Apollodorus the Sicilian (c. 90s BCE – 47 BCE) was a loyal follower and friend to the last pharaoh of Egypt, Cleopatra. He was also an ally of and handler for the Medjay Bayek of Siwa during the latter's time serving Cleopatra.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born in Sicily, then part of the Roman Republic, Apollodorus came to Alexandria as a young adult, serving in the court of Ptolemy XIII.[1] Apollodorus befriended the pharaoh's older sister and co-ruler Cleopatra, becoming one of her close friends and later a loyal follower. When the Order of the Ancients manipulated the boy pharaoh to exile Cleopatra in 49 BCE, Apollodorus helped her escape the city. Having fled Alexandria, Cleopatra would reside in Apollodorus' personal villa in the Kanopos Nome.[3]
Apollodorus later set up a network of informants across Egypt to keep him updated with the comings and goings of the local Egyptians who were oppressed by Ptolemy XIII. Sometime thereafter, Apollodorus returned to Alexandria, where he came upon a Greco-Egyptian woman named Aya, introducing her to Cleopatra and becoming her most trusted bodyguard.[1]
Fighting the Order of the Ancients[]
Together with Aya, Apollodorus worked to investigate the Order that was behind Cleopatra's exile and the murder of Aya's son, Khemu.[4] In 48 BCE, Apollodorus uncovered the identity of one member of the Order, Actaeon, leading Aya to go after him. However, her assassination of Actaeon, along with the killing of another Order member, Ktesos, led the city's Phylakitai Gennadios to declare her a wanted woman. Her cousin, Phanos the Younger, sought Apollodorus' aid, and together they hid Aya beneath the Library of Alexandria.[5]
At some point, Apollodorus entrusted one of his informants, Damastes, with a scroll meant for the Roman general Pompey. However, Damastes' ship was sunk by Ptolemy's men, leading to his capture and the scroll becoming lost in the waters.[3]
Apollodoros meeting Bayek
At the lighthouse of Kanopos, Apollodorus met the Medjay Bayek, Aya's husband, who had recently assassinated the Order member Eudoros. Apollodorus enlisted his aid to retrieve Damastes and the scroll in exchange for information on the Order. Bayek managed to do so and afterwards accompanied Apollodorus to his personal estate, where the Medjay was introduced to Cleopatra.[3]
Along with Cleopatra and Pasherenptah, the High Priest at the Temple of Ptah in Memphis, Apollodorus explained that Eudoros, the man Bayek had killed, was known as "the Hippo" and not "the Snake" as Bayek and Aya had assumed. The Snake was used to refer to the Order as a whole, who sought to use Ptolemy XIII as their puppet and had members controlling each major region of Egypt.[3]
Apollodorus and the others discussing the Order
Apollodorus went on to provide Bayek and Aya with the cryptonyms for four new Order members: the Scarab, who controlled the Nile Delta; the Hyena, who was located in Giza; the Lizard, who operated in Memphis; and the Crocodile, who controlled the Faiyum. After being appointed Cleopatra's personal Medjay, Bayek embarked on a quest to hunt down the Order members, making use of Apollodorus' informants in each region to locate his targets.[3]
Meanwhile, Aya took to the sea to help Cleopatra secure an alliance with Pompey.[6] Before her departure, she entrusted Apollodorus with a mysterious orb recovered by Bayek from the Order member Medunamun, due to his fascination with this type of artifacts.[7]
In late 48 BCE, Apollodorus accompanied Cleopatra to Herakleion, where they resided in a villa while awaiting news of both Bayek and Aya's missions. While there, Apollodorus captured Livius, an informant of the Order sent to spy on Cleopatra, and interrogated him, learning of an assassination plot against Cleopatra by the Gabiniani.[8]
Apollodorus and the others interrogating Livius
When Bayek arrived in Herakleion after having eliminated all of his targets, Apollodorus greeted him at the villa and led him to Cleopatra, who informed the Medjay of the assassination plot against her. Apollodorus then brought the captive Livius and claimed that the Order informant knew who was responsible for Khemu's death. This led Bayek to angrily beat Livius, before Apollodorus suggested that the Medjay begin his investigation of the plot against Cleopatra at the local brothel. With that, Apollodorus took Livius away to press him for more information.[8]
Although Bayek managed to eliminate all of Cleopatra's would-be assassins, the Gabiniani, led by Venator, attacked the villa in a last-ditch effort to eliminate the queen. Bayek, a recently-arrived Aya, and the royal guards, including Apollodorus, managed to defeat the Gabiniani, though Apollodorus sustained an injury to his left arm during the fight. When Bayek jokingly mocked Apollodorus over it, he dismissed it as a mere "flesh wound".[8]
Alliance with Julius Caesar[]
Apollodorus and Cleopatra discovering Pompey's body
Having successfully protected Cleopatra, Aya and Bayek were sent to find Pompey on the shores of the Herakleion Nome, with Apollodorus and the queen joining them shortly after. However, they arrived too late to assist Pompey, who had been killed and beheaded by Lucius Septimius, a Gabiniani and member of the Order. Without Pompey's support, Cleopatra resolved to make an alliance with Julius Caesar instead and meet him in Alexandria.[8]
Apollodorus, Aya, Bayek and Cleopatra boarded Phoxidas' trireme and set sail towards Alexandria. Despite facing opposition from numerous Ptolemaic ships, they were able to arrive in the harbor of the royal palace, which was heavily guarded by Ptolemy's and Roman soldiers. As Cleopatra would be recognized straight away, she was wrapped in a rug and carried by Apollodorus, who posed as the Nomarch of Heliopolis while Aya and Bayek posed as his phylakitai. The group carried baskets of offerings and were escorted into the palace by a Roman legionary, where they interrupted Ptolemy's meeting with Caesar.[7]
Aya, Apollodorus and Bayek discussing Septimius and Pothinus
This interruption proved to be a success as Caesar dismissed Ptolemy and agreed to listen to Cleopatra's proposal, asking that he be allowed to speak to the queen in private. Outside the palace, Apollodorus met with Aya and Bayek to discuss the whereabouts of Septimius and Ptolemy's regent Pothinus, another Order member. While the two Medjay were frustrated that they had been unable to find them yet, Apollodorus assured them that they would do so soon and thanked them for their efforts in assisting Cleopatra so far.[7]
Throughout their stay in Alexandria, Apollodorus remained by Cleopatra's side during her and Caesar's visit to the tomb of Alexander the Great. Upon learning of Septimius and Pothinus' plan to trap Caesar and Cleopatra in the palace, Apollodorus chose to remain when the queen refused to flee and resolved to face the problems ahead. Thanks to the efforts of Aya and Bayek, they were ultimately able to escape the siege and regroup with Caesar's army.[7]
Death[]
Apollodorus standing beside Septimius, Caesar and Cleopatra
After the Battle of the Nile in February 47 BCE, during which both Ptolemy and Pothinus were killed, and the coronation of Cleopatra as the sole ruler of Egypt, Septimius was spared by Caesar, much to the dismay of both Aya and Bayek. Apollodorus met with them in a marketplace in Alexandria, informing them that Cleopatra had dismsissed them from her service.[2]
Aya and Bayek were furious to learn that Cleopatra had sided with Septimius and Flavius Metellus, both members of the Order, and that the two were under Caesar's direct protection. Apollodorus restrained Bayek from lashing out in order to prevent them from being discovered by a group of passing guards, saying that Caesar had accused them both of Ptolemy's murder and that there was nothing he could do. He then informed them that he needed some time in order to ease their burden before leaving.[2]
Apollodorus' last moments
True to his word, Apollodorus went to investigate the tomb of Alexander the Great, which he found to have been trespassed. Entering the tomb, he was ambushed by Flavius and Septimius, who took the orb Aya had entrusted him a year prior. Having also stolen Alexander's staff, the two Order members then left the tomb, leaving behind their soldiers to deal with Apollodorus.[2]
As he was dueling the soldiers, Aya and Bayek came to his aid and defeated his assailants, though it was too late, as one of the soldiers had managed to impale Apollodorus with his sword. In his final moments, Apollodorus informed Aya and Bayek that Flavius was behind their son's murder and that he and Septimius were headed to Siwa with the stolen artifacts, urging the couple to hurry back to their home and save their people.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
Apollodorus is a historical character introduced in the 2017 video game Assassin's Creed: Origins, where he was voiced by the Greek-Scottish actor Gerald Kyd.[9] Historically, Apollodorus' fate is unknown; he simply vanishes from recorded history after helping Cleopatra reach Caesar.
Etymology[]
Apollodorus (Απολλόδωρος) is a Greek name that means 'Gift of Apollo'.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed: Origins (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
- Assassin's Creed: Where's the Assassin? (non-canonical appearance)
- Echoes of History (indirect mention only)
- Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Assassin's Creed Origins: Official Game Guide – The Heroes / The Allies
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Aftermath
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Assassin's Creed: Origins – Egypt's Medjay
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – The False Oracle
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – Aya
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – Pompeius Magnus
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Assassin's Creed: Origins – Aya: Blade of the Goddess
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Assassin's Creed: Origins – Way of the Gabiniani
- ↑
Gerald Kyd at the Internet Movie Database
