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Still Waters » Surfacing » Essays º The Succession of Kings
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The story of Oedipus is a popular tale from ancient times, some even taking it so far as to make it a psychosis. However, the legend itself is a twisted version of the pagan succession of kings, an ancient practice of the god reincarnating into the new king. This legend is exemplified in two relationships in the Slayers series, that of Valgaav and Filia and the Lord of Nightmares and the avatars of Shabranigdo.
The ancient pagans venerated their King and Queen as avatars of the gods. Every King was slain by his successor and then chosen to be the Queen's new bride-groom. The new kind was always described as a "son" of the deceased because he was supposed to be the same god reincarnated in another consort for the mother-bride. So the god was reborn many times over by begetting himself again by the goddess. This can be seen in many different mythologies. In Christian mythology, the god Yahweh impregnates the virgin Mary to produce a son nearly indistinguishable from himself. The Egyptian gods like Amon and Osiris were respectfully called, "Husband of thy mother."
The story of Oedipus, which was grossly misinterpreted by the invaders of Thebes, shows evidence of this royal succession. King Laius's name simply means 'King' and his wife Iocasta or Jocasta was the name of the Theban moon goddess. Although many other would misinterpret the legend, the philosopher Carl Jung summed up the true meaning, saying, "To get back to the mother again in order to be born again by the mother...One of the simplest ways was to fructify the mother and procreate oneself again...It is not incestuous cohabitation that is sought, but rebirth...The neurotic who cannot leave his mother has good reason; fear of death holds him there. It appears that there is no concept and no word strong enough to express the meaning of this conflict. Whole religions are built to give value to the magnitude in this conflict."
The interesting connection between the succession of kings is apparent in the relationship between Valgaav and Filia. The goddess embodied in the pagan Queen was always that of a moon goddess, as is the case with Iocasta. The Queen's consort was often a moon deity as well, usually taking the form of a bull. For example, Min, or Menu, was a reincarnated version of his father who appeared as the moon bull to mate with his Cow-mother. Straighter horns like Valgaav's have always been symbolically connected with the moon, while curling ram horns are associated with the sun. For example, the Gnostic sect of Naassian believed in a primordial being known as, "the heavenly horn of the moon." Valgaav has even been pictured with a dark moon behind him. The horn is also seen as a phallic symbol, exemplifying the ability to procreate himself again. For example, Min was often shown with an abnormally erect phallus in human form, and horned when in bull form to stress that point. If any more connections between Valgaav and the gods is needed, then please see the essay, "Traces of a God and Demon: The Symbolism Behind Valgaav". [link]
Filia's roles in the series exemplify the Triple Goddess, which symbolized the three phases of the moon. In her innocence and gaiety she is the virgin Maiden, in her caring for the baby Val she is the Mother, and in her terrible, rampant wrath with her mace she is the terrifying Crone. No other female in the series exemplifies these qualities more than Filia. Lina and Amelia have had no roles as a mother, and Sylphiel certainly couldn't be called truly wrathful by any sense of the word in any point in the series. Filia is also a priestess, which in ancient Thebes (where the story of Oedipus took place) were called, "One Inspired By The Moon."
Valgaav was killed and reborn by a goddess as we can see from the woman's figure in the background as Val's egg descended. Whether by the Lord of Nightmares or by Volphied it is not known (Volphied's favored form is that of a woman, as shown in Lost Universe.) Just as in legend, Valgaav was reborn of a goddess. Filia then became the surrogate mother, taking care of the second form of the ancient dragon she worried over. The relationship between the two is obviously full of the archetypes of myth, with Filia as the mother-bride and Val as the son-consort.
A second relationship in Slayers eludes to the succession of the pagan kings. The Lord of Nightmares is indisputably the goddess among goddesses, the Queen of the universe. Her creation, the Dark Lord Shabranigdo, was broken up into seven pieces and is periodically reborn in the hearts of different humans. Lei Magnus was the first avatar of the Dark Lord, and was eventually killed during the Kouma war.
A lesser known fact is that the demon's blood talismans were the original possession of Lei Magnus, who was a infinitely skilled sorcerer. The demon's blood talismans call upon Dark Lords in each of the four planes of existence. It would be nearly impossible for someone, even a dragon or a Mazoku, to go to each plane and devise a talisman to call upon each and every Dark Lord. Who could be able to do such a thing? The Lord of Nightmares, creator of everything in the entire universe would be a likely candidate. This would seem likely, especially since the eventual owner of the talismans is Lina Inverse, the known favorite of the Lord of Nightmares.
But why would the Lord of Nightmares do such a thing for Lei Magnus? Some have suggested that Lei Magnus, as an avatar of her son Shabranigdo, was her favorite or even lover. This would correspond with a particular kind of pagan succession: the sacrificial kings. The pagan sacrificial kings would rule for one year, then would be killed to join the goddess in heaven. Then a new sacrificial king was chosen to be the representation of the god for that year so that the goddess could continually be supplied with a young, virile consort that embodied the god. The relationship between the Lord of Nightmares and the avatars of her son Shabranigdo exemplify the sacrificial succession. The Lord of Nightmares created the god Shabranigdo, which satisfied the oedipal part of the succession. Like the men who represented the god in pagan tradition, the avatars of Shabranigdo would eventually be killed and join the goddess in the heavens. The Lord of Nightmares could continually have a new young consort to represent the god Shabranigdo, just as the sacrificial kings were supposed to be representations of the god.
The pagan tradition of royal and mythological succession is shown in the relationships and circumstances of both couples. Although technically both dragons were not godly, the symbolism around Valgaav and Filia says otherwise. Meanwhile, the succession of the avatars of Shabranigdo could even be the Slayers-world equivalent of the mythological succession in this world. Without a doubt, the pagan influences seem right at home in the magical world of Slayers.
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* Exempt from any bibliography requirements due to having been written long ago, and featured on request of the webmistress. Submitted essays of this nature would be better with source citation allowing other people to read more on what's said.
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