Favourite FF mythology reference

**smurphy** · 10-16-2009, 05:16 AM

Hi i was just wondering what everyones favourite Final Fantasy mythology/legend reference as my favourite, VII seems to have no shortage.

To start off mine would be Nibelheim, the Norse "land of the dead" which is perfectly fitting to the location.

**Dodie16** · 10-19-2009, 11:14 AM

I think it's sort of neat how there's the whole "Fenrir" thing going on in FFVII (chiefly in Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus). Cloud has a bike named Fenrir and apparently the wolf ornament on his clothing and his earring is supposed to symbolize Fenrir as well. I looked up a bit of info and this is what I got:
(source: FF Wiki)

The name "Fenrir" is reference to the giant wolf Fenrisulfr in Norse mythology, often known as Fenrir, who is bound by silk chains and is destined to devour Odin at Ragnarok. This is particularly interesting as Fenrir is considered by many to be a hellhound due to his link to the guardian of Nifleheim, garmr. This leads to an interesting set of coincidences, as it means Cloud, represented by Fenrir, hails from Nibelheim, named for the land of the dead, where Odin is found in Final Fantasy VII. Cloud being represented by the hellhound who devours a god may be a deliberate distinction with Sephiroth, who wishes to achieve godhood but is repeatedly defeated by Cloud.

**Pete** · 10-19-2009, 08:22 PM

I always thought the summon Alexander was a cool bit of mythology/ historical referencing.

As we all know, Alexander is the massive castle/ tank like summon. The name stems from the Greek word "Alexandros," which means "protector of men." The classic holy element of the summon takes it a bit further. Plus, in IX, I'm pretty sure Alexander comes to life in order to protect the city against Bahamut, spreading wings, much like a guardian angel may.

Alexander is a castle, which could also be a nod to Alexander the Great, considered by many to be the greatest emperor ever.

**Xanatos** · 10-20-2009, 08:36 AM

Most of the summon creatures come from different cultures and mythologies, some of them are even considered to be God's, like Shiva for instance. Speaking of Shiva, when I was on catechism one of the priest asked me about Shiva (apparently we were learning about Hindu religion the previous classes and I wasn't paying any attention) so trusting my FF instincts I said that Shiva is Ice Queen, I got F that day.

As for my favorite reference, that would be Bahamut. To be honest I didn't expected to see that he's a vast fish in Arabian mythology.

**Josh_R** · 11-11-2009, 07:26 AM

Well there is multiple mytholgical reference made in FF but my favorite is defineately odin he was my favorite norse god and I loved. My second would be what Dodie said fenrir which has multiple reference in square-enix games, FF VII advent children it's cloud's motorcycle, and in KH II it is a keyblade that you get for beating Sephiroth.

**xXx Rikku xXx** · 10-23-2010, 05:19 AM

Odin! no questions asked so i dont need to say why he is my favourite but i will anyway because thats what im like
so number 1 he is a MAJOR god!
he's associated with war and death but also a bit of magic and arts on the side
some say he was kind a prophet or he just made prophicies
in some religions he is referred to as mercury ( which is my favourite plant and yes i like planets -_- )
and who can forget he had SLEIPNIR!!!! wouldn't mind an eight legged horse myself to be quite honest
which brings me to final fantasy 12, theres a fiend called sleipnir which annoyed the hell out of me because i didn't want to kill any =(
anywho rant over thats why Odin is always my favourite
NO wait! final fantasy 8 annoyed me, how the BEEEP can a stupid teenager take down the mighty Odin!? -_- rant over! wait was i supposed to rant? oh well :3

**SuperSabin** · 10-23-2010, 06:42 AM

I tried looking up info about the Zemus/Zeromus character but unfortunately for me theres no mythology about a Zemus. Otherwise he would of been my favorite mythology character.

**Heartless Angel** · 10-23-2010, 11:07 AM

I love all the norse mytholigcal references in VII, and the presence of Odin in the others. I was actually familiar with Nibelheim/Nifelheim and Fenrir, though DOdie's explaination of Cloud being destiened to beat Sephiroth was a perspective I've never thought of before, very interesting.

Freya in IX is also a refernce to Freya/Frei/Freyja in Norse Mythology.

Quezacotl in VIII is a refernce to the Aztec God.

Ifrit, and it's many other spellings in arabic mythology are a form of djinn, just a cut beneath angels, renowned or their strength.

Ixion was a king in Greek Mythology.

Ixion's overdrive in X, Thor's Hammer reffers to the Norse god of Thunder's legendary weapon, Mjolnir.

Titan obviously refers to the Titans of Greek Mythology.

The name Ragnarok given to many weapons throughout FF is the name of the endwar of the Gods in Norse Mythology, roughly equivalent to the Apocalypse.

Diablos refers to the spanish word for Devil.

X's Valefor is likely a reference to Valefar, Demonology's Duke of Hell.

Hrunting is a weapon in FFX (maybe others, but I only remember it in X), this refers to Beowulf's legendary weapon. X also had a monster called Grendel, also a reference to Beowulf.

Tidus also has a weapon called Ascalon, which could refer to a number of things. The last battle of the first crusade was called the Battle of Ascalon. The weapon Saint George used to slay a Dragon was also named Ascalon.

Kinarhi's weapon Spirit Lance, in the Japenese version was called Longinus, the name of a soldier who pierced the side of Christ with his spear. Damn shame the metaphor of a spear that could pierce the divine was lost in translation <.<

Nirvana, Yuna's ultimate weapon (and a believe a staff in a few other FFs) is the highest level of enlightenment and transcendance.

Lævateinn, another weapon that has made various appearances throughout the series, in Norse Mythology is a weapon mentioned in the Poetic Edda.

I could keep lsiting these, but there's probably a text limit on posts, so I'll stop here o.O

**L-lawilet** · 10-23-2010, 04:34 PM

isnt shiva a indian god not a ice goddess???

**Angel of Iniquity** · 10-30-2010, 04:07 PM

Ehh, i love the monster mythology but quick question... Odin in FF8 was located in... blue heavan? The hell is that?

**CloudvsLightning** · 10-30-2010, 07:26 PM

[QUOTE=Dodie16;1231323]I think it's sort of neat how there's the whole "Fenrir" thing going on in FFVII (chiefly in Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus). QUOTE]

That's one of my favourites as well.

**Unlucky Rufus** · 11-01-2010, 01:43 AM

Quezacotl is my favorite reference. Like Heartless Angel listed above it based on the Aztec god. Which i think is cool since you don't get alot of meso-america references coming from Japan.