Religion in the Twelve Colonies (RDM)

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There are too many to bother wasting our time listing. So here's a list of pages that link here. The religion of the Twelve Colonies, which the various characters of Battlestar Galactica practice to greater or lesser extent, is a polytheistic faith shared with real-life Greek mythology, with a strong emphasis on the philosophy of eternal return.

Origin

There is substantial circumstantial evidence that people of Kobol originated on Earth, and it is also known that one of the thirteen tribes later returned there. The similarity in beliefs of the Colonials and the ancient Greeks is probably not coincidental, although it is not yet clear which gave rise to the other. See History of the Twelve Colonies and Sacred Scrolls for a more detailed analysis.

Belief

The Lords of Kobol

Colonial religion is centered on the Lords of Kobol, analogous to the Greek Gods. So far within the series, a total of six Lords of Kobol have been explicitly identified:

• Zeus - The father of the gods. Tom Zarek has twice referred to Commander Adama as "Zeus" (Bastille Day, The Farm).
• Apollo - His son, said to be the god of the hunt and of healing (Bastille Day).
• Artemis - (Flesh and Bone)
• Aphrodite - (Flesh and Bone)
• Athena - Comitted suicide "out of despair over the Exodus of the thirteen tribes" (Home, Part II). Her tomb holds a map to Earth. (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I)
• Hera - (Home, Part II)

According to the Sacred Scrolls, the gods once shared a paradise-like existence with the people of Kobol. Later circumstances forced the exodus of the human population of Kobol to the Twelve Colonies and Earth, and lead to Athena's suicide. See History of the Twelve Colonies for more.

The existence of the Lords of Kobol is attested to by the survival of numerous artifacts, including the Arrow of Apollo, the Tomb of Athena and the Gates of Hera. However, although she accepts their historicity, Sharon Valerii, a Cylon, has called their divinity into question.

There is a notion in fan circles that there are twelve lords of Kobol, by analogy to the twelve Cylon models and twelve Colonies, and perhaps the Twelve Olympians of greek mythology. A post in RDM's blog loosely addresses this.

Q: "Twelve cylon models and twelve Olympian gods seems too much of coincidence to me. Is there any connection? "

RDM: And Twelve Colonies. Coincidence....?" (RDM, March 12, 2005)

The Jealous God

In a scene cut from the episode "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I", Elosha states that the exodus from Kobol was precipitated when "one jealous god began to desire that he be elevated above all the other gods, and the war on Kobol began."

Other Mythological Names in Colonial Culture

Various items have been identified which are apparently named after other gods and legendary figures, although these have not been explicitly identified as Lords of Kobol.

• Triton - (Mini-Series) - The namesake of a battlestar lost in the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
• Atlantia - (Mini-Series) - The name of a hamadryad, a form of nymph in Greek mythology. Apparently the namesake of another battlestar lost in the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
• Pegasus - A legendary horse and namesake of Admiral Helena Cain's Mercury class battlestar.
• Zephyr - (Fragged) - A ship in the Fleet is named after this god.
• Mercury - The lead ship of the Mercury class, apparently named for the Roman version of the Greek god Hermes.

The Cycle of Time

"All this has happened before, and all this will happen again."

According to Gaius Baltar, this line from the Pythian Prophecy is very well known (The Hand of God). Laura Roslin later expands on it, reminding Kara Thrace,

"If you believe in the gods, then you believe in the cycle of time that we are all playing our parts in a story that is told again, and again, and again throughout eternity" (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I).

The notion of a circular progression of time (also known as eternal return or eternal recurrence) is foreign to the ancient Greek religion in which the Lords of Kobol have counterparts. However, it is a common theme in other faiths, particularly Mayan mythology. Various events throughout the series have led some characters to believe that they are playing out another turn of this cycle. See Sacred Scrolls for more detailed analysis.

Individual Practice

The Colonials display a wide spectrum of religious practice, ranging from Billy Keikeya's atheism (Home, Part II, cut scene) to Corporal Venner's literalist readings of the Sacred Scrolls. Colonials express their faith in a number of ways.

Idols

At the end of the episode "Flesh and Bone", Kara Thrace, a devotee of Artemis and Aphrodite (as stated by Leoben Conoy in the same episode), prays to them on Conoy's behalf using figurines that bear a similarity to classic representations of Artemis and Athena. Artemis is depicted with her bow and arrow, and Athena with her helmet of war.

Rosaries

When Roslin begins to suffer from Chamalla withdrawl in "Fragged", Corporal Venner, a fundamentalist from Gemenon, anxiously clutches a set of white prayer beads.

Group prayer

Some prisoners on the Astral Queen seeking rehabilitation have turned to group prayer. In the episode "The Farm", they greet Laura Roslin as a prophet and she provides them with a blessing.

Artifacts

Despite Gemenon's fundamentalist climate, the city of Delphi on Caprica was apparently of a mind to store an important religious artifact, the Arrow of Apollo, in a museum, rather than a devotional institution.

The Priesthood

The separation of church and state is less rigorous in the Colonies than in the contemporary United States. Laura Roslin is sworn into the presidency by a priest, Elosha, who continues on in an advisory capacity within Roslin's administration. Priests also preside over military funerals, without regard for the beliefs of the deceased. That this is a matter of course is perhaps indicative of the religious homogeneity of the Colonies.

Priests in the Twelve Colonies are apparently not required to practice celibacy, as in some Christian denominations. In the episode "Resistance", Chief Galen Tyrol states that his father was a priest and his mother an oracle.

According to Billy Keikeya, some priests use the Chamalla plant for its hallucinogenic properties. The prescient dreams it imparted to Laura Roslin may imply the use of something similar by Pythia, an ancient prophet.

Galactica 1980 definition: When John Steadman asks if the Warriors know anything about these creatures, Dillon looks this up ^{(1980: "Space Croppers")}