The mythology of the Four Horsemen, an essay on comparative religion and genre TV (LONG!!!) -- Season Eight Fanfic Discussion

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Date Posted: 14:52:35 02/22/03 Sat
Author: Wyvern *oh, and minor passing AtS spoilers*
Subject: The mythology of the Four Horsemen, an essay on comparative religion and genre TV (LONG!!!)

The Four Horsemen of the Apolcalypse in popular culture

If they're handled right, they're going to be pretty awesome, but the idea of them as a "middle bad" around for four episodes and *poof* doesn't sit so well with the actual mythology. The Four Horsemen are traditionally referred to as Death, Famine, War and Pestilence, though the actual powers they are charged with are nothing like as clear cut as that. I know they're OK as a starting point, but if we're actually making them the Four Horsemen Of The Apolcalypse, I'd like to at least make sure we all know the source of the story.

And the more I read it, the more I can actually see cause for using them as plot inspiration in the Buffyverse, but there needs to be a lot of work, taking it away from the original concept. The opening of the 5th seal, for instance, could be a nice parallel with the opening of the hellmouth - only instead of the souls of those slain for their beliefs, under the alter, we could have all the dark souls trapped there under the Hellmouth until someone with sufficient power released them.

Revelation 5
1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Revelation 5:1-14

Revelation 6

1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Revelation 6:1-17

The implications of such usage

As you can see,though, unless we handle it VERY carefully, we run the risk of upsetting people by taking a tenet of religious belief and turning it into entertainment. This is different to taking the concept of heaven or hell, which is common to many faiths (though not mine, ironically enough)and using it in a generalised way. We are actually taking specific characters from an existing, and widely practised religion, and trying to use them as a plot device. If you think this is harmless, may I just point out the Xena debacle...

Xena: A Warning from History

There is one episode of Xena: Warrior Princess which, in most countries, has never been allowed to air, although it has subsequently had limited video release. It involved the use of a Hindu deity in a story, offended a great many people and subsequently the episode was pulled, which in a way was a pity (I've only seen stills, but aspects of it were visually stunning). On the other hand, Red Dwarf have already done the "horsemen" concept in the episode Four Gunmen of the Apocalypse. The mythology was handled with care, and the key to defeating the "gunmen", as well as the nature of the "apocalypse" itself, was written in such a way as to avoid theological offense. But this is why it may be difficult to do the philosophy justice within a mini-arc, especially if they aren't the "big bad". Using specific characters from a living religion is something to be handled with care, even in fan fiction. We have to be mindful to respect peoples beliefs.

But can we go with the kind of storyline we want to do in any other way?

Of course, there is an alternative, and in previous research on the Horsemen, and apocalypse myths in general, I have actually come across one very similar myth which predates the Christian one by oh, a couple of millennia and has the added bonus of belonging to a faith which is no longer generally practised, the region it comes from being primarily populated by people practising the three "sister faiths" - Judaism, Christianity and Islam, mostly the latter two. It is a myth from the old Sumerian/Babylonian tradition, centering in part on the long-gone city of Cutha which is south of modern day Baghdad. Rather than four, in this case there are seven, but the principle is the same. They are the Sebitti, the gods born to the Sky God, Anu and the Earth Goddess. This is a translation of a passage from one of the tablets on which the myth is recorded:

Tablet 1 - Erra and Ishum

When Anu, king of the gods, sowed his seed in the earth, She bore him seven gods, he called them the Seven [the Sebitti]. They stood before him, that he ordain their destinies.

He summoned the First to give his instructions, "Wherever you go and spread terror, have no equal."

He said to the Second, "Burn like fire, scorch like flame."

He commanded the Third, "Look like a lion, let him who sees you be paralysed with fear."

He said to the Fourth, "Let a mountain collapse when you present your fierce arms."

He said to the Fifth, "Blast like a wind, scan the circumference of the Earth."

He said to the Sixth, "Go out everywhere (like the deluge) and spare no-one."

The Seventh he chared with viperous venom, "Slay whatever lives."

Like Revelation, it is an apocalypse myth, but it is a far less well know (and less, therefore, popularly cliched) one. I know it looks pretty certain we're going with the Horsemen, but I thought I'd present this one to give a few more ideas. If we can combine elements of the two, it removes the rather strong biblical element that some people have voiced a few minor concerns about and also gives us something new. I imagine the story of the Sebitti is one that far fewer of the readers will be familiar with, which will give an element of surprise. I'm not saying go with this, but I'm suggesting that we need to look wider than a single story for our inspiration. BTW, my research has also turned up some interesting spells and rituals used by the people of this era to trap and banish demons.

The Four Horsemen and the Apocalypse, or, the purpose of the Apocalypse in Christian mythology, and the pro and cons of using it in the Buffyverse

As I said in opening, the Four Horsemen are a fantastic starting point. But we need to be mindful how we handle them. And we also need to bear in mind that they are part of one of the most important elements of a major world religion. They are part of the Judgement Day story, and we can't let it play out too much along the lines of Revelation because that would effectively say "Hey, God doesn't need to worry about Judgement Day, Buffy's taken care of it for him...". Remember, Judgement Day isn't just about the end of the world; for believers it is also about what happens after that; receiving their ultimate judgement and reward from God. This is the difference between a show like Buffy and a show like Red Dwarf. In the latter, the Gunmen were really part of a computer program, in the former they really are likely to be part of the Apocalypse. In the light of all the averted apocalypses past, we need to remember what the Apocalypse is actually meant to be, according to at least on tradition - especially when we are seriously considering using that tradition's Apocalypse myth in this context. On the other hand, it is also a frame of reference that people understand. Using motifs from it is a good way of ensuring the audience understands quickly where the story is going and therefore aids the narrative flow.

Examples of usage in the context of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel

What Joss et al have always done is walked a fine line, which nods to certain concepts with which we are all familiar without using specifics. Compare Anya's curiosity about whether Buffy had Birkenstocks and a harp in heaven to Buffy's "reality", where there was no mention of wings, halos or musical instruments. Similarly, although Angel was sent "to Hell", it was one of many "Hell Dimensions". saying he was sent to Hell is effectively verbal shorthand. Although there are demons, "The Devil" hasn't been one of them. What about "The Beast" on Angel? Not the first "Beast" they've had - Glory was referred to in the same way. Just happens that the AtS one is more inclined to fit the stereotype.

Talking of Angel

Also, the events in the current season of AtS already mirror the Revelation type Apocalypse, with the blood and the fire and the darkness, so we want to be careful not to retread the ground they're covering there. I'd forgotten about that until I remembered the bit about the sun becoming black... so certain elements of the Four Horsemen/Revelation myth are already being used in the Jossverse. In fact, the whole Revelation theme has been much, much stronger in AtS since the beginning but has been done subtly.

The Power of Four

I think the Horsemen have the potential to be a great starting point, but I think their use needs to be considered very carefully. Maybe what we need is a Four Horsemen type motif without it necessarily being the Four Horsemen. If, for arguments sake, we have Four Riders/Heralds/Powers/Elements that need to be brought together, they could be big scary robed guys on horses without having anything to do with the Bible. In many mythologies, including my own, Four is a powerful number. There are Four cardinal points on a compass (NSEW), Four Winds, Four elements (in most traditions, these are Earth, Water, Air and Fire, though these can vary, and in some cases are joined by a fifth), Four Seasons, Four kingdoms (animal, vegetable, mineral and fungi) and Four Humours in ancient medical practise. In Wicca there are four major and four minor Sabbats. In Chinese superstition, four is considered an unlucky number, as the word for four sounds like the word for death.

Oh, and as was pointed out elsewhere on the board, the spell in Primeval used the four original characters, Buffy, Willow, Giles and Xander.

So in conclusion (What's that? Cheering?)

It's a good thing that we aren't meeting the Four Whatevers till episode 10. There's a lot that we can consider if we choose to in making them a powerful and interesting threat rather than a bit of a cliche. I'm not saying the people writing this should take any of what I've suggested and use it unless they actually want to - though if they do, I have a lot more stuff I could have put into this and would be more than happy to help with the mythology of The Four Horsemen of Our Apocalypse. The key is character development, we can either take them "as is", and risk them being something everyone has seen before, or we can take the germ of the legend and make it into something amazing.

I'd better stop rambling now...

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[> Oh, and I guess I'd better -- Wyvern, 14:56:49 02/22/03 Sat

...close the escaped "bold" tag...

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[> Brilliant! *I'd advise BB ep writers to take note*. -- Kashmanik - Great research Wyv!, 15:09:12 03/02/03 Sun

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[> Wow! *bursts into applause* -- Linda_Delurked, 21:00:13 03/02/03 Sun

Brilliantly done, and with loads of background info. Thanks a million for this! *rushes off to study*

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[> I agree with everything you said Wyvy (surprise surprise) -- BunnyPhobia, 23:29:53 03/04/03 Tue

And amazing research....hehehe. I have evil ideas now...

And I do think using bits of both mythologies from both with prevent chance of offense, or at least reduce it somewhat

plus it gives us more stuff to play with.

Excellent!
~BP

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