Persona 3 is a game that makes excellent use of its resources, deftly wielding its legendary references to reflect the personalities and histories of the characters within. Though I mentioned in previous pieces that the persona stable is actually the most shallow example of such, there are always exceptions, and what exceptions they are!

Of course, I speak of the cast of characters and the personae they manifest. Rather than twisting and tweaking legends to fit the demands of the story, Persona 3's references stand firm, helping to shape the story and lend their classic qualities to the game at large.

There are truly few works that I've been able to enjoy on as many levels as I have Persona 3. Visually, mechanically, historically it is a masterpiece of weaving game and story, as much or more so than best first-person perspective RPGs and shooters. It's a real tragedy that it had to come so late in the PS2's life.

Warning: So some of you can actually READ the article rather than bookmark it for later, I've tried to keep the thing as spoiler-free as possible. As for the truly unavoidable spoilers, I've marked them out. Also in the interests of readability only cropped images are in the main body. Full-size images are in the gallery below.

This is the third part in my overlong tribute to Persona 3. You can endure part 1 and part 2 here.

Please note that everything below is the product of personal speculation, nothing more, nothing less.

To begin, let's examine one of the most fascinating characters in the game, Aegis:

Aegis:
The Personae:
Aegis' first persona is Palladion:



After certain events, Palladion is replaced by Athena:



The Legend:
I'm of the opinion that Aegis is the most important character in the game next to the protagonist. The addition of her Aeon social link and the extra campaign in FES was a recognition of that fact. The Palladion, or Palladium, is a totem of sorts, an effigy placed within the walls of an ancient Greek city for protection, and was said to channel the power of Athena, a goddess of protection and war.

Knowing that, we can connect Palladion's cold, mechanical design, an drill-like spire emerging from a hinged mask, attached to rocket engines, as an analog to Aegis' cold, mechanical self. Palladion represents Aegis as an android, a robot in [sexy machine-jointed] human shape. As Aegis recognizes and accepts her emotions and humanity, Palladion becomes Athena in truth rather than in effigy.

Visual Trivia:
Athena often wielded a mighty shield called "Aegis" into battle. The Aegis is often spelled as "Aigis", which was sometimes interpreted as a goatskin cloak rather than shield. Athena wears both, probably to cover all the interpretative bases, and the alternative spelling seems to confirm that Atlus was not just screwing around when they spelled her name as "Aigis". I stick with "Aegis" because I'm quite partial towards that name.

Now we move to a character less obviously connected to his personae, Junpei Iori:

Junpei
The Personae:
Junpei's first persona is Hermes:



Hermes, the messenger of Olympus, looks a little bit like a clockwork version of The Flash, with wings on his feet and helmet.

Around the middle of the game, Hermes changes into Trismegistus:



The Legend:
Hermes was not only the messenger of Olympus, but also a god of wisdom and learning, aspects that few would initially ascribe to Junpei. But wisdom is more than can be measured by school grades, and Junpei's strong sense of judgment kept him from ever wavering in doing the right thing. Further, Hermes' reputation as a mischievous trickster very much fits Junpei's profile.

The upgrade to Trismegistus, which was a fusion of the Egyptian god Thoth (the one with a bird head) and Hermes, serves as proof of how the events leading up to that particular transformation further cemented Junpei's resolve.

Visual Trivia:
Trismegistus is painted red. "Trismegistus" stands for "Thrice-Great Hermes". Red things are three times faster, even in the world of Persona 3! God bless Gundam.

Three times faster, we speed on to Akihiko Sanada and his friend Shinjiro Aragaki:

Akihiko and Shinjiro
The Personae
Akihiko and Shinjiro are obviously close friends, but that connection runs all the way to the roots.

Akihiko's first persona is Polydeuces:



While Shinjiro's is Castor:



The Legend:
Polydeuces is an alternative name for Pollux, whose brother was Castor. Castor and Pollux were renowned warriors, but were only half-brothers, which left Pollux immortal, and Castor mortal. When Castor was slain, Pollux then chose to share his immortality with Castor, forming the constellation Gemini. Akihiko and Shinjiro also happened to grow up in the same orphanage. Brothers in spirit, and brothers in legend.

Akihiko's persona upgrades to Caesar. As the leader of Rome, no Caesar could ever afford to look back, and neither could Akihiko:



Visual Trivia:
Polydeuces was a renowned boxer, hence the persona's piston arm, and Castor was killed by a spear through the chest, as reflected by the spearhead impaling that poor persona. Both were also famously skilled horsemen.

We won't be looking back to Akihiko, but forward to Yukari Takeba:

Yukari
The Personae:
Yukari starts with the persona Io, a suspiciously familiar-looking girl bound to a chair shaped like head of a cow:



Io gives way to Isis, an elegant feminine mask, merged to the cow's-head seat, its horns holding an Egyptian Sun-Disk:



The Legend:
Io is an interesting figure from Greco-Roman myth, her trials a product of divine marital turmoil rather than any fault of her own. A beautiful nymph, Io was seduced by Zeus, and then transformed into a white heifer to hide her from his jealous wife Hera. Ever perceptive, Hera had the cow forever wander aimlessly, tormented by the stings of a gadfly. While Yukari is certainly no cow, her emotional state was, all throughout one of wandering, with no mother or father to turn to. Yukari climbed the tower with SEES in search of answers to questions she didn't want to ask.

As she gains the will to fully confront (and restore) her broken bonds, Io becomes Isis, a key goddess of Egyptian myth and widely worshiped all throughout the Mediterranean. Isis bore many titles and descriptions, among them "She Who Knows The Orphan," and "She Who Knows How to Make Right Use of the Heart". That sounds a lot like Yukari, particularly in light of her arcana.

Visual Trivia:
Isis uses a Sun-Disk headdress rather than her usual Throne-shaped crown, and the face below the mask is still bovine. Isis' divine identity had been merged with that of Hathor, a cow-headed goddess, and later depictions of Isis show her wearing Hathor's headdress.

From one who knows the heart, we address our eyes in the sky, Fuuka Yamagishi:

Fuuka
The Personae:
Fuuka's personae take two forms, Lucia:



And later Juno:



The Legend:
More historical than mythical, Lucia is the patron saint of the blind. Born in the 4th century, she was martyred by the Roman emperor Diocletian for aiding Christians hiding out in the catacombs. To bring as many supplies to them as possible, she left her hands free by tying candles to her head. As you look at the feminine figure sitting astride the globe, notice that Lucia's head is wrapped in bandages, covering the eyes. Perhaps it reflects a sort of willing blindness enacted by SEES guide and oracle, hiding her real passions in the interests of fitting in.

Juno, on the other hand, is covered with eyes and eye-like symbols. Juno was the Roman equivalent to Hera, and the wife of Jupiter. A title given to Juno was the "monetas", or "The One Who Warns". A common epithet for Juno was "Lucetia", as "One Who Brings Light." Nice things to consider once a certain someone tells you about a boss' weaknesses or when the Reaper's arrived.

Visual Trivia:
Juno has a peacock-like cape hovering behind her. The marks on a peacock's feathers are said to be the hundred eyes of Juno's (rather Hera's) pet giant Argus, which were placed there following Argus' death.

From the queen of Olympus to the queen of the student council, we talk about Mitsuru Kirijou:

Mitsuru
The Personae:
Mitsuru's personae at first seem rather straightforward, with Penthesilia:



And Artemisia:



The Legend:
Penthesilia was the last of the amazon queens, but is that all there is to it? Maybe, but when you get a little closer to the stories of both characters, the comparisons seem quite a bit more substantial. Penthesilia accidentally killed her sister Hippolyta. Filled with grief and guilt, she wanted only to die, knowing her life was wasted, and joined the Trojan War to later be killed by Achilles. I won't spoil it here, but the story of Penthesilia fits quite well to Mitsuru's. Up until the death part, at least.

Artemisia can be a confusing choice. As a nature goddess, she seems ill-fit to the urbane, sophisticated personality of Mitsuru. But Artemis is a goddess of contradictions. While a patron of women and childbirth, she also uses her arrows to bring miscarriages and death in labor. A bringer of healing, she also spreads diseases such as leprosy and gout.

Mitsuru comes out to be something of a contradiction, herself. To the outside world, she is the intimidating valedictorian, raining wrath upon those who disobey, but with you, she timidly tries out street food and sees chick flicks at the local theater. In school you are but a junior student to her, but only when alone together will she address you by your given name.

Further, while The Empress, Mitsuru's arcana, seems to be one of pride, rule and authority, the truth is that it is a card of sensual brilliance, celebrating life and its pleasures. As with her persona, Mitsuru contradicts herself, and has a fun time doing it (though she'd never admit it).

Visual Trivia:
Artemisia looks like a noblewoman going to a masked ball, but her dress details are made of spiked armor plate, and she wields a steel chain whip. Kind of like Ivy, but without the obnoxiously large cup size and jubble physics double-D. Very sexy contradictions.

Celebrating blogging and all its self-indulgence, we think about getting payback with Ken Amada:

Ken:
The Personae:
Ken's selection, like Ken himself, is a bit unorthodox, starting with Nemesis:



And stepping up to Kala-Nemi:



The Legend:
For the plot-versed, Nemesis is a fairly clear choice, as a Greek deity of divine retribution (if her name didn't quite give that away), following a dramatic change of attitude, Ken resolves never to look back again, facing the future, and his fate, straight-on. Kala-Nemi, a Vedic deity of fate, would probably best reflect the personality of a boy who finally knows his way.

Visual Trivia:
Nemesis has a wheel-like figure, and statues of the deity show her holding a ship's steering wheel. Kala-Nemi was also a symbol for the Milky Way, the place looked to for all astrological navigation. Kala-Nemi resembles a planetarium projector emblazoned with zodiac symbols.

Finding our way to the least complicated of Persona-users, we meet Koromaru:

Koromaru
The Persona:
As he once guarded the local temple, Koromaru guards the world with Cerberus:



The Legend:
Cerberus was the three-headed dog guardian of the underworld, keeping the living from getting in, and the dead from getting out. A fitting persona for a dog that guards the world against the evils within Tartarus.

Visual Trivia:
Cerberus is a dog, and so is Koromaru. Is there really that much more to say? Incidentally, Cerberus wears a pair of little wings not unlike those worn by Koromaru on his trips into the tower.

Past the canine guardians, meet the major personae used by you, the protagonist:

You
You begin the game with Orpheus:



The Legend:
Orpheus is the Master of Strings. Given a golden lyre by Apollo, he learned to sing and play music beautiful enough to calm divine hearts and make rocks and branches dance. Your connection to Orpheus is strongest through his journey, namely the descent into the underworld. In your case it may be a tower, but it is Tartarus all the same. One seeks answers, the other seeks his dead wife Eurydice, but to both each is precious.

Visual Trivia:
Orpheus was also famous for the manner of his death, ripped apart by enraged priestesses, only his head and his lyre left. His lyre was placed among the stars, and his head continued to sing sorrowful songs to mourn Eurydice. Orpheus features a very human-looking head (with your hairstyle) on top of an entirely mechanical body, perhaps to symbolize the head as the only living remainder of Orpheus. The red scarf accent is the red blood, flowing from a newly beheaded corpse.

Warning: I can no longer keep spoilers from the next couple of personae, so if you don't want to read them, skip down to the last couple of paragraphs for the conclusion.

Thanatos:



The Legend:
You receive the ability to fuse Thanatos following the conclusion of the Death social link. Thanatos is the god of death, a child of Nyx. He is twin to Hypnos, the god of sleep (and Takaya's persona). Death given form, he was sealed within you by Aegis, later to emerge as Ryoji Mochizuki.

Visual Trivia:
More than any other, the most important visual element in Thanatos' design is his coffin-cape. Not just a style feature, each of the eight coffins in the arrangement represents a member of SEES linked to you. Yukari, Aegis, Fuuka, Mitsuru, Akihiko, Ken, Koromaru, and Shinjiro. As Thanatos is linked to you, you are linked to your friends.

Messiah:



As the most powerful persona you can obtain without the use of the Velvet Room, Messiah is pretty much your ultimate persona (Orpheus Telos doesn't count), as reflected by his silhouette in the end credits. If you've gotten Messiah and finished the game, you know how closely the persona connects to you and your actions. In a sentence, the Messiah is you, who sacrifices himself to safeguard the world.

Visual Trivia:
Messiah looks a little like Orpheus turned divine. Purely white but for a pair of tear lines, Messiah bears wings not unlike that seen on the avatar of Nyx, the final boss. Wings clasped in front of his body, Messiah's left arm is still chained to four of Thanatos' coffins.This may symbolize the simple transition from Thanatos to Messiah, but the implied connection is made deeper in FES through "The Answer" epilogue campaign. The remaining four coffins represent the girls of SEES - Mitsuru, Yukari, Fuuka, and Aegis.

Why just the girls? Playing through The Answer provides a compelling reason. As the events of The Answer move along, it's revealed that none of the girls have quite let go of you ('cuz you're a pimp like that), never quite knowing why you left everything behind. They had resolved themselves, but not quite their relationship to you ('cuz you're memorable like that). The men had already reached their conclusions, and the dog had no answer to give. As in the image, the four women of SEES were still chained to you, each in their own way.

SPOILERS OVER

And with that, I think I can finally put Persona 3 to rest. You all owe it to yourselves to play this game. I don't care if you like anime or not, you can't miss this.

And now for something completely different (and thoroughly infuriating):