I tried to do a search on this board on the Goat God character that appeared in volume 18 and 19. I am wondering who is that character. I also tried to look him up on google as well and the only thing I came close was a name "Baphomet" and the image is almost similiar to the Berserk character. Anyway what I found interesting is that character appeared in the movie the "300" and if you noticed the Goat God was surround in an environment of lust. Anyway idea who this character is?
Goat God
- Thread starter xbigvmanx
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I don't think it was supposed to be Baphomet, or anything specifically correlating to our world (as with many things in Berserk, there's usually a superficial resemblance to real world artifacts/places etc.). He's just a generic pagan figurehead for the religion that's all the rage in Albion that dramatically resembles paganism.
xbigvmanx said:
That question turned up before so I'm pretty sure you could find other posts on the subject if you persisted. Anyway, that character in Berserk isn't someone very important, the only thing that makes him notable is the fact he's the leader of that pagan cult in Albion. Keep in mind that he's not a God or anything, just a normal guy wearing a costume (elaborate goat mask basically) and presiding over orgies. That is, until the Beherit-Apostle stings him, then he becomes a pseudo-apostle and acquires some interesting characteristics (unfortunately for him he didn't live long afterwards, though).
xbigvmanx said:
As we can see in volume 3, there is a pagan idol that is apparently relatively commonly worshipped by heretics that strongly resembles the depiction Eliphas Lévi made of Baphomet in the 19th century and that made it popular among occultists (Baphomet itself was originally an idol supposedly worshipped by the Templars, but there are basically no known details about it. As far as I know Lévi's drawing and description for it were completely made up.). It is safe to assume that the leader of Albion's pagan cult inspired himself from that idol to confect his costume. Anyway, like Walter said, other than the design and occult connotation there are no serious connexions between them.
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I dare say the idol in volume 3 is directly inspired by the illustration by Lévi.
The pose, the hermaphroditic nature of the idol, the pentagram and the lantern on its head all point to this.
Off course, we can't be certain because we are not Miura, but I think it's a safe bet.
Walter and Aaz, you wrote solid posts on this topic.
I have nothing to add besides my personal belief that the Knights Templar didn't worship any pagan idols, and that the supposed Baphomet worship was only confessed to under torture.
(Those who are interrested can easily find some information on the history of the Knights Templar, ending with the suppression of their order, the confiscation of its wealth, the imprisonment and torture of its members, and the accusations of heresy to legitimise these actions.)
PS : Topics like this one are a good reason to re-read early volumes like vol 2-3.
The pose, the hermaphroditic nature of the idol, the pentagram and the lantern on its head all point to this.
Off course, we can't be certain because we are not Miura, but I think it's a safe bet.
Walter and Aaz, you wrote solid posts on this topic.
I have nothing to add besides my personal belief that the Knights Templar didn't worship any pagan idols, and that the supposed Baphomet worship was only confessed to under torture.
(Those who are interrested can easily find some information on the history of the Knights Templar, ending with the suppression of their order, the confiscation of its wealth, the imprisonment and torture of its members, and the accusations of heresy to legitimise these actions.)
PS : Topics like this one are a good reason to re-read early volumes like vol 2-3.
xbigvmanx said:
The figure Baphomet is somewhat dubious - often associated with the Templar mythos/pseudo-history (in which Baphomet was not a goat-like figure). By the way I wouldn't look for historical accuracy in "300" - but goat-like figures have often associated with sexuality and fertility (such as Pan in Greek mythology). So it isn't a surprise to have such a figure as a center piece of a sexual rite. But again "300" isn't much when it comes to accuracy, the film (especially) & graphic novel's need to portray the Spartan society as fitting the modern western model of heterosexuality (as opposed to the pederastic society that it was), as champions of personal "freedom" (they still after all had classes that were little more than slaves), and marginalization of the other Greek forces who were at that last stand (closer to 1500 people were there at the end), is evidence enough to state that the film is in no way accurately portraying the social context of either of the societies.
That illustration shows up in a few things, probably. I remember an episode of Urusei Yatsura (looking it up I think it was the fist half of ep. 12) where the gang follows Sakura to a disco on a date with her boyfriend. He traveled to europe to learn western magic, and summons satan on the dance floor to impress her, or something. I couldn't figure out how to get a screencap when I had the disc, but I'm positive it was based on the same image.