Rava
| Rava | ||
|---|---|---|
| Aliases | Ariadne, Rava, Gear Goddess, Clockwork Oracle, Mother of Industry, Spinner of Fate, Matron of Weavers | |
| Alignment | Lawful | |
| Divine Rank | Deity | |
| Pantheon | Midgard, Minoan, Greek | |
| Portfolio | Artifice, Clockwork, Constructs, Contracts, Fate, Invention, Knowledge, Magic, Prophecy, Trade, Travel | |
| Worshippers | alchemists, artificers, clerics, Gearforged, jewelers, lawyers, merchants, scholars, scribes, paladins, weavers, wizards | |
Per preeminent mythologist Karl Kerényi et al., in the Minoan subset of Greek mythology Ariadne was a mother goddess of weaving and labyrinths who upon absorption into the mainland portion of Greco-Roman mythology was demoted to mortal status but retained her deific name Ariadne meaning "Most Holy".
The Midgard d20 setting for D&D etc. restored Ariadne to her status as a Minoan-Greek goddess; in that setting the goddess Ariadne usually goes by the name Rava, the Spinner of Fate and the Clockwork Oracle. Rava’s physical form has six-arms, and in her iconography she is frequently depicted weaving/spinning; her holy symbol is a spider and a gear.
Rava is the patron deity of the clockpunk city of Zobeck in the central Cross Roads region of the Midgard D20 setting, where priests of Rava traditionally take Ravovik as their surname.
Rava's artificers created the Gearforged race, and she is the primary deity worshiped among them. Clerics of Rava can become an upgraded version of a Gearforged known as "Goddess-Forged".
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Ariadne and the Cretan labyrinth -
Minoan maidens signaled "unmarried" via bare-breastedness; no joke.
