Major god

Major Gods in Age of Mythology and its Expansion represent different "factions" in the game. Each culture (Greeks, Egyptians, Norse and Atlanteans) has three different Major Gods (totalling nine, or twelve in the Titans expansion). Before a game, the player must choose which of the Major Gods their culture will worship, therefore deciding their civilization as well. The choice of a Major God determines what God Powers, Minor Gods, and special bonuses the culture will have.

In random map games any AI players will have their Major God decided by the game's creator. In the single-player campaign Major Gods are assigned by the mission.

The Greek Major Gods are Zeus, Poseidon and Hades.

The Egyptian Major Gods are Ra, Isis and Set.

The Norse Major Gods are Odin, Thor and Loki.

The Atlanteans, available in the expansion pack, can choose from Kronos, Gaia and Oranos.

Each culture's selection of Major Gods generally features a sort of "head god" of the culture's pantheon (Zeus, Ra, Odin), an "evil" or opposing character (Hades, Set, Loki) and a third, popular god (Poseidon, Isis, Thor). The Atlantean pantheon is slightly more complicated, since Kronos is portrayed in the game both as the leader of the Titans and as a renegade, power-hungry figure. Gaia in the other hand, is portayed as a "good" character and therefore opposed to the rest of the Titans.

Greek Major Gods
The Greek Major Gods are Zeus, the leader of Olympian gods and the god of thunder, Poseidon, the god of horses and the sea, and Hades, the ruler of the Underworld. Zeus focuses on Infantry, heroes and Favor generation, while Poseidon boosts cavalry and water operations and Hades watches over Archers, Gold and town defenses.

Bonuses

 * Favor limit increased from 100 to 200
 * Villagers generate favor at Temples 37.5% faster
 * Starts with 15 favor
 * Hoplites move 12% faster
 * Infantry units deal twice as much damage to buildings

Unique Units

 * Myrmidon (elite infantry unit which is strong against most Egyptian and Norse units, but weak against archers and other Greek units.)

Unique Technologies

 * Olympic Parentage (Heroes receive extra Hit Points)

God Powers

 * Bolt (a lightning bolt that kills a single enemy unit.)

Classical Age

 * Athena
 * Hermes

Heroic Age

 * Apollo
 * Dionysus

Mythic Age

 * Hephaestus
 * Hera

Archaic Age

 * Jason

Classical Age
 * Odysseus

Heroic Age

 * Heracles

Mythic Age
 * Bellerophon

Bonuses

 * Gains a Hippocampus (free naval scout that respawns if killed) at the Dock when a Temple is built
 * Gains Militia (weak melee units) if buildings are destroyed by the enemy
 * Using a Market costs only 10% instead of 30%
 * Cavalry units cost 10% less to train
 * Stables cost 25% less to build
 * Special naval hero, The Argo, can be recruited at the Dock

Unique Units

 * Hetairoi (special cavalry unit that is strong against buildings, archers and siege weapons)

Unique Technologies

 * Lord of Horses (cavalry units have +4 on Line of Sight)

God Powers
 * Lure (a mysterious stone that attracts wild animals around it for villagers to hunt)

Classical Age

 * Ares
 * Hermes

Heroic Age

 * Aphrodite
 * Dionysus

Mythic Age

 * Artemis
 * Hephaestus

Archaic Age

 * Theseus

Classical Age
 * Hippolyta

Heroic Age
 * Atalanta

Mythic Age
 * Polyphemus
 * The Argo (naval hero)

Bonuses

 * 20% chance that a fallen soldier will return as a Shade (undead melee fighter) at the Temple
 * Buildings have 25% more Hit Points and 20% higher attack
 * Archers have 10% higher attack

Unique Units

 * Gastraphetes (archer unit that is strong against buildings and infantry)

Unique Technologies

 * Vaults of Erebus (gives a slow, steady flow of gold)

God Powers

 * Sentinels (places four archer statues on a selected Town Center to defend it with a ranged attack)

Classical Age

 * Ares
 * Athena

Heroic Age

 * Apollo
 * Aphrodite

Mythic Age

 * Hephaestus
 * Artemis

Archaic Age

 * Ajax

Classical Age
 * Chiron

Heroic Age
 * Achilles

 Mythic Age' 
 * Perseus

Egyptian Major Gods
The Egyptian Major Gods are Ra, the god of sun, Isis, the mother god of protection, and Set, the god of desert and chaos. Ra's speciality lies in priests and empowering. Isis focuses on technology and protection. Set's field of interests include using wild animals as allies and speed.

Bonuses

 * Priests can also empower buildings, but at a rate of 15% instead of 20%
 * Pharaoh empowers at a rate of 25% instead of 20%
 * Camelry and Chariot Archers have 12% (22% in The Titans) more health and move 10% faster
 * Monuments cost 25% less and have 20% more health

Unique Technologies

 * Skin of the Rhino (Laborers have 30% higher armor and 10% higher attack)

God Powers

 * Rain (increases the effectiviness of Farms and Fishing Ships for a short amount of time)

Classical Age

 * Ptah
 * Bast

Heroic Age

 * Sekhmet
 * Hathor

Mythic Age

 * Osiris
 * Horus

Heroes Available:

 * Pharaoh
 * Priest
 * Secondary Pharaoh (with the New Kingdom from Osiris researched)
 * Son of Osiris (Through the God Power from Osiris)

Bonuses

 * Monuments create a protective shield against God Powers
 * All technologies cost 10% less food, wood and gold
 * Town Centers give additional +3 to population cap
 * Priests summon Obelisks 60% faster and they cost 33% less

Unique Technologies

 * Flood of the Nile (produces a slow trickle of food)

God Powers

 * Prosperity (temporarily doubles the gold gathering rate)

Classical Age

 * Anubis
 * Bast

Heroic Age

 * Nephthys
 * Hathor

Mythic Age

 * Osiris
 * Thoth

Heroes Available:

 * Pharaoh
 * Priest
 * Secondary Pharaoh (with the New Kingdom from Osiris researched)
 * Son of Osiris (Through the God Power from Osiris)

Bonuses

 * Priests can convert wild animals to fight for you
 * Pharaoh can summon wild animals at a cost
 * A group of loyal animals will appear at the Temple each time you advance to the next age
 * Migdol Stronghold costs 25% less
 * Slingers and Chariot Archers are trained 20% faster
 * Slingers have 10% more health and 10% higher hack armor

Unique Technologies

 * Feral (converted animals have more health, armor and attack)

God Powers

 * Vision (reveals a large area of map for 10 seconds)

Classical Age

 * Ptah
 * Anubis

Heroic Age

 * Sekhmet
 * Nephthys

Mythic Age

 * Thoth
 * Horus

Heroes Available:

 * Pharaoh
 * Priest

Norse Major Gods
Norse Major Gods are Odin, the king of gods and god war, Thor, the god of thunder, and Loki, the trickster god. Odin focuses on warriors and hunters, while Thor specialises in Dwarves and smithing and Loki on speed and mobility.

Bonuses

 * Hunters gather food 10% faster (note that this feature exists only from version 1.02 onwards)
 * Gains two Raven scouts when advancing to the Classical Age that respawn when they are killed
 * Human soldiers slowly regenerate health
 * Huskarls, Ballista and Portable Rams have 20% more Hit Points
 * Jarls have 10% more Hit Points

Unique Technologies

 * Lone Wanderer (Ulfsarks move 10% faster)

God Powers

 * Great Hunt (multiplies targeted wild animals)

Classical Age

 * Heimdall
 * Freyja

Heroic Age

 * Njord
 * Skadi

Mythic Age

 * Tyr
 * Baldr

Heroes Available:

 * Hersir

Bonuses

 * Starts with two Dwarves instead of two Gatherers
 * Dwarves cost less gold and gather food and wood faster than regular Dwarves
 * Armory replaced by Dwarven Foundry, which is available early on and has unique upgraddes
 * Armor and weapon upgrades cost less

Unique Technologies

 * Pig Sticker (Gatherers do more damage against wild animals and hunt faster)

God Powers

 * Dwarven Mine (spawns a special gold mine)

Classical Age

 * Forseti
 * Freyja

Heroic Age

 * Bragi
 * Skadi

Mythic Age

 * Tyr
 * Baldr

'Heroes Available:

 * Hersir

Bonuses

 * Hersirs may summon Myth Units during battle
 * Hersirs move 10% faster
 * Myth Units cost 10% less favor to create
 * Longhouse units train 10% faster
 * Ox Carts move 50% faster and cost 50% less, but have 25% lower health

Unique Technologies

 * Eyes in the Forest (infantry have +3 on Line of Sight)

God Powers

 * Spy (grants the Line of Sight of a targeted enemy unit)

Atlantean Major Gods
The Atlantean civilization, available in The Titans Expansion, worship Titans which function as the Atlantean gods. The Atlantean Major Gods are Kronos, the god of time, Gaia, the Mother Nature, and Oranos, the god of sky.

Bonuses

 * Can timeshift buildings anywhere on the map within Line of Sight
 * Siege Weapons and Myth Units are cheaper

Unique Technologies

 * Focus (Oracles are faster and gain Line of Sight faster)

God Powers

 * Deconstruction (Deconstructs an enemy building)

Minor God Choices:
Classical Age
 * Leto
 * Prometheus

Heroic Age

 * Hyperion
 * Rheia

Mythic Age

 * Atlas
 * Helios

Heroes Availale:

 * Can convert any units into heroes

Bonuses

 * All buildings create special Lush terrain around them that prevents enemies from building on it
 * Buildings slowly regenerate Hit Points
 * Fishing Ships and Caravans are cheaper and more durable
 * Economic researches are cheaper

Unique Technologies

 * Channels (increases the speed of Citizens by 20%)

God Powers

 * Gaia Forest (creates a magical forest out of nowhere)

Heroic Age

 * Rheia
 * Theia

Mythic Age

 * Atlas
 * Hekate

Heroes Availale:

 * Can convert any units into heroes

Bonuses

 * Can build Sky Passages for instant transportation across the map
 * Shares visibility to all settlements with allies
 * Human military units move faster

Unique Technologies
God Powers
 * Safe Passage(Sky Passages are cheaper, have more Line of Sight and receive a ranged attack)
 * Shockwave (stuns enemy units for a short period of time)

Minor God Choices:
Classical Age
 * Oceanus
 * Prometheus

Heroic Age
 * Hyperion
 * Rheia

Mythic Age
 * Atlas
 * Helios

Heroes Available:

 * Can convert any units into heroes