# What is Sith? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584 "2005-05-12T18:34:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![justafriend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@justafriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justafriend)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/1 "2005-05-12T18:34:09Z")
Recently, I began watching the Star Wars Saga with a friend who had never seen the movies. She had been caught up in the hype and wanted to see Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in the theater. After watching the original trilogy she goes, “so um, what is sith?” Being a relative Star Wars newbie myself, most of my understanding of the universe came from the original trilogy and the KOTOR games. I simply answered, “they’re the bad guys; the dark side guys.” So, how are we supposed to know who the sith are? I think maybe they are referred to in Ep. I, but if so, only in passing. And how do you guys all know that Darth means **Dar** k Lord of the Si **th**? Is this all Expanded Universe stuff? Please help. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/2 "2005-05-12T18:39:58Z")
Rearrange the letters. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/3 "2005-05-12T18:42:09Z")
This comes from the novelization of Ep. I. Years ago, several members of the Jedi succumbed to the Dark Side ™ and created the Sith. This led to a war with the Jedi, but infighting undermined the Sith effort. One secretly survived and ever since then, there has only ever been two. One master, one student. The line has continued to Darth Sideous and his various disciples. I know there’s more to the story, but that’s all I know. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/4 "2005-05-12T18:49:29Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > This comes from the novelization of Ep. I. > > Years ago, several members of the Jedi succumbed to the Dark Side ™ and created the Sith. This led to a war with the Jedi, but infighting undermined the Sith effort. One secretly survived and ever since then, there has only ever been two. One master, one student. The line has continued to Darth Sideous and his various disciples. > > I know there’s more to the story, but that’s all I know. Almost, but not quite. The Sith were an alien race that was naturally strong in the dark side of the Force. When the original Jedi Order first fractured into light and dark sides, the dark Jedi found the Sith, enslaved them, and used them as shocktroops in their war against the Jedi. Hence, they became Sith Lords. Over the course of the war, the Sith were eventually wiped out, and the Sith Lords themselves were ultimatly defeated because of the constant infighting and backstabbing among their order. Eventually, only one Sith Lord remained: Exar Kun. He determined that the Jedi could never be defeated by a Sith empire, but could be undermined and destroyed by a single Sith master working in secret, with the help of an apprentice. Hence, the “there are only two” thing Yoda says in _Phantom Menace_. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/5 "2005-05-12T18:52:28Z")
From Knights of the old republic, it seems the Sith was an alien race that was at war with the ‘good guys’ many millenia before Star Wars films took place. The Dark Jedi somehow follow the ways of that ancient race (or maybe that ancient race was controlled by ancient dark Jedi who were thus Sith Lords). Still want to know any info about the Race called Sith. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/6 "2005-05-12T18:59:09Z")
More than you ever want to know about the [Sith.](http://thunder.prohosting.com/~spiff/history.html)😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/7 "2005-05-12T19:08:53Z")
Just when you thought it was safe to date Darth Vader Just when you thought it was safe to date Darth Vader Just when you thought it was safe to date Darth Vader That’s when he slips you a massive dose of the sith! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/8 "2005-05-12T20:44:36Z")
Sith, Sith. What is Sith? Sorry I couldn’t help myself. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/9 "2005-05-12T20:47:10Z")
I thought it came right after fith. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/10 "2005-05-12T21:30:38Z")
> [@The Sausage Creature](#): > > Sith, Sith. What is Sith? > > Sorry I couldn’t help myself. Don’t feel bad. If you hadn’t done it, I would’ve… ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/11 "2005-05-12T21:58:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Eventually, only one Sith Lord remained: Exar Kun Though I’m sure the link contains this information, it was Darth bane (the first to take the name Darth as well), not Exar Kun. And anyway, Kun was just somebodies fan-wank gone into comics. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/12 "2005-05-12T22:11:05Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > More than you ever want to know about the [Sith.](http://thunder.prohosting.com/~spiff/history.html)😃 From that site Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me. —The Sith Code ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/13 "2005-05-13T00:00:06Z")
> [@The Sausage Creature](#): > > Sith, Sith. What is Sith? > > Sorry I couldn’t help myself. That’s that song “Epic” by Faith No More, right? “What is Sith? It’s Sith!” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/14 "2005-05-13T00:13:37Z")
More on the point, though: If memory serves, in one of the Timothy Zahn novels, there was a race of cat-like creatures that were used as assassins. Zahn had orginally wanted these to be the Sith, but Lucas nixed that idea, so he changed the name of the race. I can’t remember to what, though. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/15 "2005-05-13T00:14:37Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > More on the point, though: > > If memory serves, in one of the Timothy Zahn novels, there was a race of cat-like creatures that were used as assassins. Zahn had orginally wanted these to be the Sith, but Lucas nixed that idea, so he changed the name of the race. I can’t remember to what, though. Noghri. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/16 "2005-05-13T00:41:46Z")
Noghri weren’t particularly cat-like. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/17 "2005-05-13T00:53:08Z")
Been a while since I read that series of books. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/18 "2005-05-13T03:11:00Z")
Wasn’t Darth Maul an Ethnic Sith? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/19 "2005-05-13T03:17:58Z")
The simplest way to view the Sith is as the antithesis of the Jedi. Jedi Knights : Sith Lords. It’s all about the balance. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584/20 "2005-05-13T03:24:26Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Noghri weren’t particularly cat-like. Yeah, they were reptilian, IIRC. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sith/303584.md?page=2)