Game of Thrones Symbolism: The Greyjoys

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com/screenprism The Greyjoy sigil is a gold kraken on a black field. It exudes power and intimidation, which isn't misleading -- the Greyjoys, and the rest of the ironborn, or people from the Iron Islands, take pride in their violent culture. Like the powerful kraken on a mysterious black field, the Greyjoys are almost superhumanly vicious and strong, so long as they're at sea.

[We can defeat anyone at sea,] [but we'll never hold lands and castles against mainland armies. ] The Greyjoys' way of life, the Old Way, is reminiscent of pirate lore and inspired by the Vikings: the ironborn raid and ransack villages to sustain themselves, paying the iron price -- which means to take what they want from those they have killed, instead of paying for it with gold or other goods, they call that, the gold price. [That bauble round your neck, did you pay the iron price for it, or the gold?

] [I asked a question. ] [Did you pull it from the neck of a corpse you made] [or did you buy it to match your fine clothes? ] The Greyjoys have one of the largest and most formidable fleets in Westeros.

On land, however, their soldiers don't fare as well, as they lack numbers and discipline. Overall, house Greyjoy symbolizes brute force and unapologetic violence, tough survival, devotion to traditions, alternative way of life, closeness to water, broken family, open defiance and fearless faith. Game of Thrones introduces House Greyjoy splintered, and they don't do much to earn our affection -- Theon, the first and for some time the only member of his house we see, begins as a bitter and cocky character - and that's before he turns against the Starks in Season 2.

After his betrayal, Theon's bad luck endeared him to the audience -- captured, tortured, and broken to the point where he didn't even know who he was, Theon became less of a Greyjoy and more of a character the audience feels for. Theon's father, Balon, who's the leader of the Greyjoys when the series starts, is introduced as an unloving man. Theon's sister, Yara, is a strong woman who, despite the sexist community she grew up in, commands ships and leads with courage.

She is truly ironborn, although one of the conditions of her alliance with Daenerys was that as leader she would stop paying the iron price. The Ironborn's continuation of the Old Way shows their defiance against the Iron Throne. Theon's grandfather, Quellon, actually tried to strengthen ties to the rest of Westeros, but Balon reversed his father's efforts when he came to power and started Greyjoy's Rebellion against Robert Baratheon's rule.

Balon's two eldest sons were killed in battle -- leaving Theon and Yara as his only two surviving heirs. After the rebellion was crushed, Theon lived with the Starks as a ward/hostage to keep Balon in check, as Ned was ordered to kill Theon if Balon tried anything again. Since then, Balon's brother, Euron, murdered his brother to seize the Salt Throne.

Euron was chosen by their traditional selection process, the kingsmoot, and crowned through the ceremony of the Drwned God, but Yara opts to seize the Salt Throne anyway, deciding to team up with Daenerys, until Euron hunts her down and captures her. Euron's vying to marry Cersei and his hunger to rule the seven kingdoms departs from the traditional Ironborn distrust of and isolation from the rest of the Westeros. Euron adds a third red eye to the sigil, making the kraken even more creepy than ever.

In the books and one version of the sigil we see on the show, he uses a silver kraken, instead of gold, perhaps emphasizing the iron of ironborn or his interest in the Iron throne. With Joffrey and Ramsay Bolton gone, Euron is now one of the more frightening and purely cruel villains on the show. [We do not sow.

We are ironborn. ] [We're not subjects. We're not slaves.

] The Greyjoy's motto, "We Do Not Sow," indicates their stubborn refusal to give up their Old Way. They are proud of their ironborn traditions of paying the iron price, pillaging and taking through brutal force. The Iron Islands are a harsh and unpleasant landscape -- a bleak backdrop of storm and grey skies, far from the warm tones of King's Landing or Dorne.

But the environment symbolizes, and has formed, the hard nature of the ironborn, who have had to survive by raiding their neighbors and taking their food and supplies. Not surprisingly, this lifestyle puts them in conflict with most others around them. [I don't trust Lord Greyjoy because he is not trustworthy.

] Their choice of title for their leader, Lord Reaper of Pyke, reveals their value system. Since violence is their preferred mode of reaping, earning respect in the Iron Islands is all about showing fearlessness and cruel strength. [They have ships, and they're good at killing.

] [They're not good at anything! I know the Ironborn. ] [They're bitter, angry little people.

] [All they know how to do is steal the things they can't build or grow themselves. ] While it isn't the most noble or intellectual way of life, the Greyjoys can boast that they're honest and straightforward, and don't hide behind political games. The polar opposite of the crafty Tyrells' motto "Growing Strong," the Greyjoys "We Do Not Sow" can be read as a declaration that, whereas other houses might pretend to be peaceable and generous, the Greyjoys make no pretense about who they are or the brutal world that they're living in.

The ironborn are also uncompromising in their religion -- they refuse to worship the New Gods, as the majority of the Seven Kingdoms do. Instead, they worship the Drwned God, whom the Faceless Men of Braavos believe to be one of the aspects of the Many-Faced God. The Drwned God explains a lot about the Greyjoys' fearlessness and their connection to the sea.

Worshipping the Drwned God reinforces and celebrates the ironborn practices of pillaging, because they believe the Drwned God created them to do so. An unofficial but more popular saying of the Greyjoys, is a common prayer in their religion: "What Is Dead May Never Die. " This is met with the response, "But rises again, harder and stronger.

" Resurrection, specifically being revived after drowning, plays a large part in the religion of the Drwned God, who is said to have drowned in the sea for the sake of the ironborn. The ironborn don't fear drowning because their religion claims that fearless raiders who drown in the sea are taken to the Drwned God's halls to feast on fish and be tended by mermaids for eternity. The Ironborn sacrifice enemies and execute criminals through drowning.

Their leaders are anointed with a ceremony led by the Drwned Men, priests of the religion and devotees may also be blessed by the Drwned Men using seawater. The Greyjoys base their claims of legitimacy in ruling the Iron Islands on the belief that they descend from a semi-mythical figure, The Grey King, who is said to have been blessed by the Drwned God, taken a mermaid as his wife and ruled the Western isles and the sea itself for a thousand years. The Iron Islands are theoretically something of loose democracy, where the ship captains choose their leaders through a kingsmoot, but in actual practice the Greyjoys seem to largely go unchallenged, due to their long history of rule and ability to intimidate others.

[The Salt Throne is not yours to swear upon,] [not unless the kingsmoot chooses you. ] [My father would have wanted me to rule! ] [Your father does not get to choose!

The law is clear! ] The Greyjoy's version of black is a fearsome color, meant to be unfriendly and mysterious. The ironborn way of life creates a barrier between itself and the outside world, championing confidence and intimidation.

The black of the field also indicates the depths of the open ocean, large, daunting, and unforgiving. While many are afraid of what the bottom of the sea may hold, the ironborn embrace the unknown that may be lurking under the open waters. The pirate-like nature of the ironborn is reflected in the Greyjoy aesthetic, yet while we might expect black and silver, which would be more pirate-like and allude to the Iron of the Iron Islands.

The gold on the traditional Greyjoy sigil is a nod to all the riches they steal from their neighbors. While the ironborn look down upon paying the gold price, the gold in their sigil signifies an undying thirst for power, and the selfish nature of paying the iron price. Gold's links to masculine energy remind us of their sexist culture and religion.

Traditionally, Women of the Iron Islands aren't allowed to be clergy members, sail around the world to pillage, or command ships. This is why Yara is such an important female character -- even though she's a woman, many ironborn support her as their leader. [Kraken.

Strong, as long as they're in the sea. ] [When you take them out of the water, no bones. ] The Greyjoy animal is another creature that's mythical, both in real life and Westeros: the kraken.

[Release The Kraken! ] The story of the legendary sea monsters comes from Nordic folklore and may be based on sightings of the giant squid dating back to the 12th century. A Kraken is said to be as long as an island -- some maintain that they attack vessels with their long arms and eat entire crews at once.

Resembling a giant squid, the kraken is said to be the dragon of the sea. Although many in Westeros don't believe krakens exist, they said the same of direwolves and dragons, and sailors occasionally report sightings of krakens, so it's possible one could make an appearance in the show. Like the ironborn, krakens are terrifyingly strong, savagely take whatever they please, and sound so larger-than-life that most people hope the rumors of them are exaggerated.

Legend holds that krakens, like octopi, can regrow limbs. This renewal mirrors the resurrection in the religion of the drowned God. A story goes that the Greyjoy ancestor, the Grey King, slay Nagga, a sea dragon that fed on krakens, and the Grey King then made his hall out of Nagga's bones and took Nagga's fire for his own.

The story symbolizes that House Greyjoy is so strong, they descend from a figure blessed by the Drwned God to defeat a creature even more powerful than the fearsome kraken. Currently caught in a family civil war, House Greyjoy is in crisis -- the ironborn are split in their allegiance to either Euron or the captured Yara. We viewers feel for Theon more now that he has less the typical Greyjoy -- now that he's shown human weakness and remorse, in contrast to Euron's proudly barbaric behavior.

[It always seemed like there was,] [like there was an impossible choice I had to make, Stark or Greyjoy. ] Theon also shows love for his sister, even though his PTSD prevented him from saving her as she tried to save him. [You don't have to choose.

You're a Greyjoy and you're a Stark. ] Through Theon's more complex current self, and Yara who could represent a change to the Ironborn's routine sexism, this generation of Greyjoys could represent a step forward, a more updated, nuanced version of their house -- while still respecting their culture's traditions. [We're going to sail east, find a nice, quiet island,] [kill all the men, and take their wives for ourselves.

] [We're done with all that. ] Overall, the Greyjoys illustrate the wide variety of lifestyles that exist within the Thrones world, speak to the hold that culture and religion have on peoples who live in difficult environments, and demonstrate the raw power of ruling the seas in a Westeros at war. Thanks again to Squarespace for supporting this video, and we'd like to thank all of you for your continued support in helping us make these videos.

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