Theocracy or Technocracy?

Dear Readers,

I've decided that this week I'll continue to feature neo-Aegean society, since that is the focus of my work right now. Today: neo-Aegean religion, and its unique elements. Remember, of course, that most of what I write here on this subject is in the very early stages of understanding, so there may be inaccuracies or omissions.

Theology in Aegea (I will use this term interchangably with neo-Aegea for this article) is a rather complicated subject. As far as I am able to tell, the most powerful people in Aegean society are the priestly caste, forbidden from intermarriages with the rest of the population. Of course, that motif is rather common across a variety of eras and time streams.

What's peculiar about neo-Aegean society is that these priests seem also to have very tight control over the technology of their civilization. Knowledge, whether practical or philosophical is protected by this priesthood.

At its core, their religion is based on what you would call the "Ancient Greek" pantheon. This makes it remarkably easy to study. How or why this is possible is not something I really understand, but it seems that in the neo-Aegean time stream, this religion re-emerged even though in your time it is quite dormant. There are clear hallmarks, however, that the pantheon has expanded to include certain folk heroes and icons from the intervening time.

It's also curious that the neo-Aegeans seem to have reasonable Augury technology. That certainly raised an eyebrow. Their machinery still relies on the sacrifice of living things, however. Thankfully the University was able to do away with that particular practice.

So, to sum up: religion in Aegea is inspired by Ancient Greece, but with other cultural baggage. It maintains a tight grip on society, with control over much of the available technical knowledge. It has access to advanced Augury technology, unlike your society. And yet the entire society seems to have plunged into a largely faith-based dark age with little scientific advancement. This is a conundrum that I cannot explain at all.

Furthermore, I have some trouble translating the name for their priests. While I find it hard to believe, the linguistic evidence all points to the idea that they will be called something roughly akin to "Engineers." How interesting.

Always,

Dr. John Skylar
Chairman
Department of Anachronism
University of Constantinople