The holidays are approaching, and, for me that means it will soon be time to light the Chanukah Menorah and eat some latkes. However, when it comes to holidays and being a gamer, one has to stop and take note that sometimes the stores in your favourite games have a similarity to the story of a holiday being observed, whether or not the developers intended that to be so. This is the case with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the holiday of Chanukah.
The story of Chanukah is the story of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire to restore both political and religious freedom to Judea. The empire had imposed new religious laws on the region and a revolt by the faithful was launched. This led to the liberation of the land and the re-dedication of the Temple. Judas Maccabaeus was one of the key figures in the revolt that led to the Jewish people being free, and his name and legacy have been preserved for generations as a figure to look up to and admire. After the revolt, a new dynasty of Jewish kings came to power as the Hasmonean dynasty, and ancient Israel was once again under their own control. Israel was no longer under the rule of a foreign empire which imposed laws of religious persecution and could now revive its ancient traditions. Now doesn’t this all sound familiar?
A key part of Skyrim is the Stormcloak rebellion, led by Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl (chieftain) of a region in Skyrim. The rebellion seeks to renew the land of Skyrim’s independence from the Empire of Cyrodil and to restore the freedom to worship their patron god Talos. Should the Stormcloaks win the civil war, so the tale goes, one of the first acts they intend do is to restore the shrine of Talos in the temple of the divines. This is not dissimilar to the Holy Temple of Israel being rededicated and purified after the Maccabean revolt. This could be coincidental but, even if it is, the similarities are enough that I feel Skyrim’s Stormcloak route truly does re-tell the story of Chanukah. The similarities do not end there though.
The land of Skyrim, as seen in the game, is populated with people who have abandoned the Nordic pantheon, for the most part, in favour of the imperial pantheon. This is notable in that the Nords of Skyrim traditionally despised some of the Imperial pantheon such as Arkay, who they instead associated with Orks and the negative tales of a sinister figure who sought to shorten their lives. Similarly in the story of Chanukah, many Jews were close to abandoning their traditions in favour of the culture & religion coercively pushed on them by the Seleucid Empire. While Ulfric’s victory is only seen to restore Talos-worship in the game, it would not be hard to imagine that it would eventually lead to a full revival of the Nordic traditions. Ulfric’s restoration of Talos in the temple of the divines is more than just a simple act; it marks the beginning of the return for the Nords to their traditions that were abandoned or taken from them. So too did the re-dedication of the temple mark the Jewish people returning to their faith and traditions after a period of war, both with the Empire, and with the loyalists.
I will note that this is not a 100% accurate reading, because players were intended to read multiple different interpretations of the characters and their actions. Ulfric and his forces are prejudiced against non-Nords in Skryim, such as the Dark Elves (also known as Dunmer), and the Argonians (reptilian like people). The empire seems to be more tolerant, but again, this is not the only aspect of the characters. In previous games, the Dunmer were shown to be very distrustful of outsiders and even maintained slavery among some of their great houses before a cataclysm and an uprising drove them out. It’s also important to note that the Nords were a key part of building the empire in the first place, and their patron deity Talos is actually Tiber Septim, the founder of the empire, now deified. There is a bit more to it than that mind you, as the series lore gets a little strange at times, but it is a point worth mentioning.
It would be far better to say that the story in Skyrim represents some aspects of the story of Chanukah, while also incorporating ideas from various wars from the last few centuries. Part of the beauty of Skyrim is that it can be interpreted in a vast number of ways. In fact, it should be noted the Nords are not monotheists, with the exception of a separate group called the Skaal, who have a very different way of life, but are only a factor in the DLC and not the main game. Another thing to point out is that The Elder Scrolls borrows from a vast number of sources, and even the previously mentioned Dunmer took some elements from Jewish history, having a religion that was unlike any other and turning from their main religion, only for their higher powers to punish them and expel them from their homeland, which reignited their faith. Similarly, the Orcs only revere one god, although they are Henotheistic rather than Monotheistic, and have seen their homeland destroyed and their people scattered before. These are not full examples, as the cultures also are mixed with many more real life cultures, but there was clearly some borrowing done.
Still, the connections to the story of Chanukah are there, and once pointed out, are hard to ignore. I noticed these similarities while I was playing the game, and while I cannot be sure if they were intentional or not, they definitely stood out to me. I feel that things like this help keep gaming fresh, by showing you that there can be deeper meaning in the games you play. You just need to look in the right places. Sometimes you may find that the stories we encounter resonate in the places you least expected them to.
