Alexios () and Kassandra () 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. Leonidas Castrounis and Maria Syrgiannis respectively voice the two characters as children in flashbacks.
Within the series' alternate historical setting, the 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 as part of a simulation played by another in-game character, 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 and one of the game's primary antagonists.
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 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 Odysseys novelization and later reconfirmed in Odysseys 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, the Eagle Bearer is a departure from series tradition as they have no direct ties to the Assassin Brotherhood or any related organization.
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. 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. 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. 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". 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". 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. 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.
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".
Portrayal Actors Michael Antonakos and Melissanthi Mahut, who portray Alexios and Kassandra respectively, are of Greek heritage. 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. 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.
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.
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. Antonakos described Alexios as a "boisterous Bruce Wayne with a Greek accent" who resembles an "explosive Wolverine" when he is angry. 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". 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".
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. 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. 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. 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.
Appearances
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Kassandra is the protagonist of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, in which her life and exploits in Classical Greece are explored by Layla Hassan, who uses her Animus device to relive Kassandra's genetic memories via a DNA sample recovered from the broken Spear of Leonidas. Within series lore, Kassandra was born in Sparta in 458 BC and was initially raised by her mother Myrrine and stepfather Nikolaos. When Kassandra is seven, her infant brother Alexios is sentenced to death in deference to an oracle's prophecy which said he could potentially doom Sparta. While trying stop a Spartan elder from dropping Alexios off Mount Taygetos, Kassandra accidentally pushes the elder to his death and is branded a traitor by the Spartan leadership, who compel Nikolaos to cast her down as well. Surviving the fall, Kassandra escapes from Sparta and makes her way to the island of Kephallonia, where she is taken in by a con man named Markos. Under Markos' care, Kassandra would grow up to become a skilled mercenary, renowned as "the Eagle Bearer."