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The mythology of the ''Stargate'' franchise is a complex and eclectic fictional backstory, which is presented as being historical, of the ''Stargate'' premise. A "rich mythology and world-building" are used to establish "a vast cosmology and an interesting alternate take on the history of Earth"; a defining feature is "its use of ancient mythology, with stories that take inspiration from multiple places around the globe". Narratives center around xeno-
mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
as experienced by humans during episodic contact with alien races. Audiences across a variety of platforms - including TV series, novels, comics and movies - witness the people of
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
exploring a
fictional universe A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and scie ...
using the
Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...
. Species established early on in the franchise recur throughout, with one adversary often dominating a particular story arc, which can continue across several seasons. In addition to a diversity of
alien life Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially, aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms ...
, the Stargate universe includes an abundance of humans who, prior to the events depicted in the various Stargate fictional vehicles, have been scattered across the cosmos by advanced aliens. Some of the most significant species or beings in ''
Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...
'' are the Goa'uld, the
Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...
, and the Replicators. ''
Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an Adventure film, adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad W ...
'', set in the Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy, introduced the Wraith and the Asurans. One of the most influential species in ''Stargate'', the Ancients, are revealed to have moved on to a higher plane of existence. "There’s no shortage of familiar myths to be found in the Stargate franchise, even if they are transformed to fit sci-fi parameters." Frederic Krueger notes the re-emergence of the Ancient Astronaut Discourse (AAD) in the 1990s, and points to "the continuous mutual influence between the AAD and popular culture, exemplified via the rather spectacular case of Stargate". For example, an origin theory for human populations shown to inhabit the
Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...
galaxy in ''Stargate SG-1'' holds that the Goa'uld transplanted humans from Earth to other planets for slave labor. Many of these populations were abandoned, often when deposits of the fictional precious mineral ''naquadah'' were exhausted, and subsequently developed their own unique societies. Some of these extraterrestrial human civilizations are shown to have become much more technologically advanced than those on Earth, the in-show rationale being that they never suffered the setback of the Dark Ages. The most advanced of these humans were the Tollan, who were destroyed by the Goa'uld in Season 5's ''Between Two Fires''. Another example of AAD in the mythos is the creation of human populations in the Pegasus galaxy by the Ancients, few of which are technologically advanced, as the Wraith destroy any civilization that could potentially pose a threat. Audiences are also made aware of large numbers of humans in the Ori galaxy, where human worship enhances the power of the Ori.


Eclectic borrowings

Scholars have remarked on the multiple borrowings of real-world mythology to provide Stargate settings. Mariella Scerri and David Zammit note numerous such uses in Stargate. Frederic Krueger analyses the use of Ancient
Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian pantheon, Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part ...
, and concludes: "From a critical standpoint, Stargate gives the initial impression of a very confused pop-cultural salad, randomly tossed together out of the vegetable bins of sci-fi, American military triumphalism, and a lot of Orientalizing Egyptomania. Yet the film was a lasting hit". Ultimately, he concludes that Stargate "serves as a neo-mythology able to re-enchant the world, to present an attractive anti-authoritarian option for identity formation and yet functionally equivalent to religion (according to traditional modern definitions) in its creationist tenet". Angela Ndalianis examines the mythology behind Stargate SG-1, noting the way it is created by "rewriting centuries-old human mythologies—Egyptian, Norse, Aztec, Greek, Arthurian, Roman—the series takes these myths and 'reboots' them as scientific fact." Partial previewat
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.
Norse mythology appears in the shape of the "good-guy aliens the Asgard", deriving explicitly in the fiction from Norse
Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...
. In her view, the "layered mythology ... borrows shamelessly" from real-world mythologies, giving examples from several of them.


Franchise-spanning mythology

The film ''
Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...
'' (1994) establishes that five thousand years ago, the god Ra was an alien who enslaved and transplanted humans from Earth to another planet via the
Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...
. Eventually, the people of Earth rose up against him and buried their Stargate. The modern history of Earth and the Stargate begins when it is unearthed in
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
in 1928. The device is brought to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in 1939 to keep it out of
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
hands and eventually installed in a facility in Creek Mountain,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
( Cheyenne Mountain in ''Stargate SG-1''). In the events of the film Dr. Daniel Jackson deciphers the workings of the Stargate and a team is sent through to the planet on the other side. ''Stargate SG-1'' resumes the story of the film, but establishes that Ra was the leader of a race of parasitic aliens known as the Goa'uld; they took on the role of Earth deities from a variety of mythologies and that there is a network of stargates across the Milky Way. In its pilot episode " Children of the Gods", which takes place a year after the film, Stargate Command is established in response to an attack by the Goa'uld Apophis, and given the mandate to explore other worlds and obtain technologies that can be used to defend Earth. They encounter other races, such as the
Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...
, who only masquerade as the Norse gods to primitive cultures until said societies develop enough to see them as they actually are." Red Sky" (''
Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...
'')
''Stargate SG-1'' further extended the backstory of Earth humans by introducing the Ancients, an advanced race of humans from another galaxy who lived on Earth until approximately 10,000 years ago.


Stargate device

A Stargate is a device that allows practical, rapid travel between two distant locations. The first Stargate appears in the 1994 film ''
Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...
'', and subsequently ''
Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...
'' and its spin-offs. In these productions, the Stargate functions as a plot generator, allowing the main characters to visit alien planets without the need for spaceships or any other fictional technology. Within the ''Stargate'' fictional universe, Stargates are large metal rings with nine " chevrons" spaced equally around their circumference. Pairs of Stargates function by generating an artificial stable
wormhole A wormhole is a hypothetical structure that connects disparate points in spacetime. It can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate points in spacetime (i.e., different locations, different points in time, or both). Wormholes are base ...
between them, allowing one-way travel through. The symbols on the inner ring of the Stargate correspond to constellations and serve to map out coordinates for various destination planets and other locations in space. Most destinations in the franchise are accessed by using only seven chevrons, but the eighth can be used to access other galaxies and the ninth can target special, specific gates. A typical Stargate measures in diameter, weighs , and is made of the fictional heavy mineral "naqahdah". The Stargates were created millions of years ago by an alien race known as the Ancients; their modern history begins when Egyptologist Daniel Jackson deciphers their workings in the ''Stargate'' film. The Stargate device sets apart ''SG-1'' from other science fiction shows by allowing modern-day people to travel to other planets in an instant, although scholar Dave Hipple argued that ''SG-1'' "also deploys cience fictionstereotypes both to acknowledge forebears and to position itself as a deserving heir". With the help of the central Stargate device, the premise of ''Stargate SG-1'' combines ancient cultures, present-day political and social concerns, aliens and advanced technologies. Near-instantaneous interplanetary travel allows a fundamental difference in plot structure and set design from other series. There is a disjunction between politics on Earth and the realities of fighting an interstellar war. The Stargate also helps to speed up the exposition of the setting.


Ancients

The race of the Ancients is first mentioned in the ''Stargate SG-1'' season 2 episode " The Fifth Race" as the original builders of the Stargate network and members of the former Alliance of four great races. They were considered humanity's predecessors, originally establishing Earth as their homeworld after they migrated to the Milky Way and having seeded multiple galaxies to allow life to evolve on uninhabited worlds. At the time that the ''Stargate'' franchise takes place, the Ancients have long since "ascended", i.e. they shed their physical bodies and live eternally as pure energy on a higher plane of existence with an increased power and capacity for learning. While they are no longer physically present in the universe, their highly advanced technology—including the Stargate—remains behind, all of which has shown to be almost entirely resilient to the decay of time, and has also proven to be the most advanced technology anyone has ever encountered. With humans from Earth as their closest descendants both from a genetic standpoint and an evolutionary standpoint, they have shown the most proclivity in utilizing Ancient technology when they encounter it. For the first six seasons of ''Stargate SG-1'', the ascended Ancients maintain a strict rule of noninterference in mortal affairs of the material galaxy, and the interactions between humans of Earth and the Ancients are restricted to the outcast Ancient characters Oma Desala and Orlin. The Ancients' ascension was also used as a plot device for the departure of actor Michael Shanks ( Daniel Jackson) in season 6 of ''Stargate SG-1''. The fictional background of the Ancients was extended with the franchise's Atlantis mythos that began in the ''Stargate SG-1'' season 6 finale " Full Circle", and which also served as the basis for spin-off show ''
Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an Adventure film, adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad W ...
''. The Ori arc of ''Stargate SG-1''s seasons 9 and 10 expanded the Ancient mythos further.


Asgard

A benevolent race that, according to the mythology of ''Stargate'', gave rise to
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
on Earth and inspired accounts of the Roswell Greys. The Asgard can no longer reproduce and therefore perpetuate themselves by transferring their minds into new cloned bodies. Extremely advanced technologically, the threat of their intervention protects many planets in the Milky Way, including Earth, from Goa'uld attack. They also provide much assistance to Earth in the way of technology, equipment, and expertise. Their main adversary in ''Stargate SG-1'' are the mechanical Replicators, against which they enlist the aid of SG-1 on several occasions. The entire Asgard civilization chooses to self-destruct in " Unending", due to the degenerative effects of repeated cloning. A small rogue colony of Asgard, known as the Vanir, still exist in the Pegasus galaxy. They were able to slow cloning's negative side effects by experimenting on humans.


Mythology of ''Stargate SG-1''

''Stargate SG-1'' takes place mostly in the Milky Way galaxy. Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner tried to stay true to the feature film, but also wanted ''Stargate SG-1'' to be unique in its own way. ''Stargate SG-1'' gradually evolved away from the basic premise of the film and developed its own unique mythological superstructure.Beeler and Dickson 2005. "Introduction", pp. 1–5. ''Stargate SG-1'' elaborated on the film's Egyptian hybrid mythology and mixed in other historical mythologies, coming up with a mythological superstructure that explains the existence of all of the other mythologies in the overarching ''Stargate'' narrative. The series expands upon
Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian pantheon, Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part ...
(notably the Egyptian gods
Apep Apophis (; ), also known as Apep () or Aphoph (, ) Erman, Adolf, and Hermann Grapow, eds. 1926–1953. ''Wörterbuch der aegyptischen Sprache im Auftrage der deutschen Akademien''. 6 vols. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'schen Buchhandlungen. (Re ...
/Apophis, and
Anubis Anubis (; ), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian (), is the god of funerary rites, protector of graves, and guide to the underworld in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine hea ...
as Goa'uld villains),
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
(notably the god
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
as an Asgard ally), Arthurian legend (notably
Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...
as an Ancient ally), and many other mythologies like
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and
Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...
. ''SG-1'' does not introduce new alien races as often as some other science fiction television series.Beeler 2008, pp. 274-277. Most civilizations that the Goa'uld had transplanted maintain much of their original Earth culture, and ''Stargate SG-1'' does not equate civilization with technology like many other sci-fi shows do.Booker 2004, pp. 181–182. Newly encountered races or visited planets are integrated into the mythology, although plotlines of individual episodes are often new, self-standing and accessible for new audiences, giving a compelling internal coherence.Beeler 2008, p. 273. The writers had to strike a balance in the interaction between the explorers from Earth and advanced races (of which there were only few in the story) so that alliances could be developed where the advanced races do not give Earth all their technology and knowledge. ''Stargate SG-1'' emphasized its present-day-Earth story frame by frequently referencing
popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art
f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
, like ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
'' and ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...
'' had done before.Hipple, Dave, "Stargate SG-1: Self-possessed Science Fiction". In Beeler 2005, pages 27–28. According to one critic in 1997, ''Stargate SG-1'' was designed to have no nationality, which might appeal to viewers all over the world. The final episodes of season 7 (2004) brought a more global approach to the scenario when the Stargate Program was revealed to over a dozen nations, which further helped the international appeal of ''Stargate SG-1''.


Alliance of four great races

SG-1 learns in season 1's " The Torment of Tantalus" that although most known habitable planets in the ''Stargate'' universe are populated by humans, there was once an Alliance of four great races. In season 2's " The Fifth Race", the
Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...
tell Jack O'Neill that this
strategic alliance A strategic alliance is an agreement between two or more Legal party, parties to pursue a set of agreed upon objectives needed while remaining independent organizations. The alliance is a cooperation or collaboration which aims for a synergy wh ...
had consisted of the Ancients, the Asgard, the Furlings, and the Nox, and that the humans from Earth had taken the first steps towards becoming "the Fifth Race". (This comes full circle in the ''Stargate SG-1'' finale " Unending", when
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
declares the humans from Earth the Fifth Race.) SG-1 had encountered the Nox in season 1's "The Nox", a
fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...
-like people that wants nothing to do with humanity, viewing them as "young" and having "much to learn". The Nox can live to be hundreds of years old and have a great desire for wisdom and understanding. They are extreme pacifists and never employ violence for any reason, even to defend themselves. Although they outwardly seem to be primitive forest-dwellers, they possess superhuman intelligence and advanced technology beyond that of the Goa'uld, including a floating city. As they have the ability to render themselves and other objects invisible and intangible, as well as the ability to resurrect the dead, they never need to fight. The Nox also appear in " Enigma" and " Pretense". However, ''Stargate SG-1'' revealed virtually nothing about the Furlings, beside making them the story backdrop of an abandoned site in season 6's "
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...
". Furling skeletons were originally planned to be featured in the episode, but the production of such proved to be too expensive.
Jack O'Neill Jonathan J. "Jack" O'Neill is a fictional character in the MGM's military science fiction franchise ''Stargate'', primarily as one of the main characters of the television series ''Stargate SG-1''. Richard Dean Anderson played O'Neill in all th ...
concludes that the Furlings must be cute and cuddly creatures, based solely on their name. In " Citizen Joe", another character equates the Furlings to
Ewok The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species of small, furry, mammaloid, bipeds in the ''Star Wars'' universe. They inhabit the forest moon of Endor and live in arboreal huts and other simple dwellings, being seen as primitive in com ...
s based on their name. The length of time that the Furling nature remained a mystery in the series turned into a
running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...
. When Executive Producer Robert C. Cooper was asked "Will we ever meet the Furlings?", his answer was "Who says we haven't?". The writers later went on to state that apart from showing Furling technology and legacy, no member of the Furling race has ever appeared on the show. Producer
Joseph Mallozzi Joseph Mallozzi (born 16 October 1965) is a Canadian writer and producer. He is most noted for his contributions to the ''Stargate SG-1'', '' Stargate: Atlantis'' and '' Stargate Universe'' television series and as showrunner of ''Dark Matter''. ...
claimed that more about the Furlings would finally be revealed in ''SG-1''s tenth season, which turned out to be an imagined scene from a movie script based on the fictional television series " Wormhole X-Treme!", a
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of ''Stargate SG-1'' set in the ''Stargate SG-1'' universe. The Furlings were depicted as
Ewok The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species of small, furry, mammaloid, bipeds in the ''Star Wars'' universe. They inhabit the forest moon of Endor and live in arboreal huts and other simple dwellings, being seen as primitive in com ...
-like, or koala-like creatures that are destroyed by the Goa'uld soon after making contact with SG-1.


Goa'uld

The Goauld are the primary adversaries in ''Stargate SG-1'' from seasons 1 to 8. ''Stargate SG-1'' creators
Brad Wright Brad Wright (born May 2, 1961) is a Canadian television producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of the television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (with Jonathan Glassner), ''Stargate Atlantis'' (with Robert C. Cooper) and '' Star ...
and
Jonathan Glassner Jonathan Glassner is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is known for his involvement with ''Stargate SG-1'', where he was executive producer for the first three seasons, and '' The Outer Limits''. Glassner was initially ...
established in ''SG-1''s 1997 pilot episode " Children of the Gods" that the film's unnamed alien race and the Goa'uld are the same. As such, the look of the series' Goa'uld, including the early archvillain Apophis, was based on Ra in the feature film. The Goa'uld are introduced as the first and most prominent alien race in the Milky Way, and are also one of the few nonhumanoid species to appear in the early seasons of the series. They are a parasitic species that resemble finned snakes, which can burrow themselves into a humanoid's neck and wrap around the spinal column.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAHgB-k-jD8 Stargate: Instructional videos by Daniel Jackson The Goa'uld parasite (generally referred to as a "symbiote") then takes control of its host's body and mind, while providing longevity and perfect health. The Goa'uld are branded as evil by their pretending to be gods and forcing people to submit to their quasi-religious pronouncements. The most powerful Goa'uld in the galaxy are collectively known as the System Lords. The fictional backstory is established over the course of the series. In season 4's " The First Ones", it is stated that the Goa'uld evolved on the planet P3X-888, where there are still populations of primitive Goa'uld. Their original hosts were the Unas (meaning "First Ones"), a race of large and primitive humanoids also native to the planet and whom SG-1 had first encountered in season 1's " Thor's Hammer". The Goa'uld then found and ruled over Earth for thousands of years, masquerading as gods from ancient mythologies and transplanting humans throughout the galaxy to serve as slaves and hosts. A faction of Goa'uld symbiotes named the Tok'ra (meaning "against Ra"), whom SG-1 first encounter in season 2's " The Tok'ra" and become close allies with, formed in opposition to the Goa'uld culturally and militarily millennia ago to live in true symbiosis with their hosts, both beings sharing the body equally and benefiting from each other. The Goa'uld modified humans to create the Jaffa to serve as soldiers and as incubators for their young via an abdominal pouch. The story of the Jaffa is primarily told through the main character Teal'c. The Jaffa's look in the series was copied from the
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ian look of Ra from the film. The Jaffa rely on the symbiotes for their immune system or will die a slow and painful death that can only be avoided by either acquiring a new symbiote or by lifelong regular injections of a replacement drug called Tretonin. Ordinary Jaffa bear a black tattoo symbol of their Goa'uld master's insignia on their foreheads, and the highest-ranking Jaffa in the service of a Goa'uld is known as the First Prime, who has the symbol branded in gold. SG-1 encounters three notable Jaffa factions: the all-female Hak'tyl ("liberation") led by Ishta in season 7's " Birthright", the
Ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...
-worshipping Sodan in season 9's "
Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
", and the Ori-worshipping Illac Renin (meaning "Kingdom of the Path") in season 10's " Talion". The planet Dakara, a holy ground for the Goa'uld and Jaffa alike, is the turning point in the Goa'uld–Jaffa power struggle in season 8's " Reckoning"/" Threads": It is where the Ancients first landed in the Milky Way Galaxy after fleeing the Alteran Galaxy and later built a powerful device, capable of destroying existing life or creating it where there was none before, long before the galaxy was colonized by the Goa'uld or the humans. Since season 8 was intended to be the show's last, the producers had finished it with the defeat of the Goa'uld and the Replicators. However, when the Sci Fi Channel renewed the series, the producers had grown tired of writing endings. Having had good experiences with the first season of ''
Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an Adventure film, adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad W ...
'', the producers decided to revamp the series by more than just adding new characters, new villains and new missions. Thus they considered the beginning of Season 9 as the pilot of a new show and replaced the Goa'uld with the Ori as the main villains. The Goa'uld still appeared in the show, but on a regular basis under the command of Ba'al.


Ori

A major threat in the cosmos, the Ori are Ascended beings who use their advanced knowledge of the universe to force lesser beings to worship them. In essence, they used to be Ancients, however they split into separate groups due to different views of life. The Ori are religious while the Ancients prefer science. The Ori sway lesser-developed planets into worshipping them by promising Ascension through an invented and empty religion called "Origin". This religion states that they created humanity and as such are to be worshiped by their creations. It also promises its followers that, on death, they will Ascend. However, Origin was designed to channel energy from the human worshipers to the Ori. As such, the Ori never help anyone else Ascend because then they would have to share the power that they sap from their worshipers. Their ultimate goal is to completely destroy the Ascended Ancients, who they know as "the Others". All of their efforts, including their technology, are for the purpose of garnering worshippers. As Ascended beings, the Ori do not interfere directly in the mortal plane. Instead, they use humans called Priors, which they artificially evolve so that they are one step from Ascension, giving the Priors godlike powers. Because the Ori have worshipers across the entire home galaxy of the Ancients, and use their knowledge to spread, they are nearly unstoppable. For example: Ori warships, built using conventional means while operated through the supernatural abilities of the Priors, are generally considered to be the most powerful vessels in the Stargate universe. The Ori might be regarded as a shadow form of the Goa'uld, with the significant difference that the Ori promise ascension to their followers but never provide it.


Mythology of ''Stargate Atlantis''

''Stargate Atlantis'' explores the adventures of an elite expedition from Earth, the "Atlantis Expedition", in the Pegasus Galaxy. The story arc of ''Stargate Atlantis'' begins in the season 6 finale of ''Stargate SG-1'', " Full Circle", where Daniel Jackson first mentions the Lost City of the Ancients. The search for the Lost City continues through ''SG-1'' season 7 with the aim to find powerful weapons, and ends with an Ancient outpost found in Antarctica in the season 7 finale "
Lost City In the popular imagination, a lost city is a real, once-prosperous and well-populated area of human habitation that fell into terminal decline and whose location was later forgotten. Lost City, The Lost City, or Lost Cities may also refer to: Pl ...
". In ''SG-1''s season 8 premiere " New Order", Daniel Jackson discovers the gate address to the legendary city Atlantis of Greek mythology. The Atlantis Expedition has a multi-nation civilian leadership and a predominantly United States military faction providing security. Their intent is to establish diplomacy with inhabitants of the galaxy and a permanent human base in the city of Atlantis for scientific and military research and exploration.


Atlantis

The pilot episode " Rising" of ''Stargate Atlantis'' establishes much of the backstory of Atlantis: The city was built by the Ancients millions of years ago, originally as a central outpost in prehistoric Antarctica, until an unexplained crisis—involving a virulent plague—forced them to relocate the city to the planet Lantea in the Pegasus Galaxy via intergalactic hyperdrive engines. The Ancients (known as "Ancestors" to the denizens of Pegasus, and "Lanteans" to the Wraith) seeded several human populations in the Pegasus galaxy, but rarely interbred with them. As explained in season 1's " The Defiant One", the Wraith drove the Ancients from their holdings until only Atlantis was left, defended by its powerful shield and a network of armed satellites. The Atlantis Expedition learn during their arrival in Atlantis in "Rising" that the Ancients submerged the city in Lantea's ocean to evade detection by the Wraith and returned via stargate to Earth, where survivor recollections formed the basis for the
ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
accounts of Lost City of Atlantis. In the ''Atlantis'' series finale " Enemy at the Gate", Atlantis returns to Earth and lands in the Pacific Ocean near
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. The producers intended the city of Atlantis to be the size of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. Many sets used for Atlantis are part of a large sound stage that was built for almost US$2 million. This stage is used for rooms like the brig, several balconies, and other interior parts of Atlantis. Green screens were used if an outdoor view was required in an episode. According to digital effects artist Bruce Woloshyn, the series' original CGI model of the city of Atlantis was over four million polygons, which was feature film in size. This allows the city model to still look good and detailed in extreme close view. Since most of the city is modelled rather than textured, the details appear more realistic when the virtual camera revolves around the city model.DVD-Video "Behind the Gate" of the SGA Season 1 DVDs.


Wraith

The Wraith are the main antagonists in ''Stargate Atlantis'' and the dominant species in the Pegasus Galaxy. They are
biologically immortal Biological immortality (sometimes referred to as bio-indefinite mortality) is a state in which the rate of mortality from senescence (or aging) is stable or decreasing, thus decoupling it from chronological age. Various unicellular and multicellul ...
hive-based humanoids who maintain the human worlds of the Pegasus Galaxy as
livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
to feed on their "life-force". As established in season 1's " The Gift", the Wraith evolved in the Pegasus galaxy after a human population seeded by the Ancients was fed upon by an insect called the irratus bug, which has the ability to draw upon a human's life to heal itself. As they fed, the bugs incorporated human
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
into themselves, giving rise to the Wraith. The Wraith have destroyed any civilizations with the potential to threaten their dominance, and few human races in Pegasus surpass Earth in technological advancement when the Earth expedition arrives. The existence of the Wraith is restricted to waking ''en masse'' every few centuries to replenish their health by galaxy-wide abductions of humans called "cullings", but the arrival of the Atlantis Expedition in the Pegasus Galaxy in the pilot episode " Rising" leads to the Wraith waking prematurely from their hibernation. To sate their hunger, the Wraith try to get to Earth whose population is much bigger than that of the whole Pegasus Galaxy. This can only be achieved either through the Stargate or by getting more advanced Hyper drive technology, both of which are present in the city of Atlantis.


Mythology of ''Stargate Universe''

''Stargate Universe'' was conceived as "a completely separate, third entity" in the live-action ''Stargate'' franchise. Although it was firmly entrenched in pre-established ''Stargate'' mythology, ''Stargate Universe'' diverged in a new direction. Like the first two series in the franchise, ''Stargate Universe'' takes place during the present time, not in the distant future. Unlike ''SG-1'' and ''Atlantis'', no single dominant villain race is featured. The show is set on the Ancient ship ''Destiny'', which is established as a part of an Ancient experiment to seed the universe with Stargates millions of years ago and investigate a groundbreaking discovery they made pertaining to the origins of the universe. The ''Destiny'' itself was intended to follow a pre-programmed course to explore these galaxies, but was left uncrewed and lost at the time of the Ancients' ascension. The series starts when a team of soldiers and scientists from Earth step through the Stargate to find the ''Destiny'' and are unable to return to Earth. The show focuses mostly on the people aboard the ship and their survival instead of planet-based exploration, and according to Brad Wright, would also "focus on exploration and adventure – and, by extension, the occasional alien encounter as well". In Brad Wright's words, the show was to be "hopefully exploring the truly alien, and avoiding the rubber faced English-speaking one".


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Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...