Anteaus
Summary
Anteaus was one of the leaders of the Nox, a peaceful, ancient race who were extremely technologically advanced but who took a pacifist position in the war against the Goa'uld. We're introduced to him in the Season One episode, 1.08 "The Nox."
Character Biography
Anteaus is of the Nox, a peaceful, ancient race living on the planet PC3-117. SG-1 went to this planet to hunt for a flying creature which they believed held the power of invisibility, a secret the SGC and the Goa'uld both sought. Once SG-1 arrived on the planet, the stargate was made invisible, as well as the homing device they needed to locate it. While they considered their next move, they were distracted by one of the creatures which was hovering nearby. Unfortunately, they were not able to tranquilize it, but were beat in the chase by Apophis and three of his Jaffa.
Daniel Jackson persuaded the rest of SG-1 that they should try to capture Apophis so that he would reveal the whereabouts of Sha're and Skaara. Even though they all had reservations, they went ahead with the ambush and failed miserably. O'Neill, Carter, and Jackson were killed in the attempt and Teal'c was mysteriously wisked away before Apophis could render a fatal staff weapon blast.
Jackson, Carter, and O'Neill woke up in a grass hut and discovered that they were not dead, but miraculously healed. When they ventured out of the hut, they met Anteaus. At first, Anteaus did not speak, but motioned his requests for SG-1 to sit and eat. Anteaus quietly studied and listened to them and when he finally spoke, he said that he'd take them back to their "doorway", the word he used for the stargate. He had learned their language very quickly.
Anteaus was not alone in his settlement in the forest. He had with him Ohper, an elder of 432 years of age; Lya, a woman who appeared to be younger than Anteaus; and Nafrayu, a little boy.
Jackson said that he wanted to share knowledge with them, but Anteaus did not wish to teach him their ways or about their medicine. Anteaus also stated that there were other Nox nearby, perhaps a ruling council, but they did not wish to talk with SG-1, either. Instead, Anteaus wanted them to leave as soon as possible.
Anteaus and his family did not show partiality towards SG-1. They had also rescued and healed one of Apophis' Jaffa, Shek'l. Teal'c had trained Shek'l to serve under his command when Teal'c was First Prime of Apophis. The Nox suggested that Teal'c try to persuade Shek'l to join him against Apophis and the other false gods, but Shek'l refused. He used a knife in his escape, wounding Teal'c and killing Lya.
SG-1 witnessed Anteaus, Ohper, and Nafrayu perform a healing ceremony over Lya's dead body. The Nox called this procedure the Ritual of Life. They had performed this same ritual to heal O'Neill, Jackson, and Carter.
O'Neill tried to warn Anteaus and the rest of his family that Apophis and his Jaffa meant to harm them and that he'd try to protect them, but Anteaus said that they didn't need SG-1's protection. Anteaus didn't want any more bloodshed and it was for this reason he had taken SG-1's weapons away from them. O'Neill fashioned a bow and several arrows to replace those weapons. When Nafrayu expressed interest in learning about O'Neill and the Goa'uld, O'Neill sent him away. Anteaus was afraid that O'Neill was trying to poison Nafrayu's mind, but O'Neill assured him that he was only concerned for their safety. It was at this point that Anteaus told him that the flying creatures, the Fenri, did not have the power of invisibility, but it was the Nox who had the power to make them invisible.
Nafrayu encountered Apophis along a path and Apophis killed him with his ribbon device to draw SG-1 into a trap. Anteaus, Lya and Opher found Nafrayu and took him back to the village so that they could perform the Ritual of Life on him. During the Ritual of Life, SG-1 discovered that the Nox were not able to shield themselves and they tried to warn Anteaus that the Goa'uld would use this as a weakness to conquer them.  Shek'l discovered this secret, too, and went quickly to tell Apophis. O'Neill asked Anteaus to allow him to bring in reinforcements through the stargate to help defend the Nox, but Anteaus said that there would be no more killing.
While Anteaus, Lya, and Ohper performed the Ritual of Life on Nafrayu, SG-1 engaged in a battle with Apophis and his Jaffa. This distracted the other Nox, but Anteaus was intent on saving the boy. The Ritual of Life, which drew life from the surrounding nature, had to be performed within a short time following the death of the body or the procedure would be ineffectual.
After the Nox completed the Ritual of Life, they snatched Apophis and his Jaffa from SG-1's grasp. O'Neill was extremely disturbed that the Nox had spared Apophis. SG-1 returned to the site where the stargate was supposed to be and was met there by Anteaus. Anteaus said that he had sent Apophis and his Jaffa through the stargate, as well as SG-1's weapons. He said that he would bury the stargate after sending SG-1 home, but O'Neill warned him that Apophis, and possibly other Goa'uld, could return in ships. At this point, Anteaus felt it necessary to reassure SG-1 that they were safe by revealing a large, floating city which had previously been invisible. SG-1 was amazed by the sight and then realized that they had just blown their chance to make a strong, technologically advanced ally in their fight against the Goa'uld. To send SG-1 home, Anteaus activated the stargate without the use of the DHD.
It was interesting that Anteaus used the word "doorway" for the stargate, since this word had been used in the original translation made by the archaeological team who worked with Catherine Langford. Since the 1940's, the stargate had been called the "Doorway to Heaven" until Jackson corrected the translation to read "Stargate." Anteaus most probably recognized Earth's point of origin symbol on SG-1's uniforms and realized that the Tau'ri had reopened their 'gate and were using it for exploration while they were most probably, in Anteaus' opinion, too young to be doing so. He tried to teach SG-1 that there were other ways besides their way to handle a fight, and he also attempted to teach them that the very young do not always do what they are told. Since the Goa'uld had been hunting the Fenri for hundreds of years, the only reason Anteaus chose to hide the stargate this time was most probably to teach these lessons to the humans of SG-1.
Episodes
Related Characters
Related Articles
- Dial Home Device (DHD)
- Fenri
- Goa'uld Homing Device
- Goa'uld Personal Energy Shield
- Nox
- PC3-117
- Ritual of Life
- Staff Weapon
- Tau'ri
Further Reading
Actor
--DeeKayP 15:22, 15 Jun 2004 (PDT)