Neo-Hellenism

The history of the Imperial Federation would probably have been a whole lot different without the religion founded by the second head of the Vignoli dynasty, Federico I. Neo-Hellenism was intended as a way to bring back the old cult that, according to the king, had brought the peoples of Italy to greatness in the past, but it was almost entirely overhauled to make sure the faith could stand up to the two major religions of the Mediterranean at the time: Christianity and Islam.

Even if today religion plays no major role in the political life of the Federation, the impact Neo-Hellenism had on the conduct of the Vignoli dynasty and on the society under their rule over the centuries cannot be understated, as it was arguably this religion that allowed the dynasty to reign over hundreds of different ethnicities and religions without incurring in major unrest.

History

On May 11th 1110, king Federico I won his war of independence against the Holy Roman Empire, and made Italy an independent reign after he had been repeatedly denied an electorate inside the Germanic empire, despite Italy being by far the biggest principality. Immediately after that, Federico launched an expedition against the Normans in southern Italy and, by the end of 1112, he had submitted the various dukes.

It was at that point that Federico, during a royal visit in Sicily, stumbled upon the ancient temple of Lentini, where he and his people found a rich collection of ancient pagan texts.

Federico had wanted for a long time to separate from the Catholic Church and take Rome for himself, so he seized this opportunity and started a persuasion campaign of many of his vassals, telling them how this discovery was a revelation from above and that God wanted the Italian people to spread His new truth.

Many nobles decided that they, too, wanted to get rid of the powerful influence of the Church, and in 1115, Federico declared the creation of Neo-Hellenism, a cult that would reorganize the ancient religion of the Romans while integrating some key tenets of Christianity.

After repelling the Crusade that the Pope called against him, using his great military knowledge and using one of the first standing armies since the Roman empire, Federico captured Rome and made it the capital of his new Italian empire, and the seat of the Capitoline Concordat, the new body of scholars and priests aimed at defending the new faiths against the intellectual power of the Church.

Divinity and Pantheon

Much like the ancient Romans tended to allow the conquered peoples to continue practicing their rites, Neo-Hellenism is a pluralist religion.

The base tenet is that there is a Supreme Entity, which can be compared to the Abrahamic God, that is omniscient and omnipresent, that has created the universe but it is essentially detached from the affairs of the mortals. Instead, the Hellenists affirm that the ancient Gods of the Pantheon are the direct emissaries on Earth of the Supreme Entity. However, since the real nature of this entity is impossible for men to know, every interpretation is considered to have some merit, and everyone is free to try and interpret it the way they prefer, so long as they don't disrupt the social order.

As such, the Hellenic clergy often encourages dialogue between different cults and religions to promote social peace, instead marginalizing every cult that professes violence and supremacy over others.

Every Hellenic faithful usually chooses one of the major gods to dedicate their prayers and to invoke protection based on their personality and job. The major gods are 7:

Jupiter: King of the Gods and divinity of thunder. Jupiter is considered the main patron of the Hellenic emperors, as they turn to him in search of the strength necessary to protect their people.

Juno: Queen of the Gods and patron of families. Juno, however, does not play second-fiddle to Jupiter in the Pantheon and is considered just as important. This interpretation was given to justify the sudden lifting of the women's status in the new society created by Federico I. Just like Jupiter is usually the main patron of the emperors, Juno is for the empresses. The clergy of her cult has been long renowned for considering childbirth a sacred act, and the priestesses always acted as midwives and caretakers for pregnant women of their local communities, reducing infancy mortality and thus making sure that Italia first, and the Anglo-Italic Union later would always have a growing population.

Athena: Goddess of wisdom and cunning. She is the one Hellenic generals usually pray to, so they may find the lucidity to lead their troops effectively. Her nature as a woman has been used by the Hellenic state to justify the service of female generals among its ranks, which opened a path in life to noble daughters who received a military education.

Mercury: God of trade and messenger of the Pantheon, used by the Hellenic dogma as the real incarnation of the archangel Gabriel in a way to improve the understanding between their religion and the Abrahamic ones. Mercury is the divinity businessman and merchants used to pray in the hope that luck would bring them much revenue. However, Mercury is also considered a sly god, as according to his cult, it's legit to lie in order to gain profit.

Mars: God of war and brute strength. In the Classical Era, he was one of the main gods, but since Neo-Hellenism seeks to build a balanced society, Mars is usually allowed to be worshiped for the soldiers serving in the Army, to grant them the strength and the wit to overcome their enemies in battle. Outside of the military, his cult is usually heavily restricted, as it tends to attract violent members of society. Still, there was an Emperor, Federico IV, who chose him as his patron deity. It's not a case that this Federico was nicknamed 'the Conqueror'.

Neptune: God of the Seas and main patron of the seamen. His period of greatest fame was the age of exploration from the XIV to XVIII century, which saw the discovery of the Americas and the establishment of Anglo-Italic colonies all around the world. There are some in the Space Age who still consider him a valid patron for navigating the stars, though the legitimacy of that claim is debated among the scholars of the Concordat.

Venus: Goddess of Love and Fertility. Ever since its creation, the cult of Venus is very particular as it is basically a state-sponsored prostitution. The younger priests and priestesses serving at a temple are expected to choose a day per month where they offer themselves to the visitors who wish to have intercourse in change of even a small donation. This means that the temples of Venus are present in every city and is the cult that receives the largest number of visitors. During the centuries, this system has allowed to increase the awareness of sexually-transmitted diseases and until the XX century it was the only place where homosexuality was tolerated.

There are also minor gods in the Pantheon, and all around the Hellenic world minor divinities can be found, but the 7 in the list are those who have ever been chosen as patrons of the Hellenistic monarchs.

Gender roles

Since its inception, Neo-Hellenism had been a complete revolution for medieval Europe as it completely revised the role of women into society. Federico had intended it as a way to mobilize the entire population of Italy against the assault of Christian Europe. During the Italian Crusade of 1114, the newly established empire of Italia had to fend off against tens of thousands of Christian knights and the armies of dukes, counts and nobles from all Europe. That war established the tradition that would have distinguished Neo-Hellenism forever.

Women were now allowed to take part into politics, universities and had the same rights of property as men. They could ask for a divorce just as their men could and could hope to reach the highest echelons of administration. By the start of XIII century the idea that women were intellectually inferior to men had basically been eradicated in Hellenic communities, but the religion always recognized the physical differences.

As such, the clergy of Neo-Hellenism had designated the 'sacred duties' of men and women: men were expected to fight to defend the faith and the country. Women were expected to work in the rear and also to birth as many children as possible.

A career in the Army was only available to women who had received a military education or that weren't fertile for some reason. Still, they had to prove that they were capable of fighting by going the exact same training and tests of men.

With the advent of genetic technology, even the physical gap has been practically plugged, and now Humans do not perceive this difference anymore.

Capitoline Concordat

The Concordat is the official clergy of Neo-Hellenism. It was created along with the religion to serve as a pool of theologians and intellectuals that could help the new faith to stand up to the well-organized Catholic church and convince the people to convert, or to show those still refusing to change their faith, that Neo-Hellenism was perfectly compatible with their beliefs, and that they had nothing to be afraid of.

The Concordat today is only a representative body with few members, but at the beginning of the religion it played a massive role to defend and expand it in Italy. While the formal head of the organization is the monarch, who holds the title of Pontifex Maximus, the actual leader is elected by the Assembly, a body made of the most renowned theologians of the order, and is called Theosophic. In line with the gender rules, the Concordat differed from the Christian churches as women were allowed to join its ranks, and in fact there had been many female Theosophics throughout the centuries.