Background

I Creation of the World and Gods
 
Creation of the World and Titans
In the beginning there was only chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and the Night. All else was empty, silent, endless and dark. Then, out of the darkness a light shone forth and Love was born, beginning the age of order. From Love came the Day. Once there was the Day, Gaea, and the earth appeared.

It was then that Erebus fell deeply in love with the Night, who gave birth to Ether, the heavenly light, and today the earthly light. Then Night alone produced Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Nemesis, among others.

Meanwhile Gaea gave birth to Uranus and the heavens. Uranus later fell in love with Gaea and they produced the three Cyclopes, the three Hecatoncheires, and twelve Titans.

Cronus Castrated Uranus
After an eternity together, it turned out that Uranus wasn't a very good father and an even worse husband. He hated the Hecatoncheires and eventually had them imprisoned in the hidden depths of the earth, Gaea's womb. This angered Gaea and she began plotting against Uranus. She created a flint sickle and encouraged her children to attack Uranus. They all balked at this out of fear, all except for youngest Titan, Cronus.

Gaea and Cronus conspired to ambush Uranus as he lay with Gaea one night. Cronus then jumped out and seized his father, castrated him, and with the flint sickle given to him by Gaea, threw the severed flesh into the ocean. Uranus erupted in anger, and vowed that he would punish the Titans, but Cronus especially. From his spilt blood came the Giants, the Ash Tree Nymphs and the Erinnyes, and from the waves where his severed flesh had splashed down, Aphrodite was born.

Rising of Zeus
Cronus was the next to rule after his father fled. He ordered his siblings the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires imprisoned in Tartaros. He married his sister Rhea, and then worked hard to produce many offspring. He ruled for many ages. However, Gaea and Uranus both had foreseen that he would be overthrown by a son. To avoid this Cronus swallowed each of his children as they were born. Rhea was angry at the treatment he gave their children and began plotting her own treachery. When it came time to give birth to her sixth child, Rhea hid herself, then left the child to be raised by the nymphs. To conceal her act, she wrapped a stone in swaddling cloths and passed it off to Cronus, who swallowed it whole without a second thought.

This child was called Zeus. On the isle of Crete he grew into a handsome youth, the envy of many of his peers. He consulted Metis on how to defeat Cronus. She prepared a drink for Cronus that was designed to make him vomit up the other children. Rhea convinced Cronus to accept his son and Zeus was allowed to return to Mount Olympus as Cronus's cup-bearer. This gave Zeus the opportunity to slip Cronus the special drink. The plan worked and the other five children were brought back into this world forcefully. Thankful for the rescue by their brother Zeus, the children swore their undying loyalty and made him their leader.

However, Cronus was yet to be defeated. He and the Titans, except Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Oceanus, fought to retain their power. Atlas demanded to lead the vanguard and it looked for some time as though they would win out over the young gods. However, Zeus was cunning. He went down to Tartaros and freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. Prometheus then joined Zeus as well. He returned to battle with his new allies. The Cyclopes provided Zeus with lightning bolts for weapons. The Hecatoncheires then set an ambush, complete with massive boulders. When the time was right Zeus retreated, drawing the Titans into the Hecatoncheires' ambush. The Hecatoncheires rained hundreds of boulders down with such a fury that the Titans thought the mountains were literally falling on them. They broke lines and ran.

Zeus exiled the Titans who had fought him to Tartaros. Except for Atlas, who was singled out for a singular punishment -  that of holding the weight of the world on his shoulders.

However, even after this victory Zeus was not safe. Gaea was angry that her children had been imprisoned and gave birth to one last offspring, Typhoeus. Typhoeus was so fearsome that most of the gods fled at the mere mention of his name. However, Zeus faced the monster down and flung his lighting bolts, burying Typhoeus under Mount Etna in Sicily.

Much later Zeus faced a final challenge to his rule from the Giants. They went so far as to attempt an invasion of Mount Olympus, piling mountain upon mountain in an effort to reach the top. But, the gods had grown strong, and with the help of Heracles, the Giants were subdued or killed.

The Creation of Man by Prometheus
Prometheus and Epimetheus were spared imprisonment in Tartaros because they had not fought with their fellow Titans during the war with the Olympians. They were given the task of creating man. Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and Athena breathed life into his clay figure.

Prometheus had assigned Epimetheus the task of giving the creatures of the earth their various qualities, such as swiftness, cunning, strength, and more. Unfortunately, by the time he got to man Epimetheus had given all the good qualities out and there were none left for man. So Prometheus decided to make man stand upright as the gods did and to give them fire.

Prometheus loved man more than the Olympians, who had banished most of his family to Tartaros. So when Zeus decreed that man must present a portion of each animal they sacrificed to the gods, Prometheus decided to trick Zeus. He created two piles, one with the bones wrapped in juicy fat, the other with the good meat hidden in the hide. He then bade Zeus to pick. Zeus picked the bones and fat. Since he had given his word to honor the deal, Zeus was forced to accept that his share would forever be the remains of the animals. In his anger over this trick he took fire away from man. However, Prometheus lit a torch from the sun and returned this elemental building block to man. Zeus became enraged at this betrayal and decided to inflict a terrible punishment on both man and Prometheus.

To punish man, Zeus had Hephaestus create a mortal of stunning beauty. The gods gave the mortal many gifts of wealth. He then had Hermes give the mortal a deceptive heart and a lying tongue. This creation was Pandora, the first woman. A final gift was a jar which Pandora was forbidden to open. Thus completed, Zeus sent Pandora down to Epimetheus who was living among the men.

Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus, but Pandora's beauty bewitched him and he allowed her to stay. Eventually, Pandora's curiosity about the jar became too great. Upon opening it, out flew all evils of the universe - sorrow, plague, and misfortune. However, at the bottom of the jar there was one thing that had the potential to overcome all the evils that had come before it, that thing was hope.

Zeus was enraged at Prometheus and had his servants, Force and Violence, seize Prometheus, and take him to the Caucasus Mountains. There they were ordered to chain him to a rock with unbreakable adamanite chains. Here he was tormented day and night by a giant eagle that tore at his liver. Zeus gave Prometheus two ways to escape the torment. He could tell Zeus who would give birth to the child destined to dethrone him, or he could fulfill two tasks. The first would require the sacrifice of an immortal in his place. The second was that a mortal man must kill the Eagle and then unchain him.

Zeus thought both of these events would never happen, but eventually Chiron the Centaur agreed to die for him and Heracles killed the eagle and unbound him.

II Order of the World

The Titans' Plan
Atlas suffered more than any other for his treachery and over time he became more and more possessed by anger and fury. He blamed the Olympian Gods for his defeat and decided to shrug off the burden placed on him by Zeus. He vowed to come back with an army and destroy the world the Gods had created.

Atlas then began looking for those who were just as filled with anger and fury at the world as he was. He set free the horrible spirits that were captives of the Olympian Gods. The Skeleton King became the leader of the Bone Army, and Evil Heresiarch took command of the evil spirits.

Atlas thought he had built a strong force, so he launched his attack...
 
Giant Dragons to Maintain World Order
Though Zeus and the other Olympian Gods had felt an evil force approaching the world they created, they could not maintain the world order and fight the evil forces themselves. So they created a powerful new species, the giant dragons. These dragons had enormous claws, four gigantic feet and a pair of wings. The Olympian Gods infused a portion of their power with the six leaders of the giant dragons.

Amongst the giant dragons, the black dragons were the most powerful. Black dragons had very sharp teeth and hard skin. They were able to spew scorching flames at their victims. They were bloodthirsty by nature and vigorously followed the orders given by Zeus.

The Blue dragons were in charge of guarding the orbit of time. They were imbued with the mystic power to change the orbit of time. Once that power was controlled by the evil forces, it could destroy the world. The Blue dragons had to maintain the flow of time or there would be catastrophic results.

The Red dragons were tasked with protecting nature. The Red Dragon Puluo was the leader of red dragons and he ruthlessly punished any who defied his mandate to preserve and protect the natural world.

Frost dragons were deemed the guardians of the sky. They prefer to be alone, soaring above the other creatures of the land.

Multicolored dragons were representatives of the evil forces, with Little Demate as their leader. All these dragons admired their leader, and pledged their loyalty to him.

Unlike the multicolored dragons, the platinum dragons were symbols of kindness and the power of good. They were lead by Bahamut, who was widely admired for his bravery and skill in battle. 
 
The Centaurs
Centaurs are an ancient species that are half man, and half horse. Most are wild and savage, known for lust and drunken behavior. The exception is the wise Centaur Chiron. As time passed, they grew in number, until they could be found all across the land.

The Centaurs reside in Derveni, Mycenae, Olympia and other specific zones. Most Centaurs are nomads, as a result, they are often in conflict with human beings. The Centaurs once had free reign on the land, settling wherever they liked, often to the detriment of the human that already lived there. Used to the extreme freedom they symbolized, the Centaurs also took great delight in plundering trade caravans and looting other races.

With their half human bodies, the Centaurs have much in common with humans, including a similar social structure. They are ruled by military leaders and religious leaders, but the religious leaders have more power. The Centaurs do not take slaves, as this violates the freedom they hold so dear.

The Centaurs use their superior speed and skill with a bow to their advantage in battle.  They can also produce iron used for simple spears, bows, short swords, javelins and more. In addition, Centaur Shamen are able to call down thunderbolts to attack enemies. Because of their rapid movement, the Centaurs are good at focusing attacks on certain enemies and beating them one by one.

The Rising of the Persian Empire
Persia was at one time one of the most advanced human civilizations on Earth. However, unlike the Greeks, the Persians did not believe that humans were able to contact the Gods. Consequently, Persians never built altars or temples. Nevertheless, Persians would offer sacrifices to Zeus on mountain peaks. Persians also offered sacrifices to the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, and the elements of water, fire and wind.

The rising of the Persian empire was mainly due to a wise king, who unified the ten Persian tribes first, then overthrew the exotic regime, and eventually came to dominate Asia Minor. He also defeated all the nomadic tribes that used to invade Persia and conquered much of Middle Asia. Soon Persia had risen to become one of the mightiest empires ever.

It wasn't long before the Persians turned away from Asia and settled their eyes on Europe. However, they would find that they had met a culture that was just as old and refined as theirs, and a people not so willing to give up their freedom. Intending to conquer Greece by any means necessary, the Persian emperor first dispatched envoys to persuade the Greek city-states to pledge their loyalty to Persia, but most declined. Athens and Sparta even killed the Persian envoys for impudence. From then on, it was war.
 
The Foundation of the Greek City-states
Greece was one of the most powerful human civilizations for a time. The Olympian Gods lived on Mt. Olympia, which was in Greece. The Greeks were far more reverent to the Olympian Gods than other people. As a result, the Olympian Gods blessed the Greeks. However, the Greeks were also confronted by numerous enemies, including the ancient Titans, the deadly Persian horde, the wild Centaurs and all manner of local monsters. The Greeks were also cherished their freedom and ancient culture, leading to the creation of local city states that were often in competition with each other.

Among the hundreds of city-states, Athens and Sparta were considered to be the most powerful, leading to competition (and sometimes outright hostility) in the struggle for superiority.

III Disputes of Olympian Gods and Greek City-states
 
Athena and Poseidon
When Zeus became the leader of Olympian Gods, he allowed the other gods to select specific zones as their territory. Both Athena and Poseidon preferred Attica, which led to a dispute. Zeus then asked them to compete for the dominion of Attica by winning the people's support.

Poseidon made a show first. He raised a long trident and threw it to a hill far away, where some incredible white horses sprung to life. Then Poseidon said to the local people:"They are the best horses in the world. Now they are yours." Unfortunately, nobody had ever seen or used a horse before and they dismissed this as an empty gesture.

When it was Athena's turn, she smiled gently, picked up a long spear and stabbed it in the ground. Soon many leafy olive trees came out. The local people liked the trees a lot. Athena was then made the guardian of Attica, and the local people then renamed Attica for her, calling it Athens.

As the goddess of reason, intelligence, activity, arts and literature, Athena gave the Athenians high intelligence, which gave birth to a remarkable local culture. She also invented the bridle, which permitted man to tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot.
 
Ares and Sparta
Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. He was disliked by both parents for his foul mouth and hot temper. However, these traits served him well when he became the God of War. When Zeus asked Ares to select his territory, Ares chose Sparta without hesitation.

The Spartans were unique among all the people of the world, and uniquely suited to Ares' philosophy. Sparta was a militarized state that was in a constant state of preparation for battle. Spartans received military training at ages so young they made people from other cities blanch with horror. Spartans were also prohibited from getting engaged in commerce and industry, and they used iron coins, not gold or silver like others, as currency. Every Spartan was expected to participate in the military, so they often trained to make sure everyone was able to fight. At birth each baby was examined for defects that would make them weak. If they were found wanting, they were left to die of exposure. No other race has ever taken their duty to fight so seriously, and is one of the reasons that the Spartans were so feared.
 
The Legend of Troy
Troy was an ancient city ruled by King Ilus. The legends spoke of one of the ancient Kings of Troy receiving an oracle that ordered him to build a city where the spotted cow stopped to rest. The king was reluctant to believe that this was where he was supposed to build his grand kingdom, so he implored Zeus to find out if this was the location for his people to build. The next morning a statue of Athena was waiting for him at the site the cow had stopped the previous day.

Many deities helped to build Troy, especially Apollo and Poseidon who added the firm ramparts that came to symbolize Troy's invincibility. As a result, Trojans selected Apollo as their protector and built a temple to worship him. Not long after the city was built, the new Trojan king failed to pay the proper respects to the deities who helped build the city, and brought down the anger of the Gods.
 
Complicated City-state Relations-Athens and Sparta
All Greek city-states worship Zeus, but each state has their own eudemon, or protector, and each celebrate different religious feasts. The city-states with the same eudemon are usually allied with each other, while those with different, or opposing eudemons are generally hostile. Athens and Sparta are the 2 most powerful city-states, but their vast differences in philosophy, coupled with their opposing eudemons make them bitter enemies who come together only to defend Greece from foreign invasions.
 

 
IV. The War between Gods

The domestic trouble and foreign invasions that have plagued Greece have also fractured the loyalties of the Olympian Gods. Now is the time for all Greeks to come together, bury the hostilities of the past and create an empire that will last for a thousand years! This is the time when heroes are born and legends are made!

GWO Team, IGG