List of references to religion in the Halo series

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The Halo series contains a number of religious references and apparent allusions, along with references to the mythologies and legends of several cultures.

Silver Timeline

SEASON 1

SEASON 2

Egyptian mythology

• Anubis: God of funerals and death, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine head. The ANUBIS-class Mjolnir helmet is a reference to Anubis's appearance as a man with a canine head.
• Osiris: God of the afterlife, death, life, and resurrection, and Anubis' possible father. Fireteam Osiris is named after this.
• Neith: Goddess of the cosmos, fate, wisdom, water, rivers, mothers, childbirth, hunting, weaving, and war. The NEITH-class Mjolnir helmet is named after her.
• Nephthys: Goddess of death, service, lamentation, nighttime and rivers, and Anubis' mother. One of the Anubis armor skins is named after her.
• Serket: Goddess of healing venomous stings and bites, and Neith's possible daughter. The SERKET-class helmet is named after this goddess.
• Set: God of storms, desert, chaos and war, and Anubis' possible father. One of the Anubis armor skins is named after him.
• Anhur: God of war and sky bearer. One of the WRATH-class Mjolnir skins is named after him.

MJOLNIR Armor

Main article: List of Norse Mythology References in Halo

The MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor that equips the Spartan-IIs, IIIs and IVs shares its name with the Norse god Thor's legendary hammer, Mjölnir, which is said to call forth lightning.

Greek mythology

See Greek mythology references.

The Covenant

Most religious references in Halo are related to the Covenant. In the three Abrahamic religions, the Holy Covenant is the number of agreements between God and man. The Prophets and the battle of High Charity could be seen as an allusion to the Book of Revelation, judging by the following verses found in Revelation 11:5-10:

5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over the waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

The "days of their prophecy" are the 9th Age of Reclamation, the final Age in Halo. The "beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit" is the Gravemind. The "great city" is High Charity. The Arbiter and John both fall into "bottomless pits" (although John's was a lake) and were taken by the Gravemind, which can be said to then reside in this "pit", which is presumably located in the Delta Halo Library.

The "people and kindreds and tongues and nations" are the Covenant, while "they that dwell upon the earth" are the human race. The two prophets that die are Mercy and Regret, although it is important to note that the Bible only mentions two prophets in this selection instead of the multiple prophets of Halo. Also note that one of the first "Covenants" between the human race and God is that "Never again shall a flood destroy all," and the Covenant are determined on activating the Halo's which, even if the Covenant don't know it, would destroy all of the Flood, thus having the Covenant stop the Flood.

The Arbiter's ritual humiliation, ordered by the Hierarchs and carried out by Tartarus, is visually evocative of the crucifixion of Jesus. It culminates with the Tartarus stabbing the Arbiter with a brand of the Mark of Shame, similar to how Jesus was stabbed with the Lance of Longinus. His old life effectively "dead", he is then figuratively resurrected as "the Arbiter". Later he is betrayed by his own people (again) when Tartarus knocks him into the pit of the Library (as Jesus was betrayed). As Jesus then passed through Hell, the Arbiter passes through the Gravemind's lair in the pit underneath the Library. The Arbiter then returns and saves the other Elites, having learned the Truth that the Prophets are false, similar to how Christ brought a new message about religious truth. When the Arbiter arrives in the control room of Delta Halo to stop Tartarus from activating it, Tartarus exclaims "impossible!", just as it is frequently said of Christ that "with Him, all things are possible".

The concept of Covenant glassing also parallels the lyrics of the hymn 'Holy, Holy, Holy'. In the second stanza, the lyrics are 'Casting down their crowns around the glassy sea'.

Biblical Parallels to Plot events: Daniel

The passages of Daniel 11 verses 21 through 45 describe with remarkable coincidence the plot of Halo 2 and also parts of Halo 3.

21 And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

22 With the arms of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant.

23 And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people.

25 “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him.

28 While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land.

29 “At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter.

30 For ships from the west shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage.So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.

31 And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.

32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.

34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue.

35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.

36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.

37 He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all.

38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things.

39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.

40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.

41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon.

42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.

45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.

The King described in the passage very much fits the Prophet of Truth. Contact Harvest describes his rise of power through intrigue (verse 21), and his instigation of the Great Schism in Halo 2 illustrates how much damage he will do to former members of the Covenant, the Elites (verse 28).

Apart from depictions of the Prophet of Truth, the verses in Daniel also point to other parts of Halo's plot; from the Covenant civil war (seen in verse 30) and also a "Prince of the Covenant" being destroyed in "the arms of the flood" (verse 22).

Verse 30 and 31 describe the pollution of the "Sanctuary Fortress", an obvious analogue for the Flood's pollution of High Charity.

Verses 40 through 45 of Daniel 11 describe with some metaphorical imagery for parts of Halo 3. The King of the north will "come against him like a whirlwind [...] with many ships". He will enter the "Glorious Holy Land", being the Ark.

The final two verses (44 and 45) of Daniel 11 seem to point to the end of the level "The Covenant" on Halo 3, as well as the end of Truth's life. Verse 44 is particularly analogous to the combined assault against the Ark's citadel, from Elites and humans, and separately the Flood. Guilty Spark by proxy of Commander Keyes says that news of the Flood will only accelerate Truth's intentions to destroy the galaxy.

The Ark

In all Abrahamic religions, there are two "Arks". Firstly, there is Noah's Ark. Noah was instructed by God, who is comparable to the Forerunners in the Halo Universe, to build an Ark to save all species on earth from a Flood. Similarly, in Halo the Ark was used to save all species from the Flood. Second, there is the Ark of the Covenant. In the Abrahamic religions, the Ark of the Covenant was a very holy object which housed the Ten Commandments, a symbol of God's covenant with Israel. Anyone who touched it would die instantly, just as if the Ark in Halo were activated it would also bring death. In the Halo Universe, this is mirrored by the Covenant viewing all Forerunner objects holy. Also, the Ark of the Covenant was a weapon of mass destruction, through the wrath and power of God, in all religions of Abraham, as it decimated the outer, protective walls of Jericho. This was done by encircling the city of Jericho seven times with the Ark itself.

The cataclysmic devices in Halo are composed of the Ark and seven circular