Thursday 16 June 2016

Summon: Leviathan

Leviathan: The Tidal water snake

Appearances: FFIII, FFIV, FFV, FFVI, FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX, FFXI, FFXIV, FFXV

 Amano art of Leviathan

As a summon Leviathan's signature attack is Tsunami or Tidal Wave which calls forth a massive wave of water to wash away all foes. In Final Fantasy III he is called the 'Lord of the Seas'. Leviathan also appears in FFII as a mini dungeon and FFXII as the name of an airship. In modern English the word Leviathan is used with large aquatic creatures, particularly whales.

The Leviathan comes from the Old Testament of the Bible. Most of the references come from the book of Job. This book deals with divine justice and whether people will act righteously for selfish motives such as divine blessings. It is an attempt to explain why even an upright and good person who is dutiful may, in real life, face a life of suffering. So how does a sea serpent fit into this? The first example is when Job is lamenting his misfortunes cursing the day of his birth. Job wishes that the soothsayers had conjured Leviathan to swallow the day he was born. God mentions mentions the Leviathan and Behmoth as examples divine wisdom and power as he is able to control these fell beasts. The description of the Leviathan emphasizes the strength  and size of the beasts scales. He sports a rugged under-belly. This incarnation of Leviathan was also said to belch fire. The thrashings of the creature churn the seas so much the froth looks like the hair of the very beast himself. This second mention of the Leviathan is some times taken to be a giant crocodile.

There is another version of the Leviathan that appears in Psalm 74:14. This version has multiple heads which God had smashed open to feed the desert creatures. There are several other legends of multi headed serpents across the near East, the most famous being the Greek Hydra.

Leviathan also appears in several medieval demonologies. I've only had a chance to briefly look into the vast subject mater of demonology. But this is what I have found so far: Leviathan crops up as the Sin of Envy in the German Peter Binsfeld's 1589 work. In the later work of the Marvelous History by Michaelis Leviathan is a seraphim who tempts people into heresy. In this account he is one of the first three angels to fall from Heaven. Leviathan may be either a Prince of Hell or hold the office of Grand Admiral.

"Destruction of Leviathan". 1865 engraving by Gustave Doré

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