Latin Heroic Age
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The Latin Heroic Age, sometimes referred to as the Adonerii Colonial Age, refers to both a historical period and a series of myths regarding the settlement of Latinic peoples on mainland Sarpedon and Levantia. The period, which spans from approximately 1500 BC to 500 BC, deals specifically with colonization efforts of Adonerum which would found cities forming the later nucleus of both Great Levantia and Caphiria and related societies. To historians of Antiquity, the myths which emerged regarding this time period were considered to be material history, and these considerations continued throughout much of the Medieval period. Critical historians of the 18th and 19th century rejected many of the foundational myths of Latinic societies and established modern historiographies about the age of settlement and colonization, though 21st century historians are presently reevaluating the mythic stories and a majority of scholars believe that the myths have at least some basis in historical fact, albeit with greatly exaggerated narrative events. The Latin Heroic Age is considered to be one of the foundational events of the Occidental world.
History
As reflected in the myths, the Latin Heroic Age was a historical period in which the Adonerii League based in Urlazio established Latinic colonies across Sarpedon and Levantia. The settlement of these areas by the Adonerii was heavily mythicized by the societies which sprung from their colonies in the succeeding centuries, giving rise to the name "Heroic Age". The colonists were either remembered as driven by the gods and overcoming many natural and supernatural obstacles, or themselves were transformed into demigods and gods in later tellings.
Founding myths
Journey of the Fifty
The Journey of the Fifty was the foundational myth of Latin civilization in Levantia according to the ancient religion of Great Levantia. In it, a demigod named Levas - the son of a mortal man and a goddess whom was deceived by the man - is cast out of Istroya along with forty nine other demigods by order of the gods, who believe the group to be a threat to their own power. The fifty demigods travel to Adonerum where they reside for a time, learning the traditions of the Latins there, including their seafaring and frontier prowess. The fifty then decide to travel east to the rising sun until they hit land along with an army given by the Adonerii. The Journey includes many details of feats of heroic strength, including animal wrestling and major climatological events, until the group travels far enough inland from the Urce River to reach a place of calm waters and a useful bay in what would later become Urceopolis. There, the Istroyan pantheon appears to Levas and the fifty, having reconsidered their earlier fears and having found Levas worthy. Levas is granted godhood, and in exchange for his bond to respect the powers of the other gods he is given all of the new land he finds. The traditional stories diverge here, with Levas's fate being uncertain. Most stories include him either directly ascending or melting into the soil, having become one with the land he now owned. Another story indicates that he ruled over the land as a god before his physical body died. Some modern archaeologists believe the latter story was more widely believed given the presence of what they believe to be a "tomb of Levas", though this discovery is contested within academic circles. According to the myth, the forty nine remaining demigods would later be joined by old friends from Adonerum, forming the basis of Latinic society in Levantia. 19th and 20th century religious critics believed that the ascension of Levas was the direct inspiration for Christian writers who they argued copied the event with the ascension of Christ, though modern theologians and religious scholars have rejected this thesis.
The story of the Journey of the Fifty was solidified within Great Levantine canon by the work of several authors around the time of 150 BC. Though the story is imbued with religious elements, modern scholars believe that the Journey of the Fifty is a heavily mythologized version of an actual series of events passed on by oral tradition. Scholars have uncovered earlier indirect references to an expedition of a small group of Latinic explorers both in Levantine and Urlazian sources who traveled deep into the Levantine interior via the Urce River. Scholars also believe that the original Istroyan-language name of Urceopolis indicates that the area may have been originally discovered by Istroyan explorers rather than Latinic ones.