The Arrow

DHARMA Initiative Station #2

The Arrow is DHARMA Initiative station number 2, whose primary purpose was the development of defensive strategies against the Hostiles. The station is an underground bunker or complex constructed into a hillside located somewhere east or northeast of the Barracks, and an hour or two from the coastline. The Arrow was discovered by the tail section survivors 27 days after Flight 815’s crash. It is about a three days’ trek from the tail crash site to the Arrow.

War/Hunting

Sun (Fire)

Fertility (Vegetation)

Fertility (Water)

Sexuality (Love)

Childbirth

Station History 

DHARMA Initiative

At some point soon after arriving on the Island, the DHARMA Initiative came into an armed conflict with the Island’s original inhabitants — a group referred to by the Initiative as “the Hostiles.” Exactly when The Arrow was constructed is unknown, likely in 1973, but its original purpose was to gather intelligence and develop defensive strategies. (“Because You Left”)

   

Although the two groups eventually negotiated a truce by 1974, clearly it was an uneasy one. DHARMA continued to be extremely concerned about what the Hostiles were up to — particularly as the Initiative was covertly violating the truce with the construction of the Swan. The Arrow continued to function during this time as a defensive cornerstone for DHARMA and was also used as a storage area for “heavy ordnance”. In 1974, after a visit from Richard Alpert, Horace Goodspeed told Phil to call the Arrow and tell them they were at “condition one”. (“LaFleur”) It is likely the Arrow was abandoned about the time of the Purge.

Per the station logo on his jumpsuit, Horace appears to have been a major player at the Arrow, but the nature of his work there is unknown. (“The Man Behind the Curtain”)

   

Radzinsky, part of the DHARMA Initiative team stationed at the Swan during the 1990s, appears to have visited the Arrow at some unknown time. In his post-Purge paranoia, Radzinsky painted the word “QUARANTINE” on the inside station’s door. (Lost Encyclopedia) Kelvin Inman, also of the Swan team, noted that Radzinsky edited the Swan Orientation film. These removed sections of the film were later found in a Bible which was found in the Arrow. (“Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1”)  (“What Kate Did”)

Oceanic 815 Survivors

   

The Oceanic 815 tail section survivors discovered the Arrow 27 days after the crash. They used it temporarily as a shelter, but found it to be largely empty, except for several boxes. One box contained a number of unusual items carefully wrapped in cloth: a glass eye, a Bible, and a radio. (“The Other 48 Days”) Goodwin suggested that storage was the station’s primary function when he and the Tailies first explored it. His lack of surprise may indicate that the Others are aware of the station’s existence. (“The Other 48 Days”)

   

On day 45, Michael, Sawyer and Jin were brought to the Arrow station after being captured by the tail section survivors. (“Everybody Hates Hugo”) On day 47, the combined group moved out of the Arrow station and started their trek across the Island to the middle section survivors’ beach camp. (“…And Found”)

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Associated LOST Characters

Primary Symbolism: War & Hunting Deities

War/Hunting

ARTEMIS

ORION

ARES

ATHENA

SEKHMET

SOPDU

Secondary Symbolism: Sun & Fire Deities

Sun (Fire)

APOLLO

HEPHAESTUS

KHEPRI

WADJET

HESTIA

Secondary Symbolism: Fertility (Vegetation, Water & Sexuality) Deities

Fertility (Vegetation)	GEB	MIN	Fertility (Water)	HEQET	KHNUM	PTAH
Sexuality (Love)	EROS	POTHOS	GANYMEDE	Childbirth	HEBE

DHARMA STATION (Symbolic Deities Reference)

Decoded LOST Character (Olivia Goodspeed)

Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Some scholars believe that the name, and indeed the goddess herself, was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron “Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals”. In the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis (Greek: (nominative) Ἄρτεμις, (genitive) Ἀρτέμιδος) was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. She was the Hellenic goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women; she often was depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrows. The deer and the cypress were sacred to her. In later Hellenistic times, she even assumed the ancient role of Eileithyia in aiding childbirth.

Attributes

Bow and Arrow

According to the Homeric Hymn to Artemis, she had golden bow and arrows, as her epithet was Khryselakatos, “of the Golden Shaft”, and Iokheira (Showered by Arrows). The arrows of Artemis could also to bring sudden death and disease to girls and women. Artemis got her bow and arrow for the first time from The Kyklopes, as the one she asked from her father. The bow of Artemis also became the witness of Callisto’s oath of her virginity. In later cult, the bow became the symbol of waxing moon.

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Decoded LOST Character (Horace Goodspeed)

Apollo is one of the most important and diverse of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros (a beardless, athletic youth), Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, medicine, healing, plague, music, poetry, arts and more. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis. Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu. Apollo was worshiped in both ancient Greek and Roman religion, and in the modern Greco–Roman Neopaganism.

As the patron of Delphi (Pythian Apollo), Apollo was an oracular god—the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle. Medicine and healing were associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius, yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadly plague. Amongst the god’s custodial charges, Apollo became associated with dominion over colonists, and as the patron defender of herds and flocks. As the leader of the Muses (Apollon Musegetes) and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god of music and poetry. Hermes created the lyre for him, and the instrument became a common attribute of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were called paeans.

Attributes & Symbols 

Apollo’s most common attributes were the bow and arrow. Other attributes of his included the kithara (an advanced version of the common lyre), the plectrum and the sword. Another common emblem was the sacrificial tripod, representing his prophetic powers. The Pythian Games were held in Apollo’s honor every four years at Delphi. The bay laurel plant was used in expiatory sacrifices and in making the crown of victory at these games. The palm was also sacred to Apollo because he had been born under one in Delos. Animals sacred to Apollo included wolves, dolphins, roe deer, swans, cicadas (symbolizing music and song), hawks, ravens, crows, snakes (referencing Apollo’s function as the god of prophecy), mice and griffins, mythical eagle–lion hybrids of Eastern origin.

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Decoded LOST Character (Annie)

Athena, also referred to as Pallas Athena, is the goddess of war, civilization, wisdom, strength, strategy, crafts, justice and skill in Greek mythology. Minerva, Athena’s Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is also a shrewd companion of heroes and the goddess of heroic endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens. The Athenians built the Parthenon on the Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens, in her honour (Athena Parthenos).

Athena’s cult as the patron of Athens seems to have existed from the earliest times and was so persistent that archaic myths about her were recast to adapt to cultural changes. In her role as a protector of the city (polis), many people throughout the Greek world worshiped Athena as Athena Polias (“Athena of the city”). Athens and Athena bear etymologically connected names.

Patroness

Athena the goddess of philosophy became a part of the cult in Classical Greece the later fifth century BC. She was the patroness of weaving, especially, and other crafts (Athena Ergane); the metalwork of weapons also fell under her patronage. She led battles (Athena Promachos or the warrior maiden Athena Parthenos) as the disciplined, strategic side of war, in contrast to her brother Ares, the patron of violence, bloodlust and slaughter—”the raw force of war”. Athena’s wisdom includes the cunning intelligence (metis) of such figures as Odysseus. Not only was this version of Athena the opposite of Ares in combat, it was also the polar opposite of the serene earth goddess version of the deity, Athena Polias.

Though Athena was a goddess of war strategy, she disliked fighting without a purpose and preferred using wisdom to settle predicaments. The goddess would only encourage fighting if it was for a reasonable cause or to solve conflict. As patron of Athens she fought in the Trojan war on the side of the Achaeans.

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Decoded LOST Character (Kelvin Inman)

Ares is the Greek god of war. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. In Greek literature, he often represents the physical or violent aspect of war, in contrast to the armored Athena, whose functions as a goddess of intelligence include military strategy and generalship.

The Greeks were ambivalent toward Ares: although he embodied the physical valor necessary for success in war, he was a dangerous force, “overwhelming, insatiable in battle, destructive, and man-slaughtering.” Fear (Phobos) and Terror (Deimos) were yoked to his battle chariot. In the Iliad his father Zeus tells him that he is the god most hateful to him. An association with Ares endows places and objects with a savage, dangerous, or militarized quality. His value as a war god is even placed in doubt: during the Trojan War, Ares was on the losing side, while Athena, often depicted in Greek art as holding Nike (Victory) in her hand, favored the triumphant Greeks.

Ares plays a relatively limited role in Greek mythology as represented in literary narratives, though his numerous love affairs and abundant offspring are often alluded to. When Ares does appear in myths, he typically faces humiliation. He is well known as the lover of Aphrodite, the goddess of love who was married to Hephaestus, god of craftsmanship, but the most famous story involving the couple shows them exposed to ridicule through the wronged husband’s clever device.

The counterpart of Ares among the Roman gods is Mars, who as a father of the Roman people held a more important and dignified place in ancient Roman religion for his agricultural and tutelary functions. During the Hellenization of Latin literature, the myths of Ares were reinterpreted by Roman writers under the name of Mars. Greek writers under Roman rule also recorded cult practices and beliefs pertaining to Mars under the name of Ares. Thus in the classical tradition of later Western art and literature, the mythology of the two figures becomes virtually indistinguishable.

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