 This article is a stub. You can help Assassin's Creed Wiki by expanding it.
|
|---|
The banner of the Followers of Ares
The Followers of Ares was a minor Greek faction which worshipped Ares, the Greek god of war. They were notable for their practice of sacrificing the land's fauna and people in service to their god. They were hostile to anyone who stumbled upon them but would often visit towns to preach their religion.
Description
Described as being 'sadistic cult of fanatics' who sought 'violence and death', the Followers would attack anyone who approached them. Their banner featured a stylized, helmeted head, presumably that of Ares.[1][1]
According to Hippokrates, the Followers of Ares observed the burning of bodies to be a sacrilege while the plague was wreaking havoc on the streets of Athens.[2] Despite this observance on Hippokrates' part, bodies were burned in multiple campsites of the Followers, most notably in their camp in Pandora's Cove in Malis.[1]
At least some among the Followers were cannibals, as witnessed by the Spartan misthios Kassandra in Messara.[3]
The Followers could easily be recognized, for they wore dark clothes and black hoods, with white painted on their bodies and faces, often in imitation of skull and bones. At their ceremonies, all would stand in reverence for their god.[1]
History
Priests of the Followers of Ares in Athens
Before the Peloponnesian War, Harpalos, a member of the Worshippers of the Bloodline branch of the Cult of Kosmos, approached the Followers of Ares and was welcomed by them. Harpalos' sermons appealed to the Followers, and he rose quickly to lead them, gaining them the blessing of a fellow Worshipper of the Bloodline, and volunteering them as an army for the Cult.[4]
A fanatic of the Followers of Ares in Athens
Eventually Harpalos was hunted down by the Spartan misthios Kassandra over the course of her quest to destroy the Cult.[5] She also repeatedly encountered scattered groups of the Followers throughout Greece during her travels.[1] One of these was a group of female Followers of Ares, who had settled in a tomb on the island of Kos. Their singing had given rise to rumours about sirens haunting the place, and drew many victims to them, including Eurylochos.[6]
During the plague of Athens in 429 BCE, the Followers of Ares openly walked the streets of the polis, harassing the citizens, including Hippokrates and Kassandra. A few attempted to interfere with Kassandra's burning of the plague-infected bodies although the misthios was able to eliminate them.[2]
Trivia
- In The Art of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, the Followers of Ares are said to be outcasts of society who prefer using poison instead of brute strength.
- The Followers had three distinct 'ranks': Priests who wielded Sickle Blades, the female Elders, and the brutish Fanatics.
Gallery
Add a photo to this galleryAppearances
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – A Growing Sickness
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – It's Complicated
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Worshippers of the Bloodline
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – The Worshippers of the Bloodline
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Beware the Siren Call
