gold dragon Bellona was responsible for the empire's armies, although the Emperor was officially their leader.
Amora: The goddess of love. She is very popular in art and poetry, and is still invoked in certain folk rituals. The courtesans of Vanzenia still invoke her in certain superstitious rituals. The gold dragon Amora was responsible for matchmaking and maintaining the imperial genealogies.
Tellaia: The goddess of nature, in charge of all plants and beasts. The planet itself shares a name with her. Unlike the other gods, she was not personified by the gold dragons (since this reduced the number of divinities to seven, a lucky number.) She is the classical goddess most commonly invoked today, in folk rituals as 'Mother Earth'.
Genia: The goddess of healing and protection. In early days, 'genia' were household gods, with every family having its own protective deity. Cities also had their own protective gods, which were the focus of civic worship. The gold dragons conflated them all, and Genia became the gold dragon responsible for social welfare. Many genia are still acknowledged, but as 'guardian angels' rather than household gods.
Musa: The god of creativity and inspiration. She is still invoked poetically, but more as a stylistic callback to earlier modes of writing. The gold dragon Musa was the greatest patron of the arts in Tirenia.
Urbina: The goddess of cities and civilisation. Urbina was originally the genia protecting the city of Auromia, and her worship absorbed that of other city-gods as the Auromian Empire expanded. The gold dragon Urbina was responsible for the operation of the law courts and the justice system.
Morta: The goddess of death, and the harvester of souls. Early belief had it that the dying went to dwell in her kingdom. The gold dragon Morta was responsible for funerary rites and practices throughout the Auromian Empire.
Over time, as different tribes came into contact with each other, deities were syncretised: different sun gods were all assumed to be regional aspects of the same sun god, for instance. Finally, the Auromian Empire adopted many of the gods, and associated them with the sun, moon and planets. The greatest gold dragons ritually 'became' these gods, becoming a focus for human worship. The gods chosen by the Auromian Empire became the 'classical gods,' although other lesser gods are still remembered in a far smaller scale. In the present day and age, worship of the classical gods is forbidden by the church, but they are not forgotten. They are still popular in academic and artistic circles, where they are considered allegorical rather than literal gods. Local folk religion still contains elements of their worship as well.
With the exception of the Sun, all of the classical gods are female. Some of them had masculine aspects before the Auromian Empire codified the pantheon. Scholars speculate that this is because spiritual beings almost exclusively manifest as female, or that it removed any male rivals to the Gold Dragon Emperor from his court.
Sole: The sun, representing masculinity, lordship and power. Astronomers in Tellaia, with the help of magic, were able to figure out that the solar system was heliocentric rather than geocentric. Therefore, the Sun was associated with the Auromian Emperor himself, and sun worship was the primary Imperial cult.
Le Tre Sorelle, The Three Sisters: Identified with the three moons, the three sisters are gods of time and fate. Sorellina (Little Sister) is a patron of childbirth and children; Sorellona (Big Sister) a guardian deity and the goddess of women, and Sorella Anziana (Old Sister) the goddess of time, old age, wisdom and death. In the Auromian Empire, the Three Sisters were recast as the three wives of the Emperor, and an important part of their duty was deciding when it was time for the Emperor to abdicate and a new Emperor to be chosen.
Fortuna: Lady Luck is the goddess of chance, rather than fate. As the goddess of money, she was the patron of merchants, thieves, and gamblers. She is still commonly invoked, but her role as a god has largely been forgotten. The gold dragon Fortuna was responsible for the empire's taxes and treasury.
Bellona: The goddess of war. In her aspect of God of Soldiers, she was very commonly worshiped in the Auromian Empire's armies. She is a popular subject of art and poetry, where she is used metaphorically. The gold dragon Bellona was responsible for the empire's armies, although the Emperor was officially their leader.
Amora: The goddess of love. She is very popular in art and poetry, and is still invoked in certain folk rituals. The courtesans of Vanzenia still invoke her in certain superstitious rituals. The gold dragon Amora was responsible for matchmaking and maintaining the imperial genealogies.
Tellaia: The goddess of nature, in charge of all plants and beasts. The planet itself shares a name with her. Unlike the other gods, she was not personified by the gold dragons (since this reduced the number of divinities to seven, a lucky number.) She is the classical goddess most commonly invoked today, in folk rituals as 'Mother Earth'.
Genia: The goddess of healing and protection. In early days, 'genia' were household gods, with every family having its own protective deity. Cities also had their own protective gods, which were the focus of civic worship. The gold dragons conflated them all, and Genia became the gold dragon responsible for social welfare. Many genia are still acknowledged, but as 'guardian angels' rather than household gods.
Urbina: The goddess of cities and civilisation. Urbina was originally the genia protecting the city of Auromia, and her worship absorbed that of other city-gods as the Auromian Empire expanded. The gold dragon Urbina was responsible for the operation of the law courts and the justice system.
Morta: The goddess of death, and the harvester of souls. Early belief had it that the dying went to dwell in her kingdom. The gold dragon Morta was responsible for funerary rites and practices throughout the Auromian Empire.
Art: 'The Birth of Venus.' Sandro Botticelli, c. 1485.
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