Ghost’s “Kaisarion” Lyrics Meaning
Whereas Hypatia may sound like the name of a mythical character from the days of yore, she was in fact a historical figure from 2nd century Egypt. At that time, Egypt was under the thumb of the Roman Empire. By this time, Rome was already officially Christian, but apparently conversion was not mandatory.
Meanwhile, despite being a pagan herself, Hypatia was also respected amongst the Christian community in her hometown of Alexandria. So when these two political leaders, Cyril and Orestes, both of whom were Christian, began going at it, the latter, who was a personal friend of Hypatia’s, consulted her. This resulted, according to Wikipedia, in Cyril spreading nasty rumors about Hypatia. And with that in mind, it should perhaps also be noted that Orestes was formerly a pagan himself.
So to make a long story short, a less powerful, local Christian leader led an ambush in which Hypatia, who was obviously caught unaware, was brutally murdered. And whereas logic would dictate that disdain for her pagan beliefs had something to do with the crime, at this point it is difficult to ascertain to what degree her murder was motivated by politics or religion.
What it really reads like, all things considered, is that Alexandria was out of control back in those days, and if caught up in some beef between powerful religio-political figures, just about anyone can be hemmed up or lynched.
Hypatia, the Pagan Martyr
The above said, there are others, amongst them being Ghost, who understandably view Hypatia as being a pagan martyr. So for instance, the title of this song is said to be an alternate spelling of Caesareum, the structure in which Hypatia was lynched.
And as explained by Tobias Forge, what the lyrics are premised on is the notion of Christianity at its foundation being an intolerant religion. Furthermore, since he uses such a powerful example to get that point across, it can be said that the vocalist perceives Christians as being violent, particularly towards those who do not adhere to their belief systems.
In Conclusion
Despite the above said, the lyrics of the song themselves do not actually use the word “Christian”. There is a mention of “bishops with their choirboys”, which is more of an allusion to the practice of Catholicism – an institution many famous musicians seem to have issues with – than Christianity in general. As such, the lyrics ultimately come across as if Ghost is lambasting religious zealots across the board.
Or it can be more specifically said that, since we will always have such individuals amongst us, the bigger issue is living in an environment where such actions are actually deemed acceptable. So what Tobias is more pointedly getting at is criticizing intolerance in general.
Speaking to Kerrang magazine, below is what Tobias had to say about this song:
When was “Kaisarion” released?
“Kaisarion” is one of the tracks found on “Impera”, the album Ghost put out on 11 March 2022. Said album is a product of Loma Vista Records.
This song was premiered in the American state of Nevada on 25 January 2022. It was there, at the Reno Events Center, where Ghost commenced their tour entitled Imperatour in support of “Impera”.
Who wrote “Kaisarion”?
The writers of this song are Tobias Forge (Ghost’s lead singer) and Jocke Berg.
Was this released as a single from “Impera”?
Loma Vista Recordings preceded the album’s release with only the following singles:
This is the official cover art of “Impera”. The art was created by an artist named Zbigniew Bielak. It is believed that the art was inspired by Aleister Crowley. Aleister was a popular English occultists and painter who died in 1947.
One of his most notable works was founding the the religion known as Thelema.
I would also like to add that the lyrical structure has some very noticeable similarities to “he reigns” by the newsboys, which is a staple Protestant worship song