Invisible Cities: Diomira Influence Maps

Taking the advice I was given by Phil on my OGR, I decided to do some research and make some additions to my influence maps for the city of Diomira.

To start with, I briefly looked at polytheistic religions followed by investigating the rooster's influence and symbolism in religion and countries around the world:

• The Shinto religion is a polytheistic religion that originated in Japan and focuses on multiple deities based on the natural world. Shinto shrines often have golden roosters in or around them as a reference to the sun deity, Amaterasu. 
• I then looked to the Chinese architecture I had used in my initial interior and exterior influence maps which led me to research the Hanshi Festival that is observed in China, Korea, and Vietnam. It is vaguely linked to the religion of Taoism (which is also polytheistic), and there is a specific activity that includes roosters (a yang symbol, likened to fire as well as the sun) fighting.
• The rooster is also a common emblem of Portugal, and is considered to be a good luck symbol. It is widely associated with a legend that originates from the town of Barcelos, so I gathered inspiration from there.
• In Christianity, the cock is associated with 'dawn' and 'light', as well as being the 'bringer of Christ' (it was apparently the first animal to 'proclaim the birth of Jesus'. I decided to then look at southeast Asian countries that are predominantly Christian and found that East Timor has the cock regarded as a symbol of perserverance and courage, and the Philippines considers cockfighting as a form of 'fertility worship'. 
• The cock is associated with the Roman god Mercury, who is often linked to financial abundance and luck. Mercury's Greek equivalent is Hermes.
• Worldwide, roosters are generally symbols of prosperity, pride, and courage. There is also a heavy association with sun deities or solar/fire symbolism.

I also looked at flower meanings as I wanted to consider vegetation within the city more closely. Using the symbolism of the rooster as a guide, I tried to find flowers that carry similar meanings as well as follow the warmer colour palette that I want to use for the city; upon doing so, I found that yellow tulips are associated with the sun and yellow poppies and tiger lillies are both associated with wealth and pride. 

I decided to take pieces of the information I'd found as inspiration and aim to be able to combine them effectively and include them in my final pieces. It has also helped me to consider the inner workings of the city in more detail (particularly the religious aspect) as well.