Greek fire

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"Tales from the West tell of a substance called Greek fire, whose flames cannot be doused with any volume of water, only serving to intensify its fury instead!"

―Yun Pyeong-Gyu, 1725.

Ezio using Greek fire

Greek fire was a powerful Byzantine incendiary weapon that was a closely guarded military secret. Its true composition remains unknown to this day, despite multiple theories. Famously, it was reputed to burn more fiercely on contact with water, making it particularly valuable in naval warfare.

Greek fire was both used by ships, and in the struggles for control of Assassin Dens in Constantinople during the Ottoman Civil War.

History

Early history

Greek fire was first used by the Byzantine Emperor Leon III's army, when enemy vessels laid siege to Constantinople in the year 717. In the battle, the napalm-like substance burned through the enemy fleet, forcing them to call off their attack and flee west. ^{[citation needed]}

In 1511, the Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore used Greek fire in order to destroy several ships preventing him from leaving the city. The Ottoman Assassins also mounted Greek fire weapons along the barricades they used to defend their dens from Templar attacks.

18th century

In 1725, the Chinese Assassins Xiao Han, Liu Qing, and Xue Yan carried bombs filled with Greek fire, which they used while boarding the Zhang Wei Union's flagship Fenghuang. The engineer Yun Pyeong-Gyu recognized the substance from the stories he had heard about it and instructed the ship's crew to use sand instead of water to extinguish the flames.

Yun producing Greek fire

After repelling the Chinese Assassins' attack, Yun was able to reproduce the formula for Greek fire, which the British Assasasin Edward Kenway recognized from the Brotherhood's records. He then suggested making a stop at Java to acquire petroleum, which would allow them to produce larger quantities of the substance.

Fortunately for the Zhang Wei Union members, the trip to Java became unnecessary after Yun stumbled upon a warehouse filled with barrels of petroleum during the crew's imprisonment in Manila. Following the crew's escape, Yun had these barrels loaded onto the Fenghuang, allowing the engineer to resume production of Greek fire.

Xialun Qing used her knowledge of alchemy to assist Yun, remaking that the process was similar to the distillation of alcohol. The two inventors later used Greek fire to fuel one of their inventions, the Celestial Chariot, a prototype hot air balloon. However, the substance's highly flammable nature proved to be a drawback in this case, when the Greek fire spilled into the balloon mid-flight, causing it to catch fire and resulting in its destruction.

Trivia

• In the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novelization, the defenders used Greek fire during the 1507 Siege of Viana.
• Greek fire is referenced in Assassin's Creed: Origins, during a side memory; in 47 BCE, the Medjay Bayek of Siwa is tasked by the architect Vitruvius to destroy the reserves of "a Greek Fire of sorts" manufactured by the Roman General Agrippa.
• In Assassin's Creed: Odyssey's downloadable expansion Legacy of the First Blade: Shadow Heritage, a flamethrower weapon akin to Greek fire called Chimera's Breath was introduced.
• Historically, the secret of Greek fire was already lost by the Ottoman era and was never used by them.

Gallery

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  Concept art of the Greek fire cannon
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  Concept art of the Greek fire mechanism
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  Greek fire used during a Den Defense

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations
• Assassin's Creed: Origins
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple