In the very first scene of the very first episode of "Lost," Jack Shephard awakes in the jungle and we see a closeup of his eye. The eye is a recurring theme on "Lost," and is closely associated with Sirius. In fact, a neighboring tribe of the Dogon refer to Sirius as the "eye star." Jack is wearing blue and white, and the pattern on his tie looks like a field of stars against a blue background. Sirius A is a blue-white star. The first creature Jack encounters is Vincent, who represents Sirius A. The common nickname for Sirius A is the dog star. In the space of just a few seconds, the writers have clued us in about the show's Sirius connection.

Vincent is named for the artist Vincent Van Gogh, who painted "Starry Night," and is the subject of a lovely song by Don McLean. Vincent represents Sirius A, the visible component of the Sirius system. How appropriate that Van Gogh's painting shows us the brilliance of the night sky, since Sirius is its brightest star.

On "Lost," Jin is given a puppy by a frightened Mister Han, in an effort to appease Mr. Paik. He tells Jin that the puppy is extremely valuable. Jin gives the puppy to Sun, and it is named Bpo-Bpo (pronounced Po-Po), which means "a kiss" in Korean. This name is actually a clue letting us know that Bpo-Bpo represents Sirius B, the Pup, which the Dogon call Po tolo. (In other words, the dog is named for both B and Po.) Although Bpo-Bpo is small, he is heavy. No lightweight lap dog would do for Sirius B! Bpo-Bpo certainly is valuable. He represents the source of everything in the universe. Note that Bpo-Bpo is not seen on the island, because Sirius B is the invisible companion of Sirius A. We were introduced to Bpo-Bpo, so we understand what he represents, but now we don't see him anymore.

It is immediately apparent which character on "Lost" can be described as "a little sun." How appropriate that Sun Paik is the owner of Bpo-Bpo, and that she is concerned with planting seeds in her garden! When "Lost" first began, Jin was extremely concerned about keeping Sun covered up. He would tell her to button up her sweater, or he would try to wrap a blue blanket around her. There are a number of dialogue clues between Jin and Sun expressing this idea of keeping "the little sun" covered up. After all, Sirius C is invisible, and has never been photographed. Its existence has been established by means other than visual confirmation. The separation of Sun and Jin when he left on the raft was especially traumatic when we consider them as a star and its satellite.

Sun also represents the goddess Aphrodite, whose Roman name was Venus. More on Aphrodite below, but before leaving discussion of Sun and the Sirius system, note that the Dogon people have extensive knowledge about the planet Venus as well. "The various positions of Venus are recalled on a very large geographical space by a series of altars, raised stones, or arrangements in caves or shelters. The positions of Venus determine a Venus calendar. In fact, the Dogon have four different kinds of calendar. Three of them are liturgical calendars: a solar calendar, a Venus calendar, and a Sirius calendar. Their fourth is an agrarian one, and is lunar." (The Sirius Mystery, page 71) This gives Sun a double connection with the Dogon beliefs, as she represents both Sirius C and Venus.

Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty and desire. There are two versions of her birth. One says that she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. The other says that she was born of sea foam when Chronos castrated his father, Uranus, and threw his penis into the ocean. Out of the foam, Aphrodite was born. She was married to Hephaestus, but had numerous love affairs, including trysts with Hermes, Ares, and Adonis. With Hermes, she had a son named Hermaphroditus. She is associated with the dove. During the Trojan War, Aphrodite's wrist was wounded with a spear.

The beautiful Sun Paik has been shown on "Lost" standing in the ocean in a bathing suit, while the camera zooms in on the foam around her feet. This is representative of the birth of Aphrodite. Sun is also the daughter of Mr. Paik (Zeus). In flashbacks of her life in Korea, we see a picture with doves in her apartment. The triangle between Sun, Jin and Michael represents the relationship between Aphrodite, her lover Hermes, and her husband Hephaestus. When Sun is waiting for Jin to speak with her father about marriage, she holds her wrist. This is a reference to the wounding of Aphrodite. We don't know if Sun had an affair with her English tutor, but certainly there was a sense of desire expressed in their relationship. Since the Roman name for Aphrodite is Venus, Sun represents that planet, which is "next to" Mercury, represented by the protective Jin. The planet Venus has an atmospheric halo, or ring of light. On "Lost," Sun was frantic when she lost her wedding ring.

Funniest reference to Sun as the daughter of Zeus: Hurley asks her, "Did you go to the Olympics?"

The Dogon call the satellite of Sirius C the "star of women" or the Goatherd. It acts as the guide of Sirius C. When we are first introduced to Jin and Sun, we see that Jin is domineering, and frequently orders Sun around. She is to keep by his side, not worrying about the others. She is to keep herself covered up and modestly dressed. These are all clues pointing to Jin's identity as the guide of Sirius C. Jin is an excellent fisherman, reinforcing the concept of the amphibious Nommos coming from the Sirius system. He catches sea urchin, which have orange meat. Both fish and orange are recurring themes on the show. The fish represent the Nommos, and orange represents the navel of the universe (Sirius B).

Jin also represents the Greek god Hermes, which we will discuss below. But with regard to the Sirius system, we should remember that the Roman name for Hermes is Mercury, also the closest planet to the sun. Mercury comes between Venus and the sun, so it is interesting to see Jin protectively cover up Sun (Venus). Also, we learn from The Sirius Mystery that "Sirius B was represented amongst the stars by the visible substitute of Orion, and was represented in the solar system by a 'local substitute', the planet Mercury." This gives one more connection between Jin and Sirius, even at the mythological level.

Hermes is the cleverest of the gods, and also their messenger. He is the translator who acts as liaison between gods and men. He likes to disguise himself as a common laborer to trick people. He serves as the psychopomp, or guide, to newly-dead souls arriving at the Underworld. Among other things, he is the god of commerce, and also of thieves. Hermes is the god of crossing boundaries, and the word hermeneus means one who bridges boundaries with strangers. The word hermeneutics means the science or art of interpretation. Hermes is associated with sudden good luck. Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia. His love affair with Aphrodite produced a son named Hermaphroditus. This young man is the source of the word hermaphrodite, because a nymph fell in love with him, and the gods fused their bodies together. In Norse mythology, Hermes' counterpart would be Loki. One of the things Loki is credited with is the invention of the fishing net.

On "Lost," it is driven home repeatedly that Jin is the son of a common fisherman. Other jobs he has held include busboy, waiter, doorman, and messenger. By these occupations, he represents the trickster god Hermes, who disguised himself as a common laborer. Jin serves as the messenger of Mr. Paik (Zeus), a titan of commerce. Jin is involved in a dispute with Michael over the alleged theft of a watch, and we know that Hermes is the god of thieves. Jin's job as doorman at the Seoul (soul) Gateway Hotel symbolizes Hermes' role as psychopomp. Jin is a crosser of boundaries with strangers and must interpret what the others on the island are saying, because he doesn't speak English. The odd triangle that sprouted up between Jin, Sun and Michael makes sense from a mythological standpoint, because Aphrodite (Sun) was married to Hephaestus (Michael), but had a love affair with Hermes (Jin). Michael is the first person on the island to know that Sun speaks English, even before Jin knows. Michael sees Sun topless. Jin seems jealous of Michael. Although a fertility doctor in Korea diagnosed Jin as infertile, Sun's pregnancy test on the island was positive, causing Jin to think of this sudden good luck as a miracle. When Sun and Jin discuss a name for the baby, he suggests using a character from his father's name, and Sun suggests including a character from her mother's name. This was a humorous reference to Hermaphroditus, the androgynous son of Hermes and Aphrodite. Jin is skillful with a fishing net, the invention of Loki. It's interesting that the flower representing the love between Jin and Sun is the mock orange. In that name, we have references to Hermes as trickster, and the orange that is the navel of the universe.

From Wikipedia: "The moon is named after Phoebe, a Titan in Greek mythology....The IAU nomenclature standards have stated that features on Phoebe are to be named after characters in the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts....'We picked the legend of the Argonauts for Phoebe as it has some resonance with the exploration of the Saturn system by Cassini-Huygens. We can't say that our participating scientists include heroes like Hercules and Atalanta, but they do represent a wide, international spectrum of outstanding people who were willing to take the risk of joining this voyage to a distant realm in hopes of bringing back a grand prize.'"

According to NASA, "Eighteen moons have been confirmed in orbit at Saturn." (There may be more, but we know there are at least 18.)

Now look at the Oceanic logo. There are 18 "satellites" around concentric "circles," which are actually a bit stretched, and look rather like an eye. (Sirius is both the "eye star" and the dog star.) So, we have Temple suggesting that Phoebe is the Nommos' spaceship, and the features on Phoebe are to be named after characters from Jason and the Argonauts, and there are 18 "moons" around the Oceanic logo.

Temple also writes about the word "ark" : "We already know that the related word Argo was the ship of fifty oars which we believe symbolized Sirius B in its fifty-year orbit....The word Argus has even applied to a dog. it was the name of the old hunting hound of Odysseus who recognized his master...when he finally returned home from his voyages, and died as it greeted him. No one else had recognized Odysseus after twenty years' absence except for the faithful old dog, who upon greeting his long-lost master, expired on the spot....Arq means 'to complete, to finish', in the sense of a cycle. It also means 'the last' or 'the end of anything'....All these meanings are reminiscent of the meaning of 'Argus' in Homer - to represent the dog who witnesses Odysseus' return and immediately dies, having seen his master's face once again after so many years. The great cycle was completed - Odysseus was home....The Egyptian arqi is even more significant. Note the final determinative...sign, which is a circle with a dot in the middle. The meaning of this word...can be applied to any culmination of a period....Arq has the further verbal meaning of 'to bind around', implying specifically a revolution." When the front section of the plane falls forward, after the pilot is killed, the circle with a dot in the middle is visible on the outside of the plane, just under the cockpit. Thanks to poster MoonWeed on alt.tv.lost for this screencap.

Now, more from Robert Temple about the landing of the original Nommos, in their "ark" or landing craft: "The Dogon describe the landing of the ark. They say the 'word' of Nommo was cast down by him in the four directions as he descended, and it sounded like the echoing of the four large stone blocks....Presumably a thunderous vibrating sound is what the Dogon are trying to convey....The descent of the ark must have sounded like a jet runway at close range....We may take this description to refer not only to noise but to a rushing wind." We have a Dogon drawing of this descent. Here it is. And here is the jet engine that sucked up that unfortunate guy in the pilot. Note the similarities in both the drawing and the description of the sounds of the crash scene that Jack encountered in the pilot episode of "Lost."

In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece was kept in the city of Aia, the capital of the kingdom of Colchis. The word Aia means Earth. Since both the sheepskin and the ghost are aboard Oceanic flight 815, we can tell that the Argonauts have already retrieved the Golden Fleece from Aia (Earth), and are on their way home to Sirius, to complete their cycle. The Argonauts followed the path of the sun, from what they considered the easternmost point of the world (Colchis) to the westernmost point, which was the land of Atlas. They were brought to that land, which embodied the concept of chaos, as the result of a storm. On "Lost," flight 815 loses all contact with the outside world when the plane's instruments malfunction. It goes off course and experiences terrible turbulence before crashing on the island. What awaits them on the island is a hatch, which is being manned by Desmond. We will see that Desmond represents Atlas. So the Losties have arrived in the land of Atlas, just as the Argonauts did.

Another very good clue about flight 815 lies with Egyptian cartouche cards. The number 8 represents Man (note the Freemasonry symbol on the card), and the number 15 represents Sirius. Here we have the bringing together of mankind and the Nommos from the Sirius system. Sirius was an extremely important star to the ancient Egyptians. Its dawn rising in the sky heralded the flooding of the Nile, of vital importance in planting crops.

Mr. Paik is a very powerful man, who manufactures cars, but his real business is probably manufacturing children. Note that cars have horsepower, and that is a connection to Zeus’ chariot. Also remember that Mr. Paik was having Jin deliver watches to his associates in Sydney and Los Angeles. These associates were probably Anthony Cooper in L.A. (Poseidon) and Alvar Hanso in Sydney (Hades, “Down Under” in Australia). Zeus was the son of Chronos, so the watches are a reminder of his power in overthrowing his own father. Chronos means “time.” Since Mr. Paik’s business appears to be headquartered in Seoul, we now have connections with three cities that have held the Olympic Games: Seoul, Sydney, and Los Angeles. One look at Mr. Paik’s office in “...In Translation” should convince you that this guy thinks of himself as a heavenly ruler.

Many thanks to waltisfuture, a poster on The Fuselage, for pointing out what appears to be a thunderbolt on the TV screen in Mr. Paik's office. You can see it on the right side of the screen.

When Locke first enters Anthony Cooper’s house, in “Deus Ex Machina,” he looks at photos of Mr. Cooper on the mantel. Cooper is shown kayaking, holding up fish from a fishing trip, and scuba diving, spying a large starfish (The star imagery will come into play in a big way.). Deus ex machina means “God out of a machine.” During this episode, we see Cooper hooked up to a dialysis machine, and we also hear this dialogue:

Anthony: Emily, your mother. Did she find you or did you find her?

Locke: She found me.

Anthony: How did she look?

Locke: All right, I guess.

Anthony: Did she say anything about me?

Locke: She said that I didn't have a father, that I was immaculately conceived.

Anthony: Really? Well, I guess that makes me God, huh?

Besides being god of the sea, Poseidon was also said to have given the first horse to man. He is rumored to have been the father of Bellerophon, who desperately wanted to be master of the winged horse Pegasus.

In the episode "Lockdown," we see a new role for Anthony Cooper. Just before this episode aired, the official Podcast had mentioned the mythological character Sisyphus, in conjunction with a Jorge Garcia interview. It turned out that Anthony Cooper represented Sisyphus in "Lockdown."

Sisyphus was a very clever guy, but he made the mistake of angering Zeus by telling the father of one of Zeus' girlfriends about the love affair. Zeus sent Death (Thanatos) to bring Sisyphus to the Underworld. Sisyphus then tricked the gods into sending him back (temporarily) so he could give funeral instructions to his wife, Merope. Once he got back to our world, he just stayed and stayed, ultimately dying when he was an old man. So he cheated Death. This is why he was sentenced to push a boulder up a hill for all eternity. Sisyphus, according to some versions of mythology, was the father of Odysseus, who was a pretty clever guy himself. He's the one who had the idea for the Trojan Horse.

In "Lockdown," Anthony Cooper fakes his own death to escape the real thing from a couple of thugs, one of whom is named Jimmy Bane. The word "bane" means "anything that is injurious, destructive, or fatal." Cooper has cheated these guys out of $700,000. He asks his son, John Locke (playing the role of Odysseus) to get the money out of a safe deposit box for him, and keep $200,000 for himself. Locke has a home inspection service called "Welcome Home," as a nod to The Odyssey, the story about Odysseus going off to fight in the Trojan War and not getting home for twenty years. Locke's girlfriend Helen plays dual roles in this episode, as Sisyphus' wife Merope and Odysseus' wife, Penelope. Sayid's friend Nadia represents Helen of Troy.

Of the three extremely rich and powerful men on “Lost” (Paik, Cooper, Hanso), we have heard the most about Alvar Hanso, but have actually seen him the least. This is very appropriate.

Hades was the brother of Zeus and Poseidon, and he ruled the Underworld. He had a helmet that made him invisible. He drove a chariot pulled by four black horses. He was the richest god, because he had control of the precious minerals underground. He abducted Persephone to be his wife. His kingdom was guarded by a three-headed dog named Cerberus.

Alvar Hanso is a wealthy man who made his fortune producing and selling weapons. Ironically, he is described as someone who has been keeping the world safe with these sophisticated weapons. Supposedly, he is funding research into life extension for human beings, but that’s all a sham. Hanso is in the business of death. His need for privacy is just another way of saying that he’s unseen. In Greek, Hades means “unseen.” When Mr. Paik wanted Jin to deliver watches to his associates in Sydney and Los Angeles, he was referring to Alvar Hanso and Anthony Cooper. Note that Australia is nicknamed The Land Down Under,and that Seoul, Sydney, and Los Angeles have all hosted the Olympic Games. The black horse that Kate saw on the island was probably one of the horses used to pull Hades’ chariot. The underground bunkers on the island represent the Underworld.

The following quote from Alvar Hanso is especially revealing:
"From the dawn of our species, Man has been blessed with curiosity. Our most precious gift, without exception, is the desire to know more - to look beyond what is accepted as the truth and to imagine what is possible."

We've assumed that the phrase "our species" refers to mankind. But what if it refers to the Nommos? Hanso would be saying that, since the dawn of the species of Nommos, Man has been blessed with curiosity. This would refer to the belief that it was this race of amphibious aliens from the Sirius system who actually gave man the knowledge and intellectual tools to build great civilizations. The word "dawn" is very important here, because Sirius rises just before dawn at midsummer, and its arrival heralded the flooding of the Nile for ancient Egyptians. When Hanso says, "Our most precious gift..." he means the Nommos' gift to mankind.

Most revealing line about the identity of Lostzilla, from Arzt: “Run! Run! Run!”
(Hint: You might need to run three times from a three-headed dog on a long chain. Or it’ll be your “quittin’ time,” indeed.)

From http://rulingcatsanddogs.com/facts-dog-legends.htm : “Most sources agree that Cerberus had three heads. The center head was in the shape of a lion, while the other two were in the shape of a dog and a wolf, respectively. He also had a dragon's tail and a thick mane of writhing snakes. Cerberus was the watchdog of hell. Chained to the gates of Acheron, harassing the spirits entering Hades and devouring those who tried to escape.”

The map drawn on the blast door in "Lockdown" appears to confirm that the "monster" Lostzilla is indeed called Cerberus.

The name Desmond means "man of the world." When Desmond first encounters Jack in the stadium, he lifts Jack's ankle to check for injury, and tells Jack that he was almost a doctor once. This is a reference to being a chiropractor. "Atlas chiropractic" focuses on the first vertebra of the spine, and the support of the head. He also advises Jack to "lift it up." Desmond says he's training for a solo race around the world. When the Losties encounter Desmond in the hatch, he tells them he's been "saving the world" by entering the numbers, and mentions that he and Kelvin were saving the world together, then Kelvin died, leaving Desmond to handle the responsibility by himself. The map drawn on the blast door, visible under ultraviolet light, may have been drawn by Desmond, since it repeats the phrase "Sursum corda" or "Lift up your hearts." The map appears blue in the light, and shows seven DHARMA stations, five of which are connected to the center of the map by lines. One station has been crossed out, and another is left unconnected. This may be a reference to the Pleiades, the daughters of Atlas, who are a blue star cluster in the sky. Astronomers use ultraviolet photometry to study the Pleiades. One of the seven stars (sisters) is said to be hidden, either because it is a sister who was killed by a thunderbolt, or because it is the sister named Merope, who was ashamed for marrying a mortal man (Sisyphus). This myth may account for the two stations that are not connected by lines to the others.

Although Asclepius (see Jack Shephard) was the son of Apollo, the great god entrusted Asclepius’ education to the centaur Chiron. In the same way, when Jason's father realized that his son was in danger of being killed by his own uncle, Pelias, he sent Jason (see Jack Shephard) off to be raised in secret by Chiron. Chiron was a teacher of heroes, and helped them find their destiny. However, centaurs liked to live the high life, and enjoyed heavy drinking. Eventually, Chiron was the only remaining centaur. According to http://www.create.org/myth/junemyth.htm ,

“His death was a tribute to mankind. Chiron gave himself willingly so that the fire could be released from the Underworld by Prometheus. This was done so that humankind would learn to use power in the right way. In the process of obtaining fire, Chiron had to die. The teacher/healer took a poisoned arrow of Hercules and dropped it on his foot, poisoning himself. This poison was the very one that the teacher had given to the student. Chiron gave his life for the greater good of humanity. Chiron was a teacher who taught healing by means of clearing and bravery and then letting go without fear when the time came.”

Christian Shephard prepared Jack for his destiny, but was flawed by his alcoholism. The theme of teaching his students to “let go” is especially pertinent to “Lost,” because Jack has trouble letting go. The sacrificial nature of Chron’s death is expressed by the name Christian Shephard. He gave his life for the greater good of mankind, as Christians believe Jesus did. There is even an episode of "Lost" devoted to the theme of "The Greater Good." The fact that Chiron poisoned himself is played out on the show by his “bender,” as Sawyer called it. Christian knowingly drank himself to death, which led Jack to board flight 815. Even on the island, Christian still guided Jack by leading him to the caves and fresh water. The fact that Chiron is the last remaining Centaur is expressed by Jack's mother when she tells Jack that Christian no longer has any friends.

Christian also fills the role of the Ghost of Phrixus, who still hasn't received a proper burial.

Back to the Index Page
Go to Page 3
Go to Page 4
Go to Page 5