Of the four white-aligned multicolor gods, three are patron deities to the three major poleis of Theros: Ephara to Meletis, Karametra to Setessa, and Iroas to Akros. Athreos stands as the odd one out of this group, being the ferryman to the underworld, which I consider to be an unusually niche role in the pantheon (what is Athreos the "God of" exactly?).
However, the Planeswalker's Guide to Theros (part 1) mentions that there was once thought to be a fourth major polis called Arixmethes, that Heliod smote and cast into the sea with Khrusor. I suspect that Arixmethes did exist, and that Athreos was its patron deity. Being a White-Black aligned city, it probably worshipped Erebos alongside Heliod and Athreos, which Heliod hated and thus destroyed the city.
Afterward, Athreos was shoehorned into the role of psychopomp by Heliod, forced to be the go-between guy between the two rival major gods.
I'm not sure it's actually real for the reasons Thoctar said, but it's an interesting suggestion. At the very least, the fourth Polis having a white-and-something god fits the pattern.
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Assuming the JOU guide even gives details on its gods. The BNG guide didn't, which really disappointed me.
Athreos being a psychopomp makes we wonder about his epithet more than any of the other gods. I have a feeling it may be something like "Athreos, God of Sorrow" which considering my theory would be fitting for both him and the mortals: The living mourn their departed, the dead mourn their fate, and Athreos mourns his fallen polis. It also complements Erebos' being the god of acceptance of fate.
Assuming the JOU guide even gives details on its gods. The BNG guide didn't, which really disappointed me.
Athreos being a psychopomp makes we wonder about his epithet more than any of the other gods. I have a feeling it may be something like "Athreos, God of Sorrow" which considering my theory would be fitting for both him and the mortals: The living mourn their departed, the dead mourn their fate, and Athreos mourns his fallen polis. It also complements Erebos' being the god of acceptance of fate.
I like the flavor of what you're suggesting. If it turns out different, I think I'd still prefer your interpretation over the official one.
From what little we know of Arixmethes, it seemed more aligned with Blue mana, if the chimaeras were invented there. However, it could very well be Black aligned.
Being a psychopomp is no small deal. Hermes, one of the dominant gods in the greek pantheon, was a psychopomp, and Apollo was occasionally also venerated as a guardian of the graves. If Athreos' deal is simply being the ferryman, it would still be a very big role.
The gods don't really exist in this sort of rock-paper-scissors relationship that the traditional color pie suggests.
Case in point, there were only 14 gods for as long as anyone can remember.
They try to make cycles for mechanic reasons, but they try not to have the flavor be so telegraphed and patterned.
The missing 15th God was OBVIOUSLY Nicol Bolas, who was posing as a God before he left to try to recover the power he lost during the mending.
On a more serious note, I happen to like this theory, but we know so little about JOU (I believe the most we know about the JOU Gods is regarding the R/W one) that its just too early to say.
However, the Planeswalker's Guide to Theros (part 1) mentions that there was once thought to be a fourth major polis called Arixmethes, that Heliod smote and cast into the sea with Khrusor. I suspect that Arixmethes did exist, and that Athreos was its patron deity. Being a White-Black aligned city, it probably worshipped Erebos alongside Heliod and Athreos, which Heliod hated and thus destroyed the city.
Afterward, Athreos was shoehorned into the role of psychopomp by Heliod, forced to be the go-between guy between the two rival major gods.
Case in point, there were only 14 gods for as long as anyone can remember.
They try to make cycles for mechanic reasons, but they try not to have the flavor be so telegraphed and patterned.
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Art is life itself.
Art is life itself.
Athreos being a psychopomp makes we wonder about his epithet more than any of the other gods. I have a feeling it may be something like "Athreos, God of Sorrow" which considering my theory would be fitting for both him and the mortals: The living mourn their departed, the dead mourn their fate, and Athreos mourns his fallen polis. It also complements Erebos' being the god of acceptance of fate.
I like the flavor of what you're suggesting. If it turns out different, I think I'd still prefer your interpretation over the official one.
Being a psychopomp is no small deal. Hermes, one of the dominant gods in the greek pantheon, was a psychopomp, and Apollo was occasionally also venerated as a guardian of the graves. If Athreos' deal is simply being the ferryman, it would still be a very big role.
The missing 15th God was OBVIOUSLY Nicol Bolas, who was posing as a God before he left to try to recover the power he lost during the mending.
On a more serious note, I happen to like this theory, but we know so little about JOU (I believe the most we know about the JOU Gods is regarding the R/W one) that its just too early to say.
But yeah, more info on the BNG would be nice!
Phenax is considered the god of the Returned already (no matter what colour the Returned are in a particular polis).
Besides, as the boatman, the Returned are basically the opposite of what Athreos stands for.