Religion in the Twelve Colonies (RDM)

This article discusses the religion of the Colonies as seen in the Re-imagined Series. For summary information on the Kobollian religion from the Original Series, see Kobollian Faith.

Part of the series on The Twelve Colonies of Kobol (Re-imagined Series)

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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 from the planet Earth, and it is also known that one of the thirteen tribes later returned there. The similarity in beliefs of the Colonials and ancient real-world Earth Greco/Roman mythology 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.

In the burial scene of the Miniseries, Adama states "Life here began out there," reminding the assembly that this was the first line of the Sacred Scrolls, told to them by the Lords Of Kobol uncounted centuries ago.

Belief

The Lords of Kobol

Colonial religion is centered on the Lords of Kobol, analogous to the Greek Gods. In the Re-imagined Series, seven Lords of Kobol have been positively identified:

• Zeus - The leader of the gods. Tom Zarek has twice referred to Commander Adama as "Zeus" (Bastille Day, The Farm).
• Apollo - Zeus' son, said to be the god of the hunt and of healing (Bastille Day).
• Ares - The god of war. The infant son of Cally and Galen Tyrol is dedicated to this Lord of Kobol (The Resistance, Episode 10).
• Artemis - Twin sister of Apollo, goddess of the hunt. Kara Thrace prays often to this lord (Flesh and Bone) (Flesh and Bone)
• Aphrodite - The goddess of love and sexuality. Kara Thrace prays often to this lord (Flesh and Bone)
• Athena - This lord committed 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 - Wife and sister of Zeus. A mountain ridge on Kobol is named after her (Home, Part II), and the first Cylon/human hybrid child is named for this lord (Downloaded)

Curiously, Laura Roslin mentions that the 134th day of the Cylon occupation of New Caprica was Mars Day (Occupation), suggesting that Ares may also be called by his alternate Roman pantheon's name.

Paradise Lost

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.

The Jealous God

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."

The Path of Olympus

Tom Zarek conveys to Laura Roslin and members of her command staff of factioners the news that Commander William Adama had resumed command of Galactica after the attempt on his life by saying: "Zeus has returned to Olympus " (The Farm).

In Greek mythology, the home of the gods on Earth resided high atop Greece's highest mountain, Mount Olympus, at a time where access to the mountain summit would be almost impossible with the inhabitants' technology of that age. By Zarek's comment we can infer that Colonial religion appears to acknowledge the existence of a place called Olympus. It cannot yet be determined, however, if Olympus was thought of as the residence of the gods at a specific physical or metaphysical location of Kobol, as there has been no mention of Olympus elsewhere in the series. If Olympus is a metaphysical locale, this may contradict Elosha's comment that the gods and man lived on Kobol together in harmony.

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 - (Miniseries) - The namesake of a battlestar lost in the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
• Atlantia - (Miniseries) - The name of a hamadryad, a form of nymph. Namesake of another battlestar lost in the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Could also be a reference to the lengend of Atlantis, written by Plato.
• 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.
• Valkyrie - (Hero) - William Adama's command immediately prior to the Galactica, a reference to Norse mythology.
• Pluto - Namesake of the element Plutonium mentioned in the episode "Bastille Day", and Roman version of the Greek god Hades.
• Pythia - An oracle who's prophetic writings relate to the events of Battlestar. The Pythia was the name for the oracle at Delphi in Greece.
• Persephone - A ship mentioned in the Fleet (Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II). A goddess of the underworld has this name in Earth Greek mythology.

The Cycle of Time

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

According to Gaius Baltar, this line from the Pythian Prophesy 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).

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.

Sanctity of Life

According to the Sacred Scrolls, abortion is "an abomination in the eyes of the Gods". The more fundamentalist Gemenons strictly adhere to this commandment, however the more secular Colonies such as Caprica apparently do not follow this as strictly: officially, Colonies-wide Federal law guaranteed a woman the right to an abortion, at least at the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies (The Captain's Hand).

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 literalistic readings of the Sacred Scrolls.

Temple

While not seen in season 1, the worship sites known as temples have appeared on New Caprica. Temples may have been more elaborate places on the Twelve Colonies, but the spaceborne remnants of humanity presumably use any space they can find on their ships to form a basic temple. As seen on New Caprica, a basic temple may consist of a simple altar with candles, idols of the Lords of Kobol, and what meager offerings the Colonials can give as a tithe (Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance).

The temple on New Caprica was known as the Temple of Artemis (Collaborators), suggesting that temples are named after a lord or lords.

Dress

As seen by the various separatists orbiting Kobol in "Home, Part I," it appears that many Colonials have clothing that suggests a religious deference. In the scene, one older, white-bearded gentleman is dressed in simple colored robes and a round, flat head covering that may remind viewers of the tradition dress of Hasidic Jews, Islamic clerics, or Eastern Orthodox practicianers of the real-world Earth. Other distinctive dress styles of other characters in the scene increase the sense of the dedication of religion in the Gemenese people (which appeared to comprise the majority of Roslin's separatists).

The oracle Dodona Selloi dressed in a turban and robes, suggesting her role in Colonial society or its religious hierachy.

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 withdrawal 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.

Priestess Elosha sings a group prayer in the service for the dead at the conclusion of the Miniseries. Curiously, the language she sings is Sanskrit, a classical language of real-world Earth's Hindu/Indian peoples. More about the verses that she sings and their meaning can be found in the Language in the Twelve Colonies article.

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 Clergy

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 (unlike the religious heterogeneity of real-life Earth and the presence of representatives and followers of different religions in the armed forces of various nations on Earth).

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.

The term Brother is used as a title for members of the clergy, although it is not fully apparent whether this is used in the real-world Earth's common usage as the title of a monk. As with priests, a brother offers consultation and leads prayer. The only instance of this clergy in the series, as of the end of season 2, is Brother Cavil, who offers guidance to Chief Tyrol. Cavil, however, is revealed as a Cylon agent some time later. Because of Cavil's nature, there may be doubt as to whether Cavil is a useful example of the work of a brother in Colonial religion.

As with Brothers in the clergy, there are Sisters as well. Sister Tivenan is briefly seen tending to business in the temple on New Caprica, guiding prayer and officiating a dedication ceremony for the newborn son of Galen and Cally Tyrol (Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance). It is possible that Brothers and Sisters may be lay clergy (unlike priests and oracles).

Other than the works of Pythia and the mention of Chief Tyrol's mother, there is little information as to the functions of an oracle. Selloi is the only oracle seen in the Re-imagined Series. She confirms the dreams of a copy of Number Three and the existance of Hera. It is not clear if Selloi was sitting in a tent designated as a temple, but there were numerous ornate or curious inscriptions surrounding and inside her tent that suggest the significance of the oracle's tent or her presence.

Cylon Interpretations

Many Cylon agents show a strict, firm belief in a monotheistic God. When agents such as Leoben Conoy, Cavil, and Caprica-Valerii begin talking of Cylon beliefs, they are ridiculed and threatened with death. They refer to the Lords of Kobol as "false idols." They also claim to have more insight into Colonial religion than the Colonials themselves, as shown by Caprica-Valerii in "Home, Part II."

However, a connection between the Cylon God and the Lords of Kobol may exist. In "Exodus, Part I," an oracle tells Number Three (a Cylon agent who has a dream of the oracle's tent and of holding the believed-dead hybrid child Hera) that she has a message from the one that Number Three worships. How would an oracle of the Lords of Kobol be able to hear the messages of the Cylon god?

One possibility involves the fates of the Lords of Kobol. If a Kobollian god(s) was separated from the others (per the deleted scene about a jealous god), could that deity have influenced the Cylons later, compelling them to deny the existence of the other Lords? The Olympian gods had many enemies, including the ones they deposed, the titans. While the notion of a fallen Lord is speculative in the Re-imagined Series, there is already a parallel series of characters from the Original Series: The Beings of Light and their fallen member, Iblis.