Sith
The Sith are an order of Force-sensitive beings and the main antagonists in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise. They are the ideological antithesis and ancient enemies of the Jedi. The Sith Order is depicted as an ancient cult of warriors who wield the dark side of the Force to seize power by any means necessary, including terrorism and mass murder with the ultimate goal of destroying the Jedi order and ruling the galaxy.
Several antagonistic factions in the franchise, including the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Galactic Empire, the Imperial Remnant, and the First Order, are shown to have originated from the Sith.
Sith, known as Sith Lords, are by nature ruthless. Members of the order have the power to assume absolute authority amongst their kind and be granted the honorific Dark Lord of the Sith. Sith culture is based on perpetual treachery and betrayal. The fate of Sith Lords is to be killed and replaced by their own apprentices. The Sith teach their apprentices to revere the dark side of the Force, to give full rein to aggressive emotions of rage and hatred, and to believe that others are expendable in the pursuit of power, thus making the Lords' demise inevitable.
Like the Jedi, the Sith wield the lightsaber as their traditional weapon, a device that generates a blade-like plasma powered by a kyber crystal. In contrast to the Jedi, who use blue, green, purple, white, and yellow lightsabers, the usual color for a Sith Lord lightsaber is usually red, born of an unnatural corruption of the kyber crystal through the dark side's malignancy, causing it to "bleed," which affects the sound of ignition with a harsher hiss.
One thousand years before the Galactic Civil War, the Sith came close to extinction after the Battle of Ruusan. Despite this, they continued to covertly exist as two Dark Lords at a time, a master and an apprentice, until their later resurgence in the history of the galaxy.
Etymology
According to a source, the word Sith is most likely derived from the 1914 science fiction novel The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, in which it refers to a species of beetle. Another source gives the possible derivation as the Scottish Gaelic word sith, which refers to a type of spirit or fairy.According to this secondary source, the word itself was first used for Star Wars in the 1974 rough cut of Star Wars, with the first published use being the 1976 novelization of Star Wars as a title for the villain Darth Vader, the "Dark Lord of the Sith". Sith characters had also been portrayed as such in some Star Wars Legends works prior to the release of The Phantom Menace, and in deleted footage from the original film.
In his novel series The Thrawn Trilogy, author Timothy Zahn labeled Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine as "Dark Jedi", as the meaning of the term "Sith" had not yet been defined. Subsequent Star Wars Legends media use the term "Dark Jedi" for various characters attuned to the dark side of the Force. Some of these characters would be later identified as Sith, although the term would also be applied to non-Sith characters with similar goals and practices.
The word "sith" appears natively in older English with the meaning of "journey," "experience" or "point in time" and, as such, is related to the word "send" and was commonly used until the 16th century.
Influences
has acknowledged that many sources have inspired the concepts of the Jedi, Sith, and the Force. These include knighthood, chivalry, paladinism, samurai bushido, Shaolin Monastery, feudalism, Hinduism, qigong, Greek philosophy and mythology, Roman history and mythology, Sufism, Confucianism, Shintō, Buddhism and Taoism, and numerous cinematic precursors. The works of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and mythologist Joseph Campbell, especially his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, directly influenced Lucas and was what drove him to create the 'modern myth' of Star Wars. In particular, the Manichaean relationship between the dark side-using Sith and light side-using Jedi mirrors several modern and classical literary tropes.The ongoing struggle of the humanistic "light side"-affiliated Jedi to permanently defeat the egoistic "dark side"-affiliated Sith is framed not only as a contest of values but as a deep metaphysical conflict: the dark side of the Force is viewed by the Jedi, and generally represented within Star Wars media, as not only a dangerous expedient but as a form of existential corruption that must be purged for the universe, or a person, to attain spiritual balance. Jedi are often depicted as imperfect individuals, but their cause of selfless heroism is ultimately on the right side of an inexorable cosmic struggle against evil, embodied in the power-hungry Sith and the dark side of the Force.
The dualistic relationship between these Sith and Jedi concepts of "purity" mirrors the philosophical and literary concept of "Apollonian and Dionysian": the Jedi are portrayed as embracing purity, reason, temperance, altruism, and other humanistic virtues. The Sith, by contrast, embrace curiosity, emotion, conflict, power, instincts, unfettered self-interest and other hedonistic vices. However, whereas the classic Greek concept did not necessarily view the Apollonian and Dionysian principles as opposed, Star Wars frames the Jedi and Sith as opponents in a dire moral struggle, with the Sith cast as corrupted villains apparently destined for defeat or self-destruction in the end. The Greek analogy also makes clear that the conflict between the Jedi and the Sith reflects the universe's eternal dichotomy between order and chaos. Ironically, the Sith, and the Imperials generally, believe in an extreme social conservatism for sentient beings at large, enforcing order on society through brutal authoritarianism. However, the individual Sith soul is chaotic: a Sith is never at peace, wracked by jealousy and paranoia until he or she has achieved ultimate supremacy.
Within the Star Wars narrative, the Jedi and Sith naturally have differing understandings of the Force. In Sith rhetoric, the relationship between the philosophy of Jedi versus Sith closely mirrors German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of master–slave morality; Sith value "master" virtues, such as pride and power, whereas the Jedi value altruistic "slave" virtues like kindness and compassion.
The goal of the Sith is tangible greatness: the ability to shape or destroy a world according to one's will alone. The goal of the Jedi is moral goodness: freedom from inner turmoil and selfish desires. However, the Sith consider the Jedi's aspirations to be either hopeless or pathetic. To the Sith, achieving greater power, following one's passion, and freedom from inhibition are more authentic ways of expressing the Force. While the Jedi strive for a harmonious connection to the Force, the Sith seek a deeper understanding through conflict, as they believe the Force is defined by it.
Development
Originally, George Lucas conceived the Sith as an army of fanatical soldiers that served the Emperor in the same way that the Schutzstaffel had served Adolf Hitler. In developing the history for The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas condensed this into one character in the form of Darth Vader.Ideology
Sith philosophy values conflict as a catalyst for growth and as a means to purging the weak, disloyal, and undisciplined. Sith emphasize the maxims "because we feel like it" and "survival of the fittest" and view restraint as a weakness. Members of the order can be regarded as adhering to the Nietzschean master morality and are characterized by the desire to seize power by any means necessary, leveraging force, social maneuvering, and political cunning to their advantage.Throughout Star Wars media and in popular culture, the Sith are infamous as the dualistic antagonists to the Jedi, an affiliation of altruistic warriors who strive to use their own martial training and connection to the "light side" of the Force to promote peace and the common welfare throughout the galaxy. To counteract the Jedi's benevolent influence, the Sith instigate both large- and small-scale conflicts as part of their larger plan to destabilize the Republic and eventually take control of the galaxy.
The Code of the Sith
The Sith are dedicated to the "Code of the Sith" and to mastering the dark side of the Force. The Code of the Sith identifies conflict as the fundamental dynamic of reality, and holds that the search for lasting peace, within or without, is both quixotic and misguided. Rather, Sith embrace strife and dark passion as salutary and emancipatory forces, as they believe that violent struggle purges the decadent and weak, and that emotions such as aggression and hate provide the strength and resolve to secure freedom through victory.Although Sith seek dominion, Sith philosophy stresses that power belongs only to those with the strength, cunning, and ruthlessness to maintain it, and thus "betrayal" among the Sith is not a vice but an endorsed norm. Accordingly, the Sith reject altruism, self-denial, and kindness, as they regard such attitudes as founded on delusions that fetter one's perceptions and power. In connection with their philosophy, the Sith draw on the dark side of the Force through severe negative emotions, a technique opposed to that of their archenemies, the Jedi, who rely on the Force's "light side," i.e., the Force as experienced through disciplined states of apathy. Notably, both the Jedi and Sith shun romantic and familial love, as well as other positive emotions; the Jedi fear that such love will lead to attachment, and thus selfishness, while the Sith fear it will compromise their ruthlessness and connection to the dark side of the Force.
Although the Sith are intimately linked to the dark side, not every user of the dark side is a Sith, nor is every user of the light side a Jedi.
The dark side of the Force is stigmatized as seductive, corruptive, and addictive by the Jedi, who view it as evil, whereas the Sith consider the dark side of the Force to be its most powerful manifestation, and regard the abstemious Jedi as blinded by false virtue. As portrayed in all Star Wars-related media, the dark side provides users with powers similar to those of the light side-using Jedi, but as it leverages passion and violence, its use is enhanced by negative raw and aggressive emotions and instinctual feelings such as anger, greed, hatred, and rage. By deciding to learn the ways of the dark side of the Force, the Sith may also acquire powers and abilities considered by some in the Star Wars universe to be unnatural. A notable example is "Force lightning", electricity projected from the fingertips as a means of attack and torture, most famously used by Darth Sidious to torture Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, meanwhile, Palpatine claims that the dark side gave the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis power over death itself. Being uninhibited in their use of the Force, Sith could also repurpose abilities shared with the Jedi, such as telekinesis, to new and terrifying effect: Darth Vader was infamous for his use of telekinetic strangulation, or "Force choke," as a means of execution or intimidation. He even went so far as to murder individuals with his power, including at least two Imperial officers and his wife, Padmé Amidala.
Extended use of the dark side strongly influences the user's nature, resulting in a loss of humanity, morality, and the ability to love, leaving every Sith, to varying degrees, amoral, cruel, and violent. Considering this dark change in personality to be a transformation into a different person altogether, some who turn to the dark side take on a different name, as they regard their former persona as dead and destroyed. Sith Lords, in particular, adopt a new name upon their initiation into the Order, prefixing it with the title Darth. Severe saturation in the dark side may even lead to physical degradation. It is common for Sith who have immersed themselves in the dark side to have yellow eyes and pale skin, as evidenced by Darth Sidious in Return of the Jedi and the newly corrupted Vader in Revenge of the Sith. Although Sith are deeply affected by the methods and dark arts they practice, they are not portrayed as necessarily irredeemable: some Sith, most famously Darth Vader in the final moments of his life, have renounced the Order and the dark side of the Force.
Martial arts are a core part of the Sith tradition, and Sith featured in the Star Wars film series have all been highly trained warriors who further augment their abilities with the Force. Like the Jedi, the Sith's signature armament is a lethal focused energy melee weapon known as a lightsaber, which only those trained in the ways of the Force can use effectively, although General Grievous, a non-Force user, is able to murder numerous Jedi and seize their lightsabers as trophies. Sith use lightsabers in combination with Force-derived powers, such as telekinesis, enhanced dexterity and precognition, to achieve superhuman combat prowess. A well-trained Sith is depicted as being at least a match for a well-trained Jedi Knight, and either can handily defeat multiple ordinary attackers. In matters of dress, Sith may adopt any attire consistent with their plans or guise; they commonly favor black robes and armor.