Final Fantasy Mythology

[Remiel]

So, this might be going out on a limb, but I took a Myth and Legends class at my film school (that's right, my FILM school) so now I'm more or less interested in mostly European and some Asian mythology.

And I've noticed it a lot in Final Fantasy games before, but now even more so: They use/refernece a lot of mythology in the games.

For example, using summons with names like Shiva and Ifrit and such. Or the Aeon Yojimbo.

Or names like Gaia and Terra.

Heck, even Sephiroth is a mention of ancient mythology.

So I'm just wondering, what kind of mythology (if any) have you noticed in any FF game? And if so, (or alternatively) is there any kind you appreciate, or more than another?

For example, Japanese mythology as oppose to Roman mythology?

Just something I find interesting. Might be a bit of a lone wolf though...

 

[Valkyrur]

Well, as a child, I was quite interested in mythology, so when i got immersed in the Final Fantasy world, i noticed its relevance to mythology...

Shiva, for a start, is an obvious rip off from Indian Mythology. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the supreme God...

Ragnarok, the common ultimate weapon in some series, is from Norse Mythology. AKA The End of the World, Apocalyspe, whatsoever. Quite self explanatory, end of the world, where all the Gods fight against one another and the world is destroyed.

Nibelheim, also from Norse Mythology. Frozen hell, apparently, if i remembered correctly...

Well, i suggest trying this website though, it does its name serious justice.
http://www.ffcompendium.com/h/names.shtml

 

[One-winged Demon]

Odin was the leader of the gods in Norse Mythology.Also Alexander was the king of Greece but he was a real person.

 

[looneymoon]

From what I can recall, Midgard (Midgar) is an area surrounded by large water bodies, and it's guarded by a large Serpent called the Midgardsormr (Midgar Zolom). Midgard was destroyed by Rangorok. Odin was also part of Norse myth, can't remember what of though.

Nifleheim (Nibelheim) is also an area in Norse Mythos. It's crosses the path that leads to Hel... which makes sense because it does burn down in the game. Funnily enough, the root meaning of the word Nifel/Nebel is Cloud. Lolz.

Sephiroth - Kabbalah Tree of Life. Interestingly, one of the branches of the tree is called the Tifareth. The creators have stated Tifareth isn't Tifa's full name (it's Tiffany) but it's still cool to think about.

Gaia - an obvious one, the Greek theia for the Earth. FF bases off the Gaia Hypothesis greatly - the idea that all living things on Earth are interconnected.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an Ancient Mesopotamian scripture. It's the story of how the hero Gilgamesh goes on a quest to find/avenge (don't quite remember) his best friend, Enkidu.

Larsa - an important city in ancient Mesopotamia. I don't know how much it fits to the character, but the city did excersize a monarchy.

Ifrit, Bahamut, Shiva, Ramuh - Middle Eastern and Hindu gods/myths, respectively.

Quetzacoatl - Aztec sky god.

Siren - Greek sirens, most famously told of in Homer's Odyssey. They were half-bird, half-human creatures who had alluring voices. They sat above dangerous rocks, and thus sent many sailorsto their deaths.

Cerberus - another Greek one. Three-headed dog, guardian of Hades, the Underworld.

there's way more, but I'll list them later

 

[Aeralea]

I think that alot of the little beasties running around in the Final Fantasy universes have their names linked and tied into Mythology in some way. I don't have any of my books out at the moment (they are all packed into their shipping boxes) But I think that you will find a lot of their names are mentioned in some culture's mythology or belief system.

Off the top of my head...
Chimera: Greek mythology; monster with many heads.

Behemoth: Biblical; some sort of unbeatable monster

Bahamut: Arabian mythology; actually think it was a giant fish ? >_> Cant remember.

Cerberus: Greek/Roman; multi-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades.

Grendel: Anglo-Saxon; from that poem Beowulf

Cockatrice: Don't know where that is from, but also has the name of Basilisk, like from Harry Potter.

Ahriman: Destructive spirit, often find him in books relating to the occult. No idea where he originated from though.

Garuda: Hinduism; large mythical bird.

Tiamat: Babylonian; I think some chaos goddess??? Have to look that one up.

Shiva: Hinduism; like the supreme God

Ifrit: This dude comes from the Koran, I think. He is a Djin or genie.

Siren: Greek mythology; one of those evil songstress perched on a rock leading ships to their doom. They are described as being bird-ladies.

Odin: Norse God.

Gilgamesh: I want to say Assyrian, but I don't think thats right.

Anywayz thats all I can remember at the moment. But actually looking into the names of the characters and places is really interesting. Not only do you get an understanding of what the character/creature is, but you also have a bit of a school lesson as well. Although, all this stuff is really interesting to me, I would have loved to have been able to study mythology at school. But its not offered.

 

[looneymoon]

Bahamut was indeed a giant fish. But in Japanese/Chinese myth, did they not believe that fish were once dragons a long time ago? And Golgamesh is from an Ancient Mesopotamian scripture, Enkidu comes from the same one.

There was another reference to Beowulf, and that was the character Beowulf in FFT. I don't know how much his character relates to the poem, all I remember was that he had a Dragonlady girlfriend named Reis.

I'd like to add Knights of the Round. A no brainer, they are the Knights of the Round Table from King Arthur's court.

The Basilisk is Greek/European King of Snakes. I recall one Greek Hero defeating the Basilisk in one myth, but I have trouble remembering who. It may have been Perseus.
The Cockatrice is also European, but it's more of a half-snake, half-rooster thing. I think the legend says that they can turn people into stone by looking them in the eye. Now that I think about it, the Basilisj had the same ability. Maybe they are the same?

On the note of Persues, the Brothers from FF8 are a CLEAR reference to the Greek Minotaur. What with the maze, the bull-like appearance and whatnot.

Ark - the summon, possible reference to Noah's arch?

Ixion - an ancient king of Thessaly. This guy did a bunch of crazy stuff, none of it really relevant to the summon monster. However, he was killed by a thunderbolt from Zeus. Hence, a thunder-based summon.

Cait Sith - Scottish fairy cat... thing. I looked him up on Wiki, and apparently these cats bring ominous feelings. This makes perfect sense, as Cait Sith's fortunes provide cryptic foreshadowing to Aeris' death.

Eden - biblical, obviously.

Pheonix - Greek friebird. Said to be immortal, and grants the gift of life. Pheonix in FF typically revives all KO'd characters.

Asura - the Queen of summons, is a type of Deity in Buddhism.

Fenrir - Norswe myth wolf monster

Leviathan - not too sure of the origin, but I think it's European. Anyways, it's a large, feared sea creature. I'm thinking a large whale, or some freaky Kraken type of deal.


that's all I got for summons, but there are even MORE references in relation to certain cities, minor characters and even world map areas. It'd be quite the job to go through them all.

 

[KEFKACIOUS]

Being from Greece and knowing a lot about it's Mythology
(Yes, i was a Mythology nerd back when i was young ) i don't remember any Basilisk as a Monster in it. Well i might be wrong though or confusing the names in comparison to Greek

Leviathan was a giant whale than i'm sure that devoured a certain guy in the Bible...
I can't recall though

 

[Auronlu]

http://www.finalfantasyforums.net/general-discussion/final-fantasy-mythology-26212.html

8thHoroscope's link to the FFComendium page on mythological names in FF is well worth reading. Everyone check it out!

But since this is my major, I can't help babbling about the topic.

looneymoon -- Wow, great stuff. I'd recognized Sephiroth's name but hadn't gotten around to tracking it down-- I should've guessed it was Hebrew, with a name like that!
I like your guess about Ixion, although I'm still a little stumped -- I don't remember a version of the story where Zeus smacked him with a thunderbolt, though that well could be the case. In the version I remember, Ixion was strapped forever to a rolling wheel in Hades as punishment for trying to sleep with Zeus' wife. I'd wondered if the wheel and everlasting imprisonment related to Spira and Fayth, but that's a tenuous connection.

A lot of folks have already covered these, but here's a few more plus some clarifications/corrections on a few that I happen to know well.

A general note: Some beasties from Final Fantasy, D&D, popular folklore and Harry Potter ar from the famous Book of Beasts, a wildly popular encyclopedia of animals circulated in Latin in the Middle Ages. Its descriptions of exotic animals -- even real ones like pelicans --are a hoot.

I suspect that Final Fantasy has also relied on Jorge Borges' well-known Book of Imaginary Beings (link is to an index of the critters he mentions), including animals like Catoblepas and Carbuncle.

Ahriman -- the force/demon of evil in ancient Persian Zoroastrianism (a religion still practiced today). Zoroastrianism sees the world as divided into good versus evil, with God (Ahura Mazda) always fighting with a Satan-like figure, sometimes called Ahriman, more often Angra Mainya.

Anima -- I used to think this was the anima, the Jungian idea of the feminine within a man's soul. However, the iconography in FFX is that of the Catholic Anima Sola, the figure of the lonely, suffering woman breaking her chains, a woman who suffers purgatory for the sake of a loved one who died in sin.

Auron -- I have a hunch his name is connected to Latin Aurum, gold. This one I can't be sure of, though, since they've slapped a Greek ending on it.

Bahamut -- Originally an Arabic myth (I think it shows up in the 1001 Nights), I think this is one of those myths of a giant whale the size of an island. But early Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks made Bahamut out to be the king of the (good) dragons, and that modern association with dragons seems to have stuck in recent fantasy RPGs. Originally, however, Bahamut (and Leviathan) were imagined as huge terrors of the deep rather similar to Sin in FFX.

Basilisk -- NOT found in Greek mythology, though a lot of people assume it's that old. The basilisk was first mentioned by the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder, a famous victim of the volcano that buried Pompey. The basilisk supposedly had a venomous breath and a glance that could turn people to stone.

Behemoth -- From Job 40:15 in the Bible, a mythical creature representing the largest land-dwelling creature, as Leviathan is the largest creature of the sea. God uses Behemoth as an example to point out to Job how insignificant he is by comparison.

Carbuncle -- In medieval bestiaries, a stone that holds the sun's light; Spanish Conquistadors reported (imagined!) a fabulous beast with a jewel on its forehead.

Chimaera -- This one IS from Greek mythology, depicted various ways, a hybrid creature made of lion, goat and snake. Bellerephon, famous rider of Pegasus, slew it from the air. The Wikipedia Entry for it has a cute picture from a Greek vase.

Cockatrice -- Dragon with a rooster's head, it's supposed to come from a rooster's egg hatched by a snake. (Or was it the other way around?) Sometimes used interchangeably with basilisk, this is another stock figure of medieval (not Greek) bestiaries.

Coeurl -- an alien race of giant cat with tentacles invented by the classic science fiction writer A.E. Vogt.

Fastitocalon -- yet another mythical giant whale mistaken from an island, this one from an amusing poem by J.R.R. Tolkien published in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.

Garuda -- giant birds in Hindu mythology, often associated with (or enemies of) serpents, magical animal ridden by the supreme god Vishnu and Lakshmi his consort.

Gilgamesh -- eponymous hero of an ancient Babylonian epic, about the earliest surviving piece of written literature in the world. He's a bit like Hercules, but much older.

Ifrit -- a fire genie in Arabian mythology. I'm pretty sure there's several in 1001 Nights.

Leviathan is a huge sea-monster mentioned a few times in the Hebrew Bible, including in Job 41 right after Behemoth.

Ochu -- possibly from the Tewa (Pueblo Indian) creation myth, in which the world is ochu, green, moist, unripe, and sacred, before humans emerge into it and make it civilized, dry, ripe, hard. (Or maybe the word-similarity is just coincidence.)

Shiva -- Final Fantasy's version of Shiva makes me laugh. Shiva's a creator/destroyer/warrior/god of Hindu mythology, often depicted with many arms dancing on the dwarf of ignorance, beating the drum of creation. He is a strongly male warrior god, NOT female, which is why Final Fantasy makes me laugh. However, he is an ambiguous figure, and some depictions of Shiva, meant to show how he is all-encompassing, show him as an androgynous figure, so he could be a woman if he wished to be. Also, he's often shown as blue, because he swallowed a dangerous poison that could have destroyed the world.

The Sirens, are specifically one of the dangers faced by Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey, a sea-adventures epic about one of the heroes trying to get home from the Trojan War. Their song lured sailors to crash their ships; then the sirens would devour them.

Sleipner -- Norse god Odin's horse. In Norse mythology, Sleipner has eight legs and is sometimes considered the cause of the sound of thunder.

Terra -- Latin for Earth. Basically the same as Greek Gaia, except Gaia is more often used for the goddess, not simply "land."

Tiamat -- In Mesopotamian creation myth, in the beginning there is watery chaos -- Tiamat, sometimes imagined as a great dragoness (except that when she exists, there's no real forms of anything). She gives birth to the first generation of gods. Marduk the sky-god her son overthrows her and creates heaven and earth with her body.

Quetzacoatl -- The Feathered Serpent of Aztec myth. There is a fabulous page on the god and his myths here.

Wendigo -- Native American, a 15-foot-tall human-devouring monster figuring in many Canadian/northern American Indian stories. Here's a good page on Wendigo mythology.

Zu -- Another fantastic big bird (surprise surprise) of Akkadian (Mesopotamian) and Persian mythology.

And finally, Irvine and Laguna aren't mythological, they're two neighboring cities in Orange County, CA. I've heard there's a local Squaresoft office around here somewhere (I happen to live in the OC).

To answer the other question posed at the start of this thread, I'm most steeped in Greco-Roman and Egyptian mythologies with a dab of Celtic and Norse -- which is what most of us learn in school. During my graduate studies, I've become very fond of Hindu (in the Mahabharata and Ramayana) and Yoruba/West African/Voudoun mythologies. I also adore Native American coyote myths. I need to learn Asian mythologies better; right now I get as far east as India and then peter out to "Amateratsu is cool."

 

[Stallord_D]

I am doing a mythology assignment in school and you guys missed a couple

Typhon(FFVII) is the offspring of Gaia and Tartarus. His mate is Echidna(FF) and both were so fearful that when the gods saw them they changed into animals and fled in terror. Typhon's hundred, horrible heads touched the stars, venom dripped from his evil eyes, and lava and red-hot stones poured from his gaping mouths. Hissing like a hundred snakes and roaring like a hundred lions, he tore up whole mountains and threw them at the gods.
Zeus soon regained his courage and turned, and when the other gods saw him taking his stand, they came back to help him fight the monster. A terrible battle raged, and hardly a living creature was left on Earth. But Zeus was fated to win, and as Typhon tore up huge Mount Aetna to hurl at the gods, Zeus struck it with a hundred well-aimed thunderbolts and the mountain fell back, pinning Typhon underneath. There the monster lies to this very day, belching fire, lava and smoke through the top of the mountain.Echidna, his hideous mate, escaped destruction. She cowered in a cave, protecting Typhon's offspring, and Zeus let them live as a challenge to future heroes. Echidna and Typhon's children are the Nemean Lion,Cerberus,Ladon, the Chimera, the Sphinx, and the Hydra.

yah I copy pasted

 

[Lemon]

Oh Cool Interesting
Though is a mythology noob and had to cheat and search online..

Aeris: There's a Greek mythology named Eris who was a minor goddess,it is also known as "divine one" in Japanese, and in Hebrew the word 'Erith' means "flower".


Ultros: Could be a mistranslaton of "Orthos", whose a two headed dog in mythology.


Edea:Could be a cross between "Eden" and "dea", which is Latin for 'goddess'. Or if could be a reference to 'Medea', who was a princess and sorceress of Colchis in Greek Mythology.


Freya: Known as the North god of love. She was Nordans wife​

Zemus: Could be a cross between Zeus (Greek God) and Zemu/Zenu/Xenu/Xemu which was an evil "intermpanatary" space warlord.

 

[InfamousKnight]

Final Fantasy Mythology?

I have seen names in the FF series like Shiva, odin, garuda, etc.

For example, Odin was the goddess of thunder, so technically, final fantasy got that name from that myth. I plan on taking mythology next year at my high school so I can find out what FF got their names from.

Just sharing.

 

[kratoscar2008]

I have seen names in the FF series like Shiva, odin, garuda, etc.

For example, Odin was the goddess of thunder, so technically, final fantasy got that name from that myth. I plan on taking mythology next year at my high school so I can find out what FF got their names from.

Just sharing.

Wrong pal. Odin is a God so he is male, he is the father of the Gods in the Norse (Or nordic i dont recall) mithology although he is half human and half god so thats why he get old and he posses the Gungnir.

If you want to know more about him play Valkyrie Profile Lenneth from SE.

The persona series has monsters that you summon based on a varied cast of mithologies characters, and there are little info of them in the game, thats a good way to learn mithology

 

[Lirael]

I took Old English last year and discovered that a fair bit of Norse Mythology has inspired ideas/names in the games, as well as the Valkyrie Profile series.

Freya in Final Fantasy IX is based off Freja, a warrior goddess from Norse mythology who appears in the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. She, too, has a long lost love whom she searches for.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freyja

Interestingly, Bahamaut appears in Arabian mythology, though it's a fish; the Final Fantasy one is no doubt based on Dungeons and Dragons.

Leviathan is a sea monster referred to in the Bible...

Shiva is a Hindu deity.

Ifrit are supernatural creatures in Arabic and Islamic cultures, and are apparently creatures of fire too! According to Wikipedia:

An ifrit is an enormous winged creature of fire, either male or female, who lives underground and frequents ruins. Ifrits live in a society structured along ancient Arab tribal lines, complete with kings, tribes, and clans. They generally marry one another, but they can also marry humans. While ordinary weapons and forces have no power over them, they are susceptible to magic, which humans can use to kill them or to capture and enslave them. As with the jinn, an ifrit may be either a believer or an unbeliever, good or evil, but he is most often depicted as a wicked and ruthless being.

Ifrit is certainly one of the more obscure summons, appearing evil and rising from the fire and earth below. It's interesting that magic can be used 'to capture and enslave them' as they are in the games. FF may not have used this specific example to come up with summons, but no doubt summons were inspired by stories of people taming monsters and mythical creatures.

Ixion, the electric horse from FFX, takes its name from a king in Greek mythology.

There are a lot of influences! It's rather fascinating really.

 

[InfamousKnight]

I have seen names in the FF series like Shiva, odin, garuda, etc.

For example, Odin was the goddess of thunder, so technically, final fantasy got that name from that myth. I plan on taking mythology next year at my high school so I can find out what FF got their names from.

Just sharing.

sorry.. I didn't know what "goddess" meant.. I thought it was a male or female god.. So what would be a male god? Just god?

 

[kratoscar2008]

You got that, God for male Goddess for female and Gods for Plural. im not a natural English speaker so dont worry

 

[Dionysos]

They do take mythological figures and names and use them in FF, but they make them their own. Some of the gods are closer to their Earth counterparts than others, but some are nothing like them, but perhaps they had a certain message that they wanted to convey by giving them that name.

Here are few. Lirael already explained quite a few too.

Shiva – In Hindu religion Shiva is a god and doesn’t have much to do with ice. In FF Shiva is a woman, a stereotypical ice-queen, and is nothing like Shiva. It’s an odd choice, but perhaps they chose it because Shiva sounds like ‘shiver’… They perhaps could have chosen the Nordic Skadi instead, but they wanted to throw Shiva in for some reason. It stuck, and now the FF ‘Shiva’ is her complete own identity now.

Quetzacotl – A major god of the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican pantheons, and is a feathered serpent. In FF he is mixed with a sort of Thunderbird.

Ultros / Orthros - In Greek mythology he was a two-headed dog creature who got his ass whooped by Heracles, but turned into an octopus in FFVI. Perhaps this was so that he’d better fit within the River Lethe (which they also plucked right out of the Greek Underworld). Or… Perhaps it was an excuse to add tentacles into the game in the form of a purple pervy tentacly thing who calls himself Uncle. His companion in the FF games is Mr. Chupon / Typhon. Typhon was his father in Greek Mythology.

Gilgamesh – Originally a Mesopotamian culture-hero and semi-mythical king. In FF he is dressed like a samurai and is almost a parody of the concept of the elite warrior. He is sometimes accompanied by Enkidu. Enkidu is his wild-man companion in the mythology, but in FF Enkidu is a type of monster, either a dragon or a dog (depending on the game).

Hecatoncheir – The Hecatonchires were the ‘Hundred Handed Ones’ who helped Zeus overthrow the Titans, and kept guard over some of them in their brazen prison in Tartarus. In FF they are represented by one who isn’t given a specific name (I think), but he does have lots of arms.

Ixion – Like Lirael said he is a mythical Greek king. In some traditions he was the father of the centaurs, and hence that explains his horsey appearance in FFX.


Tantalus Theatre Troupe – Named after Tantalus, a mythical Greek king who was thrown into Tartarus to suffer eternal punishment. Every time he went to drink the pool which he was plopped into it receded, and every time he reached to grab the fruit from the tree above him the branches escaped him. In FF, Tantalus is the theatre group which Zidane et al are a part of. I’ve not considered why they chose this name. Perhaps it is ultimately due to their nature as thieves, and because Tantalus (in some traditions) had been punished because he had been a thief who stole from the gods.

Midgar – Named after Midgard, the Nordic realm of mortals (our world). The Midgar Zolom is named for the Midgardsormr, the World Serpent. Perhaps in FF they wanted Midgar to represent its own world, very different from the other locations, and where mortal man is most concentrated. Interestingly, it is round and disc shaped, and the Shinra HQ in the middle could represent the world tree.

Alexandria – Probably named after Alexandria in Egypt, named after Alexander the Great. Both Alexandria in FF and the ancient Alexandria had very renowned libraries. However, this is done up in the fantasy-medieval style and is mixed heavily with the Renaissance. The Shakespeare references in this city, the style of the buildings, and the thriving of culture create an interesting place. I like to imagine it perhaps as a Renaissance attempt to imagine Alexandria… Though obviously it isn’t, as it is completely landlocked and is on a different planet, but that is the sort of imagery associated with it for me. They do sometimes have reasons for this stuff, and I don’t think it would just be for the summon Alexander.


So basically these names and sometimes the associations have been adapted for the Final Fantasy universe, mainly a medieval or a steampunk setting as seen from the eyes of Japan (with Japanese elements mixed in too), and hence they have all been made their own, and no longer resemble what they might have resembled at any given point in their home cultures.

But… Mythology was a bit like that in antiquity too. It’s very fluid, and things did change over time, differ on location, and also as it was appropriated and adapted from culture to culture. While a lot of this stuff is not believed any more by anyone on this Earth, this reinventing of mythology and the classical world / and other older cultures continues.

Therefore I find this very interesting, and don’t just discard them when they don’t fit my conception of the myth, but try to think why they changed them in this way, and what this can now mean for them. They make them their own.





EDIT - A pox upon me for including Alexandria in this post. I forgot for a brief moment that we were discussing mythology rather than ancient cultures. However, the imagining of Alexandria through fantasy-medieval eyes is a sort of mythology in itself.

 

[Donald Trump]

Tantalus, depending upon which version you read was a murderer and Ixion certainly was, so it's interesting that they chose to people who were murderers.

There's also Cereberus who guards the gates of the underworld, who is a three headed dog in FFVIII and in mythology.

There's Eden in a couple of games at least.

There's Odin and in relation to Odin there's also Ragnarok is most Finaru Fantariji games.

 

[Prince Oberyn Martel]

I'm sure theres a thread about this somewhere...

but anyway check this out. It's not all to do with mythology but it does include it. http://www.ffcompendium.com/h/name.shtml

 

[seddy-0]

i watched something years ago about FF and where the ideas have come from. many of the ideas come from many cultural traditions. and also many of the situations and story lines in FF have a relation to things that have happened in history. notice in many of the FF games, its been about religious oppression, or just some sort of oppression in general. but the summons and the monsters all have a direct link to past and present cultures all over the world.

 

[Raiiyokuu]

Final Fantasy's Mythological Roots

The Final Fantasy series has been around for nearly 25 years, and over that time has developed its own internal mythology. However, many elements that fans associate with Final Fantasy aren’t original creations; they are inspired by historical tales and myths from around the world. From summons to characters to weapons, the series has too many nods to detail each one separately – but this list summarizes some of the coolest references drawn from a variety of cultural traditions.

Hyperion

In Final Fantasy: The name of gunblade used by Squall’s rival, Seifer Almasy, in Final Fantasy VIII.

Origin: According to Greek mythology, Hyperion was one of the twelve titans who were overthrown by Zeus and the other gods of Olympus.

Gilgamesh

In Final Fantasy: A popular recurring foe/summon known for having multiple arms and wielding a variety of swords. Featured most prominently in Final Fantasy V.

Origin: Gilgamesh was a legendary Sumerian king who reigned over 4500 years ago, and the subject of ancient literary work The Epic of Gilgamesh.

Sephiroth

In Final Fantasy: The fan-favorite antagonist of Final Fantasy VII, built up as a peerless warrior with god-like power.

Origin: The word Sephiroth (or Sephirot) is drawn from Kabbalah, where it refers to the group of 10 attributes through which God is revealed.

Caladbolg

In Final Fantasy: The Celestial (i.e. “ultimate”) weapon wielded by Tidus in Final Fantasy X.

Origin: In Irish mythology, Caladbolg is a two-handed sword that can cleave mountains and kill entire armies.

Masamune

In Final Fantasy: A blade that first appeared in the original Final Fantasy (as “Masmune”), and is frequently among the powerful weapons in an entry.

Origin: The name refers to the legendary Japanese sword-maker, Masamune, who is regarded as one the finest (often the finest) in history.

Cúchulainn

In Final Fantasy: Cúchulainn, the Impure, is an optional poison-elemental Esper players can summon in Final Fantasy XII.

Origin: Though the name has several spellings, Cú Chulainn was a hero in Irish myth who would fly into an indiscriminate frenzy in battle.

Bahamut

In Final Fantasy: The name Bahamut appears in all numbered Final Fantasy entries, usually as a powerful summoned monster with the form of a dragon. You can see a video history of his appearances as a summon here!

Origin: According to Arabic myth, Bahamut is a fish so massive and wondrous that humans are unable to comprehend its sight.

Odin

In Final Fantasy: A summoned monster appearing in multiple Final Fantasy entries. His attack usually involves a chance to instantly kill opponents.

Origin: A god from Norse mythology. Many other aspects of this legend, like his six-legged horse (Sleipnir) and his spear (Gungnir) also appear in Final Fantasy games.

Flan

In Final Fantasy: Pudding-like enemies typically resistant to physical attacks.

Origin: Psych! It’s just a stupid dessert.


[SOURCE ARTICLE VIA GameInformer]


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