Those of us who have played Persona 5 or really any of the Shin Megami Tensei series as a whole are aware that it has a bit of a preoccupation with monsters and demons, regardless of which country's folklore those creatures are derived from.
The game really does have an encyclopedic list of nasties that spans pretty much everywhere you can think of. Japanese and Middle Eastern monsters, demons from Catholic grimoires of magic, and even creatures from Native American mythology. In this list, we'll be taking a look at a really interesting entry in this giant list, known as Eligor.
10 He's Based Directly On A Goetic Demon
While it may be assumed by a lot of people at first that most of the creatures in Persona 5 are Japanese based on the country of the game's origin, nothing could be further from the truth. It includes a vast variety of creatures from cultures all over the world. Nothing seems more out of place to one who's done some research into the occult than Goetic Demons, but at the same time, the series is known for taking influences from some pretty dark and dangerous places.
9 The Goetia Is An Instruction Manual For Summoning Demons
For those of us not well-acquainted with magic from the Middle Ages, "The Goetia" and "Goetic" are terms that refer to a variety of unsavory types from magic manuals from back in the day. Many people would undertake communion with these forces to ask for deals to affect change in their daily life. While the church didn't exactly look upon it with the most approving eye it still happened, and you can see it in tons of pop culture to this day, with one of the most important examples recently being the Ari Aster film released by the production company A24, Hereditary.
8 Theoretically, You Can Summon And Talk To Eligor
One of the most interesting things about the Goetia is that you can interact with it directly. There are tons of manuals on using the old, musty magic, one of the most notable being the Ars Goetia section of The Lesser Key Of Solomon. There are plenty of translations if you really think this is a good idea, but let it be known that the author claims no responsibility for the results of playing with this kind of stuff.
While it may or may not work, we're not really in the business of trying to find out here at The Gamer. But that being said, if curiosity gets the best of you, you can definitely find a copy of the infernal instruction manual online.
7 He's Part Of Hell's Army
Eligor isn't necessarily one of the Four Princes of Hell or anything, but The Lesser Key Of Solomon and plenty of other texts dating from around the 14th century will tell you plenty about the hierarchy of Hell if you really wanna know about it. Most of it is studied by academics although there are definitely still practitioners, there are also Catholic scholars who find the stuff interesting. There's a whole top-down army in Hell theoretically, ranging from the big guys like Lucifer and Satan who are different beings in this scheme, all the way down to nameless grunts who torture people who jaywalked one too many times.
6 He's Not Quite A Grunt, Not Quite Royalty
Since there's a pretty distinct hierarchy to the organization of Hell, it only makes sense that Eligor would have bosses and underlings. Everyone reports to someone, even demons who show up in JRPGs. His direct boss is named Fleurety, as silly as that name sounds, and he has under his command 60 legions of demons. No one is sure exactly how big each of these legions is supposed to be, but 60 seems like a good few at first glance. Until you realize exactly how many of these legions someone like Lucifer commands, which according to some texts is as high as 70 or 80 legions.
5 There's A List Of His Uses
One of the most interesting things about The Lesser Key Of Solomon is that it lists exactly what the uses of these demons are after you summon them. Some of them will give you knowledge of secret treasure, natural sciences, philosophy, magic, or even the secrets of the universe.
As for Eligor himself, he is an absolute master of military strategy, which makes a lot of sense considering he's the first miniboss in the game and captain of Kamoshida's guard.
4 Talking About Eligor Back In The Day Could Have Gotten You Hanged
While most of the practitioners of this branch of magic back in the day were Catholic, or at least Catholic in name, you could have gotten in a lot of trouble for coming at the practice in a real way instead of just an academic one. When people would practice this kind of thing, it was a really hush-hush kind of affair, especially when the Inquisition and other witch-hunts were popular across Europe. Depending on the region, you could be beheaded most commonly or burned at the stake for even owning these types of books.
3 People Have Been Writing Books He's In For Ages
While The Lesser Key Of Solomon has been mentioned a whole bunch in this article for being the main source of study for more facts about Eligor and the Goetic demons as a whole, (a lot of which are featured throughout the Shin Megami Tensei series if not the Persona series itself) it becomes clear that there are actually tons of texts that outline this type of thought. Some of the biggest examples are The Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, and the Dictionnaire Infernale.
2 You Need Him To Get A More Powerful Goetic Persona
Given the strict hierarchy that demons have in the universe of Goetia and in the Shin Megami Tensei series itself, it only makes sense that you'd need to use Eligor if you really want a more powerful Goetic demon in your arsenal of helpers.
If you use him in a certain fusion, one that he's absolutely required in, you can get your hands on Flauros, a pretty ridiculous looking persona.
1 His Boss Shows Up In Other Games In The Series
The demon that Eligor is directly under in the Shin Megami Tensei series is named Fleurety. While he doesn't really appear in the Persona series including 5, he does show up pretty often in the other games. He also has authority over Purson and Bathin, who are actual Goetic demons. He has knowledge of herbs and controls the weather according to his bio, making him sound like a pretty formidable opponent if we ever have to face him in upcoming Persona games.