The story of "Assassin's Creed: Odyssey" takes place in the ancient Greek period when the Assassin organization was not yet budding. At the beginning of the game, the player personally experienced the Battle of the Hot Springs of Leonidas, the King of Sparta. The Assassin's Creed series has always been closely related to history. Today, the editor will take you to see the historical introduction and plot analysis in "Assassin's Creed: Odyssey".
Hello everyone, the most popular player who has read the history of the Peloponnese War was extremely excited when playing this game, especially when he saw Pericle and Brasida. In order to let everyone better understand this world war that took place in the ancient Greek world, I will introduce to you the history of this stage. Due to the entire war process and its complexity, it is impossible to describe all events one by one. I will use the game plot as a clue to present this history. The time period in the game is the first stage of the war, known as the Aqui Dams (or Pericles) War 431bc-421bc. The first stage ends with the death of Kleon and Brasidas in the Battle of Amphipolis (the game restores history), and begins the second stage of Nikias peace period. In order to better understand the various events in the war, I will start from the beginning. Although it takes some effort, I think it is very necessary. Since my reading is mainly in English, I will try my best to translate and summarize it for you. Please forgive me if there are any omissions.
The Peloponnese War broke out between the great hegemony of the ancient Greek world. It was caused by the intensification of conflicts of interest between the two hegemonies, as well as the suspicion between each other and internal contradictions. The so-called civil war in Epidanas was triggered by the continuous escalation of the civil war between the two sides, which directly led to the regional conflicts turning into a full-scale war in the ancient Greek world.
Peloponneisan League led by Sparta
Sparta as an ancient city-state, its social structure is Helot Black Rox, Perioikoi free people, and Spartiate Sparta citizens.
The Blackrosh's status was between slaves and serfs, engaged in agricultural activities for Sparta and provided food. Its main population comes from residents of Mesenia, west of Sparta, who launched several wars to turn the population of the entire region into Black Rous in Sparta. The free people engaged in manufacturing and trade and served Sparta. Because these two groups of people undertake the main economic activities in Spartan society, all Spartan citizens are soldiers and have to engage in Spartan military training (Agoge) since childhood. All Spartan citizens need to undergo this kind of training. Thanks to this training, Sparta formed the most powerful infantry in the Greek world, Hoplite. This kind of training is only exception for two people, that is, the two kings of Sparta. In this Spartan society where all nations are martial, the Spartans understand very well that the qualities required by the king are notWith one to ten fighting qualities, we need to have strategic vision and be able to grasp the overall situation at any time. In the Spartan system, all newborns that do not meet the requirements will be abandoned. Ordinary Spartans must receive military training from the age of 7, enter the military camp to serve at the age of 20-30, and can get married, and become a complete citizen (equality homomios) at the age of 30, and can attend public banquets. Sparta's military service lasted until the age of 60.
Overall, the potential threat within this Spartan society is very huge. The Black Rous people have a population of 7 to 1, and the Black Rous people hate these Spartans who have turned them into slaves. Although Ger Sparta was highly militarized, Sparta was reluctant to launch a war on the outside because the population advantage of Black Rous was that Sparta had to give priority to this headache-inside problem. In order to consolidate this society, Sparta formed a Peloponnese alliance with other cities in the 6th century through different treaties. All the allies swore to obey Sparta's leadership, and Sparta used his own force to serve his allies.
There are three types of allies in Sparta. One is the city-state that is very close to Sparta, which is directly controlled by Sparta; the second type of city-state is slightly far away and has stronger strength, such as Megara, Elis, and Mantinea; the third type is the regional hegemonic city-state far away from Sparta, with only two Thebes, Corinth, and Corinth are also the only city-state in the entire league that has a certain number of naval forces. The status in the entire league can be imagined.
Sparta's political system is called the Mixed Constitution by modern scholars. The coexistence of the monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy.
The monarchy is a dual king system, and the two kings come from different families and check and balance each other. Functions are the army command and perform religious rituals and judicial rituals
The noble parliament gerousia, consisting of 28 Spartan citizens over 60 years old. These citizens come from privileged families in the city-state and also assume the functions of the Supreme Court (including the king, a total of 30 people)
Parlia apella, composed of ordinary Spartan citizens over the age of 30.
The most powerful ephos in the entire system are the five governors (inspectors) elected by the parliament annually, and cannot be re-elected. Their power includes major proposals such as receiving foreign envoys, treaty negotiations, and launching expeditionary forces. Moreover, they have the right to accuse the king of treason. Once the supervisor initiates a treason prosecution against the king, the parliament will pass the prosecution proposal, and the king will be immediately handed over to the noble parliament for trial.
The parliament can only be summoned by the superiors, and only the king, the nobles, and the governor have the right to speak. Voting is determined according to the sound size. If you can't tell the difference, then confirm by the number of people.
Sparta's prestige mainly comes from his powerful military aid to other allies, for the sake ofKeep Sparta's powerful military force and is willing to help Sparta solve the Black Rox problem when necessary. Once Sparta cannot support its allies, it is easy for Sparta to fall into a crisis of betrayal.
Athens and his Delian League
A alliance formed by Athens and other Aegean city-states in defense of possible future reinvasions of the Persian Empire.
Atthean city-state was composed of many exiled people at the beginning. Since Attica, where Attica, was too barren and backward, many wars of conquest were too lazy to fight this place. In such a stable environment, Athens gradually developed and established a direct democratic regime. Athens has a large population but only one-tenth of the population has Athenian citizenship to participate in the parliament. And these 30,000 people were divided into four classes. The first class pentacosiomedimni, an elite class who can produce 500 units of grain (cargo), can assume public office; the second class Hippeis cavalry aristocrats, can provide cavalry aristocrats, can assume public office; the third class Zeugitae middle class/self-cultivation farmers, provides heavy infantry hoplite classes for the city-state, has no political status before the military reform, and can assume public office after the reform; the fourth class is thetes, low-asset/working class, can provide naval officers for the city-state, and cannot hold public office as early as the middle class. With the implementation of the Athenian naval strategy, after the reform of Pericre, he could also assume public office.
Athens' highest institution is a 500-member parliament (400 at the earliest) directing the referendum, and the minority obeys the majority in decision-making. Decision-making generally includes war, military maintenance, budget, commander appointment and removal, war and diplomatic strategies, etc. There is a chance of no less than 40 times a year, and the size of the parliament has expanded to several thousand people during the war. The location is Pnyx, Mount Pnyx.
Athens' military organization is the ten generals, elected and one-year term, can be re-elected and ready to be held accountable by parliament at any time.
If a political strongman with particularly high prestige is produced in the entire system, I wonder if the parliament will exile that person with the method of Ostracisim to protect the Athenian democratic system. Bellikri's ex-Simon Cimon was exiled
The alliance was first established to fight against the Persian Empire, but when the Persian Empire was no longer a threat, the alliance gradually developed into a marine empire centered on Athens. With the silver mines and tributes handed over by allies, and under the guidance of Dimisticri's naval strategy, Athens established a powerful naval force with a number of 300 warships before the outbreak of the war. With this powerful navy, Athens continued to interfere in the internal affairs of allies and forcibly dispatched immigrants and garrisons to other disobedient city-states. These measures have led to dissatisfaction and hatred among many Aegean coastal city-states. How many city-states are there in Sui Tan, AegeanA certain naval strength (Lesbos and Chios), but in the face of Athens' terrifying naval strength, there is no courage to face such a maritime hegemony.
The fuse of the war, the civil war of Epidamnus
436bc, Civil war broke out in Epidanas (top left corner in the picture), and the nobles in the city were expelled. In order to counterattack the local Illyrians, the democratic factions in the city called for help from Kekira (the former colony of Corinth), Corcyra, but Kekira, who pursues isolationism, refused to send troops. Epidanus finally decided to ask Corinth for help directly, and Corinth agreed to send troops.
Corlins always wanted to establish his own sphere of influence in the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, which inevitably led to a conflict of interest with Kekira at that time. At that time, Kekira was another regional overlord, and his naval strength was second only to Athens, with more than 100 warships. Due to the civil war in a small city, friction between large amounts of regional hegemony was directly caused. Collins wanted to take this opportunity to formally intervene in regional affairs in the northwest.
Kerkira could no longer maintain isolationism until Corinth sent troops, otherwise the regional situation would become uncontrollable after Corinth gained a foothold in the local area. Kekira directly issued an ultimatum to the democratic delegation in the city: recall the nobles, disband the defenders, and repatriate the reinforcements of Corinth. Epidanas was unable to agree to this request, so Kekira deployed 40 warships and the nobles on the road to siege the city.
After knowing that Kekira joined the war, Corinth immediately began to mobilize his allies to support his actions in Epidanas. Among them, Thebes and Meccara participated in the operation, and Sparta did not support it. Kekira underestimated Corinth's strength and immediately invited the Spartan envoy to negotiate with Corinth. In Sparta, this expressed his willingness to resolve the incident peacefully, and Kerkira expressed his willingness to accept third-party arbitration, and could also go to the Delphi Metaphor to accept arbitration. Kekira wanted to use Spartan prestige to control Corinth, and he was also ready to consider forming an alliance with Athens when negotiations failed.
Collins did not make it clear that if Kekira withdraws, their proposal would be considered. Kekira refused, and then Corinth declared war directly on Kekira, sent 75 warships and 2,000 infantry soldiers to expedition to Epidanas. Kekira dispatched 80 warships to intercept and defeat the Corinthian army at Leucimne, and Epidanus surrendered. After his defeat, Corinth established a larger force and prepared to return to Epidanas. In desperation, Kekira could only think of Athens to propose an alliance. Until once the two sides formed an alliance, his entire strategy would be wasted, and he also ruled out the messenger to go to Athens, hoping to stop the alliance.
Athens Negotiation
Kerkira was worried that Athens would offend Corinth for a remote city-state that had no contact with him, and even had conflicts with the entire Peloponnese alliance behind Corinth. KekiraThe 30-year peace treaty signed by Sparta and Athens made a fuss, saying that the treaty did not stipulate that alliances with neutral city-states were not allowed. Athens considers that if Kekira and the Athenian Navy merge, it would be like a bonus for Athens, but the risk is that a full-scale war could break out with Sparta.
Kerkira saw Athens' worries and said bluntly that the war between Athens and Sparta was inevitable. If Kerkira was defeated by Corinth, the navy would be incorporated by the Peloponnese Alliance, and Athens' maritime overlordship would be in danger. If the unification alliance is unified, the maritime hegemony in Athens will be further consolidated.
Corlins saw this and said that Kekira was now in a state of war with Corinth, so Kekira did not meet the conditions of a neutral city-state. Corinth directly warned that if Athens insisted on his own, we would become enemies.
Athen understood that the Kekira Navy had a crucial impact on the comparison of naval strength between the two alliances, and Athens had to hold many trips to decide on the next action. Athens made a moderate decision and formed a defensive alliance with Kekira Epimachia. A small fleet of 10 warships was sent, a small fleet that could not have any impact on the battle situation. The fleet commander was a cavalryman, and the general's father had a Spartan background, and he had no experience in naval combat. And Athens gave him the order to maintain minimal intervention and not to fight unless Corinth attacks. The battlefield changes rapidly, and being too cautious will miss the opportunity to intervene; being too proactive will lead to misunderstandings in Corinth's attitude towards Athens. Athens means giving both sides a face and hoping that they will resolve the issue peacefully.
Corlins had previous defeats. With the assistance of Ellis and Meggara, an expeditionary force composed of 150 warships was organized to attack Kekira. Both sides encountered in Sybota. Kekira ruled out 110 warships to fight, Kekira was defeated, and the participating fleet withdraws the port and merges the Athenian fleet to re-establish a defense line. The Corinthian Navy took advantage of the victory and was about to launch a general attack. However, at this time, another Athenian fleet appeared in the distance. In fact, the parliament believed that the scale of the intervention fleet was insufficient and decided to send 20 warships to support it. But Collins mistakenly thought it was the main force of the Athenian Navy and began to retreat. Kekira, who received reinforcements, wanted the Corinthian Navy to declare war, but Corinth refused to go to war.
Until this time, Athens' minimum intervention policy completely failed. Collins believed that if he wanted to win the war, he had to get Sparta into the war. Athens also realized that the war between Athens and Corinth was inevitable, and the possibility of the Peloponnese alliance joining the war was increasing. Athens immediately began preparations for war.
There are many member states within the Tyro Alliance that are closely related to Corinth. In order to prevent possible rebellion, Athens ordered Potidaea to immediately disarm, demolish the city walls, and send some people to Athens as hostages. This city-state is a colonial city-state of Corinth and a member of the Tyro Alliance, and the possibility of rebellion is also the greatest. Then Athens went to MeccaraThe Trade Injunction Act was implemented to punish Meghara for blatant support for the Corinthian war against Kekira despite opposition from Sparta and Athens. Athens passed this bill to deter other city-states and also expressed his attitude to Sparta. Since this city-state did not obey Sparta's restrained attitude, Athens believed that it would not be too sensitive to punish Meccara Sparta. Pericley and Spartan King Akidams were also very good friends in private. Akidams also maintained a restrained attitude in this incident to avoid the escalation of the incident. Pericley also knew very well what his old friend was thinking. He guessed Aki Dams, but did not guess the existence of other forces.
Putidia, at the instigation of Corinth, asked Sparta for help. The Spartan governor privately decided on the resolution to aid Portidia. Corinth also sent troops to Potidia in the form of mercenaries without violating the peace treaty. When Athens saw that the situation was wrong, he immediately joined forces with Macedonia to siege Portidia.
Corlins saw Portidia being besieged and Meghala was imposed on a trade ban. Corinth united all the city-states dissatisfied with Athens' hegemony policy to put pressure on Sparta, attempting to force Sparta and Athens to go to war.
Megala first complained to Sparta, saying that Sparta's current attitude could not curb Athens' expansion pace at all. If he did not take action now, there would be no chance in the future. Some other city-states continued to echo the demands of Sparta to join the war. When Sparta faced Black Rox's population advantage, he needed to use the power of his allies to maintain the situation. If a satisfactory reply is not given, these allies are likely to deviate from Spartan's leadership.
Pericley realizes that Sparta is facing pressure from its allies, and Pericley shows that all Athens acts only for self-protection, and that Athens will impose sanctions on city-states that advocate war. This shows that Athens hopes for peace, and it also shows that Athens is strong and not afraid of any threats.
At Aqui Dams, the parliament believed that defeating Athens only required a short-term war, the army drove to Athens, forced the Athenian army to leave the city to fight to the decisive battle, and then the war ended. Akidams said a short-term war was not enough to solve Athens, and he said three points. 1. The walls of Athens can withstand long-term sieges, 2. Athens has a continuous and stable income to maintain this protracted war, 3. Athens' navy is much higher in quality and quantity than the Peloponnese Navy. It can be said to be Athens' ace and is Athens' strategic advantage. Eventually he proposed that Sparta would prepare for war and mobilize, and seek help from Persia when necessary.
Aqui Dams' proposal was not accepted. Collins was no longer satisfied with defeating Kekira. Many city-states wanted to take this opportunity to directly disintegrate the Tirlo Alliance in Athens. Finally, after the vote, Sparta agreed to declare war on Athens.
The Spartan messenger entered Athens in late August for further negotiations, forcing him to make concessions by turning over Pericles' old accounts. Pericley said that since Sparta declared war on Athens, there was no need to talk again. He also pointed out that Sparta onceHei Luoshi, who was seeking asylum in the temple without authorization, called for Greek freedom while controlling other city-states. Sparta made a demand to abolish the trade embargo in Mecca. Many Athenians heard this and discussed whether it was wise to Athens to start a war with Sparta for Meccara. Sparta's attitude was still making the greatest concessions to avoid the outbreak of war, and Sparta was even ready to give up Corinth and exchange for peace. Pericley was determined and said that this problem was only solved through arbitration. He also proposed that the decree had been carved on the stone slab and hung it, and Athenian law prohibited the private removal of the stone slab. The Spartan messenger said we didn't ask you to take down the slab, just turn it over. Pericley thinks it's unreasonable.
Sparta saw this and immediately made a tougher proposal, requiring Athens to give all city-states freedom, which meant the disintegration of the Athenian Empire. At this time, the parliament had been divided into two factions, and the hardliners refused to make concessions, and the peacemakers believed that the decree should be revoked. No matter what the outcome, Athens will suffer an inevitable blow. If you agree, it proves that Athens does oppress allies, which is definitely a serious blow to Athens' prestige; if Sparta compromises again, it is equivalent to recognizing the rationality of the Athenian Empire in disguise, which is obviously impossible, so the result of rejection is war.
At the same time, many people wonder why Sparta and Athens were so troubled by such a trivial matter. Berlekri's attitude was still tough and showed to the parliament that Sparta was interfering in Athens' internal affairs. If he compromised at this time, there would be more compromises in the future.
Sparta actually faces a dilemma. The strategic significance of Collins and Meggara is equally important. Corinth provided the alliance's navy. If Sparta preserved Meggara, Corinth would have the possibility of leaving the alliance, and Sparta could not even get a fleet of existence. On the contrary, if Sparta preserves Corinth and gives up Meccara. Then Sparta will lose the only land passage to Athens. The Meghala area is mountainous and only a few passages can enter and exit, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. The loss of Meghara means that Spartan's army will be completely locked in the peninsula, and the army that has been unable to make an expedition has no meaning.
In the end, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement and the war broke out in full swing.
Sparta's Strategy and Its Objectives
Sparta has three goals. Athenian walls, ally of Athens, Athenian navy. The walls provided strong defense for Athens, and the allies provided continuous financial support for Athens, while the Navy maintained Athens' maritime hegemony.
Sparta's strategy was to gather a huge army of itself and its allies to take the city of Athens. By constantly plundering around the Athenian region, forced the Athenian Army to leave the city and fight the Spartan Army to a decisive battle, the Spartan Army then took advantage of the army's advantages, especially the Spartan heavy infantry, which was the best in the world, to achieve absolute victory; or force Athenian surrender through long-term siege. However, Aki Dams realized that this set of legendsThe unified strategy is ineffective in Athens. The walls of Athens completely offset Spartan's army advantage. Instead, Athens' maritime hegemony ensured that Athens could continuously obtain supplies from the sea when they were besieged. If you want to create chaos within the Athenian Empire, you will definitely need a navy. But Sparta did not have enough financial resources at all, and the manpower would form a fleet that could defeat the Athenian Navy in the short term. In the early days of the war, Sparta had only 100 warships, and Sparta could not even get all the naval personnel who could operate these warships.
Athen's Strategy and Its Objectives
In terms of the army, Athens only has less than 30,000 heavy infantry. The first time Ersbad invaded Attica area, the army had reached 60,000. Athens has no chance of winning in the army. Athens could only rely on the city walls to restrain the Spartan Army's actions. The walls of Athens not only protected the city of Athens, but also protected the port of Piraeus with the walls. What's even better is that Athens also connected the port and the main city of Athens with a wall! That is to say, as long as the absolute sea control is guaranteed, Athens can continuously transport grain back to the Port of Piraeus in Athens by sea, and then transport grain back to the main city of Athens through the wall. In theory, Athens can withstand an indefinite siege.
Athens' advantage is his navy. At least 300 warships can be operated in the Athenian harbor, and in addition there are a large amount of land reserve resources to supplement the fleet size. Athenian allies Lesbos, Chios and Kekira can also provide an additional nearly 100 warships. In addition to the advantage of the number of warships, the crew quality of the Athenian Navy is also top-notch.
Implementing such a naval strategy requires huge financial support. Athens' income in that year was 1,000 tarantes (400 is internal income and 600 is tribute to allies)
1 Tarent = 6000 Drachmae Drachmae 1 Drachmae is a skilled craftsman who pays a day in the peak season.
At the beginning of the war, the fiscal reserves of Athens were 6,000 tarantes in the treasury, 500 tarantes that had not yet been minted into currency, and 40 gold ornaments on statues in the city. Compared with Athens, Sparta's finances can be described as poor, so Sparta has always pursued austerity policies in terms of finances.
How long can the Athenian finance last for war completely depends on Sparta's will to war. They believe that the Spartan offensive can last for at most a month.
In the first year of the war in Athens, 100 warships were deployed to attack the Peloponnese Peninsula, 70 warships assisted in the siege of Portidia, and 30 defended Euboea (Athen transferred livestock to this island). A total of 200 warships were in operation. The Navy's maintenance fee this year was 1,600 Tarent (eight months out of the sea). The 3,000 army that besieged Potidia for a year was 420 tarante (the infantry paid 1 drachma per day, and the servants also needed a wage of about 1 drachma). After the overall calculation, AthensThe annual war funds expenditure exceeded 2,000 Tarent.
Pericley believes that after removing 1,000 Tarent City-State emergency funds and tributes from allies, there are a total of 6,800 Tarents to maintain the war for three years. Therefore, Pericre's strategy is to use the navy to attack everywhere and constantly plunder and raid the coastal areas of the Peloponnese Peninsula, constantly weakening Sparta's war potential and will to resist, and force Sparta to seek peace when Sparta could not maintain the war. Pericley believes that three years are enough to make Sparta recognize the situation. Then ask for peace from Athens.
The birthplace of the protagonist of the game, Kefalonia, and Zacynthus Island, which is not presented in the West Game, are the key occupation targets of the Athenian Navy. Kefalonia is an important base for blocking the Gulf of Corinth. A type of tar produced by Zakynthos can be applied to warships, preventing seawater erosion and reducing maintenance costs. When the player enters Athens City, you can see Pericle and Cleon who are speaking on Pnyx Hill. Kleon believes that Bellicille's strategy is too negative, and it is shameful to avoid war in this way. Pericley made it clear that although this strategy was negative, it could win the war.
Many Athenians also believe that Sparta would not enter the Attica area many times to rob for too long. But in order to force Athens to seek peace, Sparta's army has been carrying out sabotage operations under the eyes of the Athenians. Athenians who took refuge in the city saw their private property destroyed by the Spartan army. It seems that all the anger was poured on Pericley. And Creon is taking advantage of this opportunity to continuously put pressure on Pericle in an attempt to seize the right to speak in Athenian politics.
On the surface, this is just a controversy in response strategy, but in fact it is a long-term confrontation between the large planter class represented by Pericle and the emerging bourgeoisie (trade, manufacturing) class represented by Clyon. Pericles' ancestors were related to the founders of the city of Athens, and these traditional aristocrats who controlled Athenian politics were the aristocratic class engaged in agriculture. Morally, they believe that only by getting rich through agriculture is the most legitimate profession, so these traditional aristocrats morally look down on these emerging rich classes who have accumulated wealth through manufacturing and trade. So Creon wanted to do everything possible to defeat Pericle in politics. Fortunately, Pericle's political network is spread across all important departments of Athens, and his speeches are extremely eloquent. With the strong support of the generals and other aides, although Pericley's position was constantly attacked by political enemies, his leadership position was still unshakable.
Although Pericre's strategy was successfully implemented at this time, the strategic effect did not meet expectations. The battle to siege Potidia is still going on, and it has cost 2,000 tarantes, far exceeding the original idea. The Athenian navy's looting of the peninsula coast angered the enemy, and many city-states demanded that Sparta continue the war. Athens' coastal combat effectiveness is very little.The army of Athens could not penetrate deep into the heart of Spartan's palace. Once the army went deeper alone, it would be destroyed by Spartan with its superior forces. The plunder of coastal areas did not hit Sparta's core territory, and Sparta had long implemented frugal finances, so it was a habit of living a poor life, so it didn't matter.
More serious, a plague broke out in Athens, where nearly one-third of the population died. The strategic effect is not obvious, negative resistance to land operations, plagues are rampant, farmland outside the city is destroyed, and war funds reserves are consumed too quickly. The anger of the Athenian people was once again ignited. This time, Periclekli's political enemies were prosecuted for taking bribes. Periclekli, who should have been sentenced to death, was punished by his staff to pay a heavy fine, but Periclekli was temporarily expelled from the Athenian political stage. During his time away, his supporters struggled to maintain the strategy of Pericre until he was elected to lead Athens. But when he led Athens again, his life was not easy. He was still criticized by the Athenian people and was constantly attacked by political enemies. The plague in Athens also infected Pericle and his family, both of his sons died of the plague. Eventually, Pericle begged before his death to parliament to grant citizenship to his surviving son Periclele Jr. Pericre's wife is from Miletus, and it is Aspasia, who is set as the leader of the Order Order Order Order in the game! Because she is not an Athenian, their son should not obtain Athenian citizenship (only the requirement for Athenian citizenship is that parents must be both Athenian, and this law was promulgated by Pericre 20 years ago). But Pericley's request was approved by the Council. 429BC, Peric of Athens passed away due to the plague. (It is set to be killed by deimos in the game)
