On the Origins of Relics: Part One
the fact that final fantasy likes to reference old myths isn't news, but to sate my own curiosity I thought it would be cool to catalogue all the references that can be found through relic weapons in Final Fantasy 14! this is gonna be a bit long, so. everything's gonna be under a cut
Black Mage: The Stardust and Lilith Rods
while the stardust rod does have in-game lore thanks to shatotto's party trick of calling down meteors, it does not appear to be connected to any historical figures. the Lilith Rod is much more interesting though, referencing the demonic first wife of Adam as well as a class of demon in Mesopotamia. there aren't many-if any-direct references to Lilith in religious texts, but a few texts do make off-hand references to her, or other monsters that could be related to her. look, there's a reason black mages are so rare. this demon stuff is complicated.
Bard: the Artemis and Yoichi Bows
Artemis is the goddess of hunting and the moon, who was known for using a bow. and also turning people into deer and straight up murdering entire families when they insult her mother. Nasu no Yoichi was a legendary archer who famously shot a fan off a boat during the Genpei War. both of these are very straightforward references. straight to the point. like an arrow. i have a million of 'em, I can nock puns out like nobody's business.
Dragoon: Gae Bolg and Longinus
the Gae Bolg is a spear used by the famous Irish hero of legend Cu Chulainn during the Ulster Cycle. it has to be kicked into someone to be used properly, but on a hit it basically grows a thornbush in the poor bastard's circulatory system.
Longinus is the name of the roman centurion who stabbed Jesus with a lance. it also comes from the greek word for lance, so there's a non-zero chance someone saw a picture that had labels on it and was just like "yeah spear sounds like a guy's name its probably right" (the spear itself doesn't actually have a name, it's just called the holy spear)
Monk: Sphairai and Kaiser Knuckles
the first class on this list to have no specific historical references! Sphairai were predecessors to boxing gloves used in greek boxing (similar to himantes, which show up as regular weapons in-game)
kaiser knuckles don't appear to have any specific references, though it is the name of a fighting game from the 90s, so it might just be saying like. "this person's good at punchin'"
Ninja: Yoshimitsu and Sasuke's Blades
Minamoto no Yoshimitsu was a samurai from the 11th century who was credited with creating multiple martial art styles. he was on the same side as that yoichi guy we mentioned earlier, though a couple decades earlier.
Sarutobi Sasuke is the name of a fictional "superhero" ninja who first rose to popularity in the 1910s, and has since been referenced and used as a character in other stories, such as Dragon Ball and Naruto. or it could be a direct reference to one of the other sasukes, it's hard to tell.
Paladin: Curtana/Holy Shield and Excalibur/Aegis Shield
Curtana is one of the swords used as part of coronation rituals to crown the king of england, and is said to have been used by Tristan, one of the knights of the round table. the holy shield is just a generic name, sadly.
on the other hand, Excalibur is one of the most famous swords in the western world, said to be the blade of King Arthur. also of the round table. also known by the names Caliburn and Caledfwlch, depending on how old-school you want to go with it. given by a faerie/stone, symbolizing his divine right to rule, etc. etc. The Aegis is a bit weirder though. it's a shield slash... coat? used by both Athena and Zeus in Greek mythology, though in modern use it usually just means general protection.
Scholar: Omnilex and Last Resort
Scholar's relics are extremely straightforward, which makes sense given they're supposed to be military treatises. the omnilex is just latin for "all words", which makes sense since it's supposed to be a compilation of every tactic ever devised in Nym. meanwhile, last resorts are desperate tactics only used in dire emergencies.
Summoner: the Veil of Wiyu and Apocalypse
aaand we go from the easiest ones on the list to the hardest. the veil of wiyu has just enough stuff I can find to be referencing multiple sources, but not enough to be definitively referencing any one. wiyu and weiyu are the name of disparate spirits found in India and Brazil, but I couldn't find much more information about them. the most compelling argument I could find about this book came from Ethys Asher, who suggested it's referencing waiyu, a chinese word for "foreign language", implying the information found within comes from another world- literally "beyond the veil".
the word apocalypse, surprisingly, doesn't mean the end of the world. I mean of course it does now, but its original meaning just referred to any prophecy or information bestowed by gods. given the name of the previous iteration of this relic, and the fact that you can summon bahamut, either interpretation of this name works very well.
Warrior- Bravura and Ragnarok
from what I can find, Bravura just refers to a type of music/dance designed to show off the artist's skill. I know warriors like to show off and solo the boss down from 60% health, but otherwise I couldn't find anything specific about axes to tie it to the class.
Ragnarok is pretty similar to apocalypse, though this time it 100% refers to the war at the end of the world in norse mythology. no hidden translations this time, just fighting all the way down.
White Mage: Thyrus and Nirvana
the thyrus means nothing. however, the Thyrsus is the name given to the staves/spears wielded by Dionysus and his followers in Greece, though they were less ornate than this one. they also were said to cause madness, not heal it, so... not quite the white mage's schtick.
Nirvana is a band. it's also the escape from samsara that is supposedly the end goal for a significant number of religions, like hinduism and buddhism, representing the complete dissolution of earthly desires and finding true peace. much more on-brand.
The Tools: from top to bottom, left to right: Ullikummi, Vulcan, Kurdalegon, Urcaguary, Pinga, Clotho, Paracelsius, Chantico, Mammon, Rauni, and the Halcyon Rod
we're almost done, now it's time for the lightning round: Ullikummi was a big golem in Mesopotamian myth that fought the gods and lost when it got chopped down like a tree, by a saw. Vulcan is the roman version of Hephaestus, who was a blacksmith. Kurdalegon is the Iranian version of Vulcan, so that's armorer down. Urcaguary is the deersnake god of treasure worshipped by the Incan empire, and probably some goldsmiths. Pinga is the inuit god of the hunt, who would punish people who overhunt just like the leatherworker's guild. Clotho sounds made up as hell but they're one of the Greek fates, specifically the one that spins the thread of fate, like a weaver. Paracelsus isn't a god for once but he was a really good alchemist who discovered a bunch of medicines and was seen as a prophet. Chantico is an Aztec goddess of the hearth who got turned into a dog when she couldn't stop snacking between meals. Mammon is the demonic personification (demonification?) of greed, and is what you turn into if you dig up one to many darksteel ores. Rauni is arguably a finnish goddess whose exact position is debated but one version of her story ties her to the growth of plant life in the spring, hence the botanist axe. and finally, the Halcyon Rod which I was completely sure would just be a generic name isn't. it's referencing the Greek story of Queen Alcyone who got turned into a kingfisher after her and her husband blasphemed.
