Yes. What would cause a people to construct a heroic vision of man, man as a con

Yes.
What would cause a people to construct a heroic vision of man, man as a conquerer of nature, the gods as petulant children to be mollified and if possibly outwitted, the prohibition on authority, a government of concurrency, the rule of law (of commonality), and such an obsession with competitive technology? 😉

What then is the difference between sovereignty, reciprocity, truth, duty, heroism excellence, and beauty?

There isn’t any.
They all require more than adequacy – instead they require doing one’s best for the benefit of the commons, in exchange for status by contribution to the commons.