(urth) What's So Great About Ushas?

[thalassocrat at nym.hush.com]

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:44:37 +1000 b sharp 
<bsharporflat at hotmail.com> wrote:
>Thalassocrat, 
>
>I am confused.  Could you explain who the hiero-dudes are. Not 
>hierodules I guess. Nor 
>Hierogrammates.  They are the humans who spread across the galaxy 
>and who invented
>the hierogrammates as ideal beings/companions?  They plan to storm 

>heaven?  Are 
>hiero-dudes from  after Ushas or are they related to Typhon's era 
>diaspora? 
>Or something else?  Help!

I use it loosely for the Hierogrammates, Hierarchs (like Apheta) 
and Hierodules as a combined group, but I guess I would usually be 
thinking mostly of the Hierogrammates.

I don't include the Hieros in the group; they've gone away, I think 
probably to heaven. I suspect the Hierogrammates of having designs 
on that heaven. I think the Hierarchs are probably part of the 
plot, but I think the Hierodules are most likely dupes (in other 
words I think Inire and Sev's buddies F, B & O are probably acting 
in good faith). 

For what it's worth, the different classes do seem to match in a 
way the hierarchies of ancient Greek temple and cult bureaucracies, 
which is where the terms originate from. Hieros as priests at the 
top; hierogrammates as scribes, being senior bureaucrats; hierarchs 
being executors of ritual etc; and hierodules the slaves. 

In these organisations, "hiero" or "holy" could mean just 
"cult/temple bureaucracy staffer". So you could have titles like 
"holy debt collector".