Challenge Issued: Expand the spheres of the gods.

I originally happened across an idea yesterday (well not yesterday but in a yesterday prior) while I was reading up on the gods of Cyrodiil: The spheres of the gods could (and needs) to be expanded, perhaps to absurd dimensions, if need be. After all, when we view the deities of Nirn in their ethnocentric, religiously exclusionary contexts, there are, indeed, so few to choose from. Or, speaking from a utilitarian position, the mundane focus of the gods, as set by their divine "sphere", is far to narrow to consider in many, if not most, situations; the Grey-Maybe having far too many shades as to be portrayed by all the works of all the 9 or so artists (plus 17). So of extending the pantheons, I say nay (for obvious reasons). But of extending their spheres, to draw in a wider temporal world, I say yay. So I thought it best to ask my fellow lore-forum hedonists for their wanton speculation on the subject. Can we expand their spheres, and if so, where and how?

To give an example (and origin) to this discussion (taken from the Imperial Library):



Here you can see Kynareth depicted in a straightforward manner. We are told who Kynareth is a patron of, and what her sphere is. But what I want all of you to do is dig a little deeper and expand upon what is already there. Take the last two sentences of the description and consider what they mean for who Kynareth is. For one, she's the patron of Lorkhan. She supports his idea and gives him a place to carry it out. For another, could she be a patron of landowners and landownership? And given landownership's historical connection to citizenship in our own reality (if perhaps not Nirn's) maybe she governs citizenship? The freedman? Keeping the last sentence in mind, could she also govern grief and act as the patron of widows and widowers? Of soldier's wives? Of farming (if Zenithar was too wrapped up in mercantile ideals)?

Landownership as a legal concept seems more the province of Stendarr or Zenithar (righteous rule and the fruits of one's labor, respectively). I could easily see her being of at least some importance to widows, with her connection to the (lost) traveler, but the act of the widow standing in wait seems to be the realm of Mara. I guess a widow would pray to Kynareth to return/watch over her love (depending on the events surrounding the death/absence), but to Mara for healing.


Wow, really thinking about it, it seems that there would be a lot of crossover between the Divines, when it came time to saying prayers for something:

"Help me, Julianos, because this test is going to be really hard. Help me, Stendarr, for I wish to succeed so I might rule wisely. Help me, Zenithar, to make the most out of my time [time=money/productivity]. Help me, Kynareth, to make it to the exam hall on time. Help me, Mara, to do my own mother proud. And help me, Akatosh, long may the Empire reign. Oh, and Arkay, please don't kill me, and Dibella, send me a comely maiden to celebrate my success with. Praise Talos."

I'm kinda doing the same sort of thing, though a different way.

It's more trying to look at what a given god would be like as the religion evolved. Baan'Dar of the Khajiit might be a sort of Buddhalike figure. I tend to see the Sheor/Lorkhan idea much like Vishnu -- a god somehow cursed to be born in every era but who somehow uses the curse to better the world. Still thinking about some of the others. Maybe Sheogorath has some connection to arts and artists. I could imagine Julianos being a patron of scientists. Malakath would probably have some connection to any down and out group.