Deolaters

First Appearance and Context

Within the Hylaean Way’s rotunda, the narrative presents a forking between the followers of Deät and those of Hylaea; the former are called Deolaters. The space includes two symbolic exits: the doorway beside Deät leads out, and many visitors identified with that path depart there. During an opening, Deolater pilgrims left numerous offerings at Deät’s pedestal during Apert. In everyday explanations inside the mathic world, Deolaters are also invoked as a familiar comparator when describing the nave of the Mynster and the behavior of congregants during rites.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Religious community beyond the walls of the Extramuros world, associated with worship spaces called “arks,” often characterized as spreading wide to welcome all comers.
• Serve as a cultural reference in avout explanations of layout and congregational practice within the Mynster; the singular label Deolater is used for individuals in that context.
• In historical representation, Deolaters’ temples are shown crowning the highest hill of Ethras; the same scene marks the place where Thelenes was put to death.
• Referenced by avout in conversation as a group with whom reconciliation might be sought; in that context they are associated with belief in God.

Relationships

• Defined in contrast to the Hylaean tradition: the forking between Deolaters (followers of Deat) and followers of Hylaea is a recurring motif in teaching displays.
• Related term: Deolater (singular) is used in observation and iconography to denote an individual, sometimes a proselytizer inviting people to an ark; see the separate entry.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Theistic orientation as perceived by avout: when used rhetorically, a Deolater is imagined as calling a striking ray of light “holy” and taking it as proof of a god.
• Offerings such as candles, charms, flowers, and notes have been observed at Deät’s pedestal during Apert.
• Architecture and worship: “arks” are cited as the community’s worship spaces; in contrast with vertical mathic forms, arks are described as broad and welcoming.
• Philosophical contrast: in avout discussions of cosmic fine-tuning, Deolaters are paraphrased as attributing the cosmos’s suitability for life to divine design (“God made the cosmos just for us”), contrasted with the mathic appeal to a polycosm in which only certain cosmi support observers.
• Colloquial usage: among avout, “becoming a Deolater” and going on pilgrimage can be invoked figuratively as shorthand for seeking a cleansing remedy after a personal misstep, reflecting the group’s association with pilgrimage.

Current Status/Location

Active outside the walls, with pilgrims and visitors appearing during Apert. No doctrine, hierarchy, or internal structure is detailed in the text; information is presented from an avout perspective and remains general.