The Lore You Know: Zealot
By STAFF_Letitia
Feb 9th, 2018
February is the month of love, so why not shine a light on our more fanatical of Goddess-lovers, the Zealots.
For those of you who are not as familiar with this Cleric-tree class, our Zealots do not call upon the power of a specific Goddess but instead sacrifice their life energy and similar forces to invoke a different type of power to use in battle. There are also rumors that they tortured and assassinated demons during their search for the missing Goddesses. But in regards to this, how does our MMORPG version of the Zealots differ from that of history?
First, let’s break down the etymology of the word "zealot". Zealot comes from the Greek word, zelotes, which means, “one who is a zealous follower.” Zealot is also the common translation of the Hebrew word, kanna’im, which means “one who is zealous on behalf of God.” In this historical context, this term was used to characterize members of a 1st century Jewish sect who fought against the Roman rule in Palestine. The more extreme members of this group participated in acts of terrorism and assassination in order to fight against the pagan Romans. When discussing this sect, the word zealot is usually capitalized.
The Zealots were adamantly opposed to the pagan Romans that ruled over them. And their views were so extreme that they also opposed any idea of peace between the two political bodies. As Zealots believed they were the defenders and true devotees of the law of God, some Zealots even carried daggers beneath their cloaks to stab anyone they believed were committing a sacrilegious act or who were being too friendly to Rome.
A lot of our knowledge about the Zealots during the 1st century comes from the historian and scholar Josephus (37-100AD) who wrote influential works on Jewish history and the political climate of the time. However, Josephus labeled the Zealots as dangerous fanatics and pointed them out as a possible reason why the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem.
With all of this in mind, it is also important to state that although Jewish Zealots are seemingly the more popular mention, there are zealots in other areas of history as well. The Zealots seen in TOS are not a reflection of the Zealots from the 1st century but more of an interpretation of the word’s core definition “one who is a zealous follower.”
Our Zealots express themselves through various skills that reflect the actions of a zealous follower. Skills that involve blind fate, fanaticism, and immolation. Therefore, as you search for the Revelations of the Goddess, have you also given thought to devoting yourself as their follower and becoming a Zealot yourself?
References
Poole, G. 2017. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Flavius Josephus. [Online]
The Editors, 2014. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Zealot. [Online]
Etymoline. Zealot. [Online]
Jewish Encyclopedia. Zealots [Online]
Wikipedia, 2018. Zealotry in Jewish History. [Online]