Temple

Siege weapons/ships: Siege Workshop units, Catapult Trireme, Juggernaught.
Missile weapons: Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, Trireme.
Hand-to-hand units: Barracks, Academy, Stable units (except War Elephant).

Priest
	Cost - 125G First Available - Bronze Age Speed - Slow Special - Convert Enemies, Heal Units
The acceptance of gods and goddesses associated with complex religions required the provision of priests and priestesses who acted as representatives of the gods among the people. Priests developed and conducted rituals, interpreted the demands of gods, taught and enforced the religious laws, and sought new believers. Particularly effective priests, or those representing a potent religion, were thought capable of healing.

Top

Mysticism
	Cost: 120G First Available: Bronze Effect: Priest hit points doubled.
Mysticism was a spiritual discipline that sought to achieve contact with gods or other perceived realities through contemplation, trances, or meditation. It was induced or enhanced by drugs in some cases, and it was part of many ancient beliefs. For religions seeking to explain the great unknown, the apparent ability to communicate through media unknown to the average person was a powerful selling point. Because people dream every night, it was a logical step to believe that a few members of the group could somehow make sense of dreams or see through the confusion to communicate with another dimension.

Top

Polytheism
	Cost: 120G First Available: Bronze Effect: Priest movement speed 40% faster.
The first religions embraced a multitude of gods, each associated with one aspect of life. There might have been a sun god, a moon god, a god of the forest, a god of the river, and so on. The multitude of gods was useful in understanding how the world worked and in directing petition and prayer for specific help and relief. The existence of multiple gods increased the power of priests because each god had special needs and abilities that needed interpretation. The ancient Egyptians, for example, worshipped around 2000 gods. Many of these were only local deities, but others were held sacred throughout the country.

Top

Fanaticism
	Cost: 150G First Available: Iron Effect: Priests rejuvenate 50% faster after converting a unit.
Religion evolved to provide a spiritual foundation and understanding to life once humans became sufficiently intelligent to ponder the great terrifying questions of our existence. A disturbing byproduct of the spread of religion was fanaticism the intense, unquestioning devotion to the ideas and leadership of other humans. Fanatics were capable of any act, even at great risk to their lives, and were especially dangerous enemies in war.

Top

Monotheism
	Cost: 350G First Available: Iron Effect: Priests can convert enemy Priests and buildings (except Town Centers and Wonders).
The belief that there is only one God has evolved from the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism down through Judaism to many of the more popular religions of today. Whether monotheism is an advancement or not is a subjective question. The widespread popularity over time and the fervor of adherents indicates that monotheistic religions have more successfully met the requirements of a religion than other beliefs that have fallen aside.

Top

Afterlife
	Cost: 275G First Available: Iron Effect: +3 Priest range so they can convert units from farther away.
An important question that ancient religions attempted to address was what happens when people die. Many religions held that there was an afterlife, a place or existence that continued once a person’s time on earth ended. The promise of an attractive afterlife was a powerful inducement for behavior that conformed to the goals of a particular religion. Fervent believers in an afterlife might give up their lives to serve their gods. Well-considered religions that offered a good return for acceptance, including an attractive afterlife, grew more in power and influence than those that did not. Christianity, for example, promised everlasting life to everyone of faith, not just to the rich buried in great tombs with servants and goods.

Top

Jihad
	Cost: 120G First Available: Iron Effect: Increases the attack, speed, and hit points of villagers and decreases their gathering efficiency.
The word jihad can mean a crusade or struggle, and comes from the holy war of Islam directed against all that defied the word of God as written in the Koran. The equivalent of jihad can occur in any society brought to a peak of emotion by religious fervor or other means. The value of the jihad to society is that the people caught up in the emotion of the enterprise place their best interests, even their lives, second to the purpose of the crusade. The jihad was especially effective at a most desperate time when survival of the group hung in the balance.

Top