Mythologies




Adelbert | Alexander | Alexandria | Amarant
Bahamut | Baku | Beatrix | Behemoth
Brahne | Carbuncle | Carroll | Cerebus
Cid | Daguerro | Excalibur | Fenrir
Flan | Freya | Gaia | Garnet
Garuda | Genji | Gladius | Ifrit
Kraken | Lamia | Leo | Leviathan
Madeen | Mandragora | Marcus | Minerva
Odin | Phoenix | Pluto | Puck
Ragnarok | Ruby | Shiva | Staff of Zeus
Steiner | Stiltzkin | Tantalus | Terra
Tiamat | The Tower | Yeti




A D E L B E R T

Adelbert is a German name, meaning Exalted. It is related to the more common name Albert.
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A L E X A N D E R

Alexander probably refers to Alexander the Great, a man who actually existed. Some believed him to be a son of Zeus or Apollo; historically, he was the son of Phillip II of Macedonia. Alexander was king of Macedonia, a country north of Greece, in the 300 B.C.'s. He went on to conquer much of eastern Europe and western Asia, but his empire fell apart after his death.
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A L E X A N D R I A

Alexandria was a city in northern Egypt, founded by Alexander the Great. For two hundred years, it was the capital of Egypt. It was a center of culture and learning for several centuries, and was famous for its huge libraries.
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A M A R A N T

Amarant comes from Amaranth, a mythical red flower that never fades.
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B A H A M U T

In Arabic mythology, Bahamut is a giant fish which indirectly supports the world, like Atlas in Greek mythology. Bahamut appears in the FF series as a gigantic dragon.
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B A K U

A Japanese spirit who eats bad dreams. Baku has a lion's head, tiger's feet, and a horse's body.
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B E A T R I X

Beatrix is a name meaning Voyager. It is also related to the Latin word beatus, meaning Blessed. Beatrix is the Germanic version of the more common Beatrice, which adds to the character's Valkyrie-like persona. Beatrice was also Dante's beloved.
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B E H E M O T H

A huge animal, resembling a hippo or a crocodile. Behemoths play a part in the Apocalypse of Christianity, and are associated with Lucifer.
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B R A H N E

The name Brahne probably comes from Bran, a king in Celtic mythology. He was extremely large, and unable to fit into a house. He died while attacking Ireland to rescue his sister Branwen. After he died, his head remained alive and could still talk. His name means Raven.
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C A R B U N C L E

Carbunkle, usually spelled Carbuncle, is a deep red almandine (that's a kind of stone, related either to a ruby or a garnet). Carbuncles stand for courage and perseverence.
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C A R R O L L

a feminine form of Charles, meaning "free man," or a version of the Gaelic Cearbhall, meaning "brave fighter." It was also the pen name of fanciful author Lewis Carroll.
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C E R E B U S

Cerberus is a three-headed dog who guards the gates of Hades, the Underworld. He made sure that no spirits left the underworld.
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C I D

El Cid was a knight in Spanish legend who fought against the Moors. Cid has been in every Final Fantasy since FF2j. He is most often an inventor of sorts, although that has nothing to do with the mythology.
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D A G U E R R O

This is probably named afer Daguerre, a French inventor who invented the daguerreotype, an early variety of photograph. It was produced on a metal plate covered in silver that was sensetive to light.
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E X C A L I B U R

The excalibur was the sword King Arthur pulled from the stone. Other legends say it was given to him by the Lady of the Lake. Excalibur's scabbard, made by his sister Morgana, prevented Arthur from bleeding from his wounds.
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F E N R I R

Fenrir is a gigantic wolf monster, son of Loki. He was trapped by the gods and buried under the earth with a sword keeping his mouth open.
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F L A N

Flan is a mexican custard!
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F R E Y A

Freya is the Norse goddess of love and fertility. She married Od, who disappeared. When she wept for him, her tears turned into gold.
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G A I A

Gaia is Mother Earth in Greek mythology. She was born out of Chaos. She was the mother of the sea and the sky, Uranus. With Uranus, she was the mother of the Titans, the Cyclops, the three Hecatonchires, the Erinyes, and the Gigantes. The Titans Cronus and Rhea eventually became the parents of the more famous Greek gods.
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G A R N E T

A garnet is a precious stone, the January birthstone. Garnets symbolize protection. For more information, see the stones page.
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G A R U D A

Garuda was a bird in Buddhist mythology, with a human body and an eagle's wings and beak. He ate snakes every day until a Buddhist prince taught him that it was wrong, so Garuda restored the snakes to life. He now eats only bad men.
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G E N J I

Genji is a hero of a famous Japanese epic novel, The Tale of Genji. Genji is a prince, a warrior and a lover of women.
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G L A D I U S

A gladius was a Roman sword. This is where they get the term gladiator.
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I F R I T

Ifrits, more commonly spelled Afrit or Efreet, are gigantic, malicious Jinni, or Genies. Jinni are made of either fire or air; Ifrit is a creature of fire.
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K R A K E N

In Norse mythology, a Kraken is a huge sea monster that attacks ships. He is part octopus and part crab.
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L A M I A

A Lamia is a female vampire who steals children. She has the top half of a woman and the bottom half of a snake. In Greek mythology, Zeus cheated on Hera with her and Hera, in a jealous rage, killed Lamia's children. She eats other women's children in revenge.
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L E O

Leo is a Latin name meaning Lion. It is also a sign of the zodiac.
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L E V I A T H A N

Leviathan is a huge sea-serpent mentioned in the Bible. According to some sources, he can breathe fire.
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M A D E E N

Madeen is possibly Manawydan, son of Llyr and Penarddun and brother of Branwen in Celtic mythology. He was a scholar and magician, who married Rhiannon, and moved to Dyfed. His wife vanished along with his castle, and his crops were eaten by mice. All his troubles were caused by Llwyd, who was getting revenge on him for tkaing Rhiannon from Gwawl, her original suitor.
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M A N D R A G O R A

Also known as a mandrake. It's a kind of plant whose root resembles a human. It had powerful magical properties.
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M A R C U S

Marcus is a Latin name, meaning "of Mars." Mars being the god of war, this makes Marcus a warlike name.
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M I N E R V A

Minerva is the Latin goddess of wisdom, same as the Greek Athena. She was always dressed as a warrior, hence the Minerva Plate.
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O D I N

Odin is the king of the Norse gods. He is the god of wisdom, poetry, war, and death. He hung for nine days on the world tree to learn wisdom. He lives in Valhalla, the afterlife for soldiers. He has two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, an eight-footed horse, Sleipnir, two wolves, Freki and Geri, and the spear Gungnir. On judgement day, or Ragnarok, he will be killed by Fenrir.
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P H O E N I X

The phoenix is a mythical bird that could come back to life. There is only one phoenix alive in the world at a time. When it was about to die, it would kill itself by setting itself on fire, and a new phoenix would rise from the ashes.
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P L U T O   K N I G H T S

Pluto was the Roman god of the dead, related to the Greek Hades. It is also a small, cold planet in our solar system. More modernly, it is the name of Mickey Mouse's silly dog.
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P U C K

Puck is also known as Robin Goodfellow, he is a character in Shakiespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." He plays his flute for fairies to dance, and is known for being a trickster.
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R A G N A R O K

Ragnarok is the end of the world in Norse mythology. Also called Gotterdammerung. Basically, all the gods destroy the world, and a new world will be born out of the sea.
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R U B Y

A ruby is a precious stone, the July birthstone. Rubies symbolize passion and carefree behavior. For more information, see the stones page.
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S H I V A

Shiva the destroyer is part of the highest trinity of Hindu gods, the other two being Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver. Unlike the beautiful ice-woman Square created, the Hindu Shiva is male and frightening-looking.
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S T A F F   O F   Z E U S

Zeus was the Greek king of the gods. Also the god of thunder. He has nothing to do with staves.
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S T E I N E R

Stein is German for Stone. This could have something to do with the character's solid, stodgy, dependable personality. It is also fitting that he protects Garnet, whose name is a kind of stone.
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S T I L T Z K I N

Stiltzkin comes from Rumplestiltzkin. He was a little man who could spin straw into gold. When he did this favor for a miller's daughter, she became queen, but owed him her first-born child. When the child was born, she didn't want to give it up, so Rumplestiltzkin said that if she could guess his name in three nights, she could keep the baby. The queen's maid heard Rumplestiltzkin singing his name, and told the queen. When she guessed it, Rumplestiltzkin got so mad he stomped straight through the floor and was never seen again.
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T A N T A L U S

Tantalus is from Greek mythology. He was king of Sipylos and favored by the gods, who shared their ambrosia and nectar with him. He then invited the gods to a banquet and served them the body of his son, Pelops, whom he had killed and chopped up. When the gods discovered the trick, they gave Pelops back his life and punished Tantalus. He was sent to Hades, where he was punished by being tantalized by food and water. He was up to his neck in water, but when he bent to drink, the water lowered so he couldn't reach it. Fruit trees were above him, but when he tried to pick a fruit, they moved out of reach.
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T E R R A

Terra is the Roman name of Gaia. When the Romans took over the Greeks, they adopted much of their culture, including their mythology.
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T I A M A T

Tiamat is a humongous female dragon in Babylonian mythology. She is the mother of all life on earth. The god Marduk killed her and cut her in half. Her top half became the sky and her bottom half the earth.
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T H E   T O W E R

The Tower is a tarot card, one of the Major Arcana. It stands for an obstacle or a setback.
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Y E T I

The Yeti is the Abominable Snowman who lives in the Himalayas. He is related to the American myth of Bigfoot.
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