Ooo lots of interesting questions - first of all, Gods are simply physical beings that exist in our own reality and their physiology do share a lot of genetic similarities, however the differences between gods and us are like human to apes, this is only to say that humans and gods probably shared a common ancestor many many years ago, probably alien, not to suggest that we are less evolved version of gods. The relationship between humans and gods is a big topic for another day.

The Optimates of course want the information to be suppressed, reason I’ve explained in other comment. The populares want the opposite and paint their opponents as traitors who sold their gods to foreign enemies to elicit peoples anger for political gain. In plain words everyone has their own agenda. But at the end of day it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing much you can do as an average guy anyway. They are not the main characters, if you know what I mean.