The Athosians are a primitive hunter-gatherer tribe, once a technologically advanced-culture native to the Pegasus galaxy, from the planet Athos. They were the first race in Pegasus to be encountered by the Atlantis expedition in 2004. Mostly consisting of farmers, hunters and traders, they formed an alliance with the expedition after they helped them evacuate to Lantea after they were attacked by the Wraith. By 2006, they moved to a new settlement known as New Athos, a relatively safe planet until they were taken captive by Michael Kenmore, who used them for experimentation to his Human-Wraith Hybrid. Several were killed and several more were turned into Hybrids, but they were eventually rescued and some Hybrid Athosians reverted to humans again.
History[]
Lantean era[]
The Athosians were one of the races of the galaxy protected by the Lanteans. The Wraith that would become known as Ashes and Osprey originally came from this world. After escaping from their prison on the frozen planet, the first Wraith dialed out to Athos before escaping to another planet. They later returned to seek aid from Ashes' wife only to fall into a trap by the Lanteans that they barely escaped. (SGA: "Legacy: Secrets")
After the beginning of the Lantean-Wraith war, the Lanteans who lived on Athos abandoned the planet to fight in the war. Eventually, Athos suffered a massive Culling from Wraith hive ships and Wraith cruisers in order to feed the Wraith armada besieging Atlantis. While the rest of the planet fell victim to the Wraith attack, the city of Emege possessed a Lantean energy shield that protected it from attack, becoming the last safe place on the planet. After a year and a day, the shield finally failed and the Wraith, led by the legendary and feared Queen Death destroyed Emege and dined on its people so that the city could never rise again. After taking their fill, the Wraith departed, leaving the starving Athosian survivors to pick up the pieces.
After the return of an Athosian named Arda with news that the Lanteans and Queen Death were both gone, the Athosians rebuilt Emege and set out to live their lives without the Lanteans. (SGA: "Death Game")
Before contact with Atlantis[]
At one point, the Athosians were a technologically advanced race, and created such technologies as Fire starters, as well as living in cities. Athos still suffered Cullings with the first being two generations after the Lanteans lost the war. Sometimes only a few years would pass between Cullings and sometimes a century with some Cullings being by a single Wraith Dart through the Stargate and others being more massive and ending with cities destroyed and thousands lost. In one instance, about two hundred years before meeting the Atlantis expedition, they were once almost completely wiped out from the Great Attack, which forced them to abandon city living and live as hunters, farmers and traders. (SGA: "Death Game", "Rising", "The Mysteries of Emege")
At an unknown point in their history, before the birth of Teyla Emmagan, some Athosians were taken by a Wraith scientist, who experimented on Humans to make the feeding process more efficient, by introducing them to Wraith DNA. After they were brought back, they were able to have the ability to sense Wraith. They believe that the ancestors (the Ancients) sent them this "gift". However, the normal Athosians noticed that the ones with the gift began to act strangely, and eventually become violent and murderous, so all but a handful were killed. Those who survived became outcasts, including Teyla's distant relatives. They were renowned as traders, and traveled to various other worlds within the galaxy through the use of the Stargate and trade in information, goods and manpower. (SGA: "Rising", "Hide and Seek", "The Storm", "The Gift", "Trinity")
Alliance with the Atlantis Expedition[]
- "Atlantis is far more than shelter — it is hope, not only for our people but for everyone who would stand against the Wraith. We must not abandon that hope."
- ―Teyla Emmagan[src]
Teyla, and the group of Athosians.
In 2004, the Athosians were the first race of people encountered by the Atlantis expedition. However, their first contact was short lived when the Wraith arrived and culled the planet. The Athosians were forced to abandon Athos and lived with the Tau'ri in Atlantis. However, some of the expedition members didn't trust them, thinking some may have been moles for the Wraith, and most Athosians felt unwelcomed. Later Major John Sheppard and Lt. Aiden Ford discovered land on Lantea, and after the Athosians became aware of the continent's existence, this presented them with a choice to leave the city and they all moved to make settlement on the mainland. They built a new village and grew crops for themselves and the expedition to replenish their food shortage. (SGA: "Hide and Seek", "Suspicion", "Underground")
Despite living on the mainland, they still had to be frequently evacuated to Atlantis in emergencies such as the arrival of Wraith ships and in one instance a superstorm that occurred every 20 to 30 years striking the planet. Eventually, when the Lanteans arrived back to Atlantis to temporarily retake control of the city, they were moved to a relatively safe planet, later to be named New Athos, where they rebuilt their society again. However, after Sheppard's team retook the city after an Asuran attack, the Athosians decided to stay on New Athos. (SGA: "The Storm", "The Siege, Part 1", "Allies", "The Return, Part 1")
Missing[]
In 2007, Michael Kenmore became aware of New Athos' existence and used around 50 of his Human followers and Hybrids to ambush the village. They took every last Athosian apart from Teyla Emmagan. Teyla and Dr. Jennifer Keller noticed this after they arrived in New Athos the next day and discovered that the Athosian village was abandoned. They were later shocked to discover that they were kidnapped, possibly by Wraith. The expedition assumed they were culled and killed after sending a forensics team led them nowhere. It was around six months before they found a clue from Teyla's visions between her, fellow Athosian Kanaan and their unborn child. They eventually discovered that Michael took them to conduct experiments on his Hybrids with the help of the clone of Dr. Carson Beckett. Several were transformed into Hybrids. Eventually, the Atlantis teams managed to locate the planet they were being held, and rescued all the Athosians who were still alive and Human, but the Athosian Hybrids and a pregnant Teyla were still taken by Michael. Eventually Teyla, her newborn child, Torren John and the Hybrids were also rescued, and the Hybrids were reverted to human again. They then returned to New Athos. (SGA: "Missing", "The Seer", "The Kindred, Part 1", "The Kindred, Part 2", "Search and Rescue", "The Seed", "Legacy: Homecoming")
After rescue[]
Following their rescue and return to New Athos, the Athosians were left nearly extinct and below genetic viability as a people. The Wraith stopped returning to feed on them due to the fact that Guide made New Athos off-limits to the Wraith rather than come into conflict with the Atlantis expedition on the matter. According to Guide, the Athosians have now been culled so badly that they aren't worth a fight over. However, with the rise of Queen Death and the fall of Guide's alliance, this protection has disappeared. (SGA: "Legacy: Homecoming", "The Lost")
By the time that a year and a half has passed since the Athosians' rescue from Michael, they have allowed other survivors of Queen Death to share New Athos with them, including the Manarians. However, the planet is inhospitable and the Athosians are below genetic viability, suggesting that within just a few generations, they will cease to exist. With the help of McKay and the permission of the Athosian Council, Teyla scouts Athos for a possible return by her people to their homeworld. The two discover that Emege had a shield generator that was powered by geothermal energy from a supervolcano. The city had fallen to the original Queen Death because the residents shut down the shield due to the threat of the supervolcano erupting and threatening to devastate the entire planet and the Athosians hiding in other places upon it. Having discovered the true story of Emege, Teyla brings it to the Athosian Council, telling McKay that her people will almost certainly resettle their original homeworld. (SGA: "The Mysteries of Emege")
Culture[]
The Athosians are a peaceful, welcoming and spiritual race of humans. They often refer to the Ancients as "Ancestors" (whom they worship as deities), individuals who brought them into the universe, which the Ancients did by seeding the galaxy with life. They often pray and meditate, in dedication to them. Other aspects of their culture include:
- As a greeting, farewell and even appreciation, two individuals often lean their foreheads to each other. This was shown many times. (SGA: "Rising", "The Return, Part 1")
- Every morning before dawn, they have stout tea to brace them for the coming day. (SGA: "Rising")
- Despite living in fear due to the Wraith, a hide and seek game where the seeker is a Wraith is very popular among Athosian children, particularly Jinto and Wex. This may be related to their goal to "raise [their] children without fear." That has changed when Major John Sheppard is the seeker, since the arrival of the expedition. (SGA: "Rising", "Hide and Seek")
- There is a ritual prayer that is said when one knows that death is upon them. (SGA: "Thirty-Eight Minutes")
- One popular dish among the Athosians is Tuttleroot soup. (SGA: "The Gift", "Critical Mass")
- Being accused of serving the Wraith is considered the biggest insult to them. (SGA: "The Siege, Part 1")
- Dying from natural causes are rare among their people, since many die in the hands of the Wraith. Each person who passes away of old age are often honoured with the Ring Ceremony, to prepare them for the afterlife. (SGA: "Critical Mass")
- A Memorial tea ceremony is held for family members of the deceased. Other people serve those who lost the loved one. (SGA: "Tao of Rodney")
- According to Teyla Emmagan, the Athosians take a period of rest every four days. (SGA: "Sunday")
- A popular beverage is called Ruus wine. According to Sheppard, he described the wine as "tasty stuff, but hell of a kick." (SGA: "Missing")
- As a rite of passage, young Athosians would be left abandoned in the forests and were left there alone for 10 days to learn how to fend for themselves later in life. (SGA: "Missing")
- When Teyla Emmagan introduces herself to the Atlantis expedition, she says she's "daughter of Tagan." However, later we discover that her father's name was Torren. The use of a matronym instead of a patronym may be an indication that the Athosian society is or at least historically has been matriarchal. Or it's possible that women are daughters of their mother, and men are sons of their father. (SGA: "Rising", "Search and Rescue")
- Despite refraining from using advanced technology to avoid the attention of the Wraith, they have handheld lighters capable of igniting torches. Teyla claims they "long ago mastered fire."
Known Athosians[]
- Teyla Emmagan
- Torren John Emmagan
- Anika
- Balera
- Charin
- Doran
- Halling
- Jinto
- Kanaan
- Marta
- Osalia
- Selana
- Tagan
- Toran
- Torren
- Wex
Alternate realities[]
- In the alternate reality created by Charybdis designated as Charybdis +32, some of the Athosians survived the cataclysm that devastated Lantea and continued to live on the mainland under the leadership of Halling and then Jinto after Halling died. Thirty years after the cataclysm, Wex and a few of the Athosians found and rescued the Major John Sheppard of another alternate reality who had fallen through a space-time rift in Jumper 1 and crashed into Lantea's ocean after narrowly avoiding the Athosian village. (SGA: "Mirror Mirror")
Alternate timeline[]
- In an alternate timeline, Atlantis had no failsafe mechanism and all Zero Point Modules ran simultaneously so the city sank when it was flooded. Consequently, almost the entire Atlantis expedition was killed shortly after their arrival in the Pegasus galaxy. They never travelled to Athos and therefore never met Teyla Emmagan or the Athosians. (SGA: "Before I Sleep")
Appearances[]
| Appearances for Athosian |
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In chronological order:
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[]
- GateWorld's article on Athosians in The Stargate Omnipedia
| Athosians | Anika • Athosian (Conversion) • Athosian (Rising) • Ayahdu • Balera • Charin • Doran • Teyla Emmagan • Torren John Emmagan • Halling • Jinto • Kanaan • Marta • Osalia • Selana • Tagan • Toran • Torren • Tre • Unnamed Athosian • Unnamed female Athosian • Unnamed male Athosian • Wex |
| Planets | Athos • New Athos |
| Athosian technology | Athosian Memorial Tea Set • Athosian Ritual Set • Bantos rod • Fire starter • Wraith mask |
| Terms | Athosian Council • Athosian Memorial Tea ceremony • Ring Ceremony • Ruus wine • Tendol Feast |