[Norfleet]

Originally posted by Arralen:
+1 holy = 1/2 upkeep

You're thinking about "Sacred". Sacred units have 1/2 upkeep. Holy is a simply the priest level, and doesn't affect upkeep. Both the Gode and Jarl are already sacred.

Basically, the Gode's $70 extra comes from his increased priestly specialty. If you don't feel the $70 added cost for an extra priest level is worth it, just build Jarls. Godes are a more specialized unit, and specialty units tend to have a cost above that of what you might consider to be their actual value added, because otherwise, you'd only produce those.