>She appeared twice. In the prosopaedia and creation myth. The creation myth
>seems important.
How many of the other gods in the creation myth are worshipped by the Heortlings? Uleria's just as important to them as Kronos is to the Greeks.
>I am not claiming that she is a major player in Orlanthi myths(though she
>can been seen as such since she is love), but how many of the
>gods/goddesses from the extra 15% are brought up more than once or twice
>in it?
Like Humakt (six times), Chalana Arroy (seven times), Issaries (three times), Urox (three times), Heler (twice) and Lhankor Mhy (thrice)? Unlike Uleria, they appear in myths as actors of deeds done and examples to be followed.
>How many of those left marginalized are important?
Look at list of cults for Storm Tribe up on glorantha.com. Uleria does not appear there.
> > Why do you need a reason? Uleria's not worshipped by them, she's
> > known to be worshipped by prostitutes, ergo she is a lust goddess.
> > You could say the same about any peaceful Lunar Goddess...
>Wait a minute. Isn't Uleria supposed to be in the Orlanthi paentheon?
We are talking about the Heortlings, not the Orlanthi as a whole. The Heortlings are only a subset of Orlanthi and there are some things that can be said to be part of the Orlanthi Pantheon that the Heortlings do not acknowledge. Uleria is one. Maran Gor is another. Orlanthi the Boar is a third.
>You stated that the Orlanthi think that she is the Goddess of Love, that
>it is an Orlanthi belief, did you not? So I will restate my question. Why
>would other Orlanthi identify her with love and Heortling with lust and
>whoring?
_Some_ Orlanthi identify her with love. The Heortlings do not. AFAIK those Orlanthi that do identify her with love are those affected by civilization (whether it be the Lunars or the Holy Country) or city-dwellers or both.
> > Breaking this bond is adultery and grounds for outlawry. Failure
> > to punish adultery means the clan will be punished by the Gods.
>As the Goddess of Love (source of it and other neat stuff) Ulerians
>are propably the first to honor the sanctity of love and divine union
>between men and women (marriage).
Before the resident anthropowanker butts in, you've conflated love and marriage. Marriage is a social convention that constricts certain types of relationships. This is alien to Uleria's nature as she sees love as something that should be untrammeled and for everyone. Her influence constantly opposes the social constraints that seek to channel her energies. An unhappily married woman who finds love in an adulterous affair is a good thing in Uleria's eyes yet a extremely bad thing in heortling eyes. An orgy is probably shocking to most Heortlings yet it is not wrong in Uleria's eyes. In most societies, she is a divine force that must be leashed whenever possible.
>Orlanth and Ernalda married and supled the model, presumably Heort
>codified it's laws and Uleria was the source of the power of marriage
>(divine bond).
But Uleria isn't mentioned or invoked in the Heortling myths of Orlanth and Ernalda getting hitched. Nor is she invoked in Biturian's marriage (although the explicit Lightbringer elements in there are a bit strong for me).
>Since sex is easy, I don't think that Orlanthi frown upon prostitutes.
Prostitution is essentially a profession that requires an exchange of goods for favours. In the communal property environment of the ordinary Heortling, the goods of the clan and bloodline are given away so that a clan male can get his jollies. Doesn't sound too much like a recipe for clan harmony, does it? "What happened to our cows, Olaf?"
>(There is no crime in living together with an unmarried men or flirting with
>"singles". Friends can sleep around with each other as long as no-one is
>married, etc.
None of this requires prostitution or Ulerian worship.
>Sex is easy and unfrowned upon. (Or so I've heard.) Helerings,
>Urox&Eiritha and such tell me that there must be other types of bonds
>between mortals and immortals alike than the one between Orlanth and Ernalda.
Urox and Eiritha is a Praxian tradition, not an Orlanthi one. Besides Uroxi are outside normal heortling society. What Heler gets up to is an interesting topic but I should point out that alternative sexual relationships in ancient times were similarly constrained as marriage was (an age gap was considered essential between partners and only certain positions were acceptable). In any case, a married Orlanthi who saw a Helering on the side is committing adultery.
--Peter Metcalfe
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