The Latinian Orthodox church is an organized branch of the Olympian belief system. After the successful rebellion of the Nostrian provinces, adherents of the old State religion relocated their center of worship and reorganized its structure. To the governor-made-king of Latinia, the break wasn’t significant enough, believing that each kingdom should have it’s own center of worship and that it was unnecessary for the all deities to be worshipped under the same roof. With accusations of false and corrupt doctrine, the Clerics in Latinia voted to break from the central provincial Church. They reverted to the use of the old Hellenic names of their deities and restructured the church to work within the kingdom, where developed a close relationship between the king and the clergy.

The deities of the Latinians are a rowdy, self-centered, dysfunctional family of gods who are far more interested in what their worshippers can do for them than what they can do for their worshippers. The Olympian deities meddle in the affairs of mortals quite often and often take on human form to checkup on their worshippers. Though a few Olympian deities stand for noble ideals and feel like their meddling is beneficial, there are only a handful of these among this family of hedonists and they take every opportunity they can to thwart the less than ideal machinations of their other family members.

General Beliefs

The three main commandments of Olympianism state that hosts shall honor their guests and guests shall honor their hosts; one shall not slay a family member and one shall not commit the sin of hubris; that is, compare oneself to the gods. Olympianism encourages its devotees to accept overwhelming challenges and to overcome these obstacles in an effort to attain ones highest potential. This pantheon also reinforces the idea that other cultures are less than civilized and are therefore not to be considered equals. [Top]

Church Structure

The structure of the Latinian church is centered on the authority of Zeus as head of the pantheon. Other than Zeus, there are eleven other “Olympian” deities; that is, those deities who have a position in court with Zeus on Mount Olympus: Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Hera, Hephaestus, Hermes and Poseidon. Accordingly, the highest position in the Latinian church is that of the Patriarch, the High Priest of Zeus. The wife of the Patriarch is the High Priestess of Hera called the Matriarch. The Patriarch is chosen from among the five Archbishops of Zeus, who must also be married to Priestesses of Hera, by the council of ten Cardinals, each one being the highest-ranking Cleric of one of the remaining Olympian deities. Should a tie exist, the deciding vote is regulated to the Cardinal of Hades. Each deity’s clergy has their own way of deciding who is to become Cardinal. The largest Latinian cities have cathedrals that serve as ecclesiastic seats for Bishops. Five of these cathedrals are headed by Archbishops of Zeus. Druids who serve Olympian deities have no official organization within the Latinian Orthodox church. Monks are typically tied to the church through their patron deity, though there are only a few deities within the Olympian pantheon who support the monastic tradition. [Top]

Ecclesiastic Ranks

Patriarch – most senior Cleric of Zeus

Matriarch – most senior Cleric of Hera

Cardinal – most senior representatives of the ten other Olympians.

Archbishop – a Cleric of Zeus who oversees a diocese.

Bishop – any other Cleric who oversees a diocese.

Priest/Priestess – a Cleric who oversees a church.

Deacon – a Cleric who assists a Priest or Priestess.

The architectural style of Latinian churches range from modest structures to magnificent Cathedrals found in the largest Latinian cities. Churches are typically dedicated to a single deity and are decorated accordingly. Notable exceptions are the cathedrals dedicated to Zeus, which are typically staffed by clerics of several different deities serving in a variety of functions. Nearly every church has a resident cleric of Hestia to tend the sacred hearth. [Top]

Festival Celebrations

The Olympian deities are celebrated often throughout the year. Each festival has its own specific ways of celebrating the deity it honors.

1^st Month of Spring
1^st Month of Spring	16	Arktoria: This two day festival is dedicated to Artemis and celebrates her as the mistress of wild animals. A goat is sacrificed and 10 young girls carry torches and artifacts sacred to Artemis in a procession. Sporting events are held in which youths compete against each other. The closing ceremonies center around a dance of Artemis’ clerics.
2^nd Month of Spring
2^nd Month of Spring	6-7	Birth of Artemis and Apollo: As it’s name suggests, this two-day festival celebrates the nativity of these two deities. In a ceremony of purification, one male and one female convict are paraded to the outskirts of town, all the while being beaten and stoned. If they survive the punishment, they are allowed to go free but are never to return to town. The next day, children hang olive branches from the doors of houses and the first fruits of the land are brought to the largest church of Apollo, which hosts a feast of thanksgiving to the deity.
3^rd Month of Spring
3^rd Month of Spring	12	Shield Fest: Though the whole of the month is dedicated to her, this day is a celebration of Athena’s protection. A white shield is paraded through town to symbolize Athena’s protection of the fields and a black shield is paraded to symbolize her protection of the people and town.
1^st Month of Summer
	4	Aphrodisia: A festival held in honor of Aphrodite. Festival events include feasting, dancing and athletic games.
	21	Artemisia: This festival in honor of Artemis is celebrated with athletic competitions between youths and a stag hunt.
	28	Panathenaia: This festival celebrates the birth of Athena with the procession of the Holy Veil, dance contests and the handing out of the flesh of sacrificed animals. The Holy Veil is then hung in Athena’s church until the next festival. Once every four years this festival extends for twelve days with the addition of foot, horse and chariot races, gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, a pentathlon and poetry and music contests. The winners of the games are given a crown of olive leaves while the overall winner takes home a pitcher filled with olive oil from the sacred groves.
2^nd Month of Summer
2^nd Month of Summer	6	Fellowship Festival: During this festival neighbors gather to share meals, make deals and strengthen friendships in the name of Apollo.
3^rd Month of Summer
	4	Genesia: This is a festival of mourning in honor of Gaea. Libations are poured out in remembrance of ancestors and gifts are exchanged.
	15-24	Sitirichrystine Mysteries: Only special devotees of Demeter participate in this festival. Candidates must not be criminals or sorcerers. They are lead on a pilgrimage to the Hellenian town of Sitirichrys where they participate in a nine-day ritual that re-enacts the abduction of Persephone.
^1st Month of Autumn
^1st Month of Autumn	10-13	Thesmophoria: During this autumn sowing festival dedicated to Demeter, married women fast and keep chaste. It is basically a time for women to get to know each other socially in a spirit of sisterhood. A torch light procession on the last day leads to a feast with offerings to Demeter.
2^nd Month of Autumn
2^nd Month of Autumn	15
3^rd Month of Autumn – Poseidon
3^rd Month of Autumn – Poseidon	15	Celebration of the Black Ram: This celebration consists of a procession of the skin of a Black Ram to the church of Zeus. The skin of the ram absorbs the sins of the people it passes by.
1^st Month of Winter – Zeus and Hera
1^st Month of Winter – Zeus and Hera	15
2^nd Month of Winter
2^nd Month of Winter	15
3^rd Month of Winter – Dionysus
3^rd Month of Winter – Dionysus	15	Bacchanalia:

Class Preferences

Bard	Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Pan
Barbarian	Ares, Artemis, Dionysus
Cleric	Any
Druid	Artemis, Demeter, Dionysus, Gaea, Pan, Rhea
Fighter	Athena, Ares, Hephaestus, Nike, Zeus
Monk	Athena, Cronus, Hestia, Nike
Paladin	Athena
Ranger	Artemis, Pan
Rogue	Hermes, Silenus, Tyche
Sorcerer	Cronus, Hecate, Tyche
Wizard	Apollo, Hades, Hera, Hermes

OLYMPIC PANQEON

Aphrodite	CG	Goddess of Love	Chaos, Charm, Good	Dagger
Apollo	CG	God of the Sun	Divination, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Music, Sun	Long Bow
Ares	CE	God of War	Destruction, Evil, Tyranny, War	Spear
Artemis	NG	Goddess of the Hunt	Animal, Family, Good, Moon	Long Bow
Athena	LG	Goddess of Wisdom & Battle	Artifice, Community, Good, Knowledge, Law, War	Spear
Cronus	LE	Father Time	Law, Evil, Suffering, Time	Sickle
Demeter	TN	Goddess of Nature	Earth, Plant, Renewal	Longspear
Dionysus	CN	God of Wine	Chaos, Madness, Plant	Quarterstaff
Gaea	TN	Mother Earth	Cavern, Earth, Healing, Plant, Protection	Sickle
Hades	NE	God of the Underworld	Death, Earth, Evil	Longsword
Hecate	NE	Goddess of Magic	Darkness, Evil, Family, Magic	Dagger
Hephaestus	NG	God of Blacksmiths	Artifice, Earth, Fire, Good, Metal	War Hammer
Hera	TN	Queen of the Gods	Family, Nobility, Protection, Retribution	Light Mace
Hermes	CG	God of Messengers	Chaos, Good, Luck, Trade, Travel, Trickery	Quarterstaff
Hestia	NG	Goddess of the Hearth	Family, Fire, Good	Dagger
Nike	LN	Goddess of Victory	Law, Nobility, War	Light Mace
Pan	CN	God of the Fields	Animal, Chaos, Plant	Unarmed Strike
Poseidon	CN	God of the Sea	Chaos, Earth, Ocean	Trident
Prometheus	CG	Giver of Fire	Fate, Fire, Good, Suffering	Club
Rhea	NG	Goddess of the Harvest	Earth, Family, Plant	Flail
Silenus	CN	God of Excess	Animal, Chaos, Travel, Trade	Quarterstaff
Tyche	TN	Goddess of Luck	Luck, Protection, Travel	Short Sword
Ouranos	CE	God of the Heavens	Air, Chaos, Evil	Morningstar
Zeus	CG	King of Gods	Air, Chaos, Good, Nobility, Strength, Weather	Spear