Nox (Stargate)

The Nox are a fictional race on the television series Stargate SG-1. They are members of the Alliance of Four Great Races. To outsiders, they appear as primitive forest-dwellers, but to those who learn anything about them realize they're actually one of the most technologically advanced races in the universe, rivaled only by the Asgard, Ancients, Ori, and Furlings.

Background
A peaceful, humanoid and fairy-like people, the Nox are so technologically advanced that they are capable of reviving the dead seemingly at will (after a period of concentration) and rendering extremely large objects invisible and insubstantial through unknown means (including a massive flying city). They were also capable of learning other languages at an accelerated rate; the Nox that encountered SG-1 took only minutes to understand and speak the English language merely from listening to Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson. While their exact lifespan is unknown, the oldest of the Nox encountered was 432 years old.

Non-interventionist to an extreme, the Nox feel morally obliged to help both sides of an argument until a fair and balanced decision is reached, even if one side is thoroughly evil. In one case, they aided both the Goa'uld and the Tau'ri equally when they were present during combat between the two. They will not even fight to protect their own lives (and often do not need to, given their ability to render objects invisible and revive the dead). However, some Nox have been known to walk a very fine line, as when one Nox hid a Tollan Ion cannon to prevent it from being destroyed in a Goa'uld surprise attack, and the cannon was then operated by Teal'c to destroy a Goa'uld Ha'tak; this did not go against the Nox value system, since a Nox did not actually operate the weapon. Nevertheless, she acknowledged the "pretty thin line [she] didn't cross".

The Nox's advanced technology was explicitly shown when they revealed their floating city to the SG-1 team on the Nox's planet, giving scientific basis for the impressive powers they had displayed throughout the episode. However those powers can also be attributed to their race being highly evolved as it was established with the Ancients. They can also establish a wormhole without the unstable vortex-like "kawoosh" effect that normally accompanies a Stargate's activation (the Asgard also possessed this ability). In this instance, it seems that the gate was also pre-dialed back to the Nox homeworld.

History
The Nox are considered to be one of the "four great races" of the Stargate universe, along with the Ancients, Asgard, and Furlings. Even though the Nox buried their Gate in the Season 1 episode The Nox, they unburied it later that year in Enigma after receiving a message from the Tollan. Later in Season 3's Shades of Grey, they were one of the races who threatened to cut all ties with Earth if more of their technology was stolen; this suggests that they remain connected with the Tau'ri (as well as the Asgard, Tollans, and possibly even the Furlings), and could be seen again in the future. However, the Nox became much more minor as the series went on, and were eventually all but forgotten about in favor of the more popular Asgard.

Mythological Inspiration
The Nox do not immediately appear to keep with the theme of earthly deities and pantheons in the Stargate universe. However, in Greek mythology, one of the primordial gods (before the Titans and the Olympians) was named Nyx, the goddess of the night. The Roman translation of Nyx is Nox.

There could also be a connection with the Nix of German myth. The Nox also bear a strong resemblance to the Fey of Celtic Mythos who could turn invisible at will, among other wondrous abilities.