The Elites as a whole have always fascinated me.

Formidable enemies with a cunning and ferocity

unlike any species or culture, real or not. In my interest, I decided to take a closer look on the
foundation of their culture: The inspiration for them.

Now, some of you may immediately think that the Elites are inspired by Feudal Japan and how
they are the "Samurais" of the Covenant. This is mostly due to god-awful animation "The Duel",
which although being aesthetically pleasant, wastes the opportunity of showing modern
Sanghelios visually for the first time. Instead of giving the Elites their own culture, it pretty much
makes them a carbon copy of Japan. Now, before anybody is pointing any fingers, I dont dislike
Japanese Culture. Abhor, for lack of a better word, would be it but that is rather because of the
Western Fascination for it as rather than the Culture itself. Also a lot of people have been
comparing the Sangheili to the Japanese due to both cultures having a defined sense of honor.
Now, Japan doesnt have a Monopoly in Honor, every single warrior culture has been always been
very definitive regarding honor, be it the Anglo Saxons, the Greeks or even what people would
consider primitive such as the Zande or Zulu cultures in Africa. No, I think that the Sangheili
resemble Greeks and the Romans, now, this doesnt mean they are a flat out copy of any of them
(-cough- Fuck you The Duel cough-) but have some similarities that have enabled me to see
how one has a semblance to the other

-On the Series

We only get to be on Sanghelios for a respectable amount of time on two occasions, the
first being The Duel, which I am going to discard due it being mostly the artistic
representation of the director. The Second time being Halo: The Thursday War, a book
Ive read myself. In order to avoid any spoilers of the book, lets just say that it takes place
on the planet and that, least to me, I did not find anything resembling Japanese culture,
considering the fact that descriptions regarding architecture and landscape are given.
What is known about the Sangheili is that each family has its own War Poem which
narrates the feats of Battle accomplished by the ancestors of said family. This is analogous
the Ancient Classics like the Odyssey or the Iliad. In these Greek stories you have these
Kings and Heroes who can trace their lineages to Demigods and even the very Gods.
Emphasizing on how mighty and powerful their ancestors were. Also theres the Roman
Aeneid, which was made for Emperor Augustus for him to claim that he is the descendant
of Aeneas, a badass of Old. The Japanese had similar stories, how some families
descended from their Kamis. But there isnt a lot of emphasis on War and Might, these
tales mostly having to do with nature. The Kamis themselves being more of these spirits,
these forces of nature that create and distort reality rather than these full on Deities. So if
you ask me, its clear that these Sangheili War Poems originate from the ancient Greek
classics as opposed to the Japanese family tales.


-Religion and Codes of Honor

As I said, most people draw a comparison between Sangheili and Samurai because of both
cultures have this respect of Honor. The wiki itself saying that the way Sangheili tread with
Honor is similar to that of the Japanese.
The Sangheili code of honor appears quite similar to Japanese Bushido, sharing concepts
such as skill in combat (with an emphasis on swordsmanship), loyalty to master and
family/clan, and views on death. Both systems promote death in battle as being the most
honorable and proper way to die. If a warrior is critically injured, incapacitated, or captured, the
only acceptable recourse is to commit ritualistic suicide, ensuring one's honor is kept intact.
This was of such importance to Sangheili warriors that even if they were incapable of killing
themselves, they requested the assistance of their fellow Sangheili in doing so
-Halo Nation, Sangheili
Sure, both cultures deal with honor but note how centered the Sangheili culture is on
Religion and Glory in Zeal as opposed the Japanese and their Samurai. Their beliefs on the
Great Journey are extremely important to their culture, their warriors carrying glyphs and
runes of their Gods in their armor and how they are willing to glass entire planets of
Humans show you how hell-bent they are on their Religion. You dont see this kind of
attitude of upholding religious beliefs with Bushido on the Japanese belief of Shinto. Like
for example, Date Masamune, the most samurai of samurai in Japan, easily the most well-
known enforcer of this code of Honorconverted from Shinto to Catholicism This shows
how Japanese Culture, when compared with other cultures Certainly not with Sangheili-
does not have this Zeal. A virtue very much glorified with the Elites.

Speaking of Honor, the Sangheili have this ceremonial honor guard, the Bodyguards of the
Prophets. Doesnt this ring a bell? As in, how the Roman Emperors were well known to
have their own bodyguards too?

Also, the Forerunners are depicted and venerated as these almighty deities. Much like the
Greeks and Romans. The Greeks and Romans making gigantic Temples, mind you, these
being structures which dwarf any kind of shrine. Showing you how dedicated they are on
their worship. Also the Greeks and Romans in their tales not only narrate on appeasing
the gods and how men become their champions but also have tales on how they must
please the gods in their ire or otherwise how humanity righteously suffer due to the Gods
anger or grief, the making sacrifices in order to avoid further retribution from these deities
being exemplary of both cultures

This kind of attitude regarding higher powers reminds me of the Elites, and in a bigger
scale, the Covenant, on how they have these different eras in which they suffer and thrive
due to them either fulfilling their Gods wishes or otherwise failing them in their
endeavors and being in penance as a result. But not much like the Japanese, as their
veneration of these deities is what we could call conceptual, it is a veneration of nature
as a force.

-Politics and War
The Sangheili act as the Squad leaders in the Covenant Armies, an Elite Minor being in
charge of even a small contingency of Grunts. In short, they are the Centurions of the
Covenant. They do not only work with the undisciplined, Elite Strike and Kill Teams are
shown to be highly efficient and well trained, consisting of seasoned Sangheili to do the
fighting, these are, in turn, being commanded by an even more seasoned Sangheili. Not
only does honor have a part on the Sangheili virtues regarding War, discipline is also
sacred to them, which is what differentiates them from the Jackals and the Brutes,
warmongers in the own way. They are the heavy infantry of the covenant, much like the
Hoplites of Greece, and maximize their own individual prowess by fighting in Squadrons,
which is something you can see for yourself in the games.

The Elites also take position in the Covenant Council. The Covenant, having a much
defined political structure, have the Councilors be these extremely proficient Sangheili
Warriors. This is very similar to how the Roman Consuls and other important members of
their system were usually men with an extensive military career. Both cultures (Roman
and Sangheili) have military power equate to political power because commanders and
warriors bring glory to these Nations.

The most important point I want to address is how they run their household. In
Sanghelios, all elite children are brought up as the same, the Kaidon, the Sangheili lord,
does not know how his children are and vice versa. This is done in order for the Sangheili
to prove themselves, men and women sharing the same position. And all are taught to
fight with swords. In short, they all have the same social standing because they are all
expected to be part of the machine, the Covenant. Women staying at home, not because
they are not allowed to fight, but, in fact, because they still need warriors and family
members in their keeps or houses. This ties with the idea of how War veterans in Rome,
peasants and aristocrats alike, were given plots of land for them to live when they are
done with their service: War Veterans are equals, regardless of their status.

In Japan, peasants were not allowed to carry swords and you can see how in there, and in
other medieval societies, the highborn were usually the ones with the most privileges.
Also even if you were a noblemen, the Japanese were very strict on which sword you
could carry, low ranking samurai carrying short swords while the higher ranking carrying
the more recognizable type of Katana. There is clearly this divide which is not present in
Sangheili societies, in which even a backwater peasant Elite can be trained in
Swordsmanship, enlist in the Covenant, and rise through the ranks, not because of his
blood, but because of his individual merit; Sangheili get promoted depending on how
many foes they kill, regardless of their social status or gender. Every Sangheili is a Warrior,
which, if anything, reminds me mostly of how the Romans were very strict on things like
enlistment and how even a peasant would be properly trained and outfitted with
weapons, as opposed to your typical feudal levy.

Also there is the issue of women. Sangheili women not only have as much rights as men in
the keeps/households but they were also the heads of the family, the ones with the actual
power in the household, not just running but pretty much managing all of the Estate while
their husbands fought in the Wars. Again, they could also fight but that would leave a very
empty household, no? An example of this is Raia Mdama, she runs the entire Estate in
Bekan and Jul has to keep his intentions of overthrowing the Arbiter from his wife as he
fears that this would get him in trouble with her, the Sangheili respect their wives, and to
keep it short, have a healthy kind of fear towards them. A lot of the Sangheili Kaidons
feeling useless due to how their wives are the ones who run their Estate while they have
nothing to do now that the War is over.
Japanese women, mainly those of the Samurai Class, were taught to fight knives or pole
arms, not swords, reflecting on how weaponry defined status in Feudal Japan, how people
were given and trained with specifics kinds of weaponry as opposed all of them being
trained with swords (In Japans defense, this was because of the lack of ore for making
swords but the divide is still very much present) and were still very much beneath men in
this society (Japan not being unique in this prospect as women were treated unequally in
those times, even in Roman and Greek Societies)

-Weaponry and Miscellanea

A lot of people compare the Energy Sword to the archetypical Katana, this is because of
both swords cutting power, the latter only exceeding its European (And even
Mesoamerican) contemporaries for a small margin. The Design of the blade itself does not
really evoke any comparison to the Katana, if anything it is similar to the Gladius or the
Greek Xiphos

Xiphos (Note the broadening of the blade at the foible, the part closer to the tip)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-
BgWFUiL0ggg/TjixnhgxWKI/AAAAAAAABRA/1StJDU8emSY/s1600/PICT5366.JPG

Energy Sword
http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/File:Espada_de_energ%C3%ADa_HR.jpg

Katana
http://www.arscives.com/bladesign/Images/correctly-position-katana.jpg

Also, when it comes to armor, there is nothing that resembles the traditional style of
samurai lamellar yet the Sangheili, mainly the Spec Ops and the Ultra, share some
resembles with Hoplites
Archetypical Hoplite
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~classics/greece2003/updates/week5_6/0419Corinth12Web.
jpg

Spec Ops Sangheili/Ultra Sangheili
http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120413023344/halo/es/images/d/de/Specopsy.pn
g
http://images.wikia.com/halo/images/archive/6/67/20100617194919!HReach_-
_Ultra_Sangheili.png

Also this may seem obvious to some of you, but the betrayal of the Sangheili by the
Prophets is analogous to that of Julius Cesar. The former being replaced by the Brutes and
the latter being betrayed by Brutus.

-Bicornio