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Phos
Videssos Sun
Deity
Fictional Work
Story: Videssos Series
Religion: Videssian religion
God of: Light and goodness
Type of Appearance: Referenced

Phos was the 'great and good god' worshiped by the Videssians and many of the people whose lands had been subjugated by the Empire of Videssos. The center of orthodox Phos-worship was in Videssos the City, where the Patriarch of Videssos sat.

According to orthodox Videssian theology, Phos will eventually be victorious but is always in constant combat with Skotos, the source of all evil. Phos' name was originally Phaos, however a vowel shift which occurred around the time of the Avtokrator Maleinos II changed the pronunciation to the more modern Phos.

The mark of Phos is the golden sun.

Heresies[]

Heresy or deviations from the orthodox Videssian theology was heavily frowned and often liquidated. These were viewed as heresies by Videssian Patriarchs.

  • The Halogai had a heretical version of this theology which claimed that Skotos could defeat Phos while Khatrish, Thatagush, and Agder believed in the Balance of Phos, where the final outcome between good and evil cannot be known, and that Phos and Skotos were evenly balanced.
  • The Namdalen believed in Phos' Wager where the outcome to the final struggle between Phos and Skotos cannot be known, but everyone ought to choose Phos in any event and bet on good succeeding. This theology is hinted to have began after Iakovitzes said that Kalavrians (forerunners of Namdalen before the Haloga invasion) would bet on even the final struggle between Phos and Skotos. The nearby merchants took him up, disgusting him.
  • The Vaspurakaners believed that their ancestor Vaspur was the firstborn man, the first created by Phos and Vaspurakan the first land made by Phos. Thus every Vaspurakaner was a Prince and Vaspurakan was called the Princes' Land. It was unknown if the belief of Vaspur the Firstborn originates with the Khamorth invasion but it was considered heresy.
  • The Thanasioi, a unique Videssian sect, believed in the teachings of Thanasios, who believed that all materialism was the work of Skotos and therefore must be annihilated. In fact, some adherents starved themselves to reach Phos' heaven faster.

Phos' Heaven[]

After a believer dies, he or she must walk the Bridge of the Separator, with Phos' domain above and Skotos' hell below. If the believer's sins outweigh his or her good acts, the believer is cast down from the Bridge into Skotos' hell. If not, the believer goes to Phos' heaven and sees Him face-to-face and lives his or her afterlife in total happiness with no worries whatsoever. During life, Phos records all the deeds a believer does into his book of judgment.

Trivia[]

Phos is Greek for light - φώς.

See also[]

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