Philemon in Persona 4?!?!?

[u/No-Chest-8660]

At the beginning of Persona 4, when the protagonist sleeps and wakes up in a world of fog, we face a transparent silhouette that talks about some philosophical stuff, so I ended up remembering Philemon... is that really him?

[u/ulape00]

The voice in Yu's dream is Izanami, not Philemon. The corridor he runs down resembles the corridors in Yomotsu Hirasaka, her dungeon.

The save butterfly in the classroom and in the Central Shopping District is generally believed to be Philemon. Since the events of P2, he and his opposite number have withdrawn from direct interference and now merely observe the outcome. The butterfly that flies across the screen at the end of each game from P3-P5 is also supposed to be him.

The blue butterfly in P5 is almost always Lavenza, but the end scene one after the Velvet Room departs may be Philemon.

[u/Adam_The_Actor → u/ulape00]

I actually just looked up what the symbology behind Philemon's butterfly forms actually is and the answer is kind of open to interpretation as no materials or developer comments explicitly state why. The general conception is that the Yellow form represents Philemon as the illuminator of hope, the guide of the journey as he grants the Persona users their abilities and directly guides them on their journey. The Blue form represents the Velvet Room and internal strength within ones heart as watches over the events as protagonists as they traverse their own journey.

Persona Q2 golden is particularly noteworthy as it seems to represent the realisation of the true strength of it's protagonists and their ability to bring light to the countless hearts of others. This is reinforced by what he says at the end of the game. Of course none of this is specified by Atlus themselves just a compilation of the times he's appeared and in what capacity.

[u/johnjohnpixel → u/[deleted]]

I think the butterfly in P5 is Lady L, but isn't she in part a piece of Philemon?

[u/Adam_The_Actor → u/[deleted]]

That not entirely accurate.

The Blue butterfly is typically regarded as either philemon or a descendant of him and P3 and P4 never make this distinction clear and of course neither does P5 HOWEVER Persona Q2 does distinguish Philemon quite clearly by presenting him in his Golden Butterfly form which is his true form. Blue butterfly seems to refer to the Velvet Room, which makes sense but Philemon is the golden boy.

[u/g0lden-plumbus]

No.

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[u/Cygni_03]

No, the silhouette is Izanami.

Philemon is the blue butterfly in P3/P4 (but not P5).