RELIGION IN THE REALM While the Realm is deeply invested in following "The 12 Olympians" and other associated dieties the nation also has rather liberal attitudes towards those following others faith. The general rule is that other faiths may practice freely so long as they follow three simple rules.
1) Speak no ill of the Olympians
2) Do no ill to the Olympians
3) Do not take from the Olympians.
Broadly speaking the rules mean that those of other faiths are free to do such things as pray in public and even preach in public, they may not however promote their own faith at the expense of the Olympians. So for example should a Christian wish to hand out copies of their bible in public they may do so but insulting one of the Olympians is likely to get you into big trouble even before the Police arrive as many people protect the faith robustly. Likewise should someone, even accidentely, damage something being thought to belong to the Gods a similar reaction is likely to take place. Lastly it is customary for followers of the Olympians to leave offerings, often of great value, for the Gods. Anyone taking these are shunned and if of another faith prosecuted heavily. In addition many organizations run by the faith will provide social support like meals for the poor, housing support etc. It is practically impossible for someone of another faith to access these.
The 12 Olympians
The Cassiopeians believe and follow a polytheistic faith
[1] based around the concept that the world is watched over and influenced by a large number of Gods and Goddesses each with their own unique roles and attributes. From this group 12 main Gods are held in the highest esteem, these are referred to as the 12 Olympians. It is believed that they rule over a domain on Mount Olympus.
The 12 Gods are
Zeus - King of the gods, ruler of Mount Olympus, and god of the sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order, and justice.
Hera - Queen of the gods, and goddess of marriage, women, childbirth, heirs, kings, and empires. She is the wife and sister of Zeus.
Poseidon - God of the sea, rivers, floods, droughts, and earthquakes. He rules one of the three realms of the universe, as king of the sea and the waters. The nation believe that Poseidon fathered a child with Andromeda and began the bloodline from which the nations Queen is elected.
Demeter - Goddess of grain, agriculture, harvest, growth, and nourishment.
Athena - Goddess of reason, wisdom, intelligence, skill, peace, warfare, battle strategy, and handicrafts. According to most traditions, she was born from Zeus's forehead, fully formed and armored. She is depicted as being crowned with a crested helm, armed with shield and spear, and wearing the aegis over a long dress.
Apollo - God of music, arts, knowledge, healing, plague, prophecy, poetry, manly beauty, and archery.
Artemis - Virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals and young girls. In later times, Artemis became associated with bows and arrows. She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and twin sister of Apollo. In art she is often depicted as a young woman dressed in a short knee-length chiton and equipped with a hunting bow and a quiver of arrows.
Ares - God of war, bloodshed, and violence. The son of Zeus and Hera, he was depicted as a beardless youth, either nude with a helmet and spear or sword, or as an armed warrior. He generally represents the chaos of war in contrast to Athena, a goddess of military strategy and skill.
Aphrodite - Goddess of beauty, love, desire, and pleasure. She is usually depicted as a naked or semi-nude beautiful woman. Her symbols include myrtle, roses, and the scallop shell. Her sacred animals include doves and sparrows.
Hephaestus - God of fire, metalworking, and crafts. He is the smith of the gods and the husband of the adulterous Aphrodite. He was usually depicted as a bearded, crippled man with hammer, tongs, and anvil, and sometimes riding a donkey.
Hermes - God of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, language, thieves and writing. Hermes was also responsible for protecting livestock and presided over the spheres associated with fertility, music, luck, and deception. Hermes is the messenger of the gods, and a psychopomp who leads the souls of the dead into the afterlife.
Dionysus - the god of the grape-harvest, wine-making and wine, of fertility, orchards and fruit, vegetation, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity and theatre
The Temple Network
Each of the 12 Olympian Gods has a Temple in each town with a population over 25,000 people. As new towns grow the state fund initial construction. Each God's Temple are overseen by their own Priesthood and are referred to as the Cult of whichever god they belong to. For example all temples belonging to Ares are overseen by the Cult of Ares. Some Temple's also have shrines attached to them of other Gods associated with them. For example it is not uncommon at a Temple of Posiedon to find a shrine to Amphitrite who was said to be his wife. As a result in major cities it is not uncommon for the Temples to have become rather large with many additional shrines.
In settlements with a population of less than 25,000 people a Unified Temple is built by the state and then its upkeep maintained evenly between the 12 main Cults.
Each of the 12 Olympian's however has a Home Temple connected to their myth.
THE ORACLES
In total there are 13 Oracles. An Oracle is the person responsible for the guidance of worship towards their particular God. They could be described as a combination of a Governor of the faith and also the Christian Pope for that God. While each of the Gods has their own Oracle the incumbent Queen also carried the title Oracle of the Martyr Cassiopeia as she heads up a Cult dedicated to the founder of the nation. It is the job of the Oracles to also observe, record and report omens at set times of the year. They also take responsibility for helping determine whether people can be members of the Celestial Family meaning it is believed they are of the bloodline of Andromeda and Posiedan.
At one point the Oracles will have been Priests, except for the Queen. Anyone of any age, gender or sexuality can become a Priest. It requires three years of training, the completion of a written exam and then you must be sponsored by a serving Priest to gain your hood which is the symbol of a Priest. Priests may not marry once they accept their hood however should they be married before embarking on training to be a Priest they may maintain their family connection. At first a Priest moves between all the Gods however on the 4th Anniversary of them accepting their hood they may petition to formally enter a Cult of their choosing. Some Priests will feel a particular pull towards one God while others may seek to enter a Cult that may offer advancement to larger Temples and thus more chance of becoming the Oracle one day. To gain entry to a Cult they must be approved by the Oracle of that God. Some Priests never petition to join a Cult and instead remain working at Shrines and Temples dedicated to the minor Gods.
The Centre of the Faith is the Complex Of Olympus which sits around 10km North of the capital Golgagra and just 2km away from the Complex of the Queen. The two sites are connected by the "Celestial Causeway" a special stone road used during processions and ceremonial rituals.