Zath



ZATH God of Purity "‘I thought Zath was a god of purity. Those lassies look not to me like a preachment for more chastity.’‘Sh, sir! You do not understand’, breathed the boy, his eyes alight with religious fervour. ‘This is a sacred dance, ancient and honourable. The virtue of our dancing girls is guarded with the utmost vigilance.’-L. Sprague de Camp, Conan and the Spider-God 

Pantheon

 * Zamorian Pantheon

Regions of Worship

 * Zamora

Divine Relationships

 * Omm (rival)

Representation
Giant black spider. Zath is a deification of the huge, ogre-ish black spiders that are native to Zamora. The main temple of Yezud, larger than the palaces of Turan, boasts a mammoth statue of the spider god. It is a weird, hideous, black and hairy-legged idol of polished black stone.

Gender representation: unknown

Symbolism

 * Darkness
 * Spiders
 * Poison

Spheres of Power

 * Death
 * Purity
 * Hunting **
 * Assassination

** Zath is a hunter symbol, known for its cunning, skill and persistent industry, a god of darkness, spiders and poison.

Rituals & Beliefs
Zath's worshippers believe that the great spider-god walks the earth, and must be served by humankind. Indeed, the giant spiders which have occasionally been seen in the hills near Yezud are testaments to Zath's power. The people of Yezud believe that their statue of Zath is Zath and that the spider-god can assume a living form at will, usually at night, in the presence of priests. The primary form of execution in Yezud to is feed a criminal to the spider-god.

Yezud is well known as the city of the Zathites, the worshipers of the Spider-God. Yezud is built upon a fantastic crag on Mount Graf in the Karpash Mountains. A single pass moves up those hump-backed mountains, a path that alternately widens enough for a small village then narrows so that only a single horse could move though it easily. The final village on the path is Khesron, which boasts one public house, Bartake’s Inn.

Only Zath’s priests and those who work for the temples are permitted to remain within Yezud’s walls overnight. There is so little crime in Yezud, there is little need for much of an armed guard. There are no alehouses or houses of public entertainment within the city walls, encouraging the townsfolk to retire early.

The Priesthood
Zath is a god of purity and its priests battle degeneracy. Their goal is to purify Zamora and bring about a new golden age. The Priests of Zath are only male - assassins, madmen and spies who do not drink alcohol or fornicate, and those laymen in the service of the temple must also abide by these strictures. Even more guarded are the temple virgins, who dance for the spider-god on holy days.

Religious rites to Zath are extremely ritualized and involve many priests and naked dancing girls draped only in black beads. The sanctuary of Zath’s temple has two doors on either side of an altar. From the left-hand door walk a procession of stately priests, a dozen of them in turbans of colored silk and embroidered, brocaded robes of varied colors. They carry jeweled ritual staves topped by either gold or silver, depending on rank. In the lead is the High Priest, who wears white robes and a black turban.

One of the priests then leads the congregation in a weird song that proclaims Zath’s purity. Four of the priests then ritually move to an ever-burning flame kept in the temple and perform complex rites involving a silver chalice, a bronzed mirror, a jeweled dagger and a key of gold, passing each item through the smoke of that eternal fire.

After that complex and largely incomprehensible ritual, the priests line up on either side of the sanctum and the eight dancing girls, prized for their virtue and flexibility, walk impressively and solemnly through the right-hand door. One of the priests plays eerie music through a flute and the girls begin a lascivious dance that ends with each prone on the floor, touching one of the legs of the mammoth statue of monstrous Zath.

Hand in hand, the dancing girls leave and the high priest addresses the congregation with his sermon. The dancing girls return, dressed more conservatively in rainbow-hued gowns and sing hymns as donations are collected. Afterward, another song is sung by the congregation and the ritual ends.

Implementation IC & In-Game
Zath Religion. Zath symbol is present in-game not only as giant spider monsters, but also on the bracer of Zamorian Dancer outfit.

More Information

 * Shadizar: The City of Wickedness (Conan RPG Book)
 * Faith and Fervour (Conan RPG Book)