Perikles: Difference between revisions
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{{Quote|I have my life threatened by far worse people every day. My true concern is Athens. I fear for her future.|Perikles, 431 BCE.|Assassin's Creed: Odyssey|Perikles's Symposium}} | {{Quote|I have my life threatened by far worse people every day. My true concern is Athens. I fear for her future.|Perikles, 431 BCE.|Assassin's Creed: Odyssey|Perikles's Symposium}} | ||
{{Character Infobox | {{Character Infobox | ||
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===Leader of Athens=== | ===Leader of Athens=== | ||
When the Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 BCE, Perikles adopted a strategy of holding out rather than facing Sparta head-to-head in battle. However, this was opposed by the Athenian general [[Kleon]], secretly a [[Sage (Cult of Kosmos)|Sage]] of the [[Cult of Kosmos]]. As such, the two regularly exchanged debates at the [[Pnyx]], fighting for the citizen's support.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]''</ref> Perikles also requested his friend and historian [[Herodotos]] to consult the [[Pythia (431 BCE)|Pythia]] in [[Delphi]] about ending the war.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[Consulting a Ghost]]</ref> | When the Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 BCE, Perikles adopted a strategy of holding out rather than facing Sparta head-to-head in battle. However, this was opposed by the Athenian general [[Kleon]], secretly a [[Sage (Cult of Kosmos)|Sage]] of the [[Cult of Kosmos]]. As such, the two regularly exchanged debates at the [[Pnyx]], fighting for the citizen's support.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]''</ref> Perikles also requested his friend and historian [[Herodotos]] to consult the [[Pythia (431 BCE)|Pythia]] in [[Delphi]] about ending the war.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[Consulting a Ghost]]</ref> | ||
[[File:ACOD Welcome to Athens Memory Screenshot 03.png|thumb|250px|left|Perikles | |||
Sometime later, Perikles and Kleon once again held a debate the Pnyx as the Spartans began surrounding the city in | [[File:ACOD Welcome to Athens Memory Screenshot 03.png|thumb|250px|left|Perikles meeting Kassandra]] | ||
Sometime later, Perikles and Kleon once again held a debate at the Pnyx as the Spartans began surrounding the city in preparation for a siege. Perikles' speech proved to be unfavourable, leading the crowd to voice their support of Kleon. After the speech, Perikles was approached by a returning Herodotos accompanied by the ''[[Mercenary|misthios]]'' [[Kassandra]]. In exchange for letting Kassandra into his symposium held later at night, Perikles tasked her to help his close friends and colleagues with the errands.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[Welcome to Athens]]</ref> | |||
After Kassandra assisted the sculptor [[Phidias]],<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[Escape from Athens]]</ref> saved the politician [[Metiochos]],<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[A Venomous Encounter]]</ref> and ensured that [[Anaxagoras]] was exiled from Athens for his own protection,<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[Ostracized]]</ref> she attended the symposium at [[Perikles' Residence]], meeting the other guests, including Aspasia. However, Perikles himself was nowhere to be found, having retired from the party early. While standing on his home's balcony, he was approached by both Herodotos and Kassandra, who informed him of the Cult of Kosmos' existence and expressed their concerns that the Cult might target Perikles and Athens next. In response, Perikles thanked them for the information and promised to increase his security.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[Perikles's Symposium]]</ref> | |||
===The plague and death=== | ===The plague and death=== | ||
[[File:ACOD Athens's Last Hope - Perikles Death.png|thumb|250px|Perikles killed by Deimos]] | [[File:ACOD Athens's Last Hope - Perikles Death.png|thumb|250px|Perikles killed by Deimos]] | ||
By 429 BCE, Athens had devolved into a state of panic. With the war with Sparta increasing tension and a lethal [[Plague of Athens|plague]] spreading throughout the streets, Perikles felt his grasp over the city weakening, and this worried him greatly. With his own health declining, he realized his death was on the horizon and began to worry, as his warmongering rival Kleon had the best opportunity to seize power after his death. Following a brief meeting with Kassandra, Perikles left for the [[Parthenon]] where he was attacked and murdered by the enforcer of the Cult of Kosmos, [[Alexios|Deimos]].<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[Athens's Last Hope]]</ref> | |||
==Behind the scenes== | ==Behind the scenes== | ||
Revision as of 20:00, 21 August 2025
Perikles (c. 495 BCE – c. 429 BCE), alternatively Pericles, was a Greek politician and general who led Athens in the early years of the Peloponnesian War.
Presiding over the Golden Age of Athens, a period where Athenian intellectual thought and democracy reached its peak, Perikles shouldered the burden of defending the city against Sparta when war between the two Hellenic powers erupted. Rather than facing them in direct battle, however, he had the military turtle within the city, much to the chagrin of its anxious populace.[1]
His strategy owed to his stoic and calculating nature, but his pragmatism was perceived by the besieged Athenians as apathetic. At the very root of his defensive policy, however, was his love for his partner Aspasia, a hetaera, and his desire to protect her and the city at all costs.[1]
Biography
Leader of Athens
When the Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 BCE, Perikles adopted a strategy of holding out rather than facing Sparta head-to-head in battle. However, this was opposed by the Athenian general Kleon, secretly a Sage of the Cult of Kosmos. As such, the two regularly exchanged debates at the Pnyx, fighting for the citizen's support.[2] Perikles also requested his friend and historian Herodotos to consult the Pythia in Delphi about ending the war.[3]
Sometime later, Perikles and Kleon once again held a debate at the Pnyx as the Spartans began surrounding the city in preparation for a siege. Perikles' speech proved to be unfavourable, leading the crowd to voice their support of Kleon. After the speech, Perikles was approached by a returning Herodotos accompanied by the misthios Kassandra. In exchange for letting Kassandra into his symposium held later at night, Perikles tasked her to help his close friends and colleagues with the errands.[4]
After Kassandra assisted the sculptor Phidias,[5] saved the politician Metiochos,[6] and ensured that Anaxagoras was exiled from Athens for his own protection,[7] she attended the symposium at Perikles' Residence, meeting the other guests, including Aspasia. However, Perikles himself was nowhere to be found, having retired from the party early. While standing on his home's balcony, he was approached by both Herodotos and Kassandra, who informed him of the Cult of Kosmos' existence and expressed their concerns that the Cult might target Perikles and Athens next. In response, Perikles thanked them for the information and promised to increase his security.[8]
The plague and death
By 429 BCE, Athens had devolved into a state of panic. With the war with Sparta increasing tension and a lethal plague spreading throughout the streets, Perikles felt his grasp over the city weakening, and this worried him greatly. With his own health declining, he realized his death was on the horizon and began to worry, as his warmongering rival Kleon had the best opportunity to seize power after his death. Following a brief meeting with Kassandra, Perikles left for the Parthenon where he was attacked and murdered by the enforcer of the Cult of Kosmos, Deimos.[9]
Behind the scenes
- The Art of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey calls Aspasia Perikles' wife, instead of just 'partner'.
- Perikles' pendant features the Owl of Athena, which was often minted on the coins of Athens, and also served as the polis' emblem.
- In real life, Perikles succumbed to the Plague of Athens alongside several of his relatives.
Gallery
-
A bust depicting Perikles -
Models of Perikles -
Head models of Perikles
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (first appearance)
- Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece
- Assassin's Creed: Where's the Assassin? (non-canonical appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Rebellion (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR (mentioned in Database entry only)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1
Assassin's Creed Odyssey Characters on Ubisoft's official website (backup link)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Consulting a Ghost
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Welcome to Athens
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Escape from Athens
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – A Venomous Encounter
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Ostracized
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Perikles's Symposium
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Athens's Last Hope