Life here, began out there.
This is the opening line of the sacred texts, the last stories of a time before the twelve
colonies.
The planet Kobol, origin of humanity and a paradise where the gods and humankind lived
in peace.
These gods were known as the Lords of Kobol, their worship becoming the primary religion
of the colonies.
But who were they and what happened to them?
4000 years before the events pf Battlestar Galactica, a tribe of colonists left Kobol
to found their own home.
They named it Earth.
These colonists were cylons, a fact unrecorded in the scrolls.
Over time they evolved into humanoid forms, even to the point of procreation.
The very fact that this cruscial detail was lost goes to show how unreliable legend and
myth can be.
The Cylons themselves acknowledge that the Lords of Kobol, most likely existed, but even
they, with their more methodical eye, cannot fathom exactly what they were.
3600 years before the events of the show, Pythia, an oracle wrote her prophecies, including
the description of an exodus millennia from her time, led by a dying leader who could
be identified by a victory with the help of 12 snakes.
President Laura Roslin, dying of cancer played a role in the fleet’s first true victory
against the Cylons.
The fighters used in the attack are called Vipers.
It may be coincidence and 3600 years as a lot of time for a prophecy to come true, but
if it wasn’t is this proof of a greater power at work in the time of Kobol perhaps
powers that still work to this day?
2000 years before the second Cylon war, Kobol suffered the great Blaze, which engulfed its
paradise in destruction and the planet was abandoned.
It seems the Lords of Kobol, may have stayed behind alongside the leaders of the remaining
twelve tribes, who were entombed on Kobol.
The twelve colonies were named in honour of those leaders.
The Lords of Kobol became the pantheon worshiped by the colonies and the real world inspiration
for them came from the expansive mythology of the Greek and Roman gods.
We know of 11 identified Lords of Kobol.
They are: Zeus: The First Lord of Kobol, an allfather
of many other Gods and most powerful, respected and terrible.
Also called Jupiter, his domain was the sky and lightning his weapon of choice.
The Eye of Jupiter was said to be a marker to Earth and in fact turned out to be a supernova
star of the algae planet.
In Greek mythology, the sun, while charioted across the sky be Helios, was sometimes regarded
as the eye of Zeus for its brilliance.
His position in the Pantheon lines up with the Kobol representation, however his veneration
seems to downplay the more heinous acts of his mythos present in the real Greek telling,
but as Gaius Baltar points out, these elements are still there, including him taking advantage
of other female deities and giving birth out of his forehead.
As weird as this sounds, in Greek legend, Zeus suffered a headache so intense that he
had his crown split with an axe, the Labrys, to relieve the pain and much to everyone’s
surprise, out popped a fully formed, armed and armoured Athena.
Zeus Killed his father, Cronus when he learned that Cronus was going to consume all his children
to rule eternal.
However, Zeus also created a great flood that crashed across the lands of mankind, washing
away the unworthy before rebuilding human civilization.
There are allusions to a great flood in Battlestar, so this may be a reflection of this event.
Speaking of Athena: The Goddess of Wisdom, also called Minerva.
She also oversaw crafting and elements of Warfare.
She is often seen wielding a spear and in modern day is used to represent freedom and
democracy.
Athena was the guardian deity of Athens and responsible for turning the weaver Arachne
into the first spider.
So you arachnophobes have her to thank for that.
Other symbols or her influence include the owl.
In Kobol legend, Athena threw herself from a cliff on the departure of the human exodus
from Kobol in grief.
Where she landed became known as the Gates of Hera, who witnessed her demise.
Hera, meanwile was the wife of Zeus.
Called Juno too, she was the goddess of women, family, maternity, marriage and similar elements.
However, many of her ancient Greek tales concern her attempting to kill the bastard children
of Zeus, or spite those who have dishonoured her.
She is often depicted as serene and calm, but a terrible force of vengeance against
those who she deems in the wrong.
Poseidon is the God of the Sea and Zeus’ brother.
Called Neptune, his sphere of influence in the Greek pantheon also included Steeds and
Earthquakes.
Depending on where you lived, Poseidon could have a more prevalent following than Zeus,
as his blessing was often sought for journeys across the ocean.
This reflects the level of power and influence he wielded, seconds only to his brother.
He Fathered the first king of Atlantis, Atlas and Triton.
Interestingly, and unsurprisingly enough I guess, Poseidon was often prayed to by pilots
and space-faring personnel suggesting that his domain may have expanded to include space
travel.
Let’s move to another member of Zeus’ family, his twin children, starting with Apollo.
He was the God of Healing and hunting, the latter of which was a sphere he shared with
his twin sister, Artemis.
He was also considered a god of light and all its brilliant connotations, goodness,
holiness.
He was often depicted wielding a bow.
Apollo was also credited as the guardian of flocks and colonists.
Seriously, exodus of life were said to be conducted under his view.
It’s by no chance that Lee Adama’s call-sign is Apollo.
In Greek culture, Apollo was considered the archetypal hero and depicted as such.
Strong features, athletic physique, youthful and clean shaven, we see these qualities reflected
in the moral Viper pilot.
The arrow of Apollo was another artefact, supposedly from Kobol and would act as a key
to the tomb of Athena.
The twin sister of Apollo, Artemis, was known to the Romans as Diana.
As mentioned, she was the Goddess of the Hunt, the Wild and the Mountains.
She was a bit of a rebel among the gods and looked out for women who prayed to her.
She too, wielded a bow, and in Greek lore, it was a forged by Cyclops and given as a
gift by Zeus as one of her ten wishes.
She also wished to be able to wear practical clothing to allow her to hunt effectively
and to share the title of Lightbringer with her Brother.
She also helped alleviate the pain of childbirth.
Her life was marred by tragedy however, as in some stories, it is by accident, she kills
her love, the hunter Orion while on the sport with her partner.
I doubt it’s a coincidence that there are similarities between the Lords of Kobol and
certain characters of the Battlestar story.
Speaking of Love, Aphrodite known to some as Venus, was the governess of this aspect.
Love, Sexuality and all things of Beauty.
In Greek lore, she was prayed to for success in these pursuits and rewarded her followers
while punishing those who disrespected her.
She was born from the oceans and her day of celebration was known as Aphrodisia.
I have no idea how that day was celebrated, probably by doing something wholesome and
constructive.
Ares, God of war.
Known as Mars, not this guy.
Alongside the destruction and desolation that war caused, Ares was also responsible for
the glory, honour and valour bestowed on those who prayed to him.
People would often seek his favour for success in campaigns and battles and the Taurons of
the 12 colonies placed a strong emphasis on him.
In Greek mythos, he loved Harmonia, sometimes depicted as his daughter, and she created
the Amazons, the race of warrior women.
The next in the pantheon of the Kobol, is Hecate.
She is the Goddess and Sorceress of the underworld and a shapeshifter.
The hound and dagger are symbols of hers.
Originally, to the ancient Greek pantheon, she was a goddess of necromancy, ghosts and
crossroads.
The last being an obvious metaphor for the passing of life into death.
Her equivalent is Trivia and shrines of her were said to ward off spirits.
In the province of Thrace, she was worshipped more for her connections to the crossroads
than the whole bringer of death thing.
Thrace denouncing the titles of death.
Seems familiar.
Moving on to Aurora, the only one of the Kobol pantheon that we know of, to use a name of
Roman origin.
Her Greek counterpart would be Eos, goddess of the dawn.
She was the sister to Helios and Selene, also called Sol and Luna.
The sun and the moon.
Lastly, we have Asclepius or Vejovis.
He was the God of Healing and could heal with a concoction made from the Blood of a Gorgon
and carried a staff wrapped in a snake.
In Mythology, he was the son of Apollo and went on to sire five daughters.
These children represented different aspects of healing however he was killed by Zeus,
it’s said for delving beyond his purview.
He attempted to resurrect the dead and was struck down for attempting to break the natural
order.
With the similarities between ancient pantheons and the Lords of Kobol, it is likely that
there are at least twelve gods as that is the number of Olympians and twelve is a number
of importance to the battlestar mythos, twelve colonies, twelve cylons and so on.
There are references to other deities, including the Pegasus, a Mercury Class Battlestar, which
could suggest the existence of the god mercury, known to the Greeks as Hermes, the messenger,
trickster and ambassador to the gods.
And finally there is a reference to the one who must not be named, and tales of a jealous
God who coveted the power of the others.
Now you could think that this may be Hades, god of the underworld and often depicted as
the bad guy in popular reimagining’s, but classically, he was much more indifferent.
The description of a jealous god could perhaps fit better the mantle of Cronos, Zeus’ father
who tried to consume his offspring so he would not be dethroned.
There are a whole slew of similarities between the Gods of ancient Greece and the Lords of
Kobol, but not only that.
There are a startling number of parallels between the mythos and the characters of Battlestar,
but that’s a video I’d like to do separately as its more speculation based.
Thanks for watching and If you’d like to see a follow up video, let me know.
Also, any deities out there who could match the jealous god description or perhaps is
it the Cylon’s god and perhaps responsible for the messengers that we see in the show?
I love delving into deep pseudo-mythological lore, especially tales of gods and how they
could be reimagined to be real, so thanks for listening to this breakdown of the eleven
Lords of Kobol.
I’ve been Ric, thanks again and goodbye.