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Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is set in Ancient Greece, and no less than twenty-three real historical figures pop up in the game. Some of the historical figures in Odyssey are minor characters that hire the misthios for small tasks, but others have a major impact on the game’s storyline. The misthios even gets to schmooze with some of Ancient Greece’s most famous playwrights and philosophers at a fancy symposium. Here's every Assassin's Creed Odyssey character that's a real-world figure from history.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is massive in scope, with players able to sail to many known locations from Ancient Greek history and mythology. Along the way, the misthios meet a lot of familiar characters from Greek history. However, some Assassin’s Creed Odyssey characters that were real people are more historically accurate than others.

Related: Every Historical Figure In Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Alkibiades (Alcibiades)

Alkibiades faces Kassandra in Assassin's Creed Odyssey

In real life, Alcibiades was a prominent Athenian statesman and general who played a major role in the second half of the Peloponnesian War. He had a poor reputation because of his unbridled ambition and opportunism, and he even switched allegiances several times. In Odyssey, Alkibiades is portrayed as a flamboyant and hedonistic man who frequently needs the misthios' help with morally questionable (if not illegal) tasks. This is likely inspired by the real-world history behind the Athenian statesman.

Archidamos of Sparta (Archidamus II)

Archidamos from AC Odyssey

Archidamus II was a king of Sparta who negotiated the Thirty Years’ Peace between Athens and Sparta, bringing an end to the First Peloponnesian War. With Assassin’s Creed Odyssey's version, Archidamus’ traditionalist views are partially responsible for Deimos being thrown from Mount Taygetos at the beginning of the game. Later on, his co-ruler tries to frame him as a member of the Cult of Kosmos, but the misthios helps prove Archidamus’s innocence.

Aristophanes

Aristophanes talking to Alexios in Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Aristophanes was a playwright known as “The Father of Comedy” whose plays were said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more convincingly than any other author. In Odyssey, the misthios first meets Aristophanes at Perikles’s symposium where he is in conflict with Sophokles.

Want to see how accurate Assassin's Creed Odyssey's Aristophanes is for yourself? Check out the story the game version tells in the video from Assassins Bleed AC Walkthroughs Cutscenes on YouTube below, and then compare it to the following video from TED-ed discussing the actual historical figure!

Later in the game, Aristophanes requests the misthios' help investigating Hermippos’ affiliation with Kleon and the Cult of Kosmos. Outside of being a Greek playwright, it's difficult to say how accurate the Assassin's Creed Odyssey character is to the historical figure of Aristophanes. However, certain liberties were clearly taken to fight the character into Odyssey's narrative.

Aspasia

Aspasia tallking to the player in Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Historically Aspasia is known as the influential lover and partner of Pericles during his leadership of Athens. She was friends with many influential artists, philosophers, and politicians, including Socrates. In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Aspasia is revealed to be the leader of the Cult of Kosmos, and the misthios has to decide whether to kill her or not.

Related: Alexios or Kassandra? Which To Play As In Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Because of this, the amount of historical accuracy regarding Aspasia largely depends on which choice AC Odyssey players decide to make.

Brasidas

Brasidas from AC Odyssey

Brasidas was the most distinguished Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War and was known for his combination of Spartan courage and Athenian intelligence. In Odyssey, Brasidas first helps the misthios destroy the Monger’s warehouse in Korinthia, and then aids them in their quest to find her mother and destroy the Cult of Kosmos.

Demokritos (Democritus)

Demokritos from AC Odyssey

In real life, Democritus was a philosopher who helped invent atomic theory. He was known as “the laughing philosopher” which, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, was due his "emphasis on the value of 'cheerfulness.'" He keeps this kind of demeanor in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, as well, which means the game attempts to stay fairly true to what his personality may have really been like.

In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the misthios is hired by Demokritos (as it's spelled in-game) to help him gather materials for his experiments so he can impress a woman he’s in love with. Unfortunately, bandits attack and kill the woman just moments before he and the misthios reach her.

Demosthenes

Demosthenes from AC Odyssey

Demosthenes was considered one of the greatest Athenian orators and chroniclers of his time, and he played a leading part in Athens’ uprising against Alexander the Great. In Odyssey, Demosthenes stands below the statue of Athena bemoaning the city’s lack of action against the Spartans, and hires the misthios to kill Spartan generals and bring him their seals.

Euripides

Euripides from AC Odyssey

Euripides is one of only three Ancient Greek tragic playwrights whose plays have survived to modern times. Medea, Hippolytus, and The Bacchae are among some of his most famous works.

Related: Why Assassin's Creed Odyssey's Kalydonian Boar Fight Is The Worst

In this Assassin's Creed release, the misthios meets Euripides at Perikles’ symposium where he’s engaged in conversation with Aristophanes. The player then uses wine to get information out of him about the misthios' mother’s whereabouts.

Herodotos (Herodotus)

Herodotos talking in Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Herodotus is credited as being the first real historian. He was a writer and geographer who traveled the Greco-Persian world gathering stories for “The Histories,” which is now considered the first and most important historical chronicle of Ancient Greek life. In Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Herodotos accompanies the misthios on their adventures and documents their ordeals, which is a clever reference to his role as a real-world historian.

Hippokrates (Hippocrates)

Hippokrates talking to Kassandra in Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Known as the “Father of Medicine,” Hippocrates revolutionized Ancient Greek medicine and established it as being distinct from religion and philosophy for the first time. The “Hippocratic Oath” that new doctors swear is named after him.

Hippokrates is one of the most fascinating historical characters in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. To learn more about Hippocrates' life, watch the video here from the Berkley and Jefferson Medical Centers on YouTube:

In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey's story, the misthios helps Hippokrates in his endeavor to practice medicine in spite of resistance from the Priests of Asklepios. So, while his personality may not be exactly like how Hippocrates behaved in real life, it's a nice reference to his devotion to medicine.

Kleon (Cleon)

Kleon talking to Alexios in Assasin's Creed Odyssey

Cleon was an Athenian general during the Peloponnesian War who was known for his opposition to Pericles and his hatred of the nobility. After Pericles died, Cleon rose to power, and his aggressive policy against Sparta led to war and his demise. In this version of Assassin's Creed Odyssey's character, Kleon is a Sage of the Cult of Kosmos and the misthios kills him in battle. This means he isn't very historically accurate, despite having some similar characteristics.

Leonidas (Leonidas I)

Leonidas from AC Odyssey talking to his troops

Leonidas I was a king of Sparta who led the Greek forces (including the legendary 300 Spartans) to their last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae against the Persian army. In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the character Leonidas is the misthios's grandfather, and they carry his broken spear. His defiance against the Cult of Kosmos is why they target the misthios’ family.

AC Odyssey: Pausanias

Pausanias from AC Odyssey

In real life, Pausanias was a king of Sparta during the Peloponnesian War and the Corinthian War. Due to his poor leadership during the latter, he was deposed and condemned to death, though he escaped and lived in exile in Tegea for the rest of his life.

Related: How To Unlock Origins' Bayek In Assassin's Creed OdysseyPausanias in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a member of the Cult of Kosmos who tries to shift suspicion onto his co-ruler, Archidamos, but the misthios learns the truth and has him charged and dethroned - once again tampering with the historical accuracy behind this AC Odyssey character.

Perikles (Pericles)

Perikles at his symposium in Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Historically, Pericles is known for being the general of Athens during its golden age. His promotion of the arts and literature gained Athens the reputation for being the educational and cultural center of the Ancient Greek world. He’s also responsible for building the Parthenon.

To see the full story of how the Parthenon was built by this AC Odyssey character, watch the documentary below from Documentaries Collection on YouTube:

In Odyssey, the misthios attends a symposium at Perikles’ home in order to gather information about their mother, and later in the Assassin's Creed game, Perikles is murdered by Deimos for the Cult of Kosmos. This is quite a bit different from what actually happened to Pericles, who died from the plague rather than being killed by anyone.

Phidias

Phidias talking to Kassandra in Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Phidias was a sculptor (and close friend of Pericles) whose Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the character Phidias is targeted by the Cult of Kosmos because of his friendship with Perikles, and the misthios is tasked with helping him flee Athens. In actuality, records indicate that Phidias died while imprisoned.

Plato

Plato from AC Odyssey

Plato was an Athenian philosopher who founded the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Socrates was his teacher, and Aristotle was his student. In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the misthios meets him as a young boy named Aristokles who hates his name, and they encourage him to change it to Plato. This is likely just a subtle Assassin's Creed Easter egg for fans of Greek myth and history to find, more than any substantive take on the character in Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Polykleitos

Polykleitos from AC Odyssey

History mostly knows Polykleitos as the sculptor who authored the Canon of Polykleitos, a lost treatise setting out his mathematical basis for the idealized male body shape, but none of his original work survives. In Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Polykleitos is commissioned to sculpt a statue of the misthios, but his tools are stolen by bandits. He hires the misthios to recover these tools without realizing they're the Eagle Bearer and is delighted to meet them once he finds out.

Praxilla

Praxilla from AC Odyssey talking to the player

Praxilla was an Ancient Greek lyric poet who was well-regarded in her time, though very little of her work survives. In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Praxilla’s son hires the misthios to help him steal her lyre; later, Praxilla hires the misthios to help her recover it. Beyond the lyre being a reference to her being a poet, the similarities mostly end there.

Pythagoras

Pythagoras dies in Kassandra's arms in Aassassin's Creed Odyssey

Pythagoras was a philosopher who founded a secret school devoted to metaphysical teachings. Historically, Pythagoras is credited with many mathematical and scientific discoveries including the Pythagorean Theorem, but modern historians debate whether he made these discoveries himself or if they were simply attributed to him by his followers.

Interested in learning more about the history of Pythagoras outside of his relevance as a historical figure in Assassin's Creed Odyssey? Check out the YouTube video from DaCoding Math on the history of the Pythagorean Theorem below!

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In Odyssey, Pythagoras is revealed to be the misthios’s father. This is quite a big twist and also obviously deviates significantly from the real-world figure, and makes Pythagoras one of the least historically-accurate characters in Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Sokrates (Socrates)

Sokrates talks to a group of people in Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Socrates was a philosopher known for being one of the founders of Western ethical philosophy as well as Plato’s teacher. In Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the misthios first meets Sokrates at the ostracization of Anaxagoras, and then he repeatedly pops up throughout the game to debate philosophy with the player. It's a fun, clever nod to the real-world figure from Greek history.

Sophokles (Sophocles)

Sophokles from AC Odyssey talking to the player

Along with Euripides, Sophocles is one of the three Greek tragedy playwrights whose works have survived. For over fifty years he was one of the most famous and celebrated playwrights in Athens, and he wrote over 120 plays. In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the misthios meets Sophokles at Perikles’s symposium, where he’s hiding in the kitchen because of his conflict with Euripides and Aristophanes.

Thespis

Thespis from AC Odyssey

Thespis is credited with being the first person to ever appear on stage as an actor playing a character (rather than speaking as themselves). The word “thespian” is actually based on his name.

Related: How to Get the Stink Eye Achievement in Assassin's Creed Odyssey

In Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Thespis is involved in a plot to sabotage Kleon’s reputation, and later in the game portrays Leonidas in a play with the assistance of the misthios.

Xanthippe

Xanthippe from AC Odyssey talking to the player

Xanthippe was Socrates’ wife, and most of what is known about her is from the writings of Socrates’ students Plato and Xenophon. Both of them portray Xanthippe as a devoted wife and mother who nonetheless has an argumentative spirit that is praised by Socrates.

In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Xanthippe hires the misthios to rescue Sokrates in Phokis. Like nearly every game in the series, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey blends education and entertainment by giving players the opportunity to meet many historical and mythological figures - this time ones who shaped the Ancient Greek world.

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