Alexios (Greek: Αλέξιος) and Kassandra (Greek: Κασσάνδρα) are two interconnected fictional characters in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed video game franchise, first appearing as the player characters of the 2018 video game Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Alexios and Kassandra are portrayed through performance capture by Michael Antonakos and Melissanthi Mahut respectively.

Alexios and Kassandra
Assassin's Creed character
First appearance	Assassin's Creed Odyssey (2018)
Last appearance	Assassin's Creed Valhalla (2021, Kassandra only)
Created by	Ubisoft Quebec
Adapted by	Gordon Doherty
Portrayed by	Michael Antonakos (Alexios) Melissanthi Mahut (Kassandra)
In-universe information
Title	Eagle Bearer (Kassandra) Deimos (Alexios)
Family	Myrrine (mother) Pythagoras (Kassandra's father) Nikolaos (Alexios's father; Kassandra's stepfather) Stentor (stepbrother)
Significant other	Natakas (Kassandra's partner)
Children	Elpidios (Kassandra's son)
Relatives	Leonidas I (maternal grandfather) Aya / Amunet (Kassandra's descendant)
Origin	Sparta, Ancient Greece
Nationality	Greek

Within the series' alternate historical setting, both characters are half-siblings who were separated from their Spartan parents and each other during childhood due to a prophecy delivered by the Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi. Through their mother Myrrine, the siblings are descendants of a fictional version of Leonidas I, who is himself descended from the otherworldly Isu, the so-called First Civilization, and wielded a spear that is imbued with fantastical powers. In Odyssey, the player has the choice to experience the memories of either Alexios or Kassandra during the Peloponnesian War as part of a simulation played by another in-game character, archaeologist Layla Hassan. The chosen character becomes the elder sibling in the game's narrative, who is stranded from childhood on the island of Kephalonia following a traumatic incident at Mount Taygetos, and as an adult becomes a legendary mercenary known as the "Eagle Bearer". The younger sibling in turn becomes "Deimos", a revered enforcer of a secret society known as the Cult of Kosmos that seeks to control the Greek World.

Odyssey's story follows the Eagle Bearer's journey across Classical Greece during the Peloponnesian War as they attempt to reunite their fractured family and hunt down members of the Cult of Kosmos, who are depicted as the orchestrators of the war. Within the series' lore, Kassandra is designated as the canon Eagle Bearer, appearing as such in Odyssey's novelization and later reconfirmed in Odyssey's successor, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, in which Kassandra appears as a guest character as part of a bonus questline added after the game's release.

Both characters have received a positive reception from video game journalists and series fans following their debut. Kassandra in particular has received attention as a positive example of gender equality and representation in video games, as well as critical acclaim in response to Mahut's performance and interpretation of the character.

Character overview

In Odyssey, former Abstergo employee Layla Hassan discovers the broken spear of King Leonidas of Sparta, which is in fact a powerful Isu artifact. After reliving Leonidas' final moment of triumph during the Battle of Thermopylai for the game's tutorial section, she is then presented with a choice to explore the genetic memories of Leonidas' grandchildren, either Alexios or Kassandra, via her portable Animus machine in her search for the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, another Isu artifact. Whoever is chosen by the player as Layla in Odyssey is revealed to be the legendary mercenary known as the Eagle Bearer who was active during the Peloponnesian War, and whose exploits are detailed in the purportedly lost accounts of a version of Herodotos in the Assassin's Creed universe. As a mercenary who is typically referred to by the term misthios which means "employed for hire" or "hired servant" in the ancient Greek language,[1] the Eagle Bearer is a departure from series tradition as they have no direct ties to the Assassin Brotherhood or any related organization.[2][3]

As Alexios or Kassandra, the player may choose how to respond to non-player characters by engaging in dialogue trees with them to learn information and progress the story, with some of the choices potentially changing or affecting the fates of the characters they interact with.[4] Throughout the game the Eagle Bearer has access to a loyal horse named Phobos, whose appearance is customizable and can be summoned almost anytime and anywhere.[5] The Eagle Bearer embarks on an extended journey across the Greek world on board their ship the Adrestia, where they encounter interpretations of various real world historical figures in the Assassin's Creed universe such as Perikles, Kleon, Aspasia, Sokrates, Alkibiades, Aristophanes, Hippokrates, Brasidas, and the Two Kings of Sparta.

For the game's novelization written by Gordon Doherty, Kassandra appears as the Eagle Bearer who opposes the Cult of Kosmos and eventually inherits the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus from Pythagoras.[6] Alexios is shaped to become a weapon to be used by the Cult, henceforth known by the name Deimos. His allegiance to the Cult puts him at odds with his sister, who attempts to dismantle their influence across the Greek world in the midst of the Peloponnesian War and to reunite their family, and later dies fighting Kassandra at Mount Taygethos.

Creation and development

In an interview by Tom Hoggins from The Telegraph, Odyssey senior producer Marc-Alexis Côté said that the Kephallonia section early in the game is "about discovering who these characters are and find out why you should join them on this journey".[7] Côté explained that the notion of choice is determined by the development team as one of their "core pillars" for the game, and that is extended to the player being given their choice of character. Côté noted that player feedback from the option to play as Evie Frye in Assassin's Creed Syndicate helped informed the team with insight on how to push this further for Odyssey, and claimed that the team was able to build a better game as a result as everyone is satisfied with the "good gender split on the game".[7] The implementation of a branching dialogue system, which Côté said is supposed to transform the way player's would approach their gameplay experience through dialogue choices, was the main change in how the developmental team approached building the game. He explained that it involved a lot more preparation compared to previous projects in the series, as the writing team for Odyssey expanded from a duo to a team of fifteen staff members during development.[7] Côté said that the game's novelization was an extension of the project, and as its narrative is meant to be linear, a canon storyline for the novel had to be drafted.[7]

In July 2020, a report by Jason Schreier from Bloomberg about the mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations by Ubisoft claimed that Kassandra was originally meant to be the sole playable character of Odyssey, and the inclusion of Alexios as an alternative player character was insinuated to be the result of a compromise with Ubisoft management, a situation described to be "illustrative of the sexism ingrained within the company".[8]

Portrayal

Actors Michael Antonakos and Melissanthi Mahut, who portray Alexios and Kassandra respectively, are of Greek heritage.[9][10] With regards to the casting process of characters in Odyssey, audio director Lydia Andrew noted that Ubisoft tried to look for actors who are from Greece or have Greek ancestry. She indicated that it felt like a good opportunity to have a "deep dive into the culture of Greece and obviously Ancient Greece", and that it is just as important to work with good Greek actors as casting a great actor who is very good at portraying an accent.[9] Mahut recalled that Antonakos was already chosen for the role of Alexios prior to the finalization of her own audition for the role of Kassandra, where she had the opportunity to play off Antonakos.[11]

At the beginning of the process, the creative directors and writers of Odyssey gave both actors a "skeleton" idea of their characters as well as some insight as to their history, possible path and general characteristics. Antonakos and Mahut made it a point to work as a team, often holding discussions with each other about where they saw their respective characters going, and what they thought their main attributes were, and how they would respond in key situations. During motion capture sessions they would constantly give each other notes as to how they would like to approach certain scenes. Voice over sessions involved a lengthier process as they often were not in the same area or room, so they followed their personal choices as well as guidance by their respective directors.[11]

Antonakos did not initially know what Alexios would look like and developed his own take on the character by drawing inspiration from previous series protagonist Ezio Auditore da Firenze, as well as the animated series iterations of Wolverine and Batman from the 1980s and 1990s.[11] Antonakos described Alexios as a "boisterous Bruce Wayne with a Greek accent" who resembles an "explosive Wolverine" when he is angry.[11] Antonakos was also inspired by Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, which he used to ground the character into something deeper after he is given the context of the character's backstory as a "soundtrack to his pain".[11] On the character's display of machismo, Antonakos said Alexios is essentially a demigod with supernatural strength who is also immersed in the Ancient Greek warrior culture and explained that his arrogance is "just a show, a mask for his insecurity of being alone", noting that he is in truth "a big kid acting tough" with "huge guilt issues" and "something to prove".[11]

On portraying the identity of Deimos for their respective characters, Mahut wanted Kassandra to remain as a relatable character, even when she commits acts which are cruel or inhumane. She took key elements that made the elder sibling what they are, and "put a filter over them". She tried to imagine how a younger sibling would evolve from a traumatic childhood of being rejected and abandoned, but at the same time possessing a god-like strength.[11] Antonakos decided to play Deimos as a different person entirely, and explained that he is the younger sibling who never experienced a normal childhood living in Spartan society and thus does not possess the same moral compass an elder Alexios would have had because he was never shown any compassion and sympathy by those who raised him.[11] Antonakos projected a darker and lower voice compared to the one he gave Alexios as the Eagle Bearer, giving him no room for a smile unless it had a sense of tormenting behind it. As part of their motion capture performances, which constituted about 10%-15% of the game, the actors had to wear velcro/lycra suits and helmets with attached cameras.[4] Both Antonakos and Mahut did their best to match each other's performances, gestures and movements, as the production team would use the same edits to cut the scenes together.[11]

Appearances

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Kassandra was born in Sparta in 458 BC, and was originally raised by her parents Nikolaos and Myrrine. When Kassandra is seven, she witnesses her infant brother Alexios being thrown off Mount Taygetos in deference to an oracle's prophecy, which said that, if allowed to live, he would be responsible for the potential glory or downfall of Sparta. Kassandra tries to save Alexios, but in the process accidentally pushes a Spartan elder off the mountain. She is branded a traitor for this, and Nikolaos, in adherence to Spartan law, reluctantly throws his daughter to her apparent death. Kassandra survives the fall and is eventually found and raised by a merchant named Markos, performing odd jobs as a mercenary on the island of Kephallonia where Markos resides.

In 431 BC, at the onset of the Peloponnesian War, Kassandra is hired by a man named Elpenor to assassinate "The Wolf of Sparta" in the polis of Megaris, and departs Kephallonia after befriending a naval captain named Barnabas and assuming command of his ship, the Adrestia. In Megaris, Kassandra discovers that "The Wolf of Sparta" is in fact a sobriquet for Nikolaos, and that he has another adopted son, Stentor. Confronting Nikolaos, he expresses regret for his actions, but claims he only wanted the good of Sparta, and reveals that he is not Kassandra's biological father. Kassandra spares Nikolaos, who urges her to find Myrrine for the answers she seeks, revealing that Myrrine left Sparta after the incident at Mount Taygetos.

While travelling to Delphi to ask the Pythia for Myrrine's whereabouts, Kassandra encounters Herodotos, who reveals his extensive knowledge of the Spear of Leonidas, which Kassandra wields, and joins her on her journey. Upon meeting the Pythia, Kassandra is warned about a secretive organization known as the Cult of Kosmos that is targeting her family. After discovering Elpenor is a Cult member, Kassandra assassinates him and uses his disguise to infiltrate a secret Cult meeting. She learns that the Cult plans to take advantage of the war to seize control of Greece and that their enforcer, known as "Deimos", is Alexios, who had also survived his fall off Mount Taygetos years ago, but was later taken in by the Cult and brainwashed to serve their cause.

Kassandra journeys through the Greek world, extirpating the Cult's influence from Sparta and Athens and befriending prominent Greek figures such as Perikles and Aspasia. She is unable to prevent Perikles' assassination by Alexios, but reunites with Myrrine, now the oligarch of the polis of Naxos, and finds her true father, Pythagoras. Myrrine and Pythagoras explain that they conceived Kassandra and Alexios to preserve Leonidas' bloodline, as his descendants have a connection with Precursor artifacts, such as Leonidas' spear. Pythagoras tasks Kassandra with recovering Precursor artifacts to permanently seal the hidden Precursor city of Atlantis, to prevent its knowledge from being misused by the Cult. During her journey, Kassandra avenges Perikles' death by assassinating his political rival and Cult member Kleon, and tries to redeem Alexios, but is ultimately unsuccessful, forcing her to kill him during a final confrontation atop Mount Taygetos.

With war averted and the Cult eliminated, Kassandra heads for the Cult's meeting place under the Temple of Delphi. Touching a pyramid-shaped artifact the Cult was using to influence Greek politics, she receives visions of future conflicts, before destroying it, and is met by Aspasia, who reveals herself to be the Cult's original leader and that she had been secretly working to undermine it after becoming disillusioned with the other members' ideals. After defeating various hybrid creatures that resemble monstrous creatures from Greek mythology—the result of genetic experiments conducted by the Isu—and collecting the artifacts needed to seal Atlantis, Kassandra activates a recording from the Precursor Aletheia, who pleads with Layla through Kassandra as proxy that Precursor technology must be destroyed for humanity to reach its potential. Pythagoras later passes the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, another Precursor artifact which grants biological immortality, on to Kassandra, dying in the process.

In 2018, Kassandra, kept alive for thousands of years by the staff, meets Layla as she is analyzing data recovered from the Animus in order to activate Atlantis. She tasks Layla with restoring the balance between order and chaos, represented by organizations such as the Templar Order and the Assassin Brotherhood, respectively. Kassandra passes away after relinquishing the staff to Layla.

Legacy of the First Blade

The first story expansion for the Odyssey, released across three episodes from December 2018 to March 2019, follows Kassandra as she faces an earlier version of the Order of the Ancients, the same organization featured in Assassin's Creed Origins, who are forerunners of the Templar Order, the series' perennial antagonists. The three episodes are titled Hunted, Shadow Heritage, and Bloodline, and explore the connection between Odyssey and the rest of the Assassin's Creed franchise through the lineage of Aya, a major character from Assassin's Creed Origins. At the ending of Legacy of the First Blade, Aya is revealed to be a descendant of both Kassandra and Darius, a Persian renegade who assassinated Xerxes I of Persia and the originator of the Assassin Brotherhood's signature weapon: the Hidden Blade.

The Fate of Atlantis

The second story expansion, also released across three episodes from April to July 2019, focuses on Greek mythology, and follows Kassandra's quest to learn how unlock the full power of the Staff of Hermes and her hidden sixth sense. The three episodes are titled Fields of Elysium, Torment of Hades, and Judgement of Atlantis.

In Fields of Elysium, Kassandra explores the Greek afterlife in the paradise of Elysium, where she meets Persephone, Adonis, Hermes, and Hecate, members of the Isu race known to humans as gods. Hermes helps Kassandra learn more about the Staff as a rebellion against Persephone's rule forms under Adonis' leadership. Meanwhile, Hecate plots an uprising to usurp Persephone. Kassandra and Hermes confront Hecate and Persephone. After an argument, Persephone leaves to deal with Adonis's rebellion. Kassandra joins the battle, confronting Persephone and requesting that she open the gateway to Hades, where Kassandra can learn more about the Staff. Persephone kills Hermes for his disobedience, and it is revealed that the key to Hades, an Atlantis artifact, has been concealed in the collar of Persephone's dog, Ros. Persephone opens the gateway to the Underworld and tosses Kassandra, Ros, and the artifact inside. Ros becomes Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld.

In Torment of Hades, Kassandra defeats Cerberus before being confronted by Hades, who is displeased at the death of his guardian. Rifts between Tartaros and the Underworld open, releasing souls confined to Tartaros back into the Underworld. Kassandra is tasked with finding a guardian for each of the four gateways to the Underworld. After recruiting Perseus, Achilles, Agamemnon, and Heracles as guardians and helping Charon mitigate the chaos caused by the rifts, Kassandra confronts Hades and requests that he help them learn more about the Staff. Hades refuses, having actually intended them to be the guardian of a fifth gate. Kassandra fights and defeats Hades, before Poseidon appears through a portal and escorts Kassandra to Atlantis.

In The Judgement of Atlantis, Poseidon agrees to help Kassandra unlock the Staff's potential, as he is worried about tensions between the Isu and humans in Atlantis. He appoints Kassandra as Dikastes, his second-in-command. Kassandra is responsible for enforcing Poseidon's laws and keeping order, while also passing judgment on Atlantis. As Kassandra explores Atlantis, she learns that the Isu regularly disobey Poseidon's laws and commit crimes against humanity; the most egregious of which is "Project Olympos"—a genetic engineering program led by the Isu Juno and her husband Aita—which experiments on abducted human subjects, combining them with Isu artifacts to create hybrid beasts. After discovering the Project Olympos headquarters, Kassandra returns to Poseidon to pass judgment on Atlantis, but is interrupted by Juno and Aita, who unveil their final creation: the Hekatonchires. Kassandra defeats the beast, returns to Poseidon, and declares Atlantis beyond saving. Using the artifacts recovered from Ros and the Hekatonchires, along with the fully activated Staff, Poseidon and Kassandra destroy Atlantis. Kassandra wakes up back in the mortal world and is told by Aletheia that the memories experienced were Aletheia's memories during her time as Dikastes.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Kassandra returns in Assassin's Creed Valhalla as part of the Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories DLC expansion.[12] Here, she comes face-to-face with Eivor Varinsdottir, the main protagonist of Valhalla, whilst hunting for an Isu artifact that is causing nightmares amongst the locals on the Isle of Skye, during the late 9th century.

Other appearances

Both Alexios and Kassandra appear as playable characters in Assassin's Creed: Rebellion, a mobile free-to-play strategy RPG action game.[13] A hooded version of Alexios' outfit is an unlockable cosmetic option in the remastered version of Assassin's Creed III, released in 2019.

Promotion and merchandise

Although Kassandra is designated as the canon Eagle Bearer for the novelization and was featured prominently in gameplay demo footage shown at E3 2018, the vast majority of the marketing campaign and available merchandise for Odyssey exclusively featured Alexios, including the game's three pre-order statues, cover art, official trailer, header image on Uplay, and so on.[6][14]

As part of a promotional collaboration between Ubisoft and Amazon, Antonakos' voice as Alexios is featured as part of "Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Spartan Skill", a free downloadable Alexa-based content available for all Amazon Echo devices.[15] A limited edition Assassin’s Creed-themed Amazon Echo device, designed to resemble a Spartan helmet, was also released.[15]

Reception

Prior to the release of Odyssey on October 5, 2018, Côté observed that there appeared to be a lot of interest into being able to play a female lead character, with about three quarters of players selecting Kassandra as the player character during a gameplay preview session in September 2018, which exceeded his own expectations. Ubisoft Québec Game Director Scott Phillips revealed that two-thirds of Odyssey players chose to play Alexios by December 2018, although he noted that the choices were statistically more evenly split during the game's playtesting stage. Both Alexios and Kassandra were jointly nominated for the 2018 Gamers' Choice Awards' Fan Favorite Character of the Year, while their respective actors received nominations in the Fan Favorite Voice Actor awards.[16] For the 30th GLAAD Media Awards in 2019, Odyssey was one of five nominees for the inaugural "Outstanding Video Game" category. GLAAD credited the positive depiction of Kassandra and Alexios as sexually fluid characters to be one of the rationales behind the nomination, though the controversy generated by the Legacy of the First Blade DLC pack was also acknowledged.[17] Xalavier Nelson Jr from Rock, Paper, Shotgun was of the view that both are "distinct, compelling, and valid protagonists" in their own right, and that the subtle variations between both choices colours the events of their game moreso then the differences between a male and female Commander Shepard for the original Mass Effect trilogy.[18] On the other hand, both Ali Jones from PCGamesN and Fraser Brown from Rock, Paper, Shotgun questioned the Alexios-centric marketing campaign for Odyssey and the lack of promotion for his female counterpart.[14][6] Joe Parlock opined that the executive-mandated decision to have an interchangeable lead made it more difficult for the writers to develop either Kassandra or Alexios as their own characters in response to the Bloomberg report by Schreier.[19]

Kassandra has received near-universal critical acclaim for her characterization as an atypical female video game protagonist.[20][21] With Kassandra, Ubisoft earned nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Character at the 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards,[22] and Best Character at the Italian Video Game Awards.[23] Mahut received award nominations from 15th British Academy Games Awards,[24] and The Game Awards 2018,[25] for her performance as Kassandra. Kassandra has also appeared on several "top character" lists with high placements. Paste Magazine named her among the best new videogame characters of 2018, and praised her down-to-earth nature, as well as her confidence and self-assuredness which is considered to be rare for video game characters.[26] Andy Kelly from PC Gamer proclaimed her to be the second best protagonist character of the Assassin's Creed series behind Ezio Auditore da Firenze, whose mischievous charm is said to be present in Mahut's performance;[27] and Polygon ranked Kassandra among the best video game characters of the 2010s[28] as well as one of their "69 biggest crushes of the last decade".[29]

Hoggins said Kassandra was for him the obvious choice as the player character. He described her as "brilliant company" who takes absolutely no nonsense from anyone, as "her tongue is much sharper than the rusty sword she begins the game with".[30] Samuel Axon from Ars Technica said Kassandra stole the show for him, and that choosing her for his first playthrough felt like a fresh experience; he liked the notion of a female character with agency roaming ancient Greece "liberally partaking in all the violent and sensual pleasures on offer with Conan-like revelry and impunity", framing an entirely different tone and context not unlike that of Xena: Warrior Princess.[21] Writing for PC Gamer, Fraser Brown formed the view that Kassandra is "immediately likeable" due to her "easy-going, roguish charm", and compared her "longstanding popularity" to that of Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher media franchise which end up overshadowing the Assassin's Creed series' other protagonists.[31] Harry Shepard, also from PC Gamer, noted that her "commanding presence oozes cool, and she has a more subtle charm" compared to her male counterpart.[32] Colin Campbell from Polygon praised Kassandra as "one of the most complete human characters" he has ever played as in a game, noting that she comes across as "smarter and funnier" then her male counterpart, and that "her facial animations are a joy to watch, while her vocal reactions generally match her movements".[33] Campbell's credited Mahut's performance for giving the role a greater range than Alexios’ actor. Noelle Adams from Critical Hit praised Kassandra as a physically strong and tough survivor who combines likeable traits from many other female protagonists in fiction and yet has a malleable personality, in addition to being better animated then her male counterpart.[34] Her portrayal as an example of a liberated Spartan female archetype,[34] as well as a potential bisexual or queer protagonist has also been praised.[35][36]

Alexios has also received a generally positive reception, though he often draws an unfavorable comparison to his female counterpart.[26][27] Kelly considered Alexios to be well acted, but felt that Antonakos played him "far too straight", which in his opinion failed to differentiate the character from "a dozen other gruff videogame heroes".[27] Shepard said he chose to play as Alexios as he preferred his character design as well as Antonakos' delivery of the profane word malaka, and felt he could better relate to Alexios due to their perceived visual similarities, though he accepted that his personality "is a bit flat" when compared to Kassandra's.[32] Campbell said Alexios has a depth of character who is "as good as the gruffly vengeful Bayek", but commented that Antonakos' interpretation of the character comes across to him as a "cut-out Mediterranean macho hero, almost to the point of parody", with the "aura of a comedically self-important cartoon character".[33] Axon said playing as Alexios felt like the same framing he has experienced in video games hundreds of times before, including every mainline Assassin's Creed game except Syndicate.[21] Andy Kim from US Gamer reacted negatively to Phillips' sharing of player data which is skewed towards Alexios, and argued that two-thirds of the game's player base made the incorrect choice.[37]

References

Further reading

• "Video Game Heroine of the Month: Kassandra, Assassin's Creed Odyssey". SYFY Official Site. October 11, 2018. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2021.

External links

• Alexios and Kassandra on the official Assassin's Creed: Odyssey website at the Wayback Machine (archived January 11, 2019)
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey: Meet the Actors Behind Alexios and Kassandra on the official Ubisoft North America YouTube channel
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s Two Main Characters Compared on the official Kotaku YouTube channel
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey: Will You Play As Kassandra or Alexios? on the official IGN YouTube channel
• Assassin's Creed Unlocked: Episode 1 – Kassandra on the official Ubisoft North America YouTube channel