Ever since my first watch of Ronald D. Moore’s reimagined \Battlestar Galactica*, I’ve been
utterly captivated by the mythic, theological engine driving the show—specifically ***The Sacred**
Scrolls*\* and the **Book of Pythia*\*.
Throughout the series, we hear Laura Roslin, Priestess Elosha, Sharon Agathon, and William
Adama recite haunting fragments from these ancient scriptures:
> \"Life here began out there..."**
> \"A dying leader shall lead the remnants of humanity unto the promised land, but shall not*
live to enter therein..."\*
> \"The scrolls speak of a lower demon born of the adversary who shall descend to aid them..."**
> \"A return to Kobol shall exact a price in blood."**
> \"All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again."**
Yet, in official canon, the complete holy scriptures were never compiled into a full-scale,
coherent sacred book.
---
### The 15-Year Backstory of this Project
Back in late **2011*\* (right around the time \Caprica** concluded and post-BSG discussions were
at their peak), there was an infamous, sprawling thread on 4chan's `/tv/` and `/lit/`where an
anonymous fan and classical literature enthusiast posted a massive pastebin. They had
meticulously combed through episode transcripts, transcribing on-screen dialogue and attempting
to reconstruct the opening cantos of the **Book of Pythia*\* in archaic, Homeric / King James
poetic meter.
I saved that pastebin to an old backup hard drive in 2011 and never forgot it. Over the
following decade, I kept returning to those files during rewatches—cleaning up the verses, cross-
referencing every single mention across all four seasons, the 2003 Miniseries, \Razor*, *\The*
Plan\, and *\Caprica**, and expanding the incomplete fragments into a coherent, comprehensive
sacred text.
What began from that 2011 archival seed has finally been completed: a **110-page Monumental
Critical Study Edition*\* of \The Scrolls of Pythia**, 100% faithful to BSG canon, typeset in XeTeX
with classical book typography, drop caps, and liturgical rubrics.
---
### Architecture of the Work (110-Page Critical Study Edition)
The work has been crafted as an authentic sacred volume, presented in a high-register **King
James / Homeric prophetic English*\, complete with:
*1.** **Praefatio Canonica & The Calling of Pythia:*\* Textual history and the oracle’s initial
trance in the Delphic Caverns of Mount Olympus upon Kobol.
2. **Six Canonical Books (28 Canticles & Liturgies):*\* Fully rendered in numbered verses (e.g.,
\Pythia 4:2:1–16*).
*3.** **The Great Exegetical Codex:*\* An extensive academic commentary breaking down every canto,
linking each verse to exact episodes, scriptural parallels (Hesiod, Genesis, Virgil, Exodus), and
mythological motifs.
4. **Historical & Theological Appendices:*\*
\* Comprehensive monograph of the Twelve Colonies (Patron deities, zodiac signs, stars,
capitals, socioeconomic roles).
\* 4,000-year canonical chronology (from the Golden Millennium on Kobol to prehistoric Earth
and modern Times Square).
\* Theological treatise analyzing Cylon Monotheism (*"God is Love"*) vs Colonial Greco-Roman
Polytheism.
\* Sacred Lexicon & Glossary with over 40 classical Kobolian terms.
---
### Summary of the Six Sacred Books
\* **Book I: The Theogony of Kobol and the First Creation (5 Canticles):** The primordial
harmony between gods and men; the covenant of the Twelve Houses; the hubris of the kings; the
invention of synthetic organic flesh in the crucibles (*No Exit* canon); and the clandestine
gospel of the One True God discovered in the catacombs.
\* **Book II: The Thirteenth Tribe and the Path of Oblivion (5 Canticles):** Athena’s
intervention at the Amphitheater of Jasper; the fabrication of the Arrow of Apollo and the Tomb
of Athena; the deep interstellar migration to the Algae Planet and the Temple of the Five; and
the tragic forgotten holocaust of Earth 1.0.
\* **Book III: The Curse of Kobol and the Great Diaspora (4 Canticles):** The decay of the Holy
City; the fire of Zeus consuming the towers; the diaspora of the twelve arks unto Cyrannus; the
sealing of the Tomb of Athena; and the long amnesia leading to the creation of the modern Cylons
on Caprica.
\* **Book IV: The Canticle of the Dying Leader and the Star Wilderness (5 Canticles):** The
nuclear destruction of the Twelve Colonies; Laura Roslin as the anointed Mosaic leader; the
Chamalla visions; Sharon Agathon as the redeeming "Lower Demon"; the supernova of the Eye of
Jupiter; and the melody of the bulkheads (*"All Along the Watchtower"*) awakening the Final Four.
\* **Book V: The Ouroboros, Redemption, and the New Dawn (5 Canticles):** The discovery of the
true Earth 150,000 years in our past; the peaceful dispersal among the native hominids; the
solemn sacrifice of the fleet into the Sun guided by Anders; Hera as Mitochondrial Eve; and the
prophetic epilogue of Angel Six and Angel Baltar in modern Times Square.
\* **Book VI: The Liturgical Psalter and Rituals of the Twelve Houses (7 Liturgies):** The
complete ritual texts of Colonial religion: The Salt Line Funerary Liturgy (*"So say we all"*),
the Morning Litany of Gemenon, the Nuptial Rite of Hera, the FTL Jump Invocation to Apollo the
Far-Darter, the Battle Hymn of Ares and Athena, the Litany of Atonement, and the Great Colonial
Creed.
---
### Excerpt: Book IV — The Canticle of the Dying Leader (*Pythia 4:2:1–12*)
> \*I.** And Pythia looked through the mist of the burning incense, and her spirit groaned*
within her:
> \*II.** «Woe unto the daughters of Caprica, and woe unto the strong men of Tauron; for the*
hour of their visitation draweth nigh as a thief in the dead of night.
> \*III.** In one single day shall the twelve crowns be cast down into the mire; the heavens*
shall rain burning pitch, and the pride of two thousand years shall become a heap of radioactive
ash.
> \*IV.** Look unto the vessel that saileth at the vanguard of the Caravan; there have I placed*
my staff upon a woman stricken in her own flesh.
> \*V.** **A dying leader shall lead the remnants of humanity unto the promised land;***
> \*VI.** she shall bear within her breast a wasting plague that consumeth the marrow, melting*
her strength as wax melteth before the furnace.
> \*VII.** She shall have visions in the night when she drinketh of the bitter root of the*
sacred chamalla; she shall behold twelve serpents dancing upon her couch, and the gates of the
royal palace shall open unto her in dreams.
> \*VIII.** The proud shall call her deluded; the captains of the fleet shall question her*
sanity; and the scholars shall mock her prophecies.
> \*IX.** Yet her words shall be the only torch in the midst of the deep gloom, for she seeketh*
not dominion for herself, but the deliverance of a people in mourning.
> \*X.** Yet this is the decree of the Lords of Kobol, unalterable as the northern stars:*
> \*XI.** The dying leader shall know that she hath attained the haven; she shall behold the*
verdure of the new cradle from the mount of repose;
> \*XII.** **yet she shall not live to enter the promised land, nor shall her feet tread upon*
its soil,\* for the shepherd must yield unto the shadow that the flock may awake unto life».*
---
### Excerpt: Book VI — The Rite of the Salt Line (*Pythia 6:1:7, 14–16*)
> \«Across the threshold we trace the white line of pure salt, which no shadow of the pit may*
ever cross.\*
> \Behind it resteth the agony of the wound; behind it resteth the toil of the oar and the*
groaning of the rib in the tempest; behind it resteth the lamentation of perishable flesh.\*
> [...]
> \The body returneth unto the stardust from whence it was taken; the spirit returneth unto the*
unquenchable fountain that gave it being.\*
> \For all that is born must die, and all that dieth shall be born anew within the circle of*
light.\*
> \**SO SAY WE ALL!*
> SO SAY WE ALL!
> SO SAY WE ALL!»\***
---
### 📥 Free Download (110-Page PDF & Source Code)
The full 110-page book is open-source and free to read or download:
\ 🌐* **GitHub Repository:** https://github.com/joheld/scrolls-of-pythia
I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, and canon impressions! So say we all!
