Stentor

"You are an honorable man, a loyal son, and a great warrior. You will be a better commander than I ever was."

―Nikolaos to Stentor, 427 BCE.

Stentor (born c. 460s BCE) was a Spartan officer who lived during the 5th century BCE. As the adopted son of Nikolaos of Sparta, he was the step-brother of Kassandra, a renowned misthios, and Alexios, a Sage of the Cult of Kosmos.

Biography

Childhood

Born sometime in the 460s BCE in Sparta, Stentor was orphaned at a young age and eventually met Nikolaos, a famed Spartan general. Impressed by the boy's skills, Nikolaos decided to take him under his wing and eventually adopted him as his son.

Once Stentor reached the proper age, he joined the Spartan army and accompanied Nikolaos throughout his battles, seeking to make his father proud. However, Stentor constantly lived under the shadow of Nikolaos' first family: his wife Myrrine and their children, Kassandra and Alexios.

Battle for Megaris

"Sparta owes you thanks. Tyche has blessed you, my friend. You arrived in time to watch my pater achieve a glorious victory."

―Stentor greeting Kassandra, 431 BCE.

Stentor meeting his step-sister Kassandra

In 431 BCE, at the onset of the Peloponnesian War, Stentor joined Nikolaos as he led the invasion of the Athenian-controlled region of Megaris. Landing in the harbor, the Spartans were soon blockaded by the Athenian navy and surrounded by Athenian soldiers. However, they were able to repel the attack with the opportune arrival of the misthios Kassandra, who destroyed the blockade aboard her ship, the trireme Adrestia. Unbeknownst to Stentor at the time, the mercenary was Nikolaos' long-lost step-daughter, who was believed to have died during an incident in Sparta years prior.

Following Kassandra and Nikolaos' meeting after a decisive battle in Megaris, Nikolaos disappeared, and Stentor was left to step into his adoptive father's shoes, becoming the leader of his men. Meanwhile, back in Sparta, the government had reclaimed the home of the family, awaiting Stentor's return from the war, given that he was the last verifiably alive member of the family with a Spartan citizenship.

Conquering Boeotia

Stentor: "The gods are punishing me with your presence."

Kassandra: "If I was your punishment, you'd already be dead."

—Stentor meeting Kassandra after their encounter in Megaris. 427 BCE.

Stentor meeting Kassandra once again after Megaris

Around 427 BCE, Stentor was assigned as the polemarch of the Spartan army in Boeotia. After Kleon had taken over Athens, his forces pushed the Spartans out of Attika, and thus they had turned their gaze to Boeotia, believing that taking the region would weaken Kleon's position, because Boeotia had agreed to a temporary alliance with Athens.

Around the same time, King Archidamos of Sparta tasked Kassandra to secure Boeotia, giving her a royal edict. When she reached the Spartan Military Camp within the Ruins of Plataia, she was surprised to see Stentor, who greeted her with a fist to her face, bemoaning that the gods were punishing him with her presence. As he told Kassandra that she was just a weapon, she responded by telling him to put her to use. In response, Stentor ordered her to hunt down the four Champions of Boeotia who fought for Athens: Aristaios, Deianeira, Drakon andNesaia. Despite Kassandra's readiness, Stentor hoped that the four would live up to their legendary status and kill her instead.

When Kassandra returned victorious, Stentor was furious. Despite this, they clashed with the Athenian forces, and won Boeotia. Following the battle, Stentor challenged Kassandra to a duel, hoping to avenge Nikolaos, whom he belived to be dead by Kassandra's blade. Before they could exchange a single blow, though, Nikolaos appeared, revealing that he was still alive, and broke them apart.

Nikolaos interrupting Stentor and Kassandra's duel

After explaining that Kassandra had done nothing wrong, Nikolaos encouraged Stentor to live up to the leader he had trained him to be, claiming he would one day become a better commander than he ever was. Stentor vowed to make his father proud and Kassandra decided to leave the two alone to talk.

In 422 BCE, both Stentor and Nikolaos were invited to attend a family dinner organized by Kassandra and Myrrine at their home in Sparta. Stentor and Nikolaos subsequently joined the crew of the Adrestia, Kassandra's ship, accompanying her on her travels throughout Greece.

Behind the scenes

Stentor is a character introduced in the 2018 video game Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, where he is voiced by Simon Kassianides. The character shares his name with a herald of the Greek forces during the Trojan War, according to Homer's Iliad, renowned for his powerful voice. In said account, Stentor was a disguise worn by the goddess Hera.

Stentor's fate is affected by one of the first choices the protagonist makes: whether to kill or spare Nikolaos in "The Wolf of Sparta". If Nikolaos is killed, Stentor attacks the protagonist immediately afterwards. Regardless of how the situation is resolved, Stentor will re-appear in Boeotia, his face now scarred. Without Nikolaos to break up the standoff, the protagonist will have to fight and defeat Stentor, after which his men will abandon him. With Stentor begging for death, the player is given the choice to kill or spare him. If spared, Stentor will be exiled and will become a mercenary bearing the epithet "The Fallen", hunting the protagonist until slain or recruited. If recruited in this manner Stentor will be verbally hostile while serving as a Lieutenant aboard the Adrestia. If Stentor is slain, a clue for the Sage of the Peloponnesian League branch of the Cult of Kosmos is gained, possibly revealing Stentor's awareness of the Cult and that he was being groomed to join that branch's ranks. However, this clue is not enough by itself to reveal the Sage's identity.

If Nikolaos is alive, it is still possible for the events described above to play out, if the player chooses to tell Nikolaos to stay away from Stentor in "The Last Fight of Aristaios". However, the game's novelization confirms that Nikolaos canonically reunited with Stentor and that the latter survives the story's events.

In the canon timeline, Stentor's allegiance and awareness of the Cult of Kosmos are unknown, although scanning Stentor with Ikaros in-game reveals he carries the letter on his person, both before and after the duel is interrupted.

Stentor's childhood may allude to him being a trophimos or syntrophos, a non-citizen adopted and raised to the Spartiate class.

Gallery

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  Head models of Stentor
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  Stentor in the Spartan Military Camp in Boeotia
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  Stentor and Nikolaos in Boeotia
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  Alternative timeline Stentor scarred
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  Alternative timeline Stentor dead

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey novel