The Cult of Jupiter

The cult of Jupiter is the central spoke of the Olympian faith, which worships Jupiter, his mother and his sibling gods.

 

The Myth of Jupiter

In the beginning there was Uranus and Gaea. They had children, the titans, whom they grew to fear, and attempted to destroy. Instead, their children separated them, and titan Saturn cut off the genitalia of Uranus, rendering him impotent in every sense of the word. As the blood from this wound mixed with the froth of the sea, Aphrodite was born, as the blood from this wound mixed with the dust of the earth, Prosepina was born. Safe from his father, Saturn began to beget children upon his sister Rhea. However, Saturn was afraid that one of his children might usurp his power, and therefore swallowed them as they were born. Rhea was mightily distressed by this and substituted a swaddled rock for her youngest son, Jupiter, who grew up in hiding on an island. He then return to the Mountain of the gods, forced Saturn to disgorge his siblings, and threw Saturn and what titans supported him into a dark hell. His grateful fellow gods took him as their new king. Later, Jupiter led them all in the battle against the gigants who came forth from Chaos to avenge the castration of his grandfather Uranus. Thus it came to be that Jupiter became the king of gods and god of kings, protecting his subjects from dangers within and without, as do the kings and nobles who are most dear to him. Jupiter is an able lover who has seduced goddesses, immortals and mortals, and has fathered more offspring than all the other gods combined. Once he sacrificed himself to himself, hanging himself from a tree for nine days, and gaining enormous powers in the process.

 

Powers

Jupiter is both a protector of the world from chaos, and a protector of the world order from anarchy. He is the god of rulers and of the nobility, and upholds the order the four classes. He is also the lord of the weather and thus his goodwill is essential for all living things. Furthermore, Jupiter is the essential embodiment of masculinity and male potence. He is quick to anger and must be appeased continually, after all, he is the king of all worlds.

 

 

Symbolism

The primary symbol of Jupiter is the Dart of Jupiter, an abstract symbol which is meant to incorporate the phallus, the spear and the thunderbolt. Among other symbols associated with Jupiter are the thunderbolt and the phallus, and the winged bull. The number 60 is sacred to him, as are ravens, wolves and toadstools.

Mountaintops are sacred places to the cult, and temples are usually placed on the highest convenient point.

 

 

Conduct

The cardinal virtue for men is masculinity. Men are exercise their potence. This both means copulating frequently and preferrably with a large number of women, and that they should seek power.

The cardinal virtue for women is femininity. This means that they should be submissive, obedient to their fathers and husbands.. They should be willing receptacles for the holy semen of their men, and should remain faithful to them. Their holy mission is to support, nuture and satisfy.

Either sex should seek to dress and act in such was as to emphasize their roles as dominant and submissive, respectively.

Being of noble blood is a virtue in itself, indicating natural superiority.

Homosexuality is an abomination. While it is no sin for a man to be bisexual, as long as he is "the one on top", but being the one fucked is a cardinal sin. Lesbianism is equally frowned upon.

It is considered right and prudent for a father to allow his daughter to be deflowered by a priest of Jupiter. She should of course submit gleefully to this, as a sacred duty to her god and family.

Praise and sacrifice should be given to the King of Gods.

 

Rituals

Praise and Sacrifice: During all ceremonies to Jupiter, the deity is praised with song and music, the main theme being the endless might and glory of Jupiter. The favoured offering to Jupiter is live sacrifice, and horses are held to be particularily pleasing to the god. Sacrifices given are hung in nooses, from trees or special scaffolds. The blood of the sacrifice may or may not be drained into a vessel or some sort, consecrated and sprinkeled on the faithful and the shrine. The meat of horse sacrifices is cooked and eaten as a sacrament by the priests and the faithful. What cannot be eaten is left to ravens and wolves. All sacrificial rites must be conducted by a priest. The initiates of Jupiter use soma, a special preparation distilled from toadstools and other ingredients to achieve visions and nearness to their god.

The Journey: As he comes of age, a young faithful of Jupitert will often go on a symbolic journey, donning a hat and a cloak, and walking without companionship nor title. In these days, journeys are widely announced, and guards follow the traveller at a distance, so that he may not be inconvenienced.

 

Priesthood:

Jupiter’s priests accept only men of powerful families into their order. Many of them are nobles or at least of noble blood. This ensures that his priesthood holds enormous political power in many realms, though their number is understandably limited. Many nobles may be ordained into the order, without taking part in regular religious activities.

Duties: Jupiter’s priests must keep a splendid place of worship, venerate their deity and keep themselves as part of the ruling class. Regular animal sacrifice is important to keep in favour of the deity. Minor Vow (always strive for power, give sacrifice to Zeus at least once per week) (-5 pts)

Ordainment: An aspirant to the clergy is ritually hung as his final ordainment - slowly hoisted aloft by a noose around his neck, and allowed to choke for some heartbeats. In more civilized lands, this ritual has been somewhat watered down; The noose is simply pulled tight around the aspirant’s neck, and then loosened, without his feet ever leaving the ground. This rite symbolizes both the idea that applicant offers himself up to Jupiter, and that like Jupiter, he hangs himself to gain insight and power.

Competencies: Jupiter’s priest must know Theology – Jupiter (12), Sacrifice (11) and Politics (10). They must also have social Status of 1 or better. Many are skilled writers and speakers.

Hierarchy: The leader of the priestly order of Jupiter and of all of the Olympian faith is the Patriarch (Clerical Rank +7), who is also the emperor of the Cargan Empire. Below the Patriarch is a number of archbishops (Clerical Rank +5), one for every kingdom and principality, each of which is obeyed by a number of bishops (Rank +4) who are in turn superiors to a host of archdeacons (Rank +3), priests (Rank +2) and deacons (Rank +1)

ANU (Zevs, An, Enlil, Shango, Adon, Adad, Taranis, Thor)