Ketos

Perseus holding the Sword of Eden while rescuing Andromeda from Ketos

Ketos (Ancient Greek: Κῆτος) was a baleful sea monster in Greek mythology.

Description

The monster was described as a "serpent fish with a dragon head".

Mythology

Ketos is associated with the god Poseidon, the ruler of the oceans. As such, he was said to have unleashed a ketos whenever he wanted to wreak havoc, possibly as punishment. According to the story, he sent one ketos to Troy to punish king Laomedon, and another to Aithiopia to haunt King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia.

When the legendary hero Perseus was returning from his successful quest of slaying the gorgon Medusa, he noticed the maiden Andromeda chained to the Aithiopian cliffs as a sacrifice for Ketos. Perseus fought the monster, and killed it, saving Andromeda, whom he married.

Influence

During the Peloponnesian War, the Shark's Tooth, a ship captained by Gelon, was sunk off the coast at the Hill of the Sacred War in Phokis. The shipwreck was called Ketos Shipwreck.

Furthermore, the bandits and pirates of the era used the image of the ketos as their emblem.

Around the same time the Spartan misthios Kassandra was asked by the Spartan noblewoman Damia to tell the story of Perseus to her children Danae and Kristos and their friends. Kassandra did as asked and mentioned Perseus' encounter with Ketos as well.

In 2012, Clay Kaczmarek included Edward Burne-Jones' painting "The Doom Fulfilled" in a set of puzzles he'd hidden within the Animus for his follower to find. In Clay's puzzle, it was suggested that the sword wielded by Perseus to slay Ketos was in fact one of the Swords of Eden.

Gallery

• The emblem of the pirates and bandits featuring the head of a ketos
  The emblem of the pirates and bandits featuring the head of a ketos

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed II (Glyphs only)
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (mentioned only)
  • Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece