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Isn't
it odd how summon monsters from Final Fantasy have such cool
profiles and images. Not to mention, powers. Anyways, you can just see for yourself.
Below this stanza, you'll see the information regarding their
origin. They're arranged alphabetically.
Alexander
Making
it's appearance to Final Fantasy VI, VII, VIII and IX as the temple with destructive Holy elemental
magic. Alexander was taken from the grandeur image of Alexandria's
lighthouse, also one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Alexander
really came from Egyptian mythology. The place called Alexandria in
Egypt. Myth tells it that an ancient temple of Alexandria was brought
to life by the gods to protect the sacred writings inside.
Mythological stories also tell that no evil spirit has ever entered
the Holy temple of Alexandria. Thus the name Alexander was derived from the place Alexandria
itself.
Atomos
Making it's appearance to Final Fantasy IX as a wide mouthed creature with an endless
gravitational force within it causing to break up it's atomic
structures. And as a boss in Final
Fantasy V. Atomos was derived from the word atom. Although Atomos
was not taken from any mythological creature, it was a somewhat
taken from astronomical facts on where super novas are resulted to
black holes. A strong gravitational force on which everything are
pulled in and nothing escapes. Thus the name Atomos was created.
Bahamut
Making it's appearance on all Final Fantasies. As we all know
that Bahamut is the so-called King of dragons. In Final Fantasy,
Bahamut appears as a Dragon that doesn't breathe fire but rather anti-matter
energy. And we all know that the best known mythological creature is
a dragon. Imagine a dragon king and named after the word
"King" which is Bahamut. That's because it's
name really means "King". The word Bahamut originated as
Bahama, meaning savior. Then it is derived from Bahama to Bahamut
from the same language where Hindus worship Vishnu. I don't quite remember
where. Bahamut now means King.
Bismark
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VI as a white whale that
flushes it's enemies with water. It came from the Herman
Melville's great novel Moby-Dick. The name Bismark came from Captain
Ahab's whaling ship the Pequod Bismark. However, the summoned
creature was named after the ship and not the whale itself. Bismark
is given the form white whale. In the Moby-Dick novel , the whale
symbolizes the mysterious and complex force of the universe.
Carbuncle
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy V, VI, VIII, IX and
Tactics as the creature that gives various support statuses
preferably, Reflect. The Carbuncle was taken from the Medieval
legend. A cute and cuddly creature that gives a a painful skin
infection when touched. The creature's real name is really
Crobunclous. In the modern time, the Carbuncle is a painful
infection of the skin and tissues just under the skin. A carbuncle
is a warm, tender, dark red lump that looks like a group of boils.
The skin infection's name was derived from the mythical creature
itself.
Cerberus
Making it's appearance to Final Fantasy VIII as the creature
that grants Double
and Triple status to party members. The thing that matters is, Cerberus really
came from Greek and Roman Mythology. It is a monstrous three headed
dog who guarded the entrance to the underworld. Cerberus was the
offspring of the monsters Typhon and Echidna. Cerberus allowed only
shades or spirits of the dead to enter the underworld and savagely
barred their escape. Cerberus is really as evil as they come in Greek and Roman mythology.
Diablos
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VIII as the creature
that inflicts gravitational damage to enemies. The word Diablos or
Diablo is Latin for "evil one" and it is the same word
that the word Devil was derived from. According to many religions,
the Diablo is an evil spirit that opposes all beings and things that
are good by tempting them to be wicked. They also served as dark
messengers that send people to their deaths but those who are damned
will be punished dreadfully in Hell. Many modern theologians
consider the Diablo to be a symbol of the power of evil, of the
worst qualities of human nature, or of the destructive forces of the
universe.
Doomtrain
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VIII as the ghost train
that causes abnormal status to enemies as well as inflicting damage.
The term Doomtrain was taken from the English ghost story
"Death Rail" by Edward Fording where a train with a head
of a zombie travels the railroads of the afterlife boarding the
souls of those who have been considered damned. All the passengers
of the Doomtrain are so-called evil souls and must not be
disembarked. The train itself has no engineer that drives it but the
train has it's own life that make it move and stop at it's own will.
Eden
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VIII as a huge indescribable
being of light. According to Christian religion, Eden was the region
described in the bible as the place where God planted a garden for
Adam and Eve. The name comes from a Sumerian word that means
"plain". But another Sumerian story proclaims that Eden is
really a floating hanging garden with an endless projection of
aurora. Thus the being of light from Final Fantasy VIII symbolizes
the aurora that is projected from the garden of Eden. But other
information regarding this summon monster is still under research.
Fenrir
Making it's appearance to Final Fantasy VI as a wolf that causes
berserk to all enemies and in Final Fantasy IX as the wolf that
commands the earth and wind elements. Fenrir came
from Norse mythology. Fenrir was a giant wolf, a product of Loki
and the giantess Angrboda. The gods raised the wolf in Asgard, but
only Tyr has the courage to feed it. Unfortunately, the wolf grew
larger and larger until nothing could chain him down. Finally the
dwarves made a chain out of the roots of the mountain, silence of a moving
cat, and the breath of a fish. In order to trick Fenrir into moving
close enough to be chained, Tyr offered him food, and in
retribution, the wolf bit off his arm. Fenrir then began to howl
until the gods stuck a sword in it's mouth as a gag. At Ragnarok,
Fenrir is fated to break his chains and kill Odin.
Gilgamesh
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VIII as a replacement
Guardian Force of Odin with two pairs of arms with a sword each and
in Final Fantasy V as a boss. Gilgamesh really came from the Hindu
myth. Better known as the death dealing god. According to the
Hindus, the people who are in a dying state will eventually gamble
with Gilgamesh to see if the person will be given a chance to live
or die. If the person wins, he or she is given the chance to live
further. Otherwise, the person dies. Also if the person lives, he or
she will remember nothing that he or she played the death game with
Gilgamesh.
Golem
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VI as the creature that
gives Protect and Shell status to all allies. According to Jewish
legend, it is a creature that is artificially constructed as a human
being that is made from stone, mud, gold etc. The creature will
be brought to life through magical rites. The word golem was taken
from the Hebrew word Goluma meaning "shapeless mass
embryo". Golems
are entirely slow and dumb but very loyal to their animator. Golem's
are made to be soldiers to protect something with value. If the one
who animated the Golem was to be executed, the Golem will die with
him.
Hades
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VII as the summoned
monster that inflicts damage to enemies in the same time causing
status ailments to enemies. Hades represents
the god of the dead in Greek mythology. He ruled the kingdom of the
dead, which had the same name as his but sometimes called as Erebus.
Hades was the son of Cronos
and Rhea, and the older brother of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods.
In spite of Hades' importance to the Greeks, they did not devote any
rituals to him. Few myths involve Hades directly.
Ifrit
Making it's appearance in all Final Fantasies as the fiery beast
of destructive infernal power. The Ifrit came from ancient Japanese Buddhism
(or Shintoism) as the guardian of Mt Fuji. The beast slumbers inside the
huge volcano waiting for the time that it will awaken to wreck havoc
again. The Japanese considers the Ifrit as a creature not to be
trifled with. As for that, they bless the volcano hoping that the
Ifrit will slumber more and hoping that it will not awaken anytime
soon.
Ixion
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy X as the unicorn of
lightning. Ixion was really the magical horse
of Thor, the god of thunder and lightning in Norse mythology.
According to Norse myth, Ixion pulled Thor's chariot that caused the
rumbling noise in the sky causing thunder. It's also said that the
horse also generates static electricity that causes lightning from
it's hooves. Very loyal to it's charioteer, Ixion's forehead was
engraved by the same steel that Thor's hammer, Mjollnir was made of.
The jagged steel that was engraved on Ixion's forehead makes the
shape of lightning.
Kjata
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VII as the creature that commanded the elements resulting to massive elemental
damage. Kjata was taken
from the Norse mythology as one of the battle boars that drew the
chariot of Freyr. Kjata was forged by the dwarf named Brokk. Kjata,
meaning Golden Mane has glowing bristles that lift up the dark. It
could run faster than any horse, over sky and water. Brokk
manufactured Kjata as a result of a wager with Loki over which dwarf
could make the best gift for the Norse gods. Eitri (Brokk's brother)
placed a pig's
hide in the forge, while Brokk worked on the bellows. A fly that may
have been Loki tried to bite Brokk and distract him from doing his
work. Kjata's poor forgotten brother boar was named Shoat.
Knights
of the Round
Making their appearance in Final Fantasy VII and still
considered as the most powerful summoning force in Final Fantasy
history. In Final Fantasy,
the knights are summoned each with a powerful physical strike. In
the summoning includes King Arthur himself. That makes 13 powerful
attacks in all. The Knights of the Round was taken from the old English legend
of King Arthur. The term "Round" also refers to the round
table which is King Arthur's entire royal court. In medieval
literature, knights considered membership at the Round
table a great honor. Brave men came to King Arthur in many countries
hoping to be chosen as a member. Only twelve we're chosen. The
knights are Sir Tristram, Sir Gwain, Sir Ban, Sir Bedevere, Sir
Ector, Sir Gareth, Dame Kay, Sir Lancelot, Sir Launfal, Sir
Palomides, Sir Sagramore, and Sir Ywain.
Leviathan
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy IV, V, VII, VIII, IX and
Tactics as the sea serpent that commanded the waves. The word Leviathan (Twisted Animal in Hebrew) has been
adopted to mean any gigantic monster, but was perhaps originally
cited in the bible and described in great detail. The Leviathan was
a great sea creature that commanded the waves of oceans and boiled
the seas when it swam near the surface. It's skin was covered with
heavy armored plates like shields, and it's belly was entrusted with
broken pottery. There is a speculation that the word is a corruption
of the 7 headed serpent "Lotan", a monster from Canaanite
legend that was killed by Baal.
Minotaur
(Brothers)
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VIII as one of the
brothers. He represents the younger brother of Sacred, another
half man and half bull creature only smaller. They guard the Labyrinth
known as the tomb of the unknown king. Kind of similar to Greek
myth. In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a monster with the head and tail
of a bull and the body of a man. It was the offspring of a bull
Pasiphae and the wife of the King Minos of Crete. Minos kept the
Minotaur in the Labyrinth, a mazelike building from which no one
could escape. According to Greek myth, seven Athenian youths and
seven Athenian maidens are sacrificed to the Minotaur each year.
Odin
Making it's appearance in all Final Fantasies except for Final
Fantasy X and X-2 as the horseman that rides the eight legged steed
Sleipnir and he slashes
through enemies. Odin was the chief god in Norse mythology. He is also called Wotan. Odin became the
ruler of the universe after he and his two brothers, Ve and Vili,
killed the frost giant Ymir, the first living being. Odin was also
the wisest god. He gave up one of his eyes for the right to drink
from the spring of wisdom, guarded by Mimir, the water demon.
According to Norse myth, Odin will lead the gods against the evil
giants at Ragnarok, the battle that will destroy the world.
Phoenix
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VI, VII, VIII and IX as a bird of flame
that gives Fire damage to enemies and gives life
to those who are in KO status. The Phoenix is a fabled bird in Greek mythology. Only one such bird
existed at any time, and it was always male. It had brilliant gold
and reddish-purple feathers, and was as large or larger than an
eagle. According to Greek myth, the Phoenix lived exactly 500 years.
At the end of each life cycle, the Phoenix burned itself on a
funeral pyre. Another Phoenix then rose from the ashes with renewed
youth and beauty. The long life of the Phoenix, and it's
dramatic rebirth from it's own ashes, made it a symbol of
immortality and spiritual rebirth. Just to represent a life giving
creature.
Quezacotl
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VIII. The creature was
taken from an ancient deities in the myth from Mesoamerica. However,
the original name which is Quetzalcoatl, is spelled as Quezacotl and represents a green
bird-like creature that generates lightning from every feather in
it's body. It's
name is rather spelled as Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god.
Quetzalcoatl was a creator god, and in one story he journeyed to the
underworld to collect the bones from which he fashioned the human
race after he sprinkled them with his own blood. In this aspect he
was the god of self-sacrifice, wisdom and science in Mayan
mythology.
Ragnarok
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VI as an Esper that can turn
enemies into items which requires a huge amount of luck. According to Norse mythology, there will be a
great battle called Ragnarok. This battle will be lead by the giants
led by Loki, and the gods and goddesses living in Asgard. All the
gods, goddesses and giants in the battle will be killed, and the
earth will be destroyed by fire. During Ragnarok, a man and woman
will take refuge in a forest and sleep through the battle. After the
earth again becomes fertile, the couple will awake and begin the new
race of human beings. The new world, cleansed of evil and treachery,
will endure forever.
Ramuh
Making it's appearance in all Final Fantasies except for Final
Fantasy VIII, X and X-2 as the old man that commands the lightning
elements. He represents a god-like image. According to Squaresoft,
the summon monster itself was from Hindu mythology. The name Ramuh
was taken from the name Rama, the hero of the Ramayana. Rama is the
human form of the god Vishnu. In the Ramayana, he is the son
and heir of an Indian king, Rama serves as a model for Hindu men. he
is a handsome and brave and a devoted husband.
Shiva
Making it's appearance in all Final Fantasies. In Final Fantasy,
Shiva is not a god but rather a goddess who controls
the cold elements. On the other hand, Shiva is one of the two
leading gods of Hinduism. Shiva, a god of great power, is beyond
distinctions of good and evil. Hindus call him the Destroyer because
he periodically, destroys the world in order to create it again. In
Hindu philosophy, Shiva avoids taking an active part in human
affairs. Many Hindus worship Shiva as the physical appearance of a
Brahman, the most abstract and absolute form of a god. Destruction of the world is
really his concern.
Shoat
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy IV, V and VI as a
blindfolded boar that petrifies enemies. Shoat was
taken from the Norse mythology as one of the battle boars that drew
the chariot of Freyr. Shoat was forged by the dwarf named Eitri.
Shoat, meaning Blind Curse has no eyes but can petrify a mortal by
just looking at it's eye sockets. It could run faster than any
horse, over land and fire. Eitri placed a pig's hide in the forge,
while Brokk (Eitri's brother) worked on the bellows. A fly that may have been Loki
tried to bite Brokk and distract him from doing his work. All went
wrong then the battle boar that must have been similar to it's
brother boar Kjata, Shoat appeared as a hideous monster. Nonetheless,
it still drew the chariot of Freyr.
Siren
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VI and VIII and in Final
Fantasy V as a boss. The Siren is a beautiful woman with a
harp. Inflicts damage to enemies and causes Silence abnormal status.
Somehow similar to that of Homer's epic, Odyssey. Only the Siren
doesn't appear as a bird like creature with the head and body of a
woman. A mythical creature from Greek mythology which
represent sea nymphs who lived on an island. The Sirens' sweet
singing lured sailors to destruction on their island's rocky shores.
In some stories, the Sirens would die if someone sailed past unmoved
by their singing. Sirens are often considered counterparts of
Banshees.
Seraphim
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VI. In Final
Fantasy, the Seraphim appears in an angel form and heals the party
like the God Serapis. Seraphim is the
highest rank of an angel. But the name Seraphim was derived from the
Egyptian god Serapis, the god of healing. Apparently a fusion of
Osiris and the sacred bull Apis, he is believed by some
scholars to have been created for political reasons.
Terrato
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VI as the giant earth serpent.
The name Terrato was taken from the word Terra which means earth.
According to Mesoamerican myth, the Terrato is the big serpent
creature that Quetzalcoatl
used to build the land. It's big scales were the mountains. Then
when the serpent molts, it causes the earthquakes.
Titan
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy V, VII and Tactics. In Final
Fantasy, the Titan only commands the solid terrestrial grounds
making it earth elemental. Titans are classified as the first gods in Greek mythology. Most of
them represent, in human form, such natural phenomena as the earth,
sky and sun. the first Titan was Gaea, the earth. She emerged from
Chaos to give birth to Uranus, the sky. The Titans represent giant
creatures with power over the skies and the earth itself.
Tritoch
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VI as the bird that
commands the Fire, Ice and Lightning elements. Tritoch was taken
from the English and other European mythology. According to English
and European myth, the Tritoch has beaks on it's wings and another
on it's tail where the bird got it's name which means "Triple
pointed". Tritoch has colorful feathers that is believed to be
colored when the Tritoch passed the rainbow. The Tritoch only
appears after the rain ceases and then a rainbow appears. The
Tritoch always lands in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Unicorn
Making it's appearance in Final Fantasy VI. The
summoned Unicorn rejects all kinds of abnormal status effects. An imaginary animal
that plays a prominent part in Medieval European legend and art. The
unicorn has the head and body of a horse, the legs of a deer and the
tail of a lion. It is named for a single horn that projects from the
middle of it's forehead. Unicorns are usually portrayed as white and
are generally believed to symbolize purity, chastity and meekness.
Most scholars believe the image of the Unicorn was derived from
hearsay European accounts of the Rhinoceros.
That
concludes my research for the origin of the Final Fantasy summon
monsters. For one thing, most of them were taken from different
kinds of mythology. Notice that the other summon monsters are not in
this documentary. It is because I haven't researched it yet.
However, if you have information regarding the unmentioned summon
monsters' origin. Please notify the author immediately.
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