This had to have been the inspiration for Shemhazai being the one to whisper the secrets of the gods to Ultima. Some believe him to be one of the first fathers of Nephilim (half-angel, half-human) children. According to Jewish myth, Samyaza wed the maiden Istahar (often referred to as Ishtar) and told her God’s true name. Some believe that “Samyaza” is simply another name for Satan or Lucifer Luke 10:18 is a quote from Jesus describing Satan’s fall - “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” However, the story of the Esper Ultima in XII and Tactics strongly suggests that she was based in part off of Lucifer, so that almost seems to imply another connection of sorts between Shemhazai and Ultima.Īnother theory, however, is that Samyaza is not Satan but a completely different fallen angel. What I also find interesting is that there’s a bit of debate over the demon on whom Shemhazai is based. It’s definitely not a coincidence that these two were both bound to the Great Crystal. All of the Espers played a part in the rebellion against the gods, but Shemhazai and Ultima really were the ones to make it happen. Ultima commands all of the Espers, but she and Shemhazai - the only two female Espers - seem to have a special amount of camaraderie between them. For this was she stricken down and bound. She then descended upon the land without leave of the gods, and taught men of destruction and evil. Though she once served the gods as a guardian, when Ultima announced her rebellion, Shemhazai went to her, whispering of the gods’ hidden weaknesses. There are also some really interesting gender-related implications hidden in Shemhazai’s lore. Shemhazai, the half-woman-half-horse demon, is no more sexual than Belias, the half-man-half-sheep demon. She’s wearing hardly anything on her lower half, but the human and feminine parts of her body aren’t made into fanservice. Shemhazai’s design, though, does not really give off a sexual feel. XII’s female representation in regards to the Espers isn’t all that amazing, especially because of the 5:1 male-to-female ratio and the fact that two of the male Espers (Mateus and Zalera) use women’s bodies as human shields. She represents the zodiac sign Sagittarius, hence the fact that she is half giant horse. Shemhazai is the second of two female Espers, the other being Ultima.
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