Ori (Stargate) - Characteristics

Characteristics

The Ori impose a religion called Origin on sentient beings, promising a guide towards enlightenment that is also known in the series as Ascension. The faith comes with a holy book called The Book of Origin, and the Priors spread the Word of Origin. The Book of Origin contains tales of how the followers of the Ori returned to the path to enlightenment, and thus achieved Ascension, although some skeptics consider these merely "fables meant to fill a soul bereft of hope with purpose". Several lines from the Book of Origin, or otherwise repeated mantras, are heard on the show. These include variations of "Hallowed are the Ori". The central icon of this religion is fire, something that gives off light and warmth. The fact that on Earth this icon has some evil or Satanic associations in many modern religions prompted Daniel to posit that the Ancients had influenced this negative connotation in order to identify the threat the Ori pose. Among the populations of natives in the Ori home galaxy are groups of heretics who believe they are being suppressed, and seek to discover forbidden historical knowledge to show others that the Ori, despite their power, are not gods.

Ori military tactics varied during the initial incursions into the Milky Way galaxy and the full scale invasion that was later achieved through the Supergate. The initial incursions were achieved through lone Priors who were sent to worlds in the Milky Way galaxy, preaching to the populace and distributing copies of the Book of Origin. When the people failed to comply, more drastic measures were taken, eventually to the point of destroying the population. The show features powerful Ori weapons in "Ethon", ships in "Camelot", control chairs like that in "Counterstrike" and Supergates in "Beachhead". The Ori can be killed by Merlin's Sangraal weapon, which nullifies ascended beings. As seen in The Ark of Truth, there is also an Ark that Cooper considered "a truly fascinating centerpiece" and "mass brain-washing device" to convince people of the truth. Comparing the Ark to television as it is "a box that light comes out of, and you believe what it says", Cooper left it open whether the choice to do it without guns was ultimately the better method.