High Places

Basic Information

Probably for as long as mankind has been building places of worship, people have been putting them on hilltops. Which only makes sense: if you assume that the gods dwell in the heavens, you're going to want to build your temple as close to the heavens as possible.

The Old Testament frequently uses the term "high places" (bamot in Hebrew) to refer to religious shrines, particularly those devoted to the worship of the Canaanite gods, as opposed to the God of Israel. This isn't quite fair, considering that Abraham and Moses also worshiped on mountaintops and that the Temple in Jerusalem wasn't exactly built in a valley either. Nevertheless, in the Books of Kings, "high places" is used as a general term for any center of idolotrous worship.

Sources

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia article: High places (ancient Israel)

Game and Story Use

• If your PC's are going to encounter a temple or a holy place, it could well be on top of a high hill or a mountain.
  • Or on top of an artificial hill, like the ziggurats of ancient Babylon or the pyramids of the Aztecs.
• If the temple is in a low place, it's probably because that location has relevance to the deity involved
  • Such as worship of an earth goddess, or a secretive mystery cult.
  • Or perhaps because the "high places" carry the connotation of a rival sect, so this religion worships in low places
• Some ascetic holy men have been known to sit on top of high pillars. Which could make and interesting NPC encounter. Especially if the PC's have to climb the pillar to talk to him.