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∯ Oh Loredy...
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Post by gervaise21 on Nov 13, 2016 14:58:52 GMT
According to World of Thedas two of the old gods have changed their sphere of influence over the years. Zazikel was originally the goddess of freedom, yet has since become the god of chaos. Andoral was originally the god of unity, but later became the god of slaves. In fact I wonder if Andoral was originally a goddess associated with fertility (unity) since Andoralis/Summerday has commonly always been a time of marriage.
Now I can see how total freedom from laws or constraints on behaviour, could be seen as chaos but this would specifically seem to be the case where there is no form of authority, whereas having a god in charge immediately gives a control over unfettered freedom. Likewise, the links in a chain would have no strength on their own but joined together they give strength in unity. So I can see how the imagery of the chains of unity could have been reinterpreted to be the chains of slavery. Still I was wondering when this change in perception of these two gods/goddesses took place.
Originally I thought it might have been the work of the southern Chantry or possibly a reaction to the god's appearance as arch demons but the Canticle of Silence pre-dates both of these and in it Hessarian calls the high priest of Zazikel, the Madman of Chaos and the high priest of Andoral, the Appraiser of Slavery. So was this re-designation entirely down to Hessarian? Did he feel that the original attributes attached to these gods, freedom and unity, were too positive and so needed to be revised in order to support his crusade against old god worship? Or did their designation change at a much earlier date, when slavery became more commonplace after the fall of the city in Arlathan Forest?
It does seem odd that both these gods also have designations that seem a counterpoint to what the other stood for; Zazikel formerly freedom, Andoral latterly slavery; Andoral formerly unity, Zazikel latterly chaos. It may be merely academic now if the archdemons of the 2nd and 4th Blights were really these old gods but it does make me wonder about the nature of the Imperium prior to the unleashing of the Blights, if they could celebrate gods of freedom and unity.
Any thoughts on this? |
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Sah291
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Post by Sah291 on Nov 13, 2016 15:50:41 GMT
It's likely reflective of the changing roles and status of their followers, as well changing attitudes regarding the things they represented. Or the result of blending and merging with other local spirits/folk heroes. Certainly if Andoral was a goddess of unity, she could have in this way also later on become a goddess of slavery, had her worship been popular among slaves, or vise versa. In this way, she could have also become an Appraiser of Slavery...as in someone who assess, or estimates the value of something.
Yeah, some of it might have been the result of propaganda efforts by Hessarian and The Chantry. Or perhaps appropriation by the ruling classes, and meanings becoming inverted.
But this kind of thing is common in real life pantheons... compare the Greek Ares to the Roman Mars, and Greek Aphrodite to Roman Venus.... both very similiar, but with some major differences in nuance, that reflect the different times and cultural attitudes of both cultures. Also, it's quite common that deities have a polarity to their nature, in polytheism. Apollo can both heal and cause plagues, etc. Two sides of a coin. Ares/Mars is both a god of war and destruction and a god of protection and justice, etc. He defended cities, he sacked them.
So yeah, I think it's possible ancient Tevinter could have originally worshiped more positive aspects of their gods, such a freedom and unity, and comments by Dorian make me suspect this was the case. He comments about his people having a deep rooted love of freedom, etc. That had to have come from somewhere. Perhaps some lost cultural memory of Zazikel worshipped as a god of freedom.
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