4. Mythology And History
Steven Moffat may have a degree in English - which might explain some of the mental hints he drops in single words - but he actually pays a lot of homage to mythology and historical details, which in turn, suggest certain things about his stories and characters. Take apples for example: they're the fruit that the Doctor earns Amy's trust with in 'The Eleventh Hour' and she eventually leaves him in The Big Apple. It might be coincidence, but the same fruit associated with Amy has been associated with temptation and mystery ever since the Garden of Eden; the mystery of Amy perplexes the Doctor in Series 5 like the forbidden fruit did to Adam and Eve, and the pair even visit the oldest planet in the universe en route to 'The Big Bang'. The Pandorica, or Pandora's Box, is another symbol of mythology, which contained all the bad things in the world and a glimmer of hope, just like the Doctor can be. Staying Greek, when River dies in the Library, she's uploaded to the datacore in a Grecian dress: of course, the Rivers of Hades in Greek mythology led straight to the afterlife. And that's not touching on the Minotaur in 'The God Complex'. Perhaps most staggering though, is the correlation between the Doctor's life and ancient Rome. Byzantium was a real city in Ancient Greece by the way (modern Istanbul, thanks Wikipedia), but Father Octavian ('The Time of Angels'/'Flesh and Stone') was named after the Roman ruler who succeeded Caesar. The real Octavian opposed Cleopatra - who River impersonated in 'The Big Bang' - just as the Father doubted River. And remember the Romans mistook the Doctor for Caesar? Well, Cleopatra and Caesar were actually lovers, but could never marry due to Roman law. It's just as well that the Doctor's father-in-law, Rory
the Roman gave his blessing, really, isn't it?