Man is more than the Gods he creates/discovers, he is also defined by his relationship with them. Religion has shaped the world and its history for many thousands of years, as countless generations of people desperately sought and seek quality answers to the great enigma that life is. Superb individuals sought to provide such answers, inspiring millions to adopt their worldviews and carve out “brands of life” that included everything a man needed for him to be able to live a satisfying life where spirit and matter would work for, not against him. Naturally, because brilliant men often have different worldviews, such spiritual frameworks have clashed with each other throughout history, convincing many to adopt the idea that religions are instruments that the powerful use in order to compel the less powerful to do their bidding. Opinions may vary, but what is truly indubitable is that religion has been one of the pillars of human existence for a very long time. Therefore, a historical project such as ΖΩΗ has to feature the most relevant religious figures in the history of the world, exalting their untouchable brilliance in the process – regardless of your personal set of beliefs, some of the world’s most important historical figures were religious ones – as they join in on some harmless, virtual footballing action.
Once more, I found it impossible to represent all of them – and believe me, I wanted to. Again, I chose a selection of the most relevant ones – which shall feature alongside the mythological beings of the ancient world I spoke of in the previous episode of Building ΖΩH. Christianity and Islam will obviously feature, as Judaism completes the trio of Abrahamic religions, with the latter being a collection of the most important figures in the Old Testament ranging from Abraham to Moses. Buddhism will also be present with the inimitable Gautama Buddha as the team’s leader – and one of the greatest footballers in the game, a libero/centre-back with otherworldly defensive and mental attributes -; Gnosticism is my particular “wildcard” in this mix, because despite the fact that it has never enjoyed the popularity of the above-mentioned “rivals”, personally, I find the Gnostic worldview to be very interesting, regardless of its accuracy. Finally, a couple of…say…unexpected…football teams: Atheism and…shivers...Evil!
The latter is, probably, the team to beat in ΖΩΗ, for obvious reasons, unless you feel compelled to join the Dark Darkest Side. Evil Football Club is an authentic “pantheon of evil” of Gods/deities belonging to many different mythologies; on the other hand, the former is the most unique of this collection of teams because it doesn’t feature any actual God, obviously, because atheists don’t believe such a thing exists. This football club will be comprised of some of the most renowned, confessed atheists, ranging from famous actors to writers, scientists to comedians, and filmmakers like Woody Allen. Shockingly for them, their team will still feature a God – or at least, a kind of God: theirs will be named “The Nothing”, by far the less skilled God-footballer of ΖΩΗ, because he, according to atheists, doesn’t exist. Only in ΖΩΗ, not only will he exist, he will have signed a contract with the club, even if it is highly likely that The Nothing won’t make it to the starting-11. The irony of recreating an Atheist side alongside the world’s most famous and important mythologies and religions only amplifies the inescapability of the divine: whether one wants it or not, this world we inhabit is shaped by religion. Anyway, this latter bit is a light-hearted way of finishing the mythological/religious part of ΖΩΗ, before we move on to the beginning of the actual history of the world, shaped by the most important men and women of all time; after we have gotten a fair representation of the phenomenal men who, come hell or high water, stand and stood by their unshakable beliefs, whose undying and unbreakable spirit impacted the lives of countless generations throughout time, their greatness carving out their names in human history forever, as we carry on the seemingly-endless task of figuring out what we are, where we come from, and where we are going.
ΖΩΗ Teamlist (so far):
- Australopithecus
- Homo Habilis
- Homo Erectus
- Neanderthals
- Mesopotamia
- Egyptian Gods
- Ancient China Gods
- Canaanite Deities
- Greek Gods
- Greek Deities
- Roman Gods
- Norse Gods
- Kami (Japanese Gods)
- Persian Gods
- Hindu Gods
- Polynesian Gods
- African Gods
- Slavic Gods
- Celtic Gods
- Christianity
- Islam
- Buddhism
- Old Testament
- Gnosticism
- Atheism
- Evil
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