Phoxidas

Phoxidas (born c. 88 BCE), also called Phox for short, was a Greek mercenary and Nauarchos ('Leader of the ships', Admiral) who first served Pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes and then his daughter Cleopatra during the 1st century BCE.

Through this service, Phoxidas met Aya of Alexandria, another of Cleopatra's agents, and the two worked together on multiple occasions. Becoming one of Aya's closest confidants and friends, Phoxidas remained loyal to her following Cleopatra's betrayal, and joined the Hidden Ones when Aya and her husband Bayek founded the secret organization to fight the Order of the Ancients.

Biography

Early life

"By Zeus, I have not seen this much action since the earliest days of Cleopatra's father."

―Phoxidas to Aya and Bayek, 48 BCE.

Born in Athens in 88 BCE, Phoxidas came to serve Ptolemy XII Auletes in Egypt during his reign.

At some point around 68 BCE, Phoxidas sailed with a group of Sicilian pirates, as a 'hired hull', but that lifestyle didn't suit Phoxidas, so he parted ways with them.

Phoxidas was also married and had children, but left them all as, according to him, they didn't accept him for who he was.

Service under Cleopatra

"The day I met you, was the day danger found me again."

―Phoxidas to Aya, 48 BCE.

Following the rise of Ptolemy XII's son and daughter, Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra, Phoxidas was contacted by Aya, and via her came to serve Cleopatra, becoming one of her most loyal followers. Before 48 BCE, one of Apollodorus' informants, Damastes, joined Phoxidas' crew and became his right-hand man.

Aya and Phoxidas preparing to set sail

In 48 BCE, Phoxidas and Aya were sent by Cleopatra to the Aegean Sea to assist the Roman general Pompey and initiate an alliance with him. Encountering and destroying several ships sent by Ptolemy XIII, the pair succeeded in aiding Pompey, who accepted the alliance and made his way to Egypt.

Sometime later that year, Phoxidas and Aya were dispatched to the Mediterranean to defend the seas. During their mission, they encountered a Gabiniani fleet which served under Ptolemy XIII. Despite the Gabiniani's overwhelming numbers, Phoxidas' fleet prevailed and sank the entire enemy fleet before returning to Egypt.

In late 48 BCE, following Pompey's death, Phoxidas lent his ship to Aya, her husband Bayek, and Apollodorus as the group attempted to smuggle Cleopatra into Alexandria. There, the queen hoped to interrupt a meeting between Ptolemy and Julius Caesar and secure an alliance with the latter to gain the upper hand in the war against her brother.

During the voyage, they were attacked by Ptolemy's fleet; despite sinking several ships, the enemy numbers proved overwhelming, and Phoxidas volunteered to stay behind with his crew and hold off the enemy, buying Aya, Bayek, Apollodorus, and Cleopatra enough time to escape on a felucca. Phoxidas ultimately survived the encounter and later returned to Egypt.

Joining the Hidden Ones

Phoxidas with Bayek's other associates

After Cleopatra ascended the throne as the sole pharaoh of Egypt, allying herself with Caesar and seemingly with Flavius Metellus and Lucius Septimius, who were both members of the Order of the Ancients, Phoxidas met with Aya and Bayek in a tavern in Alexandria, along with Bayek's other associates, Phanos the Younger, Pasherenptah, and Tahira. Expressing their disgust with Cleopatra's alignment, they agreed to form an organization to combat the Order and preserve the free will of the people.

While Bayek pursued Flavius to Cyrene, Phoxidas remained in Alexandria with Aya, assisting her in her efforts to locate Septimius. Aya soon recruited two Roman senators, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, who shared similar goals with them. Having learned both Caesar and Septimius' whereabouts, Phoxidas and the Hidden Ones later regrouped in the hideout beneath the Library of Alexandria, making preparations to sail to Rome to combat the Order there.

By 46 BCE, Phoxidas and Aya had sailed to the Tyrrhenian Sea. During the voyage, their fleet came under attack by the Romans, but the timely arrival of Brutus and Cassius saved them, and they were able to dock safely in Antium before continuing the journey to Rome.

Life as a Hidden One

Phoxidas reunited with Amunet

In 30 BCE, following Cleopatra's suicide, Phoxidas reunited with Aya, now known as Amunet, near the Lighthouse of Alexandria. When Amunet returned with an unconscious Caesarion, they boarded Phoxidas' ship and set sail for Rome, where Amunet intended to train Caesarion as a Hidden One to fulfill her promise to his mother.

Personality and traits

Phoxidas was a highly eccentric and unapologetic man, so much so that nobody accepted him for who he was except his nautai, claiming that he left his wife and children for this reason. Despite this, he was a loyal friend and a man who would do anything for freedom, even joining the Hidden Ones.

Behind the scenes

Phoxidas is a character introduced in the 2017 video game of Assassin's Creed: Origins, where he was voiced by Robbie Stevens.

In Origins' storyboard phase, developers intended Phoxidas to die and give the command of his ship and crew to Aya. It is unclear whether this was supposed to happen in the memory "Ambush At Sea" or "Fall of an Empire, Rise of Another".

Gallery

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  Concept art of Phoxidas
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  Model renders of Phoxidas
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  Close-up of Phoxidas
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  Aya and Phoxidas on his ship

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Origins (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Origins comic
• Assassin's Creed: Where's the Assassin? (non-canonical appearance)
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game