sinlaire

WIP - Anathema

Added 2021-03-23 05:44:48 +0000 UTC

So at first, I have no idea what 'Anathema' means, and at first glance and quick search, I thought that I'll just make some corrupted angel or something.

But then I stumble upon its Etymology... it turns out to be quite interesting... It has two kinda opposite meaning, this is what I found :

Anathema derives from Ancient Greek: ἀνάθεμα, anáthema, meaning "an offering" or "anything dedicated", itself derived from the verb ἀνατίθημι, anatíthēmi, meaning "to offer up". In the Old Testament, it referred to both objects consecrated to divine use and those dedicated to destruction in the Lord's name, such as enemies and their weapons during religious wars. Since weapons of the enemy were considered unholy, the meaning became "anything dedicated to evil" or "a curse".

This reminded me of the previously discarded idea of the celestial beholder. Because it kinda fits the description really well. "A divine weapon created by the temple to combat evil force, but then deemed sacrilegious and shunned after the holy war." An attempt to create a divine weapon of mass destruction using consecrated flesh of a celestial or saints, something around that premise.

Right now I'm leaning toward the beholder + baby design, but we'll see what other inspiration might come during the drawing process. Let me know what you think and if you have any reference or suggestion~

PS: the last sketch is actually the first one I made before I found out about the etymology of the word and remember about the beholder idea