Lords of Kobol

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The Lords of Kobol are beatified humans or deities featured in the fictional universe of Battlestar Galactica.

The Lords of Kobol are worshiped by the humans of the Twelve Colonies. 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.

Contents

[edit] Original Series

In the original continuity, the Lords of Kobol are not explicitly dealt with. The series characters explicitly mention "God" in tandem with the Lords of Kobol, particularly during the "sealing" (marriage) between Apollo and Serina (Lost Planet of the Gods), suggesting that the Lords of Kobol may be more akin to Bodhisattvas or saints. In later episodes, the mental or supernatural abilities of the Lords of Kobol are implied when the occupants of the "Ship of Lights" and Count Iblis appear (War of the Gods). These Lords are called the Seraph.

[edit] List of deific figures in the original series

  • Ninth Lord of Kobol - A deceased Lord of Kobol entombed in the city of Eden on Kobol. The Tomb of the Ninth Lord of Kobol is a key feature of the Lost Planet of the Gods episode (Despite its name and numeral, there are no other named Lords of Kobol given by characters in the series other than the Ninth Lord.)
  • 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 figures with angelic personage (sans wings or halo) who pursue Count Iblis and who bring Apollo back to life. See Seraphs (Battlestar Galactica)
    • John (Seraph), a Being of Light
    • Angela (Seraph), believed to be a Being of Light

[edit] Reimagined Series

In the reimagined series, the Lords of Kobol play a more pivotal role in the affairs of the characters. The names and positions of the Lords of Kobol mostly parallel the Olympic pantheon, with some differences and additions from the Roman versions of these gods, as well as Norse references.

Unlike their original series version (which have no established religion) the Cylons have a monothesistic religion with minor similarities to Judeo-Christian God in regards to prayer and commandments (as noted in the second season episode, "The Farm"). Several Cylon characters persuade the humans they encounter to 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.

However Colonial scripture hints that the Cylon God may well be a fallen Lord of Kobol. In a season 1 deleted scene the Priestess Elosha describes that the ancient war on Kobol began when one of the other Gods wanted to be worshiped above all the others, leading to the exodus of Humanity. Also in the season 3 episode, "Exodus", a Number Three Cylon receives a message from both the Lords of Kobol and the Cylon God through a Colonial clergy member, an oracle named Dodona Selloi, who appears to act as a conduit between both the Cylon and Colonial deities. The contact with Selloi, a Colonial citizen, implies that the Cylon God may be a fallen Lord of Kobol. Other Spiritual connections between Colonials and Cylon deities occur throughout season 3 episodes, particularly in the episodes "The Eye of Jupiter" and "Rapture", where a 4,000 year old Colonial temple (built by the Thirteenth Tribe that left for Earth) is used by a Number Three Cylon to determine the identities of five missing humanoid Cylons.

In the Miniseries, Colonel Tigh exclaims, "Jesus!" on one occasion. This was an unauthorized ad-lib by the actor, Michael Hogan, as Ronald D. Moore noted on his blog, and was not intended as a serious reference to Christianity in the series. The series' Colonial characters are now fairly consistent in the regular series with the pluralization of exclamations such as "Oh my Gods", while Cylon characters are consistent in using "God" in the singular.

[edit] List of deities mentioned in the reimagined series

[edit] Lords of Kobol

  • Aphrodite - Connected with childbirth
  • Apollo - The Arrow of Apollo artifact will point the way to Earth
  • Ares - God of war. May also be used with "Mars", mentioned in the Season 3 premiere, "Occupation", as a Colonial holiday or day of the week known as "Mars Day."
  • Artemis - Starbuck offers prayers to Artemis
  • Asclepius - God of healing. In the episode "Escape Velocity", Lily, a follower of Gaius Baltar, prays to Asclepius after an attack by the Sons of Ares. Later, when Gaius enters a Temple on Galactica, he references Asclepius as using the blood of Aphrodite and Artemis in healing.
  • Athena - The Tomb of Athena on Kobol, reputedly where Athena is entombed, contains a star map to Earth.
  • Aurora - Aurora is the Goddess of the dawn who brings "the morning star" and a "fair wind".
  • 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.
  • Poseidon - Poseidon is referenced by Gaius Baltar when speaking to a female follower, stating that worshipping one of the 'Gods' was useless and false.
  • Zeus (Jupiter) - 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. In "The Passage", D'Anna says the husband of Hera is Jupiter. The Temple of Five was believed to contain an artifact known as the Eye of Jupiter, but the Eye was actually a nova of a star that was similar in pattern and shape to another nova formed 4,000 years before, which created the Ionian Nebula. The use of the term "Jupiter" and not "Zeus" for the episode name "The Eye of Jupiter" stemmed more from a legality matter involving a living person or property during the writing of the episode.[citation needed]

[edit] Other lords

  • Isis - The Egyptian goddess of fertility and magic. Unlike most of the other Lords of Kobol, Isis is from the Egyptian pantheon rather than a Greco-Roman deity. Like Hera, wife and sister of Zeus, Isis was wife and sister of Osiris. When Karl Agathon and Athena's daughter Hera was placed in the foster care under Maya, she was renamed "Isis". Whether or not Isis was accepted as one of the Lords of Kobol however, is uncertain.
  • Mithras - a deity mentioned in "Escape Velocity" as being worshiped by sect who apparently believed Mithras was the one and only god. Baltar's monotheistic sect is compared to the "Followers of Mithras". Whether or not Mithras was accepted as one of the Lords of Kobol however, is uncertain.

[edit] The Cylon God

  • Cylon God - The Cylons believe in one true God and denounce all others. In the episodes "Occupation" and "A Measure of Salvation", the term "Heavenly Father" is also used in prayer to describe their deity. The "Temple of Five" was dedicated to the five priests of this un-named deity according to Colonial scripture. With the events in the episodes "Rapture" and "Crossroads", the series appears to point to a strong connection between the Cylon god and the Lords of Kobol.

[edit] Virtual beings

For reasons unknown (not a part of either a Cylon or Colonial tactic), virtual personalities of key series characters appear to other characters. These virtual beings can only be seen and heard by their hosts. While the virtual beings appear as a "twin" of the actual character, they are not the same, and tend to exhibit a strong, militant attitude in obtaining the goals of either Cylon or human needs in comparison to their genuine copies.

  • Virtual Six (also known as Head Six) is a common description for the visual manifestation of a guiding angel inside Gaius Baltar's head. The image initially resembled and behaved as Caprica-Six, but now has its own dominant and different personality. It claims that it is an angel sent by her God to aid Dr. Baltar.
  • Virtual Baltar (also known as Head Baltar) is a common description for the visual manifestation of a guiding angel inside Caprica Six's head and later Baltar's own head. Like the virtual Six, the virtual Baltar appears to be fashioned from the actual Baltar, yet stronger, more willful, and possibly idealized as a romantic focus.
  • A being that appears to be a Leoben Cylon appears once to Kara Thrace in a vision shortly before her death in the episode "Maelstrom". However, this Leoben image does not behave as obsessively about Kara Thrace as the genuine Leoben copies, and, after being questioned by Kara Thrace, indicates that it was not a Leoben at all.

[edit] External links

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[edit] See also