Dodekatheon

Pantheon Name:	Dodekatheon
Pronunciation:
Origins:	Greek mythology
Leader/Ruler:	Zeus
Overworld:	Mount Olympus
Virtues:	Expression, Intellect, Valor, Vengeance
Purview:	Arete

The Dodekatheon is the Pantheon of the gods of ancient Greece and Rome in Scion. They are a wild bunch, each one more selfish and proud than the previous one. They all believe that their present Scion is the next Heracles or other great hero of history.

Their Overworld is a realm known as Mount Olympus, which is surrounded and besieged by Terra, Greater Titan of the World. Their Underworld is the grim realm known as Hades, named for the God who rules there.

History

The Dodekatheon are the second-oldest Pantheon, and arguably the one with the greatest influence on Western culture and history.

Nature

Overwhelmingly, the Dodekatheon are seekers of excellence, looking for the best of the best in the fields of war, science, education, art, law, and any other field that strikes their fancy. They encourage humans, especially their own Scions, to live up to their potential and give any task their best, a trait exemplified in their own Purview of Arete.

Being best comes with a price, and in the case of the Dodekatheon that weakness comes in the form of a crippling hubris; no god believes they or their minions can ever be bested. Therefore, the Greek gods will throw everything they have at a problem to solve it; if they do, then it only reinforces their pride. If they don't then they've usually wasted inordinate amounts of precious resources, time, and even lives; it is not unknown for a defeated Dodekatheon member to return home and sulk away the days and years while the world falls down around those depending on them.

Relationships

While the other pantheons cannot deny the skills and power of the Dodekatheon, their extreme pride can make them difficult to work with. In addition, the Dodekatheon tendency towards free-will and individuality throws off some of the more order oriented pantheons, such as the Pesedjet and the Atzlánti, and makes it hard for them to work with one another.

Members

• Aphrodite: Goddess of love and beauty, her fickleness and shallow attitude are legendary.
• Apollo: God of the sun and art, he always speaks truths others may not want to hear.
• Ares: God of war, he thinks of little other than violence and bloodshed.
• Artemis: Goddess of the moon and the hunt, she thrives on constant change.
• Athena: Goddess of wisdom, she is the most well-rounded, but as prone to pride as the others.
• Dionysus: God of wine, he brings both revelry and chaos in his presence.
• Hades: God of death and Lord of the Underworld, he is full of doom and gloom.
• Hephaestus: God of the forge, he can create anything so long as he has the right tools.
• Hera: Queen of the Dodekatheon and goddess of marriage, she has a legendary temper that even makes her husband tremble.
• Hermes: Messenger of the Dodekatheon and god of thieves and tricksters, he is not above tricking his fellow gods.
• Poseidon: God of the seas, he rages to save the natural world from humanity's mistakes.
• Zeus: King of the Dodekatheon and god of thunder and lightning, he is unable to keep his hands (or anything else, it seems) to himself.

Secondary Members

• Adonis Rhodos: God of Love and Loss, former scion of Aphrodite.
• Heracles: A Keeper of the World and great hero of ancient Greece.
• Pan: Former god of love and fertility, transformed into something sinister by his exile.
• Persephone: Queen of the Underworld.
• Victor Phalanx: God of soldiers, and former scion of Ares.
• Momus: God of satire, mockery, censure, writers and poets, evil-spirited blame and unfair criticism.
• Cocidius: God of Roman soldiers (At times mingles with the Tuatha De Danann).

References

• Scion: Scion: Hero, p. 57 -63