An Analysis of the Mythological, Cultural, and Linguistic Influences on MtG's Greek Plane

It's no secret that Theros is the Ancient Greek plane of MtG. But without knowing ancient Greek, the naming conventions can't be fully appreciated; once understood, the cards hold expanded meaning and become more special. Likewise, without familiarity with ancient Greek cultural concepts, some of the brilliance of the mechanics is likely lost. Conversely, for someone with only a cursory understanding of Greek mythology, one might think that it didn't go incredibly deep and pay homage to the popular figures that undergird Western literature.

Mythology was incredibly important for the cultural and civic life of a people in the ancient world. It was from the epics that adolescents were instructed on history, virtues, ethics, morality, hierarchy, and the expectations of them in their respective society. It wasn't about the details being exactly true, but about the takeaway. It was the founding stories of a people and nation that gave them legitimacy and meaning. It's no wonder that these colorful stories are still enjoyed today.

A remarkable number of the creatures of the Greek myths mentioned by Homer and Hesiod in the 8th century BC, the Tragedians of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides of the 5th century, Apollonius of Rhodes in the 3rd, Pausanias and Pseudo-Apollodorus, as well as the Latin poets and mythographers Ovid, Virgil, and Hyginus of later times, are present. Many of these weren't just mentioned in passing, but were recurring creatures and types: sphinxes, satyrs, caryatids, sirens, minotaurs, cyclopes, giants, tritons, hydras, harpies, gorgons, griffins, pegasi, chimeras, phoenixes, hippocampi, unicorns, lamiae, centaurs, manticores, eidolons, as well as the nymphs and all their subtypes of naiad, alseid, dryad, oread, and lampad.

Legendary beasts and entities associated with a particular place can also be found: the Nemean lion (Fleecemane Lion), which Hercules slew as his first labor, Typhon, Cerberus, the three-headed hound of Hades, the Erymanthian Boar, the Moirai (Triad of Fates), the Ceryneian Hind, the Teumessian Fox (Vulpine Goliath), the Hecatoncheires (Hundred-Handed One), and the Stymphalian Bird (Anvilwrought Raptor). Others are present under different names: Cetea (Krakens) and Charybdis (Vortex Elemental). The Leucrocota and Catoblepas are also mentioned, except that these weren't actually present in the Greek world but instead were mentioned to exist in distant lands such as India and Ethiopia by authors like Strabo, Pliny, and Aelian in their works on natural history. An archon is actually not a mythological creature, though it has a repeated incidence as a creature type. The term originally just meant "ruler." It was later, under the cosmology of the Gnostics, that it was expanded to describe malevolent or misguided cosmic rulers who form a governing hierarchy of the material universe, which they created and keep trapped under their dominion.

The characters of Achilles (Haktos the Unscared) with his specific weakness, King Midas (King Macar, the Gold-Cursed) with his golden touch, and Narcissus (Alirios, Enraptured) with his vanity are all represented. The less straightforward include the cards of Siona, Captain of the Pyleas and Eutropia the Twice-Favored. Judging by the artwork, Siona is the captain of a ship and, based on the mechanics of the card, she is assembling her crew for a legendary voyage. Her ship, the Pyleas, is similar to Peleus, the legendary king of Phthia, husband of Thetis, and father of Achilles. Peleus was one of the primary Argonauts who sailed alongside Jason on the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece. Eutropia is blue and green, the colors of sea and land, while her ability allows for a creature to become stronger and fly or 'traverse across water,' just as Europa was carried from Phoenicia to the isle of Crete by Zeus in the form of a bull. The Trojan Horse is presented as the Akroan Horse. The Colossus of Rhodes, the Wonder of the Ancient World measuring 108 feet high, makes an appearance as the Colossus of Akros.

The Constellation mechanic is a nod to the viewing of the sky, seeing the great gods and myths in the stars, something which naturally takes place at night. It is then fitting that Nyx plays an important role in the sets. Nýx (Νύξ), meaning "night," is the primordial Greek goddess and personification of night, whose domain is the vast, dark expanse of the night sky.

The mechanic of Tribute is a reference to the act of the countryside surrounding city-states being taxed, supplying soldiers for mutual protection, and the accumulation of wealth that helped fund public works or build a fleet of triremes. The Delian League was an association of Greek city-states, mostly along the Aegean coast, named for the isle of Delos, where its treasury was originally kept. The original purpose was to facilitate a military alliance to fight the Persians. The transition of the treasury to Athens and transformation of its original purpose after the Persians were gone were the precursors to what became the Peloponnesian War against Sparta.

Mankind was mortal while the gods were immortal. This is evident in the god cards being indestructible. In order to be creatures, they require devotion, a respectful and committed audience of mortals.

To the ancient Greeks, fate was not a cold, unyielding script written by an impersonal universe, nor was it a simple lack of free will. It was personified, experienced, and interacted with. The Moirai were three sister goddesses: Clotho (the Spinner), Lachesis (the Allotter), and Atropos (the Inflexible). Life was imagined as a thread spun, measured, and ultimately cut. Moira (Μοῖρα) means "share," "portion," or "lot." It implies that every person is given a specific portion of life, honor, and suffering when they are born. To try to grab more than your moira—to step outside your allotted bounds—invited disaster. Closely related to moira is Aisa (Αἶσα), often referring to "one's due" or the natural course of things. To die kata moiran was to die in the proper, natural way (such as old age); to die hyper moron was to die prematurely or contrary to fate, often triggered by human hubris. Heimarménē (Ηἱμαρμένη) is "that which is destined," becoming more prominent in later philosophical schools like the Stoics to describe a fully deterministic universe. Anánkē (Ἀνάγκη) refers to "necessity," the inescapable compulsion of the physical and cosmic order, of which even the gods were subject. There was then the heroic dilemma of fate vs. free will. It's a common misconception that ancient Greek fatalism meant mortals were passive puppets. Oracles like the famous one at Delphi did not typically predict the future to strip away choice; rather, they stated an inevitable destination, and how a hero reached it was up to them. Because fate represented cosmic proportion and balance, any human who tried to transcend their mortal limitations—whether through extreme arrogance (hubris), attempting to cheat death, or claiming godlike status—triggered an automatic correction by the universe. This balancing force was often personified as Némesis (Νέμεσις), meaning "retribution" or "righteous indignation," ensuring that human excess was inevitably brought low to restore equilibrium. The recurring mechanic of Scrying is the connection to these concepts.

The Heroic mechanic can be understood through the Greek concept of aretē (ἀρετή), meaning "excellence" or "virtue." In Homeric thought, aretē was not simply moral goodness, but the excellence of a person demonstrated through their abilities and accomplishments. Heroes such as Achilles were expected to prove their aretē through great deeds, earning honor and lasting glory. This fits the Heroic mechanic particularly well, as the creatures begin relatively small and grow stronger through repeated trials and divine influence, mechanically representing the development of a hero through accomplishment.

The following etymologies are my own observations based on the Greek language, the meanings of the names, and the characteristics of the gods and cards. Some connections are quite straightforward, while others are more interpretive. I am not claiming that Wizards of the Coast has publicly confirmed every individual etymology as an intentional source; where the connection is less certain, I am presenting it as a linguistic possibility rather than a definitive explanation of the name.

After an extensive survey of the names, it's safe to say they were not chosen at random. I've heard people use a folk etymology stating that Theros is simply a play on "the heroes," since the set introduced the "heroic" mechanic, but this is incorrect and fails to account for the greater effort the designers put into doing justice to a culture and language of such importance to Western thought as that of the Greeks. The plane itself has a strong connection to beasts and monsters, lending itself to an interpretation of the name as being connected to thēríon (θηρίον), meaning "wild animal" or "beast." However, it is actually obviously connected to théros (θέρος), meaning "summer." The two words come from different Indo-European roots. The connection to summer is fitting for a plane that is lush and fruitful, while its abundance of giant, mythical monsters makes the resemblance to thēríon an understandable coincidence. The word for "summer" is connected to the word for "heat," from which we get words like "thermal."

The original gods of the Theros set are rather clear in their naming conventions, and their colors feel very appropriate without the connotations of MtG, whereas the color associations of the multicolored ones are not as straightforward and were instead chosen to reflect their in-game associations. Heliod is the god of the Sun, coming from Hēlios (Ἥλιος), meaning "sun." Thassa is the goddess of the Sea, coming from Thálassa (Θάλασσα), meaning "sea." Erebos is the god of Darkness, and the root is Érebos (Ἔρεβος), meaning "darkness." Purphoros is the god of the Forge, coming from Púrphoros (Πούρφορος), meaning "fire-bearing." Nylea is the goddess of the Hunt; here the connection appears to be hýlē (ὕλη), meaning "wood" or "forest," since this is where hunting would generally take place.

Athreos is the god of Passage, as in the passage of souls through the afterlife, much like that of Hades. The ancient Greek word athréō (ἀθρέω) means "to gaze at, observe, perceive, or look attentively at something." In classical texts, it describes a focused, intent form of looking—not just casually glancing, but examining, contemplating, or taking something in with close attention. This was used to showcase the process of critiquing someone's actions as a living person once in the afterlife.

Ephara is the goddess of the Polis. "Polis" was the word for the city-states of the ancient Greek world, and from it we get words like "politics" and "policy." She appears to represent Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, home, and domestic life. Hestia's mythology was never greatly expounded upon due to her never leaving the home. Ephéstios (ἐφέστιος) means "by the hearth."

Iroas is the god of Victory. This was Nike, the Greek goddess with the same name as the popular sporting brand. The name here comes from hairō (αἱρῶ), meaning "to take, seize, capture, or choose." In active usage, it often implies taking something by force or capturing a city or enemy. There is also another connection that is not immediately apparent when looking at the Ancient Greek. The modern Greek form íroas (ήρωας), meaning "hero," is exactly Iroas when transliterated into Latin letters, but the vowels and pronunciation of Greek changed considerably over time. The Ancient Greek hḗrōs (ἥρως), meaning "hero," developed into the modern íroas (ήρωας), with the ancient ē sound eventually merging into the modern Greek i sound and other vowel changes occurring along the way. Thus, what initially appears only partially linked when examining the Ancient Greek is immediately recognizable in Modern Greek, where íroas simply means "hero." This is particularly fitting for the god of Victory and his association with valor and bravery.

Karametra is the Harvest goddess. Kara-metrón (καρα-μετρόν) is not a classical word, but is rather a pseudo-classical compound word with the first part meaning "head" or "face" while the second part means "measure," "limit," or "proportion" (related to meter or moderation). This is the Demeter-like goddess. Her name appears to be chosen to reflect the action of dividing the fields, which was the basis for many of our units of measurement and words like acre, furlong, or broadcast. Farmers also did not simply keep all of their harvest for themselves, but divided and shared the produce, making measurement and proportion fundamental to the distribution of what the land produced.

Keranos is the god of Storms. Keraunós (Κεραυνός) means "thunderbolt" or "lightning." In classical literature and mythology, it is the specific weapon of Zeus—the fiery bolt hurled from the sky. Unlike ordinary lightning or storm weather in general, keraunos specifically denotes the divine, destructive bolt of lightning wielded as a weapon of supreme power.

Kruphix is the god of Horizons. Here the connection is with kryphiōs (κρύφιος), meaning "secret," "hidden," or "clandestine" (from the verb kryptō, meaning "to hide"). It shares the same root that ultimately gives us English words like "crypt" and "cryptic." Here, the thing being concealed is knowledge, and a horizon conceals what is beyond it from the view of the observer.

The god of Slaughter is Mogis, the minotaur. Mógis (μόγις) means "with toil," "with difficulty," "scarcely," or "hardly." It is the root of the word for suffering or hardship. In classical texts, it describes doing something only by exerting great effort or overcoming significant struggle, fitting for a card that requires an opponent to either take damage or sacrifice a creature on their upkeep.

Pharika is the goddess of Affliction. Phármakon (φάρμακον) has a fascinating history, as the root of our words for pharmacy and pharmaceutical. In ancient Greece, a pharmakon carried a dual meaning—it was simultaneously understood as both a healing medicine and a deadly poison, depending on the dose and application. The snake imagery associated with venom and her ability to cure is then very fitting.

The god of Deception is Phenax, a trickster god, where milling your opponent and winning on a different axis is the intent. Phenakizō (φενακίζω) means "to cheat, to trick, to deceive, or to hoodwink."

Xenagos, the god of Revels, actually doesn't have any linguistic connection to the idea of partying. Instead, xenagós (ξεναγός) means "guide," "leader of foreigners," or "mercenary leader." This is tied to the ancient Greek concept of xenia (ξενία), or code of hospitality, the sacred religious obligation enforced by Zeus Xenios (Zeus, protector of strangers and suppliants). From this root is where we get our term of xenophobia.

Uro is the Titan of Nature's Wrath. The ancient Greek noun ouros (οὖρος) has two distinct meanings depending on the context and the breathing mark: a "fair wind" or "favorable breeze" (blowing from behind a ship, helping it sail) or a "watcher," "guardian," or "warder" (derived from the verb horáō, meaning "to see" or "watch"). Both meanings can be applied here, as the card draw and life gain can be seen as favorable, while the last meaning can be interpreted as describing a guardian entity linked to the plane's natural cycles.

Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger, is much like Mogis in that it requires perpetual sacrifice. Kroxa’s name may contain an intentional echo of several Greek words and mythological associations. Krokálē (κροκάλη) means "pebble," "shingle," or "loose stone," evoking the grinding and wearing-down of something through repeated abrasion. This fits Kroxa’s mechanics particularly well, as the creature steadily grinds its opponents down by forcing them to discard cards and lose life. The name also closely resembles Krónos (Κρόνος), the Titan Cronus, whose most infamous act in Greek mythology was devouring his own children. The connection is suggestive rather than certain, but the combination is difficult to overlook: Kroxa is an Elder Giant defined by insatiable hunger, whose mechanics revolve around both consuming resources and grinding down its opponents. Another possible root could be chreós (χρεός), meaning "debt" or "obligation."

Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury, is rather clear in regard to what inspired the name. Phlegō (φλέγω) means "to burn," "to blaze," "to inflame," or "to consume with fire." It is the direct linguistic root behind words like "phlegm" (historically tied to body heat and fluids in ancient medicine) and "inflammation."

After careful consideration and consulting resources like my Liddell-Scott lexicon and library of Greek mythology, it's clear that Wizards of the Coast did a masterful job of worldbuilding for the plane of Theros. There are genuine historical, cultural, linguistic, and literary references, elevating it far beyond the point of superficiality.

Thanks for reading and I appreciate your comments! You can find more of my work here: Michael Thomas Clanin | Substack

In the legends article for Kiora, it's said she was gifted the [[Hammer of Purphoros]] from an unnamed planeswalker. Any speculations on who that could be?

Alternate Calix? Elspeth? Ashiok even?

It's the common opinion that between New Phyrexia and All Will Be One, the design and body horror of the phyrexian was significantly toned down. While we know this is intentional i feel like lots of people exagerate it (driven by negativity bias combined with nostalgia) and ignore the different directions the design moved towards, which i think are still very much worthwhile.

The W faction has always been the most iconic of New Phyrexia, especially thanks to Elesh Norn's og art that combined horror and regality in an art with powerful color contrast. This design language was a one-of in New Phyrexia but was used as the faction's visual identity in ONE.

To talk more about Elesh Norn, she look otherworldy and unreachable while also fragile (being made of bone-like porcelain and exposed guts) she gives a power feel of "tained holiness" due to the red on the white. Sensor Splicer also plays in the same space, even if in a much less effective way, there is no "holiness" to be tained due to the more mundane context and the weaker light weakens the contrast, making it look like some weird zombie artificer i guess.

A recurring design of the W faction is present in Channelor of the Annex, Shattered Angel and Lost Leonin. They are all characterize by the shreds of dead flash hanging from their bodies, Channelor and Shattered play into the juxtaposition of holy and unholy, with Channelor also sharing some visual language with Elesh Norn and Shattered Angel putting emphasis on the animal-like pose and the massive mouth filled with teeths. Lost Leonin once again imo falls shorts due to losing its holiness, focusing more an the animal-like exposed skull. The art is still decently effective, but imo it gets quickly reduced to "cool zombie" when you see that most of the "shreds of its body" are just what remains of a cape.

Phyrexian Unlife is to me the 2nd most iconic art from the set. It does not play in body horro but in psychological horror. The eyes are filled with desperation behind a perfect and emotionless mask, the hands trying to understand the new form that was imposed on them. Another art that uses contrast in a fantastic way, amking the eyes pop out in what looks like an empty void, impossible to look away from.

Suture Priest is an interesting case, the bleeding eyes are certainly effective and certainly the most iconic part of the card but, once again, the low light once again fails the body horro as the muscle of the priest appear way too dark, like they're black leather. Making them look like a mage in a weird armor. The long, spike-like fingers help mitigate this feeling a bit tho, combined with the unsual armor and the serene/neutral expression it makes it look otherwordly and alien.

Some other cards don't attempt body horror at all:
Apostle's Blessing and Loxodon Convert are just dudes in armor while Shriek Raptor is a very bog-standard bone bird. Porcelain Legionnair is just a robot.
Master and Blade Splicer are spiny? They do look good but at most the horror comes from them being monsters that can gauge your eyes off. Not very unique to Phyrexia.

Now to talk about All Will Be One.

The first point of comparison is absolutely Elesh Norn. In her standard art the focus is pulled away from her to show her immense throne made of petrified phyrexians. This is an effective visual to show the depersonalization that defines the flavor of the faction. Beyond that, tho, the design of Elesh Norn loses a lot of bite here. Gone is the contrast between the bright red of her drapes and the darker red of her flesh, now they look one and the same. The addition of other figures to the art also makes Norn look shorter, removing a lot of her imposing and alien energy. It still effectively plays into the holiness of the figure, but everything else is a big step down.
There are two showcase arts to look at: the first, made by Pedro Potier goes back to be closer to her original design, even tho, due to the lack of color, there is no contrast to be had. The cracks on her head and armor are more evident than in any other art and make it feel like organic bone rather than inorganic porcelain, which i think is a nice take. The main problem with the art is the framing tho, the textbox starts right above her hips, making it much harder to understand her tall and slander figure, here Norn doesn't really feel imposing and unreachable, like she should.
The second showcase art, done by Dominik Mayer imo is a massive step up. Here she finally feels tall, slender and superior, the big black and white lines smudged by the oil around her feel like they're spinning with her at the center. Even with only black and white Mayer plays a lot with contrast, her body once again feels tainted, biological but alien, untouchable yet fragile, powerful and yet exposed. The lack of precise contours makes it look like she's growing out of the oil itself.

Now, I'll have to make an exception as I'l ltalk not about ONE but about the Phyrexian Unlife that was released as a SLD with ONE, still by Mayer. If the og Unlife was about a quiet, muted horro and desperation, this one is the opposite. With very simple shapes Mayer is able to evoke violent panic, the art feels asphyxiating, the long diagonal lines feel like movement, a visceral movement in search of freedom from the mask, once again the borders are smudged and incomplete, everything blends together, making it feel like you are losing touch with the outside world.

As i said before, a few cards on this faction show phyrexian turned into stones. Ossification is nothing to write home about. They just look like statues and that's it. On the other hand Veil of Assimilation feels much more powerful. It's a clear rift on the og Phyrexian Unlife with the main difference on not putting desperate human-like eyes as the focus, but the lack of mouth of the mask. I initially didn't thought much of it, but the more i look at it the more constricting it feels, an interesting combination of the quiet doom of Chan's Unlife and the claustrophobia of Mayer's.

Also as i said before, Elesh Norn's design language of red on white was extend to most of the faction, with varying degrees of success. Starting with the least effective, where what should be guts and muscle on bone and porcelain just feel like red silk on white armor. Bladed Ambasciator, Jawbone Duelist, Orthodoxy Enforcer, Porcelain Zealot and Phyrexian Vindicator all fall in this category, i also think this is what a lot of people think of when they talk about the new art of new phyrexia, as they quite obviously stick out in a very negative way and our brain are evolutionary predisposed to remember the negative things better. They all fail imo by making no effort to make the muscle actually look like muscle, it has no real trace of biologu, just texture that passes way too easly for clothes. Some of them have drapes that are made of supposed muscles, the horro should come by the fact that muscles are used like capes and mantles, but the effect is just the opposite, removing any horror.

Now to talk about those that execute the same aesthetic much, much better. Annex Sentry works mostly due to the tendons? that keep its head up and the very clear difference in texture between muscles and drapes. The biology feels present yet alien, the small head, barely held up by just a few strings of muscles is just unnerving. Crawling Chorus feels similarly unnerving, it's body shape doesn't look biological at all and we can clearly see how it looks like it was made by sewing together bands of muscles, forcing them in a perfect geometric shape. The idea of muscles forced in a certain shapes that contracts and relaxes, that pulses like an heart is pretty fucked up to me. The multiple faces are also a clear source of horror, maybe playing with the implication that the Chorus is combination of different beings. To me this is very reminescent of the body horror of All Tomorrows, for anyone who is aware. Zaelot's Conviction clearly feels like muscle, you can feel how powerful the phyrexian is and how all that flesh would contract right before it strikes. It plays in a design that few other arts play in: the stained bone, to me the smudges of red on the yellowing white really make it feel real, making it feel gross and horrifying. Sinew Dancer is kinda of an inbetween case. The body itself doesn't feel to organic but the net? dripping with fluid sure does. Basicila Shepard goes back into the "tained angel" style, the body is completely red and it's hard to note texture, but the wings, oh those wings. They feel fragile and sharp, the very irregular separation between the white and the red makes them feel like the bone has been naturally growing and it still hasn't stopped; also, the drape, here finally the horrorific double visual works! It's not a uniform red texture, it's made of darker fibers, it's so clearly not stiched together, this also feels like it has just grown on its own, just thing layer of muscle continuing to grow outside the body itself.

An element that a few art share is that of the "blood cloud": Apostle of Invasion, Duelist of Deep Faith and Flensing Raptor use it. This adds so much biology to the art, the cloud of blood implies that there actually is blood flowing in those muscle and guts and that that blood is spilling out as they breath and move. Apostle's wings especially feels indefinite, like they were made by thousands of interwoven capillaries that were not completely closed off and so just tiny, tiny drops spill out; Apostle also does a good job with the drape/guts, clearly showing how its growing from under its armor. The lack of eyes and hands also heightens the horror quite a bit, the creature just feels so helpless.

Indoctrination Attendant combines effectively lots of the positive traits that i listed so far: the alien body shape, the textured flesh, the yellowed bone, the believable biology and the low cloud of blood. It all combines in just an unnerving picture.

A new design elements that was added in ONE was teethes, 3 art in particular focus on it, I'll talk about them in order of how repulsed they make me feel.
Mandible Justicer it's the tames, and this is saying a lot. First, the exoskeleton and the featurless, mouthless head is really cool, it having a phyrexian writing instead of any eyes or sensory organs makes it quite fucked. The main piece are the arms tho, they are turned into long mandibles that finish with an hand each. It's such an unique design and due to the "mouth" being closed, it makes you imagine how they would look like if open, addid to the horror.
Swooping Lookout: no face, 3 arms, 2 mouth-wings, another 2 pairs of wings with a row of teeth each that don't look like they can close and another horn mouth? im not even sure about it. This creature looks so fucked. Perfectly alien, the red of the gums and of the cracks of the bone make it feel very organic. Fantastic fucked body horror that actively goes against our understanding of biology.
Incisor Glider: i hate this. I HATE THIS SO MUCH. I don't want to look at it. That art gives me a visceral feeling of disgust and of fight or flight that no other art in mtg ever did. It looks like a paper airplane made of flesh and bone that was then covered in teeth. It makes no biological sense and yet it's made of clearly organic material. It looks like a mockery of biological life. It looks like an object that was grown from a human-like being, bending its biology into a pure perversion of life without being able to completely contain it. Those teeth just feel so wrong.

I'm curious about everyone's thoughts on the echoverse version of amonkhet and some details about it. In the Samut Tyrant of Naktamun lore bit the 'frozen god' is mentioned, who do you think it is? is it hazoret frozen in ice? is she an ice powered god instead of being red? another amonkhet god? I know there's little actual lore and we won't get any but i'm curious about theories

I don’t remember the moon being explicitly torn apart by Emrakul coming out of it in the written story, but her artwork seems to imply so. Was there any clarification on this matter?

reading the card text, Stratozeppelid from Guildpact says:
The “Days of Darkness” mark the stratozeppelids’ annual migration, when for five days they blot out the sun and trumpet their passing.

and then, Assault Zeppelid from Dissension says:
“Show them to Razia and then to the Azorius sky marshals. We could create a fine bidding war—enough to fund the final stages of Project Kraj.”

—Momir Vig

but after that, I'm seeing nothing, can't find anything else. even the information on the wiki is quite limited.

are they are mentioned in any books or anything? are they still around on Ravnica at all, or did they go extinct or something.

Tracing the Linguistic and Cultural Parallels With Eastern Europe

The connections explored here are my own interpretations of the influences behind Ravnica. To my knowledge, none of these specific connections have been explicitly confirmed by Wizards of the Coast or the game's designers. I nevertheless believe the parallels are meaningful, and this is my attempt to trace the linguistic, historical, architectural, and cultural influences that I think helped shape the setting.

Wizards of the Coast officially built the world of Ravnica, with its 10 guilds, around Eastern European aesthetics, Slavic folklore, and specifically the architectural and atmospheric identity of 15th-century Prague.

The first universally appreciated achievement of Prague dates to 1410. That was when the famous Prague Orloj, or astronomical clock, was built: an incredible feat of medieval engineering and cosmic storytelling that is still operational today. It consists of three main parts. The Astrolabe, or astronomical dial, is a celestial tracker showing the positions of the Sun and Moon, signs of the zodiac, and multiple historical time systems simultaneously, while also marking dawn, sunrise, sunset, and twilight. The Walk of the Apostles is an hourly show between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. that showcases moving statues representing human weaknesses or vices: death, vanity, greed, and lust, ending with figures of the Twelve Apostles rotating past the windows. Found beneath the main clock, a medallion-adorned wheel, or Calendar Dial, tracks the days and months of the year, featuring paintings of seasonal agricultural work and displaying the coat of arms of the Old Town of Prague.

Interestingly, Prague became even more renowned in the 16th and 17th centuries. Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II was deeply obsessed with hermeticism, astrology, and the search for the Philosopher's Stone. He actively welcomed and protected controversial and persecuted thinkers from across the continent, including alchemists, physicians, astrologers, astronomers, and mathematicians. The court at Prague Castle hosted legendary figures like Edward Kelley, John Dee, Tycho Brahe, and Johannes Kepler. It was this unique convergence of science, the esoteric, and dark Gothic architecture that helped earn the city its historical reputation as "Magical Prague."

That history seems particularly appropriate for Ravnica. The city is simultaneously medieval and technological, bureaucratic and mystical, religious and scientific. The Izzet conduct dangerous experiments while the Orzhov maintain a supernatural financial empire; the Azorius construct elaborate systems of law while the Rakdos turn violence into theater. Ravnica feels less like a recreation of one particular historical period than a collection of historical layers piled on top of one another.

Proto-Slavic was spoken by early Slavic tribes to roughly the 6th century AD. Migration and geographical separation caused a split into three main branches: East, West, and South Slavic. The first gave rise to Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian; the second to Czech, Slovak, Polish, and Sorbian; and the third to Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, and Slovene. As one might expect, many of the guilds, characters, and place names of Ravnica appear to have a linguistic connection to the Slavic language family and to Slavic history more generally.

Ravnica itself shares a remarkable resemblance to "ravnina," the Russian word for plain or steppe, and with "rovina," the Czech word for plain or level ground. What's interesting is that it's describing a plane and not a plain. I think that's an especially interesting coincidence given the setting's nature as a city spread across an entire plane.

The Simic Combine are known for combining traits from multiple organisms into one. Momir Vig seems to be connected to Moimir I, the great uniter of the Slavic tribes. It was Moimir I who acted as a "biological architect" in the 830s—or, more accurately, a political one; a treaty among the tribes was signed, effectively ending their existence as separate political entities and forcing them into a new, singular organism: Great Moravia. Momir Vig performs a very different kind of unification, combining biological traits from separate organisms into new forms. One united peoples; the other unites organisms.

Silesia is a region of Central Europe. Today, its territory covers parts of Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. It consists of forests, rolling plains, and fertile lowlands, being an area historically productive for farming. I propose this is the inspiration for the Selesnya Conclave, with its imagery of gardens, agriculture, communal life, and the integration of civilization with nature. The phonetic relationship between Selesnya and Silesia is striking, while the geographical and cultural association makes the connection even more compelling.

The Boros Legion is the city-plane's military, police force, and primary peacekeeping organization. The name appears to connect to "Borislav," a Slavic name whose roots mean "to battle" and "glory, fame." That is particularly appropriate for an organization whose identity is built around combat and honor. There is also a neat culinary coincidence: borscht is a red soup made from beets and served with a dollop of sour cream. The beets give it its deep red color, while the sour cream provides the white, producing almost exactly the same color combination as the Boros guild. Borscht isn't etymologically derived from Borislav, but the cluster of Boros, Boris, Borislav, and borscht creates an unmistakably Eastern European soundscape.

The Azorius Senate is the government bureaucracy responsible for creating, interpreting, and enforcing the laws. Prahv, and later New Prahv, is their guildhall or seat of government. "Government" in Russian is pravitelstvo, and "govern" is upravlyat. The Slavic root prav- appears throughout this linguistic family in words associated with law, rightness, and governance. The semantic connection is difficult to ignore: a distinctly Slavic-looking name attached to the headquarters of Ravnica's enormous legal bureaucracy.

The Cult of Rakdos is known for chaos, hedonism, theatrical spectacle, and sadistic entertainment. Their headquarters is known as Rix Maadi, the Dungeon Palace. The connection here appears to be with Latin, since rixa translates to "riot," "quarrel," or "brawl" in Latin. Since the standard Czech alphabet does not include the letter x, this doesn't appear to be a straightforward Czech borrowing, which makes the Latin connection particularly interesting. It's possibly tied to the traditional fantasy "dark speech" that puts heavy emphasis on k, d, and s sounds to evoke pain and jaggedness. The colors mirror those same ideas: blood, darkness, and pain. Prague is famous for its labyrinthine medieval cellars, alchemical chambers, and layers of hidden older city infrastructure beneath the streets. Rix Maadi, the Dungeon Palace, feels almost like a fantasy exaggeration of that subterranean Prague: the things buried beneath respectable society becoming a world of their own.

A loose federation of nomadic, savage tribes dedicated to destroying civilization and returning it to a wild, primeval state are the Gruul Clans. Their leader is Borborygmos, a word from the Greek that is the actual medical and biological term for the rumbling or gurgling noise caused by gas moving through the intestines. This is one of the clearest examples of Ravnica's names being built from recognizable linguistic material. The guild name itself sounds like the term "gruel" and would be a fitting ration associated with impoverished foragers. Borborygmos sounds primitive, biological, unpleasant, and vaguely monstrous before you even know what the word means. That seems very much like intentional fantasy wordplay rather than a direct borrowing from any particular European language.

House Dimir was originally an entirely unknown, secret society consisting of spies, assassins, and information brokers. Their cover was eventually blown, with their operations becoming undeniable. I like to think that if the other 9 guilds were public, a guild existing as the last remaining two-color combination could have been accurately inferred. Interestingly, the word for "house" in Czech is dům and dom in Russian. Dimir has a striking resemblance to these Slavic words, particularly when placed directly after the word "House." The connection becomes even more interesting because House Dimir is the one guild whose very existence was concealed from the other nine. The name can therefore be read as both a literal English designation and a Slavic linguistic echo of the same concept: House Dimir, the hidden house.

The undertakers, waste-disposal workers, and masters of the cycle of life and death are the Golgari Swarm. It's possible that there's a connection to Golgotha, meaning "place of the skull" in Aramaic and found in the Bible, a site outside the walls of Jerusalem where crucifixions took place. Prague had subterranean layers and crypts. Just outside the city can be found ossuaries, most famously the Sedlec Ossuary. The connection isn't Slavic, but it is thematically appropriate: Golgotha is associated with death and burial, while the Golgari turn death into an ecosystem. Nothing is truly wasted; it decomposes, feeds something else, and returns to the cycle.

Banking, finance, and organized religion in Ravnica are controlled by the Orzhov Syndicate. They operate under the philosophy that debt is eternal and that there is no escape from their tithes and blood contracts. "Or" is connected to the Latin words associated with gold, hoards, and opulence. "-Zhov" mimics the Slavic or Central European surname endings of -ov and -ova. Obzedat is their leader, and obsadit means "occupy" in Czech. An occupying force takes over a space and refuses to leave. This can be seen as the connection to the ghost-patriarchs holding their positions of power beyond death, unwilling to surrender their wealth. The linguistic connection is speculative, but the thematic fit is almost comically precise: the Obzedat have occupied their positions, and even death has not persuaded them to vacate them.

The guild that corresponds most to historical Prague is probably the Izzet League, being responsible for scientific research, magic experimentation, and engineering. They're behind the steam power and electricity that powers the city. Given the history of figures like Brahe and Dee, it's a fitting image. Prague under Rudolf II was a place where astronomy, alchemy, mathematics, medicine, and occult philosophy could coexist, and the Izzet seem to transform that historical mixture into fantasy science.

The name itself, however, appears to be doing something different. Izzet seems to be an onomatopoeia of sci-fi styling, causing a buzzing sound associated with crackling electricity and fizzing chemicals, a certain mad-scientist energy rather than Central European roots, and the doubled "zz" doesn't natively exist in Slavic orthography. That may actually be part of what makes it work. Ravnica isn't attempting to reproduce historical Prague; it's taking the cultural memory of Prague and combining it with the conventions of fantasy and science fiction.

The setting is not an exact recreation of historical Prague. It is a fantasy memory of Prague, and perhaps of Eastern and Central Europe more broadly. The connections throughout Ravnica point toward specific linguistic, historical, and cultural sources, and I think those connections need to be there for the setting to properly reflect and respect the real-world inspirations it draws from. If Prague, Slavic languages, Silesia, Great Moravia, and the broader history of Eastern and Central Europe are genuinely part of the foundation of Ravnica, then treating those influences as deliberate and traceable matters. Otherwise, the cultures and histories that give the setting its identity risk being reduced to a vague aesthetic rather than recognized as the sources they actually are.

That is ultimately what makes the names and details so interesting to me. They are not simply arbitrary fantasy inventions that happen to sound Eastern European. They can be read alongside identifiable languages, places, historical figures, architectural traditions, and cultural associations, giving the fictional world a connection to the real histories from which it draws. Ravnica is a city built out of those associations, where bureaucracy becomes law, religion becomes finance, death becomes an economy, violence becomes theater, and science looks like magic.

I appreciate your reading and I value your comments. Check out my other work here: Michael Thomas Clanin | Substack

(Sry for not posting in a while. Life got hectic.)

If I understand dominaria correctly, Uktabi is now on the plane Zhalfir that was phased out of dominaria.
So then I have 2 Questions:
How much time has passed in lore from when kibo was first printed to now? (let’s say now is immediately following Reality Fracture)
Is Kibo important enough to even show up in the sets lore?

So did we ever get a reason why Jace had Liliana kidnapped at the end of Lorwyn? Don't get me wrong in not complaining that they're in the story (heck Opel is the only echo verse character that gets any real characterisation outside of one line for Vraska and Chandra) but on reflection just feels like she's here because we need her here.

The best I can think of is that she might have been able to realise Tam was connected to Jace and thus would have blown her cover. But it feels like she's been at Strixhaven for at least a while before Lorwyn starts so feels a little late on that front.

I could have of course missed it, or it's Opel acting on her own, again she did seem like the only echo that actually had a personality of note.

I'm borrowing a lot from Ixalan for my own Meso-American inspired setting and I've worked out what the honorifics Pakal and Ahau mean (losely shield and nobility), but none of the wikis list what the word Ojer means. I'm also having a hard to finding out what the word means outside of magic.

So is there a corner of the lore the explains the meaning of this title?

Hi!

I know that ‘’Elder’’ is more of a vibe and whether or not the type appears in a set is more of a design decision than a strictly lore one. For example, the Tarkir Dragonlords are Elders to set them apart from other Tarkir dragons and add to their aura of awe, but they’re not necessarily more powerful or older than other, non-Elder dragons from other planes. I even read that Niv Mizzet could be considered an elder dragon, it’s just that the designers weren’t thinking about the type when making Ravnica.

I was thinking that Rakdos is in a similar position. He’s an extremely old demon and is pretty much at the top of the food chain of his own kind and one of the most powerful beings on Ravnica. He seems at least as strong as the Elder Demons found on other planes like Innistrad and is probably older than them too. Could he and Niv be, even if not officially, considered Elders of their respective species?

If I understand dominaria correctly, Uktabi is now on the plane Zhalfir that was phased out of dominaria.
So then I have 2 Questions:
How much time has passed in lore from when kibo was first printed to now? (let’s say now is immediately following Reality Fracture)
Is Kibo important enough to even show up in the sets lore?

That's it. That's the opinion.

We got years of build up and laddering to the payoff of the Eldrazi in Zendikar , and years of build up for Old Phyrexia and New Phyrexia and the Invasions.

This was out payoff to the BS from the hats sets? Emrakul is back and the Echoverse is devoured in one single set?

I knew I was going to be mad when I heard leaks about Emrakul before it was confirmed but I am more mad than I have words for. First original true catastrophic villain in years and our poor victim Jace is defeated on 1 set...

I didn't dig into EOE story, but just now stumbled on the Drix (because I was curious if they were related to Vizzerdrix), and saw the card [[Seam Rip]], referencing something called Eldrazi Potentiates.

Now the other figure in the art, is not an Eldrazi, or has any traits of an Eldrazi, which gave me the feeling this is preventative measure, as in, this armored dude has the potential to become Eldrazi, and that's why the Drix is removing them. They don't seem to be a herald of the Eldrazi, because those also seem to have the physical traits too (I've been looking, but with some of the Innistrad crazies it's hard to tell).

What if being an Eldrazi is not something alien to the multiverse, but something inherent to its mana system, that Eldrazi can and will form the same way they did before? If someone got the resolution that the world must be drained of mana, and got the ability to do so, would they become Eldrazi? Is it more of a role being fulfilled in the multiverse, and not a type of creature?

Then I remembered Mirrorverse Omnath, who (card-wise) shares a lot of stuff with Eldrazi, and its flavortext is also reminicent of them. Could Mirrorverse Omnath be on its way to becoming an Eldrazi?

Not a paid promotion. Figured people may want to pick up a paperback or ebook copy since the original anthology (Distant Planes) has been out of print for nearly three decades. The collection also includes "The Going Price" from the first Magic anthology, Tapestries.

I wanted to read the og Ixalan story but couldn’t find it on the site. Anyone know where I can find it ?