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Talk:Religion in the Twelve Colonies (RDM)/Archive 1: Difference between revisions

Discussion page of Religion in the Twelve Colonies (RDM)/Archive 1
Latest comment: 13 years ago by Noneofyourbusiness in topic Caprica
+ question about Hermes' status
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== Religeous Variance ==
== Lords of Kobol ==
 
Does the existance of the Mercury class Battlestars imply that Hermes/Mercury is a Lord of Kobol? --[[User:PrePressChris|PrePressChris]] 15:15, 18 October 2006 (CDT)+
Specifically, in the bit about funerals... It sounds a bit harsh to say that priests do the funerals regardless of the beliefs of the deceased. It makes it sound like they're Muslims getting Catholic funerals. I couldn't tell you the difference between a Methodist funeral and a Protestant funeral if my life depended on it. I think that this (apparently) unilateral handling of funerals is more indicative of the (mostly) unified religeon of the Colonies, rather than a callous behavior of some kind of oppressive theocracy. The only people who seem like they have a truely different religeous idea are Tigh, Adama and Billy, and they don't seem to strongly anti-religeon that they'd roll over at their religeous funeral. I didn't make an edit to reflect this, though, because this is rather subjective. --[[User:Day|Day]] 04:23, 10 September 2005 (EDT) (Post Script: I'm working on getting that picture. My Mac's having some technical issues.)
:The writers of the show are dancing about in the usage of Greek and Roman mythological names. Since Hermes hasn't been mentioned specifically as a Lord, no, we can't add it. I'm not big on mixing the pantheons until the context of the names in the show are clear. We have a list of names (Greek, mostly) of names heard of ships or used as people, but until used in in the context as a Lord, we shouldn't assume that the name is actually that of a Lord. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 15:20, 18 October 2006 (CDT)
 
::That makes sense. It occured to me after I wrote the above that the name could refer to quicksilver, which would make sense if the Mercury class was faster than earlier ones. That would also tidy up the roman nomenclature.
==Unknowns==
::Where is the list of names you mentioned? --[[User:PrePressChris|PrePressChris]] 15:30, 18 October 2006 (CDT)
:::See the section, "Other mythological names in Colonial culture," this article. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 17:28, 18 October 2006 (CDT)
::::LMAO. I was searching all over this site. It didn't occur to me that it'd be in the same article I was commenting on. --[[User:PrePressChris|PrePressChris]] 20:47, 18 October 2006 (CDT)


:''Rules applying to the priesthood may or may not be the same throughout the Twelve ColoniesIt is possible that certain schools of the priesthood practice celibacy, but Chief [[Tyrol]] stated that his father was a priest and his mother an oracle, so it would not be adhered to by all denominations of the religion of the Twelve Colonies.''
The article mentions that seven lords have been identified.  Anyone notice this is the same as the number of identified cylons?  It could be that each cylon model represents a lord (i.e. Sharon - Athena, Six (or maybe three) - Hera).  The 5 unidentified cylons match 5 unidentified lords match the 5 in the temple of fiveOn a related note: how about the (norse) idea of an allfather - the Cylons recognize the allfather, but none of the lower "gods" (including the Lords of Kobol).  I suppose this would be an alternate theory to the Jealous God being the god of cylons. --[[User:Ublej|Ublej]] 17:29, 4 January 2007 (CST)
:The Colonials have Zeus as the boss of all other gods. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 17:32, 4 January 2007 (CST)


:''This may vary considerably from one Colony to the next:  [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Gemenon|Gemenons]] believe in the literal truth of the [[Sacred Scrolls]] and are quite fundamentalist, while [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Capricans]] seem fairly secular in their treatment of Church-State relations.''
== More Cowbell ==
Actually, more images, please. Great text content, but a couple of more images applied evenly would really brighten things up. --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 15:04, 8 December 2006 (CST)
:Ooh. And there are some XHTML problems. I'll get on those. --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 15:25, 8 December 2006 (CST)


I really don't see the point in noting may-or-may-nots and it-is-not-knowns. The idea here is to state everything we do know - everything we don't state is logically unknown. I'm not opposed to informed speculation, but simply listing the areas we haven't heard about seems fruitless.
== Out-of-Universe Referencing and Revision ==


== The Chicken And Egg Origin of the Greek/Kobol Gods ==
I get very confused with voice when reading this article, where we speak of the Colonials and compare it to real-world references. I wanted to keep these important notes in but not to the point where we had to discuss every detail or explanation. With that in mind, I got bold:


Since the 13th Tribe populated Earth, all the while bringing their religion from Kobol, this suggests that the ''Greek gods'' are the offshoots to the Kobol gods, not the reverse. This fits with the other Olympian gods not (yet) mentioned in the Kobol religion, but present in the Olympian religion.
*The two articles that go overboard in discussing the Greek Gods and Greek Mythology are deleted, per Battlestar Wiki policy: We aren't a general encyclopedia, so Wikipedia links to more extensive articles should do for this. Both articles have been discussed of late as being redundant or just plain nongermane.


This suggestion creates several interesting possibilities for thought.
*This article's out-of-universe notes were moved as footnotes. This simplifies the read but keeps the voice of the article in discussing the Colonials, not the Colonials-vs.-Greek-vs.-Norse. Note that the terms "Greek", Norse, and the like are also removed or pulled; these don't exist in the series and it makes it confusing to make the comparison. The name of the gods usually explain it all but the important points are now footnotes.


* There wasn't a human population already on Earth with its own religion. The religion of Kobol grew to form the Olympian gods.
I'm finding that reading articles that analyze the Colonials and Cylons take too much from the real-world to form their explanations when in-universe comments work well without overly drawn out comparisons. Comments? --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 23:28, 12 January 2007 (CST)
* There ''was'' an existing human population, and the Colonial humans and native terrans merged genes and religion, which might have included other beings we know as the Olympian and quasi-Olympian gods.
* The Tribe somehow lost their technological base of information and went into a new dark age similar to what the Tribes experienced before, increasing their need for divine aid (and expansion of the Kobol religion to form the Olympian components). This also kept the 13th Tribe from returning to know the fate of their brothers in the other Tribes.
* The 13th Tribe landed in the Mediterreanean area of Earth (presuming their Earth is ''"our"'' Earth), in what we historically have called the "seat of human civilization."


The hologram in the [[Tomb of Athena]] suggests that the constellations and celestial bodies of Earth were either known already to the Kobol tribes and were programmed into the Tomb before they left, or a 13th Tribe member from Earth returned to do this. If neither are true, then there is real problem with how the Tomb received this information, and the need or ability for the [[Arrow of Apollo]] to be available (and noted in the Sacred Scrolls) as capable of showing the way to a place the Tribes had not yet visited (unless you count in the "all this has happened and will happen again" part of the Scrolls).
:While I support the idea, I think it's possible to take it too far. If we take your approach to the extreme, it's impossible to have any real-world references in articles, which happens fairly often and is simply necessary in some cases. I think that this is more important:
:That the ''main'' voice of an article is "in-universe". Meaning no general real-world articles, but "in-universe" articles can contain a few real-world references if necessary.


I edited the article with the point in mind as it seemed too strong to suggest otherwise. Thoughts on this or points against the notion? (This also keeps us from blowing brain cells on who created what.)  [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 16:34, 3 October 2005 (EDT)
:Case in point my new [[Mythological references]] page, which generally goes like "<ship/place name> - <significance in the show> <real world reference>". I didn't go out of my way to hide the Greek/Roman/Norse allusions in "in-universe" explinations, like saying that Greek mythology is really Colonial mythology in the context of the show (it probably is in fact, but that's more something for this article).


: See the "Three Exodus" portion of [[Sacred Scrolls]] for something that explains this. It was written by me, so perhaps I'm biased towards it being true, but if it is, then the pictures inside the Tomb of Athena ''do'' fall under the "All this has happened before..." clause. As does the dissemination of the Gods. However, I agree that it's probable that the 13th Tribe brought the Lords of Kobol with them to Earth. It's just that, after that, they also brought them ''back'' to Kobol so that they would be there to be brough to Earth again in the next cycle. I hope that's coherent. It's hard talking in circles like this. --[[User:Day|Day]] 18:07, 3 October 2005 (EDT)
:However, in this article here, it's appropriate to only detail the religious stuff as it pertains to the Colonials, and not to the real world. So we could keep the "Mythological references" article seperate, delete the references here (which I copied anyways) and link to it from here, as a place that deals with mythology that goes beyond religion and also includes more real-life explinations and links. That would help to keep the POVs seperate --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 07:56, 13 January 2007 (CST)


::I don't think its necessary or interesting to note that in this much detail - the History article covers the origin of the twelve colonies in substantially more detail. To that end, I'd prefer to revert your comments, if you're not terribly attatched. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:10, 3 October 2005 (EDT)
::I concur. Whereever we can keep the in-universe voice, great. Where out-of-universe comparisons must be in line with the text to keep the article germane and sensible, it's also fine. The recent articles you built/rebuilt exemplify good uses of that practice. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 14:06, 30 January 2007 (CST)


:::Actually it's not that bad. I'm going to clarify it slightly, but it would probably be useful to keep it. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:16, 3 October 2005 (EDT)
==Concerning religion of the cylons and the colonies==
Keeping Ron Moore's twists and turns from the original series I would like to  
suggest that the Lords of Kobol and the "jealous" god, are for all intensive purposes the
Cylons.  They are modeled after and  therefore more directly linked to the deities say than
Adama is "being Zeus" among the humans. So much so that specific units have become avatars, perhaps posessed of a lord
or at the very least evolving an actual soul in likeness of a lord.


12 cylons = 12 olympians
Final Five - Temple of Five
The mystery of the final five hints to them being  something other
that the existing models. Perhaps these five could not be replicated
like the others because of their conflict with the cylon god.
Clearly a more human "being" is developing in Deana in her search for
enlightenment, in Caprica in her search for Love and in Sharon in her self acceptance.
With Deanna the search for enlightenment became so overpweing
the entire line was boxed.  With Sharon it's almost as if the  humanity
Boomer clung to has moved to Agathon.  Boomer is not the woman that
would not leave her human apartment after resurrecting,
but both have in their own fashion esentially accepted who they are.
Caprica appears in a constant state of conflict that many humans will relate to,
while her etherial counterpart is the self assured herald of her cylon maker.
For all the pagan references in the original series we still had Count Iblis
and the ship of lights taking on very familliar christan concepts of angels
and satan. Nothing is ever quite that black and white in the reimagined series.
While the reference has been fleeting, the notion of a god outside the
Lords of Kobol is clear, and he would be the cylons god.  Dodona Selloi seems to
refer to the cylon god as nothing more or less than a lord of kobol.
My thought is that somehow this jealous god has sort of ensnared the likeness
perhaps even conciousness of the lords in creating the cylon race, so closely that single copies become avatars of the
lords. The final five could be so possesed that they are not part of the cylon race,
refusing the mechanations of the cylon god.  Others an avatar is what we see
developing in Sharon, Deanna and Caprica.
And even the cylon god, the Count Iblis whose voice was that of the imperious
leader in the original series has a model: Brother Cavel.  Cavel is horribly wicked, he is always urging his
fellow cylons to the most horrific of actions. He appears out of nowhwere all the time. And
yet, strangely, he seems to honor the importance of free will in his dealings with his brother
cylons, something you would expect of an Abrahamic god.  He's not Satan then who would rather rule in hell than serve in
heaven, he is just far more satanic or evil than any characterization offered by a
member of a known pantheon of gods.
Yet another twist, If the Abrahmic god were competing with beings like himself
(greek gods), how satanic might he appear? An abrahamic god accepts free will: I can't make you worship me.
But is flawed like miltons Satan, if you don't worship me , your damned.
Satan's flaw in paradise lost was saying better to rule in hell than serve in
heaven.  What he should have said was better to live free on earth not rule in
hell.  So Cavel is a marvelous blend of an Abrahamic God & Satan floating through
space in a base ship with 7 of 12 would be Olympians.  Caprica/ Aphrodite, Sharon
Athena and Deanna/Hestia(?).  Starbuck/Artemis is the next to come forward?


::::Actually I would say that Humans where born on earth and went to Kobold as said above, not that Kobold brought the gods to earth, '''life here began out there those are the first words of the ancient scrolls and they where told to us by the lords of Kobold countless centuries ago''' The big one there is ''life here'' lets look at that, they are bluntly stating in a way that life on kobold is not native it began out in space, the ties to earth mythology, technology, referances etc can only be explained so many ways.
Adama and Laura as Zeus and Hera? Two reason for two of the final five to stay
where they are. They have human avatars leading the fleet. Three male cylons just go with the
flow, well the male gods were always kind of boring anyway. At least if your a fan of
Wonder Woman.
The twist from original series to re-imagined series are always surprising and
wonderful in many ways. In the world of Sci Fi televison, the original Galactica made huge
advances by considering the existence of higher beings.  Where would the Ancients of  
Stargate or the Vorlons of Babylon be without Battlestar Galactica? Will we see actual communion with
higher beings  in the re-imagined series? I don't expect to.  It would gnaw at the the gritty
realism of the show. 
The idea of this entire exodus from the colonies seeking earth, unifying to a
new Kobol, then breaking off back to earth and the colonies over and over seems entirely plausible.  Gods are at the very least real in a
metaphoirical sense and 12 cylon models living in peace with a vast race of humans on new a Kobol in the end
sounds far more believeable than actual gods and godesses co-existing with man. (mevenstar)


::::Take adama's ship (the model) it's a classic schoonar, now you can call 'paralell development' but only to an extent we know that the colonies had space technology when they where founded which leads us to believe that the schoonar is older then that the design anyway, we also know apparently from flash backs etc that Kobold was fairly advanced heck we know they had holographic technology... Which in turn points to the fact that maybe they where not native to Kobold either.  
:I think a more likely explanation is that whoever designed the humanoid cylons chose to use the lords as an inspiration or possibly the design was intended to mock the 12 lords and thus humanity itself. They chose 12 archetypes to define humanity saying basically all of you have one of these 12 personality types and that's it. I don't think the lords are using the cylons as avatars. Sounds too mystical. I also don't think time travel is involved and that somehow the cylons will one day go back into the past and become the lords.


::::I'd prefure to look at it something like this, at some stage we the good old 13th colony reached a point where we had FTL technology and in turn we expanded we spread out and colonised the stars, Kobold was one of those maybe at the time we had advanced enough through gene manipulation or the such that the 13 Lords of Kobold where immortals or at least enhanced humans while the 'normals' who lived in peace with the lords where from a Genetic databank (or perhaps we moved there in an ark to escape some cataclism on earth) over time the origins of were they came from began to fade until the exodus from kobold. Which began the whole cycle again.. (in turn this would show the All this has happened before and all this will happen again part).
:I don't really have a theory on exactly what the lords of kobol are but I do think the cylon god is a rogue lord of kobol. I also think the 13th tribe worshipped this rogue lord first. The 13th tribe left kobol because the other 12 pagan tribes were sacrifing humans and indulging in cannibalism. They first found the algae planet and built the temple of five which was dedicated to the five priests who worshipped the one whose name cannot be mentioned. This one whose name cannot be mentioned is almost certainly a rogue lord of kobol. If the priests were worshipping this one god this tells me the entire 13th tribe had the one god.


::::Even still there are disrepancy's within the shows own words.. the 13th Colony left kobold in the early days and settled on a planet around a distant and unknown star.... that has been proven to be a false statement, it was not unknown, the Koboldians KNEW about it, apparently even the scriptures themselves know that from Earth you can look up at the stars and see the 12 other colonies, the Zodiac.. When you take these facts into account the belief that Kobold is the original planet is impossible, because the Only way you can get the exact star alignments for those Zodiac's is within a set distance (5 or so Light years presuming None of the stars within 5 light years make up the Zodic pieces) of Earth.. No Life began on earth and went to kobold it's the only way one can explain so much of what is Canon of the show now. [[User:RobGraham|RobGraham]]21:03 Thursday 29th June Australian EST.
:Throughout the series we have seen the cylons talk about revelations from god and talk of his commandments. What is the source for this divine inspiration? I suspect the 12 colonies like we in the real world had scholars who studied ancient religions in the real world. They had reference books, academic papers, unearthed archeological artifacts and various other things that set out to paint a picture of what the 13th tribe was like. This information about the 13th tribe and their worship of the one god was known to the mechanical cylons before work on the humanoid models began and became the foundation of the cylon religion.


::::: A note: It's "Kobol". The one is a planet, the other is a small dogish creature from D&D (if I remember right). Anyway, I think you're getting tied up in a linear idea of time. You have to keep in mind there that ''is'' no true point of genesis. You can pick any point in the cycle and get back to it. So, take "humans on Earth" as your starting point:
:The cylons have (more or less) adopted the religion of the 13th tribe. The commandments they speak of are what God demanded of the 13th tribe (an example god commands them to procreate). The humanoid models may not even be entirely aware that their religion mirrors the 13th tribe's ancient religion. This desire to find earth is also part of this borrowed (and possibly distorted) religion. The cylons want to find earth because according to their religion earth is the promised land...and it probably was...for the 13th colony. [[User:Meteor|Meteor]] 12:06, 30 January 2007.


::::: Something makes them leave Earth and move to Kobol. They forget Earth. The Big Bad Thing happens and they flee to the 13 colonies (the Twelves Colonies and Earth). They forget Kobol and Earth. Another Big Bad Thing (Cylons) happens and they flee the Twelve to go find the Thirteenth. Presumably, they settle. They forget Kobol and the Twelve Colonies. Something makes them leave Earth and move to Kobol. They forget Earth. Repeat, repeat.


::::: That's my "Three Exodi" interpretation, anyway. And, in it, from the point of view of the Kobolites, life ''did'' begin "out there" on Earth. That's where they all came from, ''most recently''. I hope that helps explain how everything has already come before. Sure the origin of the zodiacs necessarily comes from Earth. That's incorperated into the theory. --[[User:Day|Day]] <sup>([[User talk:Day|Talk]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Administrators' noticeboard|Admin]])</sup> 14:55, 29 June 2006 (CDT)
== Lords of Kobol vs other gods ==


== Zephyr ==
I don't think it's sensible to assume that every god or goddess mentioned is a Lord of Kobol. Case in point [[Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn]]. The Greeks didn't just have the Twelve Olympians (after whom the Lords seem to directly modeled after), but also minor deities. No reason the Colonials shouldn't as well. Another example is Nike, who is mentioned - even if not by name - in "Torn". She hang around with Zeus, and is often portrayed together with Athena, but is not a real Olympian.<br/>
I suggest we have another header called "Other gods" or "Other deities" for those, with maybe a footnote stating that their status is uncertain. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 10:08, 18 April 2007 (CDT)


About where in the episode is this mentioned? Is it explicitly stated that the ''Zephyr'' is named after a God, or is it just mentioned? It is my understanding that a zephyr is a gust of wind and, thus, not an imp[robable name for a ship with that meaning. Unless it's explicit, I think this point is ambiguous at best. --[[User:Day|Day]] 18:11, 3 October 2005 (EDT)
:I've generally felt that any god mentioned in the context of worship was a Lord of Kobol--the Colonials are very monotheistic. However, since we don't have clearer contexts for some, such as names used in [[Temple]] or something, it may be safe not to read too much into them. Some could be counterparts to [[w:Saint|saints]] for all we know. I agree that the Olympian/Titan arguments are meaningless here since Roman versions and other religions get mixed about. I generally agree with your comments. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 11:39, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
::The Colonials use Greek and Roman names interchangeably, but that doesn't have anything to do with the Olympian/Lords of Kobol parallel. I just have a feeling that that are just twelve Lords of Kobol who are direct parallel to the ancient Olympians. However, there have been a lot of mentions of other mythological figures and gods, especially in the ship names. Or usually when asked about believes it's more "Do you believe in the gods?" instead of "Do you believe in the Lords of Kobol". There is no definite statement that "gods" refers to the Lords of Kobol exclusively, even if they are clearly the main gods. Could go either way. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 12:06, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
::They're certainly [[w:polytheism|polytheistic]], not [[w:monotheism|monotheistc]], please read the definitions carefully. --[[User:Catrope|Catrope]]<sup>([[User talk:Catrope|Talk to me]] or [[Special:Emailuser/Catrope|e-mail me]])</sup> 12:07, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
:::I meant "poly" and mistyped. Thanks. The notion that there are twelve Lords of Kobol is a TOS misconception that seems to have moved to RDM; I don't know of a citation for that. It's a lot easier to say "gods" than "Lords of Kobol", of course. While there could be other monothesistic or polythestic faiths with the Colonials, only one "sect" or denomination has been established officially: the five priests of the [[Temple of Five]]. Must be significant: they got a temple out of it in the middle of nowhere. -- [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 12:13, 18 April 2007 (CDT) <sup>([[User_Talk:Spencerian|Talk]] - [[Special:Contributions/Spencerian|Contribs]] - [[Special:Editcount/Spencerian|WonderNumbers]])</sup>
::::I get what you're saying, but I noticed a tendency here lately to push one kind of agenda, when there isn't much concrete evidence to pursue another equally valid interpretation. Obviously something needs to be written, but lack of concrete evidence for point A doesn't prove point B. There is no evidence for there being more than 12 Lords of Kobol either, though Occam's Razor would probably come to that conclusion then. But there are theories that the Lords were originally human leaders of the tribes who were deified later (even before the exodus from Kobol). It's speculation, but agrees with the quotes from the scriptures...As said, it could be either way.
::::However, this has nothing to do with different faiths. Nothing prevents a worshiper of the Lord of Kobol to also recognize or worship certain either deities. The ancient Greeks didn't only worship the Olympians for example. Exclusive worship is somewhat of a monotheistic concept. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 12:36, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
:::::I don't think we even know if all the named Olympians are Lords of Kobol. Maybe "Lords of Kobol" is synonymous with "the gods", maybe it refers exclusively to the Olympian Dodekatheon, maybe it includes the Dodekatheon and the One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken, maybe it only includes a few of the Olympians. -- [[User:Gordon Ecker|Gordon Ecker]] 18:35, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
::::::My point is that we haven't been explicitly told of any other ''faiths'', which differs from the number of gods. A single god can be worshipped differently based on many different faith structures, such as the Jews and Christians do. We haven't been given ''any'' data that suggests that their are other central faith structures other than the Lords of Kobol and God (with the [[five priests]]' diety being a possible exception). There are obviously different "denominations", for lack of a better term (Gemonese and Sagittarons do this), but I don't tend to interpret matters any further. Be it 10 or 10,000 Lords, they may fall under the same central faith structure. We don't know, so I don't try to interpret it much, but just drop it in the place that best fits. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 18:47, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
:::::::Agreed. There is only evidence of one religion practiced in the twelve colonies, with various sects, denominations and personal interpretations, however it seems to be, for the most part, relatively uniform. There are two possible exceptions, however both of them may be particularly divergent sects / denominations of the colonial religion. -- [[User:Gordon Ecker|Gordon Ecker]] 19:28, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
:::::::: I disagree with the assumption that Aurora is a Lord of Kobol. She may be a god, but that doesn't make her a Lord of Kobol. I don't think anyone familiar with Greek mythology would think she fits with Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis, Apollo, Athena, etc.


:No, he's right. See [[Wikipedia:Zephyrus|Zephyrus]]. Very nice catch, Spence. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:14, 3 October 2005 (EDT)
:::::::: I disagree with the assumption that Jupiter is just another name for Zeus and Mars is just another name for Ares. This has not been demonstrated on the show. However, I do realize that I'm the only one who thinks this way and that no one can grasp that they might be slightly different entities, like one a clone of the other. What if Jupiter is the Cylon God, while Zeus is a Colonial god. Think of the sacrilege your Wiki page is committing then!!! Remember ''only a Cylon'' has ever mentioned the god Jupiter. The Sacred Scrolls have (thus far) never mentioned this god - only Zeus, Hera, and the One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken, whom I think is Jupiter. The temple of Five is for the One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken, and the Sacred Scrolls tell us that the Eye of Jupiter is in the Temple of Five. Do the math. --[[User:MHall|MHall]] 17:45, 11 October 2007 (CDT)
:::::::::I think that, in the specific case of Zeus/Jupiter, RDM or one of TPTB mentioned that the name had to be changed from Zeus (which it originally was) because of some sort of copyright reason or something like that. I think it's either on a podcast or an interview, but I'm sure I heard it. I'll look it up. --[[User:Sauron18|Sauron18]] 19:29, 11 October 2007 (CDT)
::::::::::Okay, I looked and found one in the "Eye of Jupiter" podcast [http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Podcast:The_Eye_of_Jupiter]. I dunno if it's the one I remember, but either way the reasoning is different from what I thought, but the fact remains that Jupiter and Zeus are the same being-
:::::::::::'''''"Eye of Jupiter" was originally called "Eye of Zeus" for a very long time in draft form and into script. We changed the name, ultimately, for not very deep reasons. Just that there was something about "Eye of Zeus" that seemed a bit too mystical and a little bit too over-the-top, even for us. And that's saying somethin'. But we didn't want to- the story still was what the story was, and we didn't really wanna lose that aspect of what the episode was and the slide to call it Jupiter instead of Zeus was an arbitrary one, except it, somehow, for subjective reasons that are hard to explain, it sounded a little less hokey. Some could argue it's more hokey, but it was also a nice way to broaden the pantheon, as it were, ha ha ha, of the gods and their references in the Galactica universe and the mythos, in that Zeus being the Greek name for the father of the gods, and Jupiter being the later Roman version of the same idea. And it was nice to have both names- both proper names present in the Galactica world. I believe we've used other Roman names, from time to time, as well, although of course right off the top of my head I can't remember which ones they were, but I think we have established that. '''''
::::::::::So yeah....same being. --[[User:Sauron18|Sauron18]] 19:40, 11 October 2007 (CDT)
:::::::::::I'm familiar with the podcast, as well as the other source Sauron18 mentioned. What is there is not one Zeus running around, but two generations of Zeus running around? Then your page is screwed, because RDM decided, for somewhat arbitrary reasons, to call the older Zeus "Zeus" and the younger Zeus "Jupiter," and they are not the same individual, not even necessarily on the same "side." I'm content to lodge the protest and wait for the show to possibly prove your "canon" false. Yes, it could be that the page is correct - but it could be that the page is committing blasphemy in both the Cylon and Colonial religions, which would be an unpardonable sin, times two. This is my last comment on this. --[[User:MHall|MHall]] 02:15, 13 October 2007 (CDT)


:: Woah! Zephyrus lived in a cave on ''Thrace''? That can't be accidental. It hadn't occured to me until I saw it, but I knew this. I played a pice a few years ago called the ''March of the Young Thracians'' or something. Anyway, I'm not sure about Zephyr, still. He wasn't one of the "main" Greek Gods, as it were, so I don't think we can make an assumption that he's a Lord of Kobol. They may have lesser gods like the Greeks did that just have never been mentioned, or it might be that some effects dude at Zoic named the ship that because it makes a good name for a ship, not realizing that it's also an allusion to a Greek god. --[[User:Day|Day]] 18:22, 3 October 2005 (EDT)
== About Hera ==


:::A link to Kara Thrace's article already noted this, which is where I felt the Zephyr note was credible. Kara's name (as in a human aided by the "winds") and the link to Zephyrus couldn't be a coincidence--RDM had that one down. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 09:55, 4 October 2005 (EDT)
I've recently gone through several Lord of Kobol articles and removed the Greek mythological references since this information isn't needed here (we're not a general encyclopedia) and because the Earth information doesn't always mesh with the series information. Right now, there's enough references for each Lord to stand on their own without out-of-universe comparisons.


:::Right, but he ''is'' a god, the Colonials apparently know about him, and we don't have any knowlege on whether the colonials separate the Lords of Kobol from minor deities - so it's probably important to note, and there isn't really a better place for it. (FWIW, they did apparently distinguish between upper and lower demons). --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:29, 3 October 2005 (EDT)
One note about Hera. In our mythology she is the wife AND sister of Zeus (gross as that might be to some). I was about to revert [[User:Mudflap|Mudflap's]] recent deletion of the "sister" part when I realized after checking that the show has NOT noted this element of Hera in its own mythology. So, that stands for now. As I said, there is sufficient mythology generated by the show itself now to avoid adding much from our universe to theirs. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 08:15, 22 May 2007 (CDT)


== Liturgy ==
: Selloi: I have a message for you from the o­ne you worship. He speaks through me to you just as he speaks in your dreams. The message is... the fruit born of two peoples [Three's smile fades.] is alive. A child named after the wife and sister of the all-knowing Zeus. Hera lives.
Does anyone know what language Elosha's funeral prayer is in at the end of the Mini-series? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:30, 3 October 2005 (EDT)
:You may already know this answer by now (though others may not), but she is singing in sanskrit from text used in the Hindu faith. A good [http://navras.boourns.net/extra.php fan site] about the end title song to "The Matrix Revolutions", called "Navras", shows the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad 1.3.28 exactly as Elosha sung it and as used in that Matrix end title by composer Don Davis and the artist known as Juno Reactor.


::''asato ma sad gamaya''<br/>
: So, Hera is wife and sister of Zeus. I think somewhere on the page it says Zeus is the head God of the Colonials. What if Hera is the head God of the Colonials instead? I don't think it's been established that Zeus is the head God for the Colonials. He is all-knowing, true. --[[User:MHall|MHall]] 17:45, 11 October 2007 (CDT)
::''tamaso ma jyotir gamaya''<br/>
::Zarek: Zeus has returned to the Olympus. [Lee looks puzzled.] Adama's back.
::''mrtyor mamrtam gamaya''<br/>
::Good enough for me. --[[User:Catrope|Catrope]]<sup>([[User talk:Catrope|Talk to me]] or [[Special:Emailuser/Catrope|e-mail me]])</sup> 02:16, 12 October 2007 (CDT)
:::And so if Zarek had said, "Artemis has returned to Olympus. Starbuck's back.", then this would mean that Artemis was the head god of the Colonials? There are 12 gods living in Olympus, ya know.
:::Boomer: I think those are the Gates of Hera.
:::Starbuck: You think?
:::Boomer: I'm putting together a lot of pieces from a lot of sources beyond your scriptures. If I'm right, that's the spot where your God supposedly stood and watched Athena throw herself down o­nto the rocks below out of despair over the exodus of the 13 tribes.
:::It's possible that the Colonials were once monotheistic and their God was Hera. And if it's possible, then you can't say their head god is Zeus. Who is the President of the Colonies? Zeus (Adama) or Hera (Roslin)? The Cylon God, as I indicated above, could be Jupiter. --[[User:MHall|MHall]] 02:01, 13 October 2007 (CDT)
::::The connotation here is that, given Adama is the military leader of the Fleet, Adama is the king of the gods, a la Zeus. Also, at the time that Zarek said that comment, Adama was effectively the leader of the Fleet, given that Roslin was basically overthrown due to the martial law decree and her prior arrest.
::::The correlation is clear here, and I don't see it being muddied up unless the writers choose to do so.  Adama is Zeus.
::::Your Artemis/Starbuck example is logically flawed in that Starbuck herself is a Viper pilot, not the leader of the Fleet. So while Artemis would be a god, she would not be the head god. Also, Artemis is the "maiden goddess of the hunt", which describes Starbuck's initial role in the series (i.e. the best Viper pilot in the Fleet).
::::Also, there's nothing to say that the Cylons even follow the same god from the Colonial's pantheon. And most of the evidence given so far mentioned that they follow a completely different God. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [http://www.sanctuarywiki.org Sanctuary Wiki &mdash; ''New'']</sup> 02:28, 13 October 2007 (CDT)
::::As to the Boomer quote "you God" does not necessarily imply "your ''only'' God". It can also (and very likely does) mean "''one of'' your Gods". --[[User:Catrope|Catrope]]<sup>([[User talk:Catrope|Talk to me]] or [[Special:Emailuser/Catrope|e-mail me]])</sup> 06:31, 13 October 2007 (CDT)


:In English:
== Sisters ==


::''From delusion lead me to truth''<br/>
The article says "It is probable that Sisters, like Brothers, are lay clergy." Caprica character [[Clarice Willow]] is called both a "sister" and a "high priestess" in the casting info, so maybe "brother" and "sister" are simply interchangeable with "priest" and "priestess"? [[User:Ausir|Ausir]] 18:26, 7 April 2008 (UTC)
::''From darkness lead me to light''<br/>
:It's possible, but keep in mind that this is a preliminary casting sheet. It's probably based on the current script, but a lot of things changed from the Miniseries script that is public to the aired version. So, we shouldn't conclude too much from one or two words in it. Sure, it might turn out right, but we can still change it then. Personally, I've always thought that brother/sister is used for monks/nuns. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 18:59, 7 April 2008 (UTC)
::''From death lead me to immortality''<br/>
::I'll ask Bradley Thompson at [[BW:OC]]. [[User:Ausir|Ausir]] 19:07, 7 April 2008 (UTC)


:I've watched the Mini-Series countless times now, and used the "Navras" music as some of my workout music. I knew about the sanskit origin, but Eiosha's song was familiar to me and I didn't know why until someone here pointed out that it was a source I already knew. Damn fine soundtracks for both the Mini-Series and "The Matrix" movies, by the way. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 23:50, 13 December 2005 (EST)
Up until recently the use of "priest" was gender-neutral, using Elosha as a first example. If the official cast sheets for episodes use "priestess", that's OK, but I wanted to ensure we're not injecting our own words for established data. I've noted this for the unnamed female priest (assuming she, too was not a sister) in the Unnamed Characters list and the [[Escape Velocity]] article. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 17:04, 28 April 2008 (UTC)


::I actually prefer In My Head, Tetsujin, and You All, Everybody. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 00:53, 14 December 2005 (EST)
== Buddhism in the Twelve Colonies? ==


:::I don't recognize the last one, but yes, the first two are also great tracks. I always visualize Trinity kicking butt and taking names when those two tracks are on. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 10:01, 14 December 2005 (EST)
I was watching "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" and during the shot of the Observation Deck with Billie and Dualla, I noticed a bald man in orange robes in a meditative position. There was also an "ohmm" sound in the background murmur. RDM mentioned his interest in Eastern religions and philosophy and we know that different religious beliefs such as Caprica-monotheists and Mithraists existed and Saggitarrians practiced a different form of the Colonial religion. While I realise that meditation exists in many religions, the posture and style of the bald man strikes me as Buddhistic. Should we mention in the article that Buddhism or practices-in-the-Colonial-Religion-that-resemble-Buddhism existed in the Colonies?
Heres the picture of the Observation Deck picture by the way: [http://media.battlestarwiki.org/images/d/df/GalacticaInterior_ObservationDeck.jpg]
Note: I moved this question from God (RDM) where I accidentally posted to here just in case any of the moderators think it was vandalism. --[[User:Neakal|Neakal]] 19:08, 19 June 2008 (UTC)


::::Oh come on, surely you must know it:  "You all, You all everybody/Acting like such stupid people/wearing expensive clothes/You all, you all, You all, everybody..."--[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 12:38, 14 December 2005 (EST)
== What about Final Five comics? ==


::Yes, I incorporated that into the Language in the Twelve Colonies article. That seems to me to be the more appropriate place. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 04:12, 14 December 2005 (EST)
Hi there.


==Priesthood==
Had anybody thought about adding informations from the Final Five comics into this article? Some think ( as I do) the comics are relevent because one of the author was also an author of BSG (can't remember who).


Spencerian added:
We got basically a confirmation of the existence of higher beings that accept the Lords of Kobol name, even if they don't fancy it much and state that one of them is a rogue one, unable to follow the rules.


:Like denominations on Earth, it is possible that there are varying kinds of priests and customs that share elements of worship of the Lords of Kobol, with some subtle or significant differences. It is probable that, based on their devotion, a Genemon priest (in comparison to one, say, on Caprica) may have a more defined worship or celebration process, or may speak or pay more respects to one or a handful of Lords in preference over others, as Kara Thrace devoted prayer to her specific Lords. The contrast would be akin to the Catholic, Episopal, and Lutheran churches of real-world Earth.
What do you think we should do with it? {{unsigned|Palpat}}


As my fellow contributors know, I frown on plausible but baseless speculation. I don't think this is useful here. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 20:48, 1 November 2005 (EST)
: As of right now, there's absolutely no definitive word on whether or not the ''Final Five'' comic mini-series is actually canon, regardless of [[Seamus Kevin Fahey]]'s involvement. It's nice back story, although there are several irregularities between these books and what's been established in air content (such as Sam Anders being a homeless bum on Earth I). The other aspect that gives the sensible amongst us pause is the word "interpretation" used on the cover of each of the books in this tag-line: "An original interpretation of the story of the Final Five." -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 00:52, 3 September 2009 (UTC)


:Removing. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 03:08, 3 November 2005 (EST)
I indeed re-read carefully discussions about final five comics article and came accross a few recent post relativising the said canonicity I missed back in early summer when I inquired about it. So waiting for the Plan is a good idea too. And I never cared much about the "original interpretation" thing, but it makes sense indeed.


==Zoic==


Where and in what capacity did Zoic "release" those names? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 14:28, 8 December 2005 (EST)
==The Gods are Dead==


:You know this "reference" as well as I, and I would as well like to see the press release or web site reference where Zoic gave us this information. I know this is circular and that the Great Delete Key of the Citation Jihad may be quivering over that item, but I did note its non-canonical nature, but at the same time, considering its an official production company of the show, its also hard to prove them wrong--this information might be in the mysterious [[series bible]] for all we know. Maybe Joe would know old Ernestborg9's resource. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 15:26, 8 December 2005 (EST)
I was reading the newest article on the Caprican and one of the sentences really stood out to me "C-Bucs were defeated by the Leonis Wildcats, 98-96, in a six-minute overtime that lasted approximately two seconds.  The gods are, indeed, dead." Now, whether this is a genuine belief in the twelve colonies or just a turn of phrase or a Colonial version of Freidrich Nietze's famous quote is up to interpretation but considering the belief that the Colonies hold that Athena threw herself off of the ledge of Kobol it might be worth discussing as a valid cannon point.


::Non-canonical is one thing, but uncited and non-canonical is past my limit. I mean, we could just start making random shit up and say that Zoic said it, and really, nobody would be there to catch us. We have to police ourselves on this. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 15:35, 8 December 2005 (EST)
I guess, what I'm asking is has there ever been any more references to more than one Colonial deity being deceased?
[[User:These|These]] 19:21, 21 March 2010 (UTC)


:::If this is the case, we need to delete ALL the battlestar pages or rework them to remove those old Zoic references. I'm OK on this, but we have a lot of work to do. The Zoic thing here has been like the "weird uncle" in the family that you don't talk about or leave the daughters with, but let come to family gatherings anyway. Probably time to purge all references to Zoic's battlestars, maybe moving them to the Zoic page, and deleting the rest. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 16:15, 8 December 2005 (EST)
:No, but Cerberus did say Man has overthrown the Gods. I think it's a Nietchsze thing and/or a reference to secularism and technologism. -- [[User:Noneofyourbusiness|Noneofyourbusiness]] 20:38, 21 March 2010 (UTC)


::::Well, the ''best'' thing to do would be to find the source of the quote, but I haven't had any luck. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 16:22, 8 December 2005 (EST)


==Atlantia==
==Caprica==
How should we handle this reference? The Atlantia and Pacifica were presumably named after the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (in real life). The Atlantic ocean is named for Atlas, not Atlantia, but that's not necessarily implied by anything on-screen (and if it were really named after the ocean, it would probably be Atlantica.) --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 15:00, 8 December 2005 (EST)


:I'd stick to what we know, until we find something better. Atlas was a founder of Atlantis, so we can add this contradicting resource since Pegasus also has differing sources of origin. Greek myth is always full of contradictions anyway. Given that there's no Atlantic Ocean in the Colonies as far as we know, and the Lords tend to be Olympian, not Titan, gods, I'd go for the dryad origin. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 15:26, 8 December 2005 (EST)
In the pilot of Caprica, we see people in the V-club sacrificing people to Hecate, described as the "goddess of the underworld". I think we ought to add Hecate to the list of Lords of Kobol, and add something about Hades being absent. Also, some notes on the monotheistic religion in society should be included. -- [[User:Meshakhad|Meshakhad]] 17:53, March 19 2011
 
:Hades isn't absent. Canceron's capital is named after him and he's mentioned in Serge's Twitter account; Serge clarifies that the Colonials see him as a positive, heroic figure (as opposed to some modern portrayals). -- [[User:Noneofyourbusiness|Noneofyourbusiness]] 01:02, 21 March 2011 (UTC)
==The Jealous God==
Ricimer said: ''Although it is tantalizing to claim that the Cylon God is the rebelious Lord of Kobol, I don't think #6 has ever claimed that they're the same one.''
 
:When Six says to Baltar, "Blasphemous, stupid lies. There have never been any other gods, only the One," it seems to me that she's referring to the one Elosha was just speaking about. You may be right that the inference is too tenuous for the article, though. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:56, 12 December 2005 (EST)
 
::I love this idea as well, very tantalyzing indeed, but perhaps it belongs in an analysis section to be added to the deleted scenes article.  --[[User:MASON|Mason]] 23:21, 12 December 2005 (EST)
 
 
::: You see although I'd ''like'' to equate the two, I don't think we can ''yet'';  it's more for an "Analysis" section.  It seems to me that Number Six in that scene was talking about ALL of the Gods that Elosha was talking about, the Jealous God AND the other 11 ''collectively''.  It's not clear enough of a statement.  I'm kind of secretly hoping that the cylons were taught the advanced technology needed to make humanoid Cylons from the Count Iblis equivalent of this series, which turns out to be the jealous Lord of Kobol; however, as Ron D. Moore has pointed out, that would kind of "gut" the religion of the Cylons:  the Cylons are sentient beings in their own right, and all sentient beings have a claim to a soul and a concept of god once they're intelligent enough to grasp such concepts, and turning around and saying "well the whole idea of Cylons having a religion and thinking they have their own souls?  Turns out they got duped by a god-like alien, which, although very powerful, ain't really a god, just more like Q from Star Trek or something", saying that would somehow seem to unfairly lessen the Cylons in my opinion.  Maybe they can work the two concepts together tactfully (Cylons developed a concept of God BEFORE meeting Count Iblis, and Iblis is claiming to be the "real Cylon god"? , etc.).  I don't know.  But we don't have a lot to go on. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 01:43, 13 December 2005 (EST)
 
:::: I agree with almost everything you've written, and although I like to speculate that ideas, like Iblis, will be tied back into RDM's Cylon religion, I appreciate that this speculation can only exist in a limited form on the wiki. I don't entirely agree with you on the idea that the Cylons religious credibility would be compromised by a manifested God, for this cyclical pattern working itself out in the show reminds me very much of Isaac Asimov's [http://mit.edu/tylerc/www/twt/LQ1.htm The Last Question], which was satisfying in its vast simplicity.
 
I like to add a little bit, not to sound pompous but there can be some connection from the Cylon god and the Jealous god. The Jealous God started the war because he wanted to be placed above the other ones, starting the so called "War of the Gods." So he is thrown out and loses, so he wanders around and finds the Cylons. Maybe he inspires them to rebel and they do. He sets himself up as their god, and it is concurrent with what the Cylons think of the Colonial Gods; i.e. the other gods are fake, their one god is the true god. The Jealous God wishes to be placed above the others, and ends up finding a lost race, the Cylons and takes them as his own.
 
I mean, he may have set himself up as this seemingly beneficial, but ultimately devious figure. It may possibly be a correlation to Count Iblis. --[[User:Volostheguardian|Volostheguardian]] 14:09, 6 August 2006 (CDT)
 
RDM said there wouldn't be a Count Iblis on the Re-Imagined Series, and that the Cylons aren't "well we're Machines that got fooled into thinking we had souls by a higher being"; the Cylons have as much claim to their religion being "real" as the humans do. --[[User:The Merovingian|The Merovingian]] <sup>([[Special:Contributions/The Merovingian|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/The Merovingian|E]])</sup> 15:06, 6 August 2006 (CDT)
 
== Religious Issue ==
 
the Lords of Kobol are a part of a fictional story. the Greek Olympians are worshipped both by people in ancient times and by living people. the religion is not "shared", rather the Lords are based upon the real-world religion. i realize that this may seem a minor issue to some of you, but it is a significant semantic assumption to make that the Lords are the same as the Olympians. [[User:Whateley23|Whateley23]] 01:46, 16 January 2006 (EST)
 
:Indeed, it does seem like a minor issue. There is nothing wrong with the current phrasing in my opinion, and I will not change it. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 02:09, 16 January 2006 (EST)
 
:: I think that the assumption is not that both are fictional, but that the story will tell us they are of the same origin (also implying that the story is not fictional, though it clearly is). ''Within the fictional universe of Ronald D. Moorse's'' Battlestar Galactica, The Lords of Kobol and the Greek Olympians are/were the same thing. We also state that Vipers can do such and such and that ''Galactica'' has certain armaments, but we don't make any caveats about the fact that the nukes in the show are actually ''fictional'' nukes for fear of offending nuclear scientists currently working on related technologies. Everything except the articles on actors and other clearly-real things, should be taken as if it were prefaced by the italics above: We know the show's not real, so don't let our comments about it reflect on reality. --[[User:Day|Day]] 15:08, 16 January 2006 (EST)
 
== Religious Parallels ==
Should we maybe move the parallels between Colonial religion and real world faiths to an independent article?  We don't really have a systematic way to present Colonial religion and the parallels exacerbate this problems by further broadening the articles only makes this article harder to understand.--[[User:Spidersense215|Spidersense215]] 14:06, 21 September 2006 (CDT)
:Which ones? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 14:17, 21 September 2006 (CDT)
 
== Lords of Kobol ==
Does the existance of the Mercury class Battlestars imply that Hermes/Mercury is a Lord of Kobol? --[[User:PrePressChris|PrePressChris]] 15:15, 18 October 2006 (CDT)+

Latest revision as of 01:02, 21 March 2011

Lords of Kobol[edit]

Does the existance of the Mercury class Battlestars imply that Hermes/Mercury is a Lord of Kobol? --PrePressChris 15:15, 18 October 2006 (CDT)+

The writers of the show are dancing about in the usage of Greek and Roman mythological names. Since Hermes hasn't been mentioned specifically as a Lord, no, we can't add it. I'm not big on mixing the pantheons until the context of the names in the show are clear. We have a list of names (Greek, mostly) of names heard of ships or used as people, but until used in in the context as a Lord, we shouldn't assume that the name is actually that of a Lord. --Spencerian 15:20, 18 October 2006 (CDT)
That makes sense. It occured to me after I wrote the above that the name could refer to quicksilver, which would make sense if the Mercury class was faster than earlier ones. That would also tidy up the roman nomenclature.
Where is the list of names you mentioned? --PrePressChris 15:30, 18 October 2006 (CDT)
See the section, "Other mythological names in Colonial culture," this article. --Spencerian 17:28, 18 October 2006 (CDT)
LMAO. I was searching all over this site. It didn't occur to me that it'd be in the same article I was commenting on. --PrePressChris 20:47, 18 October 2006 (CDT)

The article mentions that seven lords have been identified. Anyone notice this is the same as the number of identified cylons? It could be that each cylon model represents a lord (i.e. Sharon - Athena, Six (or maybe three) - Hera). The 5 unidentified cylons match 5 unidentified lords match the 5 in the temple of five. On a related note: how about the (norse) idea of an allfather - the Cylons recognize the allfather, but none of the lower "gods" (including the Lords of Kobol). I suppose this would be an alternate theory to the Jealous God being the god of cylons. --Ublej 17:29, 4 January 2007 (CST)

The Colonials have Zeus as the boss of all other gods. --Serenity 17:32, 4 January 2007 (CST)

More Cowbell[edit]

Actually, more images, please. Great text content, but a couple of more images applied evenly would really brighten things up. --Steelviper 15:04, 8 December 2006 (CST)

Ooh. And there are some XHTML problems. I'll get on those. --Steelviper 15:25, 8 December 2006 (CST)

Out-of-Universe Referencing and Revision[edit]

I get very confused with voice when reading this article, where we speak of the Colonials and compare it to real-world references. I wanted to keep these important notes in but not to the point where we had to discuss every detail or explanation. With that in mind, I got bold:

  • The two articles that go overboard in discussing the Greek Gods and Greek Mythology are deleted, per Battlestar Wiki policy: We aren't a general encyclopedia, so Wikipedia links to more extensive articles should do for this. Both articles have been discussed of late as being redundant or just plain nongermane.
  • This article's out-of-universe notes were moved as footnotes. This simplifies the read but keeps the voice of the article in discussing the Colonials, not the Colonials-vs.-Greek-vs.-Norse. Note that the terms "Greek", Norse, and the like are also removed or pulled; these don't exist in the series and it makes it confusing to make the comparison. The name of the gods usually explain it all but the important points are now footnotes.

I'm finding that reading articles that analyze the Colonials and Cylons take too much from the real-world to form their explanations when in-universe comments work well without overly drawn out comparisons. Comments? --Spencerian 23:28, 12 January 2007 (CST)

While I support the idea, I think it's possible to take it too far. If we take your approach to the extreme, it's impossible to have any real-world references in articles, which happens fairly often and is simply necessary in some cases. I think that this is more important:
That the main voice of an article is "in-universe". Meaning no general real-world articles, but "in-universe" articles can contain a few real-world references if necessary.
Case in point my new Mythological references page, which generally goes like "<ship/place name> - <significance in the show> <real world reference>". I didn't go out of my way to hide the Greek/Roman/Norse allusions in "in-universe" explinations, like saying that Greek mythology is really Colonial mythology in the context of the show (it probably is in fact, but that's more something for this article).
However, in this article here, it's appropriate to only detail the religious stuff as it pertains to the Colonials, and not to the real world. So we could keep the "Mythological references" article seperate, delete the references here (which I copied anyways) and link to it from here, as a place that deals with mythology that goes beyond religion and also includes more real-life explinations and links. That would help to keep the POVs seperate --Serenity 07:56, 13 January 2007 (CST)
I concur. Whereever we can keep the in-universe voice, great. Where out-of-universe comparisons must be in line with the text to keep the article germane and sensible, it's also fine. The recent articles you built/rebuilt exemplify good uses of that practice. --Spencerian 14:06, 30 January 2007 (CST)

Concerning religion of the cylons and the colonies[edit]

Keeping Ron Moore's twists and turns from the original series I would like to suggest that the Lords of Kobol and the "jealous" god, are for all intensive purposes the Cylons. They are modeled after and therefore more directly linked to the deities say than Adama is "being Zeus" among the humans. So much so that specific units have become avatars, perhaps posessed of a lord or at the very least evolving an actual soul in likeness of a lord.

12 cylons = 12 olympians Final Five - Temple of Five

The mystery of the final five hints to them being something other that the existing models. Perhaps these five could not be replicated like the others because of their conflict with the cylon god.

Clearly a more human "being" is developing in Deana in her search for enlightenment, in Caprica in her search for Love and in Sharon in her self acceptance. With Deanna the search for enlightenment became so overpweing the entire line was boxed. With Sharon it's almost as if the humanity Boomer clung to has moved to Agathon. Boomer is not the woman that would not leave her human apartment after resurrecting, but both have in their own fashion esentially accepted who they are. Caprica appears in a constant state of conflict that many humans will relate to, while her etherial counterpart is the self assured herald of her cylon maker.

For all the pagan references in the original series we still had Count Iblis and the ship of lights taking on very familliar christan concepts of angels and satan. Nothing is ever quite that black and white in the reimagined series.

While the reference has been fleeting, the notion of a god outside the Lords of Kobol is clear, and he would be the cylons god. Dodona Selloi seems to refer to the cylon god as nothing more or less than a lord of kobol. My thought is that somehow this jealous god has sort of ensnared the likeness perhaps even conciousness of the lords in creating the cylon race, so closely that single copies become avatars of the lords. The final five could be so possesed that they are not part of the cylon race, refusing the mechanations of the cylon god. Others an avatar is what we see developing in Sharon, Deanna and Caprica.

And even the cylon god, the Count Iblis whose voice was that of the imperious leader in the original series has a model: Brother Cavel. Cavel is horribly wicked, he is always urging his fellow cylons to the most horrific of actions. He appears out of nowhwere all the time. And yet, strangely, he seems to honor the importance of free will in his dealings with his brother cylons, something you would expect of an Abrahamic god. He's not Satan then who would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven, he is just far more satanic or evil than any characterization offered by a member of a known pantheon of gods.

Yet another twist, If the Abrahmic god were competing with beings like himself (greek gods), how satanic might he appear? An abrahamic god accepts free will: I can't make you worship me. But is flawed like miltons Satan, if you don't worship me , your damned. Satan's flaw in paradise lost was saying better to rule in hell than serve in heaven. What he should have said was better to live free on earth not rule in hell. So Cavel is a marvelous blend of an Abrahamic God & Satan floating through space in a base ship with 7 of 12 would be Olympians. Caprica/ Aphrodite, Sharon Athena and Deanna/Hestia(?). Starbuck/Artemis is the next to come forward?

Adama and Laura as Zeus and Hera? Two reason for two of the final five to stay where they are. They have human avatars leading the fleet. Three male cylons just go with the flow, well the male gods were always kind of boring anyway. At least if your a fan of Wonder Woman.

The twist from original series to re-imagined series are always surprising and wonderful in many ways. In the world of Sci Fi televison, the original Galactica made huge advances by considering the existence of higher beings. Where would the Ancients of Stargate or the Vorlons of Babylon be without Battlestar Galactica? Will we see actual communion with higher beings in the re-imagined series? I don't expect to. It would gnaw at the the gritty realism of the show.

The idea of this entire exodus from the colonies seeking earth, unifying to a new Kobol, then breaking off back to earth and the colonies over and over seems entirely plausible. Gods are at the very least real in a metaphoirical sense and 12 cylon models living in peace with a vast race of humans on new a Kobol in the end sounds far more believeable than actual gods and godesses co-existing with man. (mevenstar)

I think a more likely explanation is that whoever designed the humanoid cylons chose to use the lords as an inspiration or possibly the design was intended to mock the 12 lords and thus humanity itself. They chose 12 archetypes to define humanity saying basically all of you have one of these 12 personality types and that's it. I don't think the lords are using the cylons as avatars. Sounds too mystical. I also don't think time travel is involved and that somehow the cylons will one day go back into the past and become the lords.
I don't really have a theory on exactly what the lords of kobol are but I do think the cylon god is a rogue lord of kobol. I also think the 13th tribe worshipped this rogue lord first. The 13th tribe left kobol because the other 12 pagan tribes were sacrifing humans and indulging in cannibalism. They first found the algae planet and built the temple of five which was dedicated to the five priests who worshipped the one whose name cannot be mentioned. This one whose name cannot be mentioned is almost certainly a rogue lord of kobol. If the priests were worshipping this one god this tells me the entire 13th tribe had the one god.
Throughout the series we have seen the cylons talk about revelations from god and talk of his commandments. What is the source for this divine inspiration? I suspect the 12 colonies like we in the real world had scholars who studied ancient religions in the real world. They had reference books, academic papers, unearthed archeological artifacts and various other things that set out to paint a picture of what the 13th tribe was like. This information about the 13th tribe and their worship of the one god was known to the mechanical cylons before work on the humanoid models began and became the foundation of the cylon religion.
The cylons have (more or less) adopted the religion of the 13th tribe. The commandments they speak of are what God demanded of the 13th tribe (an example god commands them to procreate). The humanoid models may not even be entirely aware that their religion mirrors the 13th tribe's ancient religion. This desire to find earth is also part of this borrowed (and possibly distorted) religion. The cylons want to find earth because according to their religion earth is the promised land...and it probably was...for the 13th colony. Meteor 12:06, 30 January 2007.


Lords of Kobol vs other gods[edit]

I don't think it's sensible to assume that every god or goddess mentioned is a Lord of Kobol. Case in point Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn. The Greeks didn't just have the Twelve Olympians (after whom the Lords seem to directly modeled after), but also minor deities. No reason the Colonials shouldn't as well. Another example is Nike, who is mentioned - even if not by name - in "Torn". She hang around with Zeus, and is often portrayed together with Athena, but is not a real Olympian.
I suggest we have another header called "Other gods" or "Other deities" for those, with maybe a footnote stating that their status is uncertain. --Serenity 10:08, 18 April 2007 (CDT)

I've generally felt that any god mentioned in the context of worship was a Lord of Kobol--the Colonials are very monotheistic. However, since we don't have clearer contexts for some, such as names used in Temple or something, it may be safe not to read too much into them. Some could be counterparts to saints for all we know. I agree that the Olympian/Titan arguments are meaningless here since Roman versions and other religions get mixed about. I generally agree with your comments. --Spencerian 11:39, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
The Colonials use Greek and Roman names interchangeably, but that doesn't have anything to do with the Olympian/Lords of Kobol parallel. I just have a feeling that that are just twelve Lords of Kobol who are direct parallel to the ancient Olympians. However, there have been a lot of mentions of other mythological figures and gods, especially in the ship names. Or usually when asked about believes it's more "Do you believe in the gods?" instead of "Do you believe in the Lords of Kobol". There is no definite statement that "gods" refers to the Lords of Kobol exclusively, even if they are clearly the main gods. Could go either way. --Serenity 12:06, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
They're certainly polytheistic, not monotheistc, please read the definitions carefully. --Catrope(Talk to me or e-mail me) 12:07, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
I meant "poly" and mistyped. Thanks. The notion that there are twelve Lords of Kobol is a TOS misconception that seems to have moved to RDM; I don't know of a citation for that. It's a lot easier to say "gods" than "Lords of Kobol", of course. While there could be other monothesistic or polythestic faiths with the Colonials, only one "sect" or denomination has been established officially: the five priests of the Temple of Five. Must be significant: they got a temple out of it in the middle of nowhere. -- Spencerian 12:13, 18 April 2007 (CDT) (Talk - Contribs - WonderNumbers)
I get what you're saying, but I noticed a tendency here lately to push one kind of agenda, when there isn't much concrete evidence to pursue another equally valid interpretation. Obviously something needs to be written, but lack of concrete evidence for point A doesn't prove point B. There is no evidence for there being more than 12 Lords of Kobol either, though Occam's Razor would probably come to that conclusion then. But there are theories that the Lords were originally human leaders of the tribes who were deified later (even before the exodus from Kobol). It's speculation, but agrees with the quotes from the scriptures...As said, it could be either way.
However, this has nothing to do with different faiths. Nothing prevents a worshiper of the Lord of Kobol to also recognize or worship certain either deities. The ancient Greeks didn't only worship the Olympians for example. Exclusive worship is somewhat of a monotheistic concept. --Serenity 12:36, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
I don't think we even know if all the named Olympians are Lords of Kobol. Maybe "Lords of Kobol" is synonymous with "the gods", maybe it refers exclusively to the Olympian Dodekatheon, maybe it includes the Dodekatheon and the One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken, maybe it only includes a few of the Olympians. -- Gordon Ecker 18:35, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
My point is that we haven't been explicitly told of any other faiths, which differs from the number of gods. A single god can be worshipped differently based on many different faith structures, such as the Jews and Christians do. We haven't been given any data that suggests that their are other central faith structures other than the Lords of Kobol and God (with the five priests' diety being a possible exception). There are obviously different "denominations", for lack of a better term (Gemonese and Sagittarons do this), but I don't tend to interpret matters any further. Be it 10 or 10,000 Lords, they may fall under the same central faith structure. We don't know, so I don't try to interpret it much, but just drop it in the place that best fits. --Spencerian 18:47, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
Agreed. There is only evidence of one religion practiced in the twelve colonies, with various sects, denominations and personal interpretations, however it seems to be, for the most part, relatively uniform. There are two possible exceptions, however both of them may be particularly divergent sects / denominations of the colonial religion. -- Gordon Ecker 19:28, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
I disagree with the assumption that Aurora is a Lord of Kobol. She may be a god, but that doesn't make her a Lord of Kobol. I don't think anyone familiar with Greek mythology would think she fits with Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis, Apollo, Athena, etc.
I disagree with the assumption that Jupiter is just another name for Zeus and Mars is just another name for Ares. This has not been demonstrated on the show. However, I do realize that I'm the only one who thinks this way and that no one can grasp that they might be slightly different entities, like one a clone of the other. What if Jupiter is the Cylon God, while Zeus is a Colonial god. Think of the sacrilege your Wiki page is committing then!!! Remember only a Cylon has ever mentioned the god Jupiter. The Sacred Scrolls have (thus far) never mentioned this god - only Zeus, Hera, and the One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken, whom I think is Jupiter. The temple of Five is for the One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken, and the Sacred Scrolls tell us that the Eye of Jupiter is in the Temple of Five. Do the math. --MHall 17:45, 11 October 2007 (CDT)
I think that, in the specific case of Zeus/Jupiter, RDM or one of TPTB mentioned that the name had to be changed from Zeus (which it originally was) because of some sort of copyright reason or something like that. I think it's either on a podcast or an interview, but I'm sure I heard it. I'll look it up. --Sauron18 19:29, 11 October 2007 (CDT)
Okay, I looked and found one in the "Eye of Jupiter" podcast [1]. I dunno if it's the one I remember, but either way the reasoning is different from what I thought, but the fact remains that Jupiter and Zeus are the same being-
"Eye of Jupiter" was originally called "Eye of Zeus" for a very long time in draft form and into script. We changed the name, ultimately, for not very deep reasons. Just that there was something about "Eye of Zeus" that seemed a bit too mystical and a little bit too over-the-top, even for us. And that's saying somethin'. But we didn't want to- the story still was what the story was, and we didn't really wanna lose that aspect of what the episode was and the slide to call it Jupiter instead of Zeus was an arbitrary one, except it, somehow, for subjective reasons that are hard to explain, it sounded a little less hokey. Some could argue it's more hokey, but it was also a nice way to broaden the pantheon, as it were, ha ha ha, of the gods and their references in the Galactica universe and the mythos, in that Zeus being the Greek name for the father of the gods, and Jupiter being the later Roman version of the same idea. And it was nice to have both names- both proper names present in the Galactica world. I believe we've used other Roman names, from time to time, as well, although of course right off the top of my head I can't remember which ones they were, but I think we have established that.
So yeah....same being. --Sauron18 19:40, 11 October 2007 (CDT)
I'm familiar with the podcast, as well as the other source Sauron18 mentioned. What is there is not one Zeus running around, but two generations of Zeus running around? Then your page is screwed, because RDM decided, for somewhat arbitrary reasons, to call the older Zeus "Zeus" and the younger Zeus "Jupiter," and they are not the same individual, not even necessarily on the same "side." I'm content to lodge the protest and wait for the show to possibly prove your "canon" false. Yes, it could be that the page is correct - but it could be that the page is committing blasphemy in both the Cylon and Colonial religions, which would be an unpardonable sin, times two. This is my last comment on this. --MHall 02:15, 13 October 2007 (CDT)

About Hera[edit]

I've recently gone through several Lord of Kobol articles and removed the Greek mythological references since this information isn't needed here (we're not a general encyclopedia) and because the Earth information doesn't always mesh with the series information. Right now, there's enough references for each Lord to stand on their own without out-of-universe comparisons.

One note about Hera. In our mythology she is the wife AND sister of Zeus (gross as that might be to some). I was about to revert Mudflap's recent deletion of the "sister" part when I realized after checking that the show has NOT noted this element of Hera in its own mythology. So, that stands for now. As I said, there is sufficient mythology generated by the show itself now to avoid adding much from our universe to theirs. --Spencerian 08:15, 22 May 2007 (CDT)

Selloi: I have a message for you from the o­ne you worship. He speaks through me to you just as he speaks in your dreams. The message is... the fruit born of two peoples [Three's smile fades.] is alive. A child named after the wife and sister of the all-knowing Zeus. Hera lives.
So, Hera is wife and sister of Zeus. I think somewhere on the page it says Zeus is the head God of the Colonials. What if Hera is the head God of the Colonials instead? I don't think it's been established that Zeus is the head God for the Colonials. He is all-knowing, true. --MHall 17:45, 11 October 2007 (CDT)
Zarek: Zeus has returned to the Olympus. [Lee looks puzzled.] Adama's back.
Good enough for me. --Catrope(Talk to me or e-mail me) 02:16, 12 October 2007 (CDT)
And so if Zarek had said, "Artemis has returned to Olympus. Starbuck's back.", then this would mean that Artemis was the head god of the Colonials? There are 12 gods living in Olympus, ya know.
Boomer: I think those are the Gates of Hera.
Starbuck: You think?
Boomer: I'm putting together a lot of pieces from a lot of sources beyond your scriptures. If I'm right, that's the spot where your God supposedly stood and watched Athena throw herself down o­nto the rocks below out of despair over the exodus of the 13 tribes.
It's possible that the Colonials were once monotheistic and their God was Hera. And if it's possible, then you can't say their head god is Zeus. Who is the President of the Colonies? Zeus (Adama) or Hera (Roslin)? The Cylon God, as I indicated above, could be Jupiter. --MHall 02:01, 13 October 2007 (CDT)
The connotation here is that, given Adama is the military leader of the Fleet, Adama is the king of the gods, a la Zeus. Also, at the time that Zarek said that comment, Adama was effectively the leader of the Fleet, given that Roslin was basically overthrown due to the martial law decree and her prior arrest.
The correlation is clear here, and I don't see it being muddied up unless the writers choose to do so. Adama is Zeus.
Your Artemis/Starbuck example is logically flawed in that Starbuck herself is a Viper pilot, not the leader of the Fleet. So while Artemis would be a god, she would not be the head god. Also, Artemis is the "maiden goddess of the hunt", which describes Starbuck's initial role in the series (i.e. the best Viper pilot in the Fleet).
Also, there's nothing to say that the Cylons even follow the same god from the Colonial's pantheon. And most of the evidence given so far mentioned that they follow a completely different God. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Sanctuary Wiki — New 02:28, 13 October 2007 (CDT)
As to the Boomer quote "you God" does not necessarily imply "your only God". It can also (and very likely does) mean "one of your Gods". --Catrope(Talk to me or e-mail me) 06:31, 13 October 2007 (CDT)

Sisters[edit]

The article says "It is probable that Sisters, like Brothers, are lay clergy." Caprica character Clarice Willow is called both a "sister" and a "high priestess" in the casting info, so maybe "brother" and "sister" are simply interchangeable with "priest" and "priestess"? Ausir 18:26, 7 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

It's possible, but keep in mind that this is a preliminary casting sheet. It's probably based on the current script, but a lot of things changed from the Miniseries script that is public to the aired version. So, we shouldn't conclude too much from one or two words in it. Sure, it might turn out right, but we can still change it then. Personally, I've always thought that brother/sister is used for monks/nuns. -- Serenity 18:59, 7 April 2008 (UTC)Reply
I'll ask Bradley Thompson at BW:OC. Ausir 19:07, 7 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Up until recently the use of "priest" was gender-neutral, using Elosha as a first example. If the official cast sheets for episodes use "priestess", that's OK, but I wanted to ensure we're not injecting our own words for established data. I've noted this for the unnamed female priest (assuming she, too was not a sister) in the Unnamed Characters list and the Escape Velocity article. --Spencerian 17:04, 28 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Buddhism in the Twelve Colonies?[edit]

I was watching "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" and during the shot of the Observation Deck with Billie and Dualla, I noticed a bald man in orange robes in a meditative position. There was also an "ohmm" sound in the background murmur. RDM mentioned his interest in Eastern religions and philosophy and we know that different religious beliefs such as Caprica-monotheists and Mithraists existed and Saggitarrians practiced a different form of the Colonial religion. While I realise that meditation exists in many religions, the posture and style of the bald man strikes me as Buddhistic. Should we mention in the article that Buddhism or practices-in-the-Colonial-Religion-that-resemble-Buddhism existed in the Colonies? Heres the picture of the Observation Deck picture by the way: [2] Note: I moved this question from God (RDM) where I accidentally posted to here just in case any of the moderators think it was vandalism. --Neakal 19:08, 19 June 2008 (UTC)Reply

What about Final Five comics?[edit]

Hi there.

Had anybody thought about adding informations from the Final Five comics into this article? Some think ( as I do) the comics are relevent because one of the author was also an author of BSG (can't remember who).

We got basically a confirmation of the existence of higher beings that accept the Lords of Kobol name, even if they don't fancy it much and state that one of them is a rogue one, unable to follow the rules.

What do you think we should do with it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Palpat (talk • contribs).

As of right now, there's absolutely no definitive word on whether or not the Final Five comic mini-series is actually canon, regardless of Seamus Kevin Fahey's involvement. It's nice back story, although there are several irregularities between these books and what's been established in air content (such as Sam Anders being a homeless bum on Earth I). The other aspect that gives the sensible amongst us pause is the word "interpretation" used on the cover of each of the books in this tag-line: "An original interpretation of the story of the Final Five." -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 00:52, 3 September 2009 (UTC)Reply

I indeed re-read carefully discussions about final five comics article and came accross a few recent post relativising the said canonicity I missed back in early summer when I inquired about it. So waiting for the Plan is a good idea too. And I never cared much about the "original interpretation" thing, but it makes sense indeed.


The Gods are Dead[edit]

I was reading the newest article on the Caprican and one of the sentences really stood out to me "C-Bucs were defeated by the Leonis Wildcats, 98-96, in a six-minute overtime that lasted approximately two seconds. The gods are, indeed, dead." Now, whether this is a genuine belief in the twelve colonies or just a turn of phrase or a Colonial version of Freidrich Nietze's famous quote is up to interpretation but considering the belief that the Colonies hold that Athena threw herself off of the ledge of Kobol it might be worth discussing as a valid cannon point.

I guess, what I'm asking is has there ever been any more references to more than one Colonial deity being deceased? These 19:21, 21 March 2010 (UTC)Reply

No, but Cerberus did say Man has overthrown the Gods. I think it's a Nietchsze thing and/or a reference to secularism and technologism. -- Noneofyourbusiness 20:38, 21 March 2010 (UTC)Reply


Caprica[edit]

In the pilot of Caprica, we see people in the V-club sacrificing people to Hecate, described as the "goddess of the underworld". I think we ought to add Hecate to the list of Lords of Kobol, and add something about Hades being absent. Also, some notes on the monotheistic religion in society should be included. -- Meshakhad 17:53, March 19 2011

Hades isn't absent. Canceron's capital is named after him and he's mentioned in Serge's Twitter account; Serge clarifies that the Colonials see him as a positive, heroic figure (as opposed to some modern portrayals). -- Noneofyourbusiness 01:02, 21 March 2011 (UTC)Reply