The planet is controlled by the mysterious Priest Kings. The Priest Kings are a race of highly intelligent insectoids.. They have created this world for their own purpose of which they only know. The Priest Kings have brought all there is to Gor and have controlled the evolution.

The Priest Kings have restricted greatly weapons technology to the point of limiting weapons to nothing more mechanical than a cross bow and no personal armor may be used. Anyone found using restricted items find themselves quickly at the mercy of the blue flame. This is a weapon used by the Priest Kings that comes from the Sardar Mountains and destroys completely. Medicine however has been allowed to flourish and become very advanced. It is not unusual for a Gorean to count their life expectancy in hundreds of years. Warfare on Gor has become a very effective means of population control!

Many of the things found on Gor have been brought by the Priest Kings on one of the voyages of acquisition aboard their silver ships that can traverse galaxies. Therefore there are many familiar items that a modern earth person would see. A great number of the slaves that can be found on the auction blocks are abducted earth females known as barbarians.

Gor culturally is very similar to the ancient Greek city-states of earth. Empires or alliances are discouraged, instead each city standing on its own. It has a strict caste system which most of the inhabitants strictly adhere too. A person is generally born into a caste and will learn the trade and rules of the caste. There are high and low castes, with movement between the two rare. When at peace, the city-state is usually run by a counsel made of a representative of each of the five high castes. When at conflict the city-state is often run by a ubar that has total military control.

Slavery on Gor is a normal and accepted institution. Goreans have an understanding of slavery and the psychological effects slavery has. Most slaves on Gor are female. Male slaves do exist as well.

This is but a very small and incomplete introduction to the world of Gor. It is strongly recommended that the books written by John Norman be sought out and read. Also, take time to search these pages and others on the web to glean the useful information contained in them.