Hetepi

Hetepi (c. 90s BCE – 48 BCE), also known as The Lizard, was an Egyptian priest who served under the High Priest Pasherenptah in the Temple of Ptah in Memphis during the 1st century BCE.

Hetepi was also secretly a member of the Order of the Ancients and through his clandestine mechanations, Hetepi plunged Egypt's historical capital into a seemingly paranormal miasma of tragedy and despair, with the citizens of Memphis, including the High Priest Pasherenptah himself, believing that the unexplainable occurrences were the result of a terrible curse. In reality however, the afflictions which plagued the city were nothing more than practical illusions Hetepi devised and carried out by means of bribery, torture and intimidation, all in pursuit of befouling Pasherenptah's reputation.

Biography

Activities in Memphis

Hetepi was born sometime around 90s BCE. At some point in his life, Hetepi became a priest of Anubis in Memphis as well as a member of the Order of the Ancients. He orchestrated a series of terrible "accidents" and ill omens to occur around Memphis, causing an aura of foulness and sorrow to befall the city, with its denizens quickly becoming convinced that these calamitous circumstances were the work of a divine maladiction.

In 48 BCE, Hetepi attempted to sabotage the reputation of Pasherenptah. The underlying motives which impelled his perfidy are never made clear; perhaps Hetepi became disillusioned with Pasherenptah while serving as his advisor. Perhaps he disagreed with his leadership style, or with his opinions, including the latter's support for Cleopatra. Or perhaps he was simply eager to usurp the position. One way or another, Hetepi sought to end Pasherenptah's incumbency as the High Priest of the Temple of Ptah. To this end, he orchestrated a massive fraudulent operation to mimic 'curses', in order to manipulate the minds of the people in the city and inspire a lack of faith in Pasherenptah.

Hetepi contracted Tjuyu and Tjanefer to spread death and chaos in the vicinity of the Palace of Apries by dumping corpses in the river, luring crocodiles to attack the living much more frequently and aggressively than normal.

Next, he forced the mummification temple's head priest to dilute natron with sand, as the former was used to dry out the bodies of the deceased before mummification. The mummies were later brought to a tomb beside the palace, where they would decompose due to the spoiled natron used, producing a foul smell of rotting flesh which spread throughout the city. To make sure the priest would follow his orders, Hetepi cut off his nose and threatened to do the same to his daughter.

Sometime later, Hetepi ordered his followers to kidnap Panchrates, the brother of priestesses Taous and Tawe who served in the Temple of Ptah, forcing them to poison the Apis bull with peach seeds to further disrupt Pasherenptah's reputation. To make sure the priestesses followed his orders, he cut off Panchrates' finger and sent it to them as a warning.

Hetepi even poisoned the cakes delivered to the Memphis Temple with flesh of the festering mummies, so as to cause pestilence among the population, especially in Pasherenptah's wife, who suffered three miscarriages because of this. All of these events convinced the denizens of Memphis, the High Priest included, that a mysterious being called "the Lizard" had cast a powerful curse upon the city and its inhabitants using dark magic. It also engendered doubt in the minds of the people in Pasherenptah's ability to serve as the High Priest, doubts which Pasherenptah himself came to share.

Discovery and death

Hetepi's final moments with Bayek in the Memory Corridor

Hetepi's efforts were later thwarted by the arrival and the investigations of the Medjay Bayek of Siwa, who discovered the truths about his 'curses', ranging from discovering how he caused miscarriages, why the city's air had a foul odor, why the crocodiles were attacking civilians more frequently, and even how he poisoned the Apis Bull. After rescuing Panchrates, the Medjay Bayek discovered The Lizard's true identity. Due to the fact that Priests of Anubis all wore similar regalia (including jackal-headed ceremonial masks which obscured their faces), Hetepi was nigh-indiscernable amongst his fellows within the Great Temple of Ptah, yet still Bayek was able to identify Hetepi by the blue scarf he wore, as well as by his persistent coughing, killing him and saving Memphis from his iniquitous schemes.

Personality and characteristics

Unlike his incredulous sacerdotal contemporary Medunamun, Hetepi was a genuine religious fanatic who considered the masses "the cattle of the gods", fit only to be driven by the herdsman's whip. In spite of his piety (or perhaps because of it) he was also incredibly corrupt and cruel, willing not only to pollute the entire city of Memphis with festering corpses and to lure crocodiles into residential areas so they might attack innocent people, but also to purposely poison his colleague's wife so that she miscarried, all to see his and the Order's plans succeed. Moreover, his zeal did not deter him from committing acts considered profane, like the desecration of bodies and the spoiling of the mummification process—deeds particularly sacrilegious for a Priest of Anubis responsible for all sepulchral ritual—so long as they served a greater divine purpose.

Hetepi was adept at concealing his true feelings and intentions, as Pasherenptah was shocked to learn of the Lizard's true identity, claiming that Hetepi was among his closest and most trusted advisors. Hetepi's estimation of Pasherenptah's reputation as "muck" even before the start of the curse evidently did not deter him from playing the part of a devoted ally and confidante.

Hetepi's distinguishing characteristics are his blue scarf and his wheezing cough. This cough, along with his unusually hoarse voice are implied to be the result of his constant inhalation of the various substances used in the mummification process.

Behind the scenes

Hetepi is a character in Assassin's Creed: Origins, where he serves as one of the antagonists and a target hunted by Bayek. He is voiced by American actor David Collins.

Hetepi's face is never seen in-game, as he is always shown wearing the ceremonial jackal mask that all the Priests of Anubis sport.

Trivia

• Hetepi's jackal mask is the representation of the Egyptian god Anubis, who is the patron deity of death and mummification.
• Hetepi's name, transliterated as htp.j, means "He who is satisfied/at peace", quite ironic considering he was neither satisfied with Pasherenptah's tenure as the High Priest of Ptah, nor was Hetepi peaceful by any stretch of the imagination.
• In the Assassin's Creed Origins: Official Game Guide, Hetepi is noted to be in his 40s by the events of Assassin's Creed: Origins, thus placing his birth date around the 90s BCE.

Gallery

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  Concept art of Hetepi unmasked
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  Promotional image of Hetepi
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  Hetepi's Order symbol
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  Hetepi in the Memory Corridor

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Origins