Lords of Kobol
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The Lords of Kobol are the fictional pantheon of deities worshiped by the humans of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol featured in the fictional universe of Battlestar Galactica. Centuries ago, emigrants from the planet Kobol settled upon twelve new worlds, (and according to legend, a thirteenth world "Earth"), bringing their religion with them.
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[edit] Original Series
In the original continuity, the Lords of Kobol are not explicitly dealt with. However, suggestions about the occupants of the "Ship of Lights" and Count Iblis indicate they may have been Lords of Kobol. These Lords are called the Seraph.
[edit] List of deific figures in the original series
- First Lord of Kobol
- Second Lord of Kobol
- Third Lord of Kobol
- Fourth Lord of Kobol
- Fifth Lord of Kobol
- Sixth Lord of Kobol
- Seventh Lord of Kobol
- Eighth Lord of Kobol
- Ninth Lord of Kobol - The last Lord of Kobol, on Kobol itself. The Tomb of the Ninth Lord of Kobol is a key feature of the Lost Planet of the Gods episode.
- Count Iblis - A powerful being who appears stranded on an uncharted planet. Iblis appears to have been Satan himself, performing "miracles" and trying to convince the fleet to accept him as leader. His name is taken from Islam, wherein Iblis is a name for the devil.
- Ships of Light - The ships are vessels controlled by friendly angelic figures in pursuit of Count Iblis and who bring Apollo back to life. See Seraphs (Battlestar Galactica).
- John (Seraph)
- Angela (Seraph)
[edit] Reimagined Series
In the reimagined series, the Lords of Kobol play a more pivotal role in the affairs of the characters. One of the goals portrayed by the Cylon antagonists is to bring about the belief of a single "true" God, and to have humans abandon their pantheon of false deities, which the one God denounces. This agenda has been pressed into the mind of Dr. Gaius Baltar by his inner Cylon companion Number Six.
There have been eight Gods explicitly named in the new series thus far: Aurora, Apollo, Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hera, Mars and Zeus. Curiously, these deities are a melding of Earth's Greek and Roman mythos (it is assumed that the five remaining gods will be named for the rest of the twelve Olympians, and indeed in season three's 10th episode "The Passage" Hera's husband Zeus is referred to by his Roman name, Jupiter), suggesting the ancient humans from Kobol that came to Earth may have originally settled in the European continent and established or somehow influenced the ancient Greeks and Romans. In addition, the character Tom Zarek, mentioned to Lee Adama that his callsign "Apollo" is the name for the son of Zeus. He also has twiced referred to Admiral Adama as Zeus. Starbuck was shown to have idols of the Gods in her locker, and specifically the idol of Aurora before she died. The Cylon-Human hybrid child Hera was named after Hera, another Greek deity, who also exists in the Colonial pantheon. (The child was briefly renamed Isis - suggesting a link to Egyptian mythology). In addition, Sharon Valerii was awarded the Athena callsign and the Cylon D'Anna Biers name resembles that of Diana, the Roman version of Artemis. Likewise, Karl Agathon's callsign of Helo also resembles Helios, the Greek personification of the sun.
In the Miniseries, Colonel Tigh curses, "Jesus" on one occasion. This may not necessarily indicate that Jesus is another Lord of Kobol, as none of the known Lords of Kobol have yet had their names used as epithets. It has been stated by Ronald D. Moore on his blog that Michael Hogan's use of 'Jesus' was most likely an adlib, as this was not in the script, nor does he (RDM) even remember it. Also worthy of note is the phrase "Oh my Gods" (plural) which is used by characters as an expression of exclamation, shock or surprise. Also spoken when the characters are faced with seemingly insurmountable odds or become discouraged.
In the final episode of the series second season, "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II", a Cylon prisoner named Brother Cavil who posed as a religious counselor, informs the human fleet that the Cylons offer a truce. When Admiral Adama asks about the Cylon's "mission from God" to purge humanity, Cavil states "God doesn't exist", and says that gods were created by primitive humans to explain the unexplained. Cavil's beliefs are not shared by the other Cylons, who continue to refer to God and God's will.
[edit] List of deities mentioned in the reimagined series
- Apollo - The Arrow of Apollo artifact will point the way to Earth
- Athena - The Tomb of Athena on Kobol, reputedly where Athena is entombed, contains a starmap to Earth.
- Mars - Mentioned in Laura Roslin's diary in the Season 3 premiere, Mars is the god of war. In the Western classical tradition, Mars is the Roman equivalent of the god Ares.
- Artemis - Starbuck offers prayers to Artemis
- Aphrodite - Connected with childbirth
- Ares - God of war
- Hera - The Gates of Hera on Kobol is where Athena jumped to her death, and where Hera witnessed it. Hera is also described as both wife and sister of Zeus by the oracle visited by Number Three on New Caprica. It is also the name given to the Cylon-human hybrid child Hera.
- Jupiter - Jupiter is the Roman equivalent of Zeus, chief of the gods, husband of Juno (the Roman rough equivalent of Hera); in "The Passage", D'Anna says the husband of Hera is Jupiter. The Temple of Five contains the Eye of Jupiter and was (until its destruction) located on an algae covered planet in orbit around a blue giant star on the far side of a young nebulous star cluster from the Twelve Colonies and Kobol. The Eye of Jupiter formed a nova similar in pattern and shape to another nova that created the Ionian Nebula, the shape of which is depicted as the Eye of Jupiter mosaic inside the temple.
- Zeus - Zeus is the husband and brother to Hera. Adama has been jokingly referred to as Zeus, as he is the father of Lee Adama, call-sign Apollo. Zeus has also been referred to as Jupiter in the series.
- Aurora - Aurora is the Goddess of the dawn; brings the morning star and a fair wind. In ancient Roman mythology Aurora was the equivalent of the Greek goddess Eos.
- Cylon God - The Cylons believe in one true God and denounce all others. A deleted scene implies that the Cylon God is a Lord of Kobol who wanted to be elevated above the rest, but it is disputed if this unaired scene can be considered canon.
[edit] List of angelic figures featured in the reimagined series
- Caprica Six is the visual manifestation of a guiding angel inside Gaius Baltar's head.
- Gaius Baltar is the visual manifestation of a guiding angel inside Caprica Six's head.
- Leoben Conoy is the visual manifestation of a guiding angel inside Kara Thrace's head.
