Phonecian Cultural Introduction ------------------------------- Phonecians are renowned as canny traders, and overall tend to be hard-boiled and unsentimental, holding life cheap. They are clean, sober, and temperate, though, despising decadence, and are congenial enough among friends. Their economic acumen and sheer bargaining skill sometimes causes others to revile them as sharp dealers, but in fact they are usually scrupulously honest, and take pride in a well-wrought deal (and everyone deals with them, of course). In general, everything is a form of trade to them, and they could not take anything gratis, any more than they could give something away. They are brilliant navigators and explorers. While not particularly warlike, they fight well if they have to. Apart from some skill in glassmaking and other crafts, they are inartistic. This hardly matters with their wealth, since they can import the best artists from around the region to decorate their homes and temples. The Phonecians tend to take their religion seriously. Religious spectacle is the main public amusement, and the parades do tend to the spectacular. As with most pantheists, they tend to pray to or propitiate the gods whose purviews match their needs at the time; only the priests dedicate themselves to one deity. Since everything is a matter of trade, favours granted by the gods are rewarded with sacrifices. Sacrifice also appeases the gods when they withhold favours. Their loyalty to their gods may extend to child sacrifice, often of the first-born, although animals are usual. Moloch is the usual recipient on behalf of the gods. The Phonecians don't understand why other races consider the occasional child sacrifice a bit extreme (what greater gift could there be?). Phonecian women must serve as temple prostitutes before they can attain full citizenship or be married, waiting at a temple until they are chosen by some stranger (usually not too long, since they are famous for their skill with cosmetics). They may also have to serve as temple prostitutes for a day at religious festivals in honour of Tammuz (Adonis), but can shave their heads as an alternative. This gives them a reputation as loose, but in fact apart from these religious observances, monogamy is the rule, and they look on casual sex or adultery with absolute horror. List of Phonecian Deities ------------------------- Agreus: Sunlight (benign, chaotic). Lesser God of hunting. Brother of Halieus. Agros: Moonlight (benign, ordered). Lesser God of fields, courtyards, viticulture, and wine cellars. Brother of Agrotes. Agrotes: Moonlight (benign, chaotic). Lesser God of the aerth, horses, hunting, and wanderers. Appears as a charioteer, sometimes accompanied by packs of dogs. Brother of Agros. Aion & Protogonos: the first mortal men. Discovered food, which probably helped mankind off to a good start... Aleyin: Balance (agathocacological, chaotic). Major God of springs and rainy-season vegetation. Son of Baal, brother of Anat. 'He who rides the clouds' often has with him seven companions and eight wild boars. Amat-Asherat: Shadowy Darkness (agathocacological, chaotic). Minor Goddess of alchemy and conjuration. Banished by El to the desert, where she raised 'strange creatures, big as bulls' (sphinx-like creatures with a lion and a human head) to fight Baal. Later helped make Baal's temple. Consort of Terah, mother of Siba'ni. Amunos: Moonlight (benign, ordered). Lesser God of village life. Brother of Magos. Anat: Balance (agathocacological, chaotic). Major Goddess of battle, bloodshed, and hunting, renowned for her hot temper and excitability. Perpetuates the life of the gods by ensuring that sacrifices are constantly made to them. She killed the God Mot (temporarily) for her brother's sake. Daughter of Baal, sister of Aleyin. She appears as a maiden who rides a lion and carries shield, spear, and axe. Aqhat. Son of Danel, brother of Pughat. Mortal hero, handsome and favoured of the gods, who gave him a divine bow. Anat coveted it and had her henchman Yatpan kill him for it, but the bow was destroyed in the act. Arsay: Moonlight (benign, ordered). Minor Goddess of moist aerth and marshes. Daughter of Baal. Asherat-of-the-sea: Moonlight (benign, ordered). Great Goddess of wisdom and the sea. Mother of the Gods and mistress of the Gods in wisdom. El's wife and counsellor, said to have 70 children, including Baal. Asherat: Balance (agathocacological, ordered). Major Goddess of marriage, fidelity, and home life. Wife of Baal. Mother of Aleyin and Anat, and Pidray, Tallay, and Arsay. Astart (Astoreth): Shadowy Darkness (benign, chaotic). Major Goddess of fertility, love, and pleasure. Patron of harlots and hedonists, her temple prostitutes are (in)famous all over the Mare Librum. Appears as a sensuous woman in a revealing robe of many colours. Ba'al (1). "Lord", the honorific applied to gods. Likewise, Ba'alat: "Lady", the female version. Generally, whichever God or Goddess was most venerated in a place was known as Baal or Baalat. Ba'al (2). Baal Hadad: Shadowy Darkness (agathocacological, intermediate). Greater God of weather, clouds, and tempests. Son of El and Asherat-of-the-sea, Viceroy to El, but sometimes El's enemy. Husband of Asherat, father of Aleyin and Anat, and Pidray, Tallay, and Arsay. His voice is thunder and he dispenses rain. He appears as a young warrior wearing a tall, pointed helmet with stylised horns, and wields a jagged spear of lightning. Baal Hammon: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Great God of the sky and the sun. Guardian of eternal values and guarantor of continuity. Appears as a dignified, bearded old man with ram's horns. Often accompanied by winged sphinxes. Consort of Tanit. Baltis: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Major Goddess of the sky, joy, and dancing; protectress of women. Beloved of the Aegyptian Goddess Hathor (the two are sisters, in spirit at least). Appears as a woman wearing a helmet with cow's horns with a disk between them. Bauu: Balance (agathocacological, ordered). Lesser Goddess of night. Consort of Kolpia. Daggay: Moonlight (benign, ordered). Minor Goddess of childbirth. Helper of Asherat-of-the-sea. Danel: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Demigod of truth, divination, and community. Former mortal hero, versed in divination, and 'knew all things' from birth. He demands justice for the widow, protection for orphans, and assistance against the plunderer. Son of Keret, father of Aqhat and Pughat. El: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Greatest God. Head of the pantheon. God of the sun and 'the father of men'. Makes rivers flow to the ocean, and assures the fertility of the Aerth. Dwells by the shore. Husband of Asherat-of-the-sea, father of Baal et alia. Appears as a grey-bearded man with six wings. His symbol is a red bull. Eshmun: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Lesser God of health and healing. Son of El and Asherat-of-the-sea. He is usually depicted as a middle-aged, bearded man with a white toga holding a staff around which are twined two snakes. Geinos: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Lesser God of agriculture. Brother of Technites. Genos & Genea: the first Phonecians (male and female); founded Phonecia and discovered prayer. Giants. Cassius, Lebanon, Antilebanon, Brathy. Ruled over the mountains that bear their names. Invented the burning of incense. Gurzil: Shadowy Darkness (malign, chaotic). Minor God of combat and bloodlust. Tears his foes to pieces. Patron of gladiators. Halieus: Sunlight (benign, chaotic). Lesser God of fishing. Appears as a horned triton, accompanied by nereids. Brother of Agreus. Hasisu: Balance (benign, ordered). Major God of fire and smithing. Brother of Kusor. Invented iron and the manner of working it with his brother. Hay-Tau: Moonlight (benign, ordered). Major God of forest vegetation. Takes the form of a tree. The 'tears of Hay-Tau' are resin (valuable to the Phonecians for export to Aegypt). Hiyon: Shadowy Darkness (benign, ordered). Major God of gemsmithing, glasswork, and lapidary work. Divine craftsman, worker of gold and silver. His symbols are the bellows and tongs. Iolaus: Balance (benign, intermediate). Demigod of fleetness (of mind and body). Former mortal hero, nephew and helper of the God Melkart (not the Grecian Heracles, as on Earth), and now assistant to Melkart. Patron of runners, those who live by their wits, and those who help others (particularly heroes). Ist (Phos, Pyr, Phlox): Balance (agathocacological, chaotic). Lesser tripartite Goddess of fire, with aspects of domestic science, since she brought fire to men. Keret. Mortal 'hero'. King of Sidon, a son of El and soldier of the Goddess Sapas, but not very brave. Fought against the Moon God Terah at his father's behest (eventually), but lost. Bought a costly wife: his son, Danel, was a prodigy. Kolpia: Balance (agathocacological, chaotic). Lesser God of wind. Consort of Bauu. Kusor the Mariner (Chousor): Sunlight (benign, ordered). Great God of Mariners and Inventors. Brother of Hasisu, 'son of law', craftsman of the gods. Invented mechanical devices, the fishing boat and fishing, architecture, and navigation. Skilled in divination, soothsaying, and the arts of incantation and magic formulas. Latpon: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Major God of magick and wisdom, and patron of (especially Full) Practitioners. Son of El and Asherat-of-the-sea. Shares his mother's wisdom. Magos: Moonlight (benign, ordered). Lesser God of animal husbandry. Patron of shepherds and herdsmen. Brother of Amunos. Mastiman: Gloomy Darkness (malign, ordered). Minor God of the dead, servant to Mot. Strangles those his master chooses. Melkart: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Lesser God of strength, striving, and Phonecian expansion, 'he who extends the horizon'. Patron of explorers and travellers. His symbol is the horizon, where the sun meets the sea. He appears as a strong man in a lionskin, much like the Grecian Heracles (he performed similar deeds). Misor: Sunlight (agathocacological, ordered). Minor God of righteousness. Brother of Sydyk. Discovered salt. Father of Tauutos. Moloch: Shadowy Darkness (malign, chaotic). Great God of disasters, plague, volcanism, and the infernal regions. Sacrifices are burnt to him, particularly children. In times of trouble, he has been propitiated with the sacrifice of many hundreds. He appears as a black, bat-winged minotaur with three yellow eyes, who breathes fire. Mot: Shadowy Darkness (malign, ordered): Major God of Death and drought. Once was harvest God and favorite son of El, until killed by the Goddess Anat; now 'eats the dead'. Symbol is a withered vine entwined around and through a skull. Ousoos: Moonlight (benign, ordered). Major God of clothing, dyeing, and trade. Brother and rival of Samemroumos. Pataecians (Pataiko): Supernatural weak to moderate potency spirits of Good sent to protect sea-going Phonecians. Also the name for the statuettes in which they reside, which are mounted on Phonecian ships. Patechus: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Great God of ships, navigation, and ocean travel. Patron of sailors, navigators, and explorers. His servants, the Pataecian godlets, protect Phonecian ships. Pidray: Moonlight (agathocacological, ordered). Minor Goddess of mist and fog. Daughter of Baal. Pughat. Mortal heroine, she knew all the secrets of astrology. Daughter of Danel, sister of Aqhat, whose death she avenged. Quadesh: Balance (agathocacological, intermediate). Lesser Goddess of starlight, wild flora, and astrology. Assistant to Anat in sacrifice; consort of Resheph. Appears as a young woman dressed in green and silver. Resheph (Amurru): Balance (agathocacological, intermediate). Lesser God of lightning, wild fauna, and music. Assistant to Anat in sacrifice; consort of Quadesh. Appears as a young warrior who carries a three-pronged thunderbolt. Ruti: Sunlight (agathocacological, ordered). Lesser God of warcraft and soldiering. Son of El and Asherat-of-the-sea. Ferocious enemy of the foes of El, especially undead and evil spirits. Appears as a lion-headed man. Sahar: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Minor Goddess of the dawn. Daughter of El and Asherat-of-the-sea. Twin of Salem. Salem: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Minor Goddess of the evening. Daughter of El and Asherat-of-the-sea. Twin of Sahar. Samemroumos (Hypsouranious): Sunlight (benign, ordered). Major God of shelter, buildings, and settlements (from hamlets to cities). Brother and rival of Ousoos. Sapas: Sunlight (agathocacological, ordered). Major Goddess of light and subterranean exploration. Daughter of El and Asherat-of-the-sea. The 'torch of the Gods'. Said to ride a phoenix or bennu. Siba'ni: Shadowy Darkness (agathocacological, chaotic). Demigod of thievery, luck, and sharp dealing. 'The seventh'. Son of Terah and Amat-Asherat. His mother stayed in the desert seven years to purify herself before his birth. Sydyk: Sunlight (agathocacological, ordered). Minor God of justice. Brother of Misor. His descendents, the Kabiri (some say these are the Grecian Cabeiri) perfected navigation, and became the Pataecians in the service of the God Patechus. He appears as a man in a plumed helmet, carrying a spear. Tallay: Moonlight (benign, intermediate). Minor Goddess of dew and showers. Daughter of Baal. Tammuz (called Adonis by the Grecians): Sunlight (benign, intermediate). Major God of the harvest, having taken over from Mot and Aleyin. Born of a myrrh tree into which his mother (Myrrha) had been transformed. A beautiful youth when he was mortal, beloved of the Grecian Goddess Aphrodite. He was killed by a boar he was hunting: the stream where he fell flows red as blood each year, and anenomes bloom for him. Tanit: Moonlight (benign, ordered). Great Goddess of the moon, maternity, and magick. Appears as a veiled woman clad in dove's plumage. Doves are sacred to her. Consort to Baal Hammon. Her symbols are a ribboned staff surmounted with a crescent and disk, and a triangle with a line and cirle at its apex. Tauutos: Moonlight (benign, ordered). Major God of writing and learning. Messenger of the gods. Invented the first written characters. Patron of sages, scribes, record keepers, and practitioners (who use tomes). Son of Misor. Technites: Sunlight (benign, ordered). Lesser God of masonry, brickmaking, and roofing. Patron of artisans. Brother of Geinos. Terah: Shadowy Darkness (malign, intermediate). Lesser God of the waning moon and secrets. Consort of Amat-Asherat, father of Siba'ni. Yam: Moonlight (agathocacological, intermediate). Great god of the sea, sea creatures, and earthquakes. Opponent of Baal and has fought with him. Yatpan. Mortal hero: henchman to Anat, he killed Aqhat for her. Was in turn slain by Pughat, Aqhat's sister.