Xena


 * This article is about the character. For other uses, see Xena (Disambiguation).

"When she puts her mind to killing someone, they generally get killed."

- Ares, "Sacrifice I" Xena of Amphipolis, the Warrior Princess, Slayer of Gods and Defender of the Elijans, previously Destroyer of Nations, was the main character of Xena: Warrior Princess and recurring character on. As a warlord, she was at the head of one of the most ruthless and destructive armies that the World had ever seen. With her lover Borias, she travelled to numerous countries making her name known and feared, notably Chin, Siberia, Jappa and later (after Borias' death) Norway, Britannia and Greece. After being redeemed by Hercules, she attempted to walk a path of redemption. With her friend Gabrielle, she became renowned as one of the greatest heroes of that time, travelling to new places, such as India and Egypt and fighting for the Greater Good.

When Xena was in her late teens to early twenties, her village was raided by the warlord Cortese. She organised a small band of men, consisting of simple villagers and her two brothers, Toris and Lyceus - against their mother's wishes. In the battle, Lyceus was killed and so she was ostracised from Amphipolis and forbidden to return. This shaped her into a violent and merciless warlord. She travelled around the World; mainly to Chin, Jappa and Siberia with lover Borias. Xena gave birth to her son (by Borias), Solan, in the middle of one of the greatest battles of the age - The Battle of Corinth, between Borias and herself and the Centaurs. This battle led to Borias' untimely death, moments after the birth of his son. Xena claimed that giving birth to Solan was one of her turning points, along with meeting Hercules and Gabrielle.

After being set on a path of redemption by Hercules, she travelled with her close friend Gabrielle, fighting for the Greater Good. Her final demise was deemed necessary to complete her quest for redemption. During her journey to Jappa with Borias, years before meeting Hercules, she inadvertantly (and unknowingly) caused the death of the 40,000 people of Higuchi, a large village in Jappa. These souls were captured by Yodoshi and were rendered unable to cross over to the other side. Xena had to die to fight Yodoshi and then stay dead to protect the souls from being condemned once again.

She was played by Lucy Lawless.

Her Many Skills
Xena performed many feats that were considered outside the normal human range and bordered on that of a demigoddess. She had the ability to absorb a great deal of pain dispassionately, such as when arrows were removed. Xena honed her body to peak human condition. Combined with her iron will, she became the only warrior to survive the ordeal of the Gauntlet, where she was forced to run without armor or weapons between two lines of soldiers, who beat her with clubs.

While technically Xena did not possess godly powers, she had a leaping ability demonstrated by other warriors of a high skill level, notably M'Lila, Callisto and Draco. Xena told to Hanuman that she learned to jump from the Amazons (The Way). Xena performed gravity-defying leaps usually in an acrobatic style up to 30 feet. Xena lept straight up from moat water to the top of a high castle wall and somersaulted from her position on the ground to the top of a tall tree where an archer was ambushing her group with arrows. Xena commonly ran up a ruffian's torso, performed a backflip, and kicked him while still in mid-air. On rare occasions, she actually ran on the faces of a surrounding squad of soldiers.

Xena possessed incredible speed and reflexes. She was able to catch knives and arrows in midflight and dodge energy blasts from mystical foes. She was able to routinely catch her chakram, a skill only Callisto, Eve and Gabrielle (fully-trained by the end of the series) were able to duplicate.

Fighting Style
Xena could convert virtually any object into a weapon, from swords, to chobos, to scarfs, pans, and fish. In terms of weaponry Xena usually carries her sword, chakram, a breast dagger kept in her bosom armor, and a whip. Xena was a master of martial arts. Observing her fighting style, Xena has been shown to use different styles, ranging from Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, Ju-Jitsu, judo, kung-fu, boxing, and multiple sword-fighting styles, fusing them into a virtually unbeatable fighting style. Xena's incredible fighting prowess made her a match for foes who were otherwise physically superior to her, such as gods, demigods, archangels, and demons. She was able to go toe-to-toe with Ares, Athena and even Mephistopheles and Lucifer when they reigned as the King of Hell.

Early Life
The only daughter of the tavernkeeper, Cyrene, Xena grew up in Amphipolis with her two brothers. Her father, Orestes, was believed to have left her family when she was a child, but it was subsequently revealed that he was, in fact, killed by Cyrene when he tried to kill seven-year-old Xena as a sacrifice to Ares.

During her mid to late teens, the warlord Cortese attacked the village, which prompted some villagers, including Xena's older brother, Toris, to run for the hills. However, Xena and her younger brother Lyceus convinced the remainder of their fellow villagers to stay and fight. Although Amphipolis was saved, Lyceus and many other villagers were killed in the battle, which formed a rift between Cyrene and her daughter and caused Xena to be ostracized by the town.

Adolesence and M'lila
The death of her beloved younger brother Lyceus lead Xena to leave Amphipolis and begin to build her own army, with her ultimate goal being to take revenge on Cortese. She crossed the seas early on as a pirate, meeting Julius Caesar and a young Gaelic slave-stowaway, M'Lila, who would both profoundly affect the destiny of the Warrior Princess. While onboard Xena's ship, M'Lila taught her several fighting techniques as well as instructing her in the use of pressure points, including what became her signature "pinch" maneuver.

Xena took Caesar as a hostage, and was naively swayed by the young officer to join forces, after beginning an affair with him. She ransomed him back to Rome as they had planned only to have him come back with his own men and capture her ship. He had her and her men crucified on a nearby beach, watching as his orders to break her legs were carried out.

M'Lila rescued her from the cross and took Xena to a healer named Niklio. They were found by two Roman soldiers, who killed the Gaelic woman as she jumped in front of an arrow meant for Xena. After M'Lila died in her arms, Xena fully embraced her dark side and fought the soldiers, killing them (despite her broken legs).

Chin, Lao Ma and 'The Warrior Princess'
After surviving Caesar's betrayal, a crippled and rage-filled Xena went East where she teamed up with the warlord Borias who left his wife and son to become her lover. The two terrorized Chin with their joint forces until Xena angered Borias by alienating the powerful Chinese families Ming and Lao. Without his knowledge, Xena kidnapped Ming Tzu's son, Ming T'ien, for ransom. With Borias' help, Ming Tzu captured Xena, intending to kill her for sport. Xena was saved from certain death by Ming T'ien's mother, Lao Ma, a woman of great spiritual power. During their time together, Lao Ma healed Xena's legs and gave her the title of "Warrior Princess". Under Lao Ma's tutelage, Xena briefly left some of her darkness behind until Borias re-entered her life. A rift formed between Xena and Lao Ma when she murdered Ming Tzu, and suggested that they also kill Ming T'ien. With Lao Ma now their enemy, Xena and Borias were forced to leave Chin.

Akemi and Jappa
They went further east to Jappa (Japan), where they kidnapped a girl named Akemi for ransom. Xena ended up befriending Akemi, who got Xena to teach her one of her signature techniques, "the pinch", which cut off the flow of blood to a person's brain, resulting in death. Akemi then used the pinch to kill her abusive and tyrannical father, Yodoshi, and killed herself. A drunk and grieving Xena tried to put Akemi's ashes in her family crypt, but was set upon by a mob of villagers who felt she was desecrating the crypt by putting the ashes of a patricide in it. Defending herself, Xena used a fire-breathing trick she had mastered. The result was a fire that spread through the town and killed 40,000 people.

Alti and 'The Destroyer of Nations'
Back in northern lands (possibly Siberia), Xena and Borias met a shaman, Alti, who lured Xena toward greater evil with promises that she would become the Destroyer of Nations. She was also befriended by the Amazon queen Cyane, who tried to steer her toward good; but Xena chose Alti's promise of power, and killed Cyane and the Amazon elders at her instigation.

The Centaurs and Solan
By then pregnant with Borias' child, she set out to conquer Corinth. Borias was increasingly troubled by the excesses of her violence, but could do little to stop her: by then they had split their armies, and Xena's was the bigger of the two. At Corinth, they became mortal enemies after he stopped her from slaughtering the Centaurs with whom he had tried to negotiate an agreement. With Xena about to give birth, Borias tried to get her out of her camp in the hope of rescuing their relationship. He was killed by one of her lieutenants, Dagnine; but the realization that Borias came back for her because he loved her and their unborn child had a strong effect on Xena. It was enough to make her decide to give up her newborn baby to the centaurs, so that he would be raised in safety and away from her dangerous influence.

Odin and the Valkyrie
At some point, Xena also travelled to the Norselands, where she spent some time as one of Odin's Valkyrie and unsuccessfully tried to obtain supreme power by stealing the Rheingold. It is unclear whether this happened between her stay in Jappa and her meeting with Alti, or at some point after the death of Borias.

During the largely undocumented period immediately prior to her first appearance in the Hercules series, Xena first obtained her signature weapon, the Chakram of Darkness. It was apparently given to her by Ares, the God of War. Having apparently lost her army at Corinth, she built a new one which cut a path of plunder and conquest through Greece.

Hercules, Gabrielle and Redemption
About ten years after becoming evil, Xena met Hercules. Initially she set out to kill him. Then, her army turned against her after she stopped her lieutenant Darphus from killing a child in a sacked village. She ran a gauntlet but survived, being the only person to ever survive the Gauntlet. She then fought Hercules, in the hope that she would get her army back if she could bring back his head. Xena seemed to be getting the upper hand until Hercules' nephew intervened, giving him the moment to regain composure and defeat her. However, Hercules refused to kill Xena, telling her that "killing isn't the only way of proving you're a warrior." She eventually joined him to defeat her old army.

Xena then set out to redeem herself by starting to protect those who couldn't defend themselves. On her new path, she met a village girl named Gabrielle (later known as the Battling Bard of Potideia), who became her traveling companion and friend. At some point in her journeys, Xena ran into Ares, the God of War, who had known her from when she was a warlord and was always obsessed with winning her affections, but was more usually her adversary.

Everything Until Her Death in Jappa
Xena's subsequent life was marred by many tragedies. Her son Solan, who never got to know her as his mother, died at the hands of Gabrielle's demon child Hope with the help of Callisto, a woman warrior who was obsessed with revenge against Xena because Xena had destroyed her village and her family when she was still evil. She nearly lost Gabrielle more than once, and she and Gabrielle were crucified by the Romans on the Ides of March -- the day of Caesar's death -- but later revived by a mystic named Eli with the spiritual aid of Callisto, who by that time had become an angel. Eve, the miracle child Xena conceived after her resurrection (again through the efforts of the redeemed Callisto), was prophesied to bring about the Twilight of the Olympian gods. To escape the gods' persecution, Xena and Gabrielle tried to fake their deaths. Their plan went awry when Ares buried them in an ice cave where they slept for 25 years. During that time, Eve -- adopted by the Roman nobleman Octavius -- grew up to become Livia, the Champion of Rome, and a ruthless persecutor of Eli's followers. After her return, Xena was able to turn Livia to repentance, and she became the Messenger of Eli. After Eve's cleansing by baptism, Xena was granted the power to kill gods as long as her daughter lived. In a final confrontation, the Twilight came to pass when Xena killed most of the gods to save her daughter, and was herself saved by Ares when he gave up his immortality to heal the badly injured and dying Eve and Gabrielle. Xena later helped him regain his godhood.

Xena's quest for redemption ended when she sacrificed her life to right the wrong she had committed many years ago in Japan. Her spirit, however, still very much appears to be with Gabrielle. According to the darsham, Naima, this is only one of many lives Xena will live throughout the ages, but they all have one thing in common: whatever life awaits her next, it will be spent furthering the cause of good against evil.

Cyrene
Xena's mother blamed her for the death of her youngest child (and Xena's brother), Lyceus, as it was her that taught him to fight and asked him to take part in defending their village against the warlord Cortese. This caused a major rift between Xena and her mother, leading to her complete exile from the village.

After she met Hercules and began to fight for the greater good, she returned home to try and reconcile with her. reluctant at first, Cyrene rejected her daughter. The warlord Draco (coincidentally Xena's ex-lover) was planning to attack and raid the village. Xena took advantage of the moment and attempted to fight Draco to the death. Seeing with her own eyes that Xena had changed for good, Cyrene made up with her daughter and forgave her for Lyceus's death.

Later, The Furies drove Xena to madness and put multiple bounties on her head, due to Ares' medling. They would stop this if Xena avenged the death of her father, but it is revealed that it is Cyrene that killed him. She says that he'd came home from the temple of Ares, drunk, and said that he was going to sacrifice Xena to him. He became violent and in her panic, she grabbed an axe and murdered him. Xena managed to trick the Furies into thinking that Ares himself is her father. Once saved, this prompted Cyrene to explain to Xena about her father. Cyrene began to get emotional and Xena comforted her, showing that they had put the past behind them and began to blossom a strong relationship.

Lyceus
Xena and her beloved brother seemed to be inseperable when they were younger; from mentions and the way their relationship was portrayed in "Remember Nothing", they were very close. They seemed to set themselves challenges, as shown in "Fins, Femmes and Gems", where they were both trying to catch Solaris, the biggest fish in the entire lake.

Lyceuses death, at the hands of the men of Cortese, caused a major rift between Cyrene and Xena. Cyrene claimed that he was the only thing she had left. His death was the catalyst of Xena's isolation from Amphipolis and eventually becoming the Destroyer of Nations. Not only did his death cause Xena and Cyrene to fall out, but also Xena and their older brother Toris to do so. They made up during the events of "Death Mask", which depicted Xena convincing him not to kill Cortese.

Solan
Xena's only son, Solan never knew either of his parents. He was born in the middle of the Battle of Corinth, of which had Xena and his father, Borias, fighting eachother, as Borias had sided with the Centaurs. Borias's death led to Xena giving Solan up to the Centaurs to be raised away from the blood and violence.

When Xena first meets her 10-year-old son, he has no clue that she is his mother. He feels a great amount of resentment to her, as he beleives that Xena killed his father. He was always trying to get the upper hand on her and hurt her. He was then captured by Dagnine and rescued by Xena. When he broke his arm during his rescue, he allowed Xena to treat it, the first turning point in their relationship. They had a talk about Borias and Xena explained to him that before he died, he was good man and without him, the Centaur nation would have died out many years ago. Solan then discovers that it was infact Dagnine that killed his father, causing Solan to apologize to Xena for trying to hurt her.

When his protector and acting gaurdian, Kaleipus died, he says that he wants to live with someonde tha he cares about - Xena. Still not in the knowledge that she is his mother, she accepts. Moments later, Gabrielle's evil daughter Hope (under the orders of Callisto) kills Solan and causes a rift between Xena and Gabrielle. He restores their friendship by taking them through the mystical land of Illusia. He then tells his mother that he loves her and the two embrace.

Xena then discovers that he did not crossover to the other side, so Xena takes it upon herself to take him to the Elisian Fields. He becomes envious of her unborn child, claiming that she doesn't love him anymore because she has a new baby. But Xena convinces him otherwise and it is him who names her Eve.

Eve
Eve was Xena's second child and the second child to grow up without her mother. She was hunted relentlessly by the Olympian Gods, due to a prophecy that her birth would cause them to cease to exist. Xena gained an instant maternal instinct to the child (as any mother would), and protected her against the Gods. It drove her to faking their deaths, to stop trick the Gods into thinking the prophecy had been shattered. Ares (also beleiving that Xena was dead) took her to an ice tomb and preserved her for 25 years.

When she and Gabrielle awake form this "sleep", they discover that Eve is now "Livia", a ruthless Roman General, who is set to marry Octavius and become the Empress. Xena tries to confront her on several occasions, but a fight breaks out each time and she is unsable to get through to her. Livia now hates her for making the Romans become disloyal to her and destroying her chances at becoming the empress. In an attempt to save Gabrielle, She kills Joxer, which changes Xena's veiw on her, not caring if she lives or dies. Although, with some help from Eli, Livia realises who she really is and who Xena is. The two reconcile and she apologizes for killing Joxer.

Gabrielle
Xena and Gabrielle have a strong relationship, even to the point which has sparked speculation towards a romantic relationship. They are sole mates and are destined to be together in every life they embark on. Xena has proven to be a huge influence on Gabrielle. She matured from a young farm girl to an acomplished bard and Queen of the Amazons, with guidance from Xena. In return, Gabrielle seemed to influence Xena in the same way. When they first met, Xena was lost and confused as to which path she was following, but Gabrielle seemed to guide her to the right path each time she was tempted to be led astray.

There was quite a bond very early on in the relationship, shown in "Dreamworker". Xena was willing to travel through a dreamscape and face her own past demons, in order to save Gabrielle, of whom she had known for a matter of weeks (3 episodes). Gabrielle later showed the same commitment to Xena in "The Reckoning". She relentlessly fought for Xena's innocence when Ares framed her for murder, even risking her own life by attempting to be executed with Xena (Although she was sure that the judge would stop her from being executed, nevertheless, it was a risk).

In "The Prodigal" however, Gabrielle froze up in battle and seeked for answers at home in Potedia. She said to Xena that it was the sort of thing that she needed her family for, obviously not considering Xena family at this early stage in the relationship. When Gabrielle died in "Is There a Doctor in the House?", Xena seemed to be emotionally distraught. After only knowing her for approximately a year, this implied that Gabrielle was the world to Xena. When Perdicus asked Gabrielle to marry him, she confided in Xena for advice. Xena was more than happy for Gabrielle to marry him. Later on, Gabrielle asks Perdicus, if they have a child, if they can name it Xena.

Xena and Gabrielle took a major blow to their relationship, due to events in Brittania and Chin. Gabrielle became preganant by Dahak, the evil "one" God, and gave birth days later to his representative on Earth, Hope. Xena convinced her that the child was evil and forced her to kill it, although Gabrielle secretly saved her. Xena's past came back to haunt her, when Ming T'ien, the son of her former mentor Lao Ma, became the ruler of the Ming Dynasty and was brutal and cruel to the people. Against Gabrielle's wishes, Xena set out to kill him and bring an end to his tyranted rule. With the help of Ares, Gabrielle got ahead of Xena and stopped her from killing him, but this caused her to be sent to prison and put on death's row. Once Xena escaped from inprisonment, she promised Gabrielle that she wouldn't kill him, but did so anyway. Gabrielle's motives for stopping Xena killing Ming T'ien was later revealed in "Forget Me Not" to be soley driven by jealously.

Gabrielle's secret returns to haunt both her and Xena, when Gabrielle discovers that a ten-year-old girl is Hope, under the guise of "Fayla". Gabrielle keeps this quiet from Xena, but this inadvertantly leads to Solan's death and Xena sparks an immeadiate hatred for her. She attempts to kill her, but the two are taken to Illusia by a deceased Solan, which forces them to make up and forgive eachother for their wrong doings to eachother. Xena's secret of killing Ming T'ien is also revealed, but Gabrielle forgives her.

These events brought them much closer together. From here on, the pair were willing to sacrifice and risk nearly anything for one another. Gabrielle went against her path of love and peace to protect an out-of-action Xena "The Ides of March", where she claims that she "chose the way of friendship". Xena even threw herself of off the cliffs of the Heavens and into the pits of Hell, in order to save her. When Xena died "A Friend in Need II", Gabrielle was prepared to sacrifice 40,000 tormented souls to save her, which is completely against her morals and beliefs.

Joxer
At first, Joxer wasn't accepted by them and was seen as more of a dope and an irratant than a friend. Although, they later began to accept him and they grew closer as the series went on. Even though they still found him irratating, they tolerate him. In "Been There, Done That", Joxer was the first person to 'die'. This led to Gabrielle being emotionally distraught and in a state. Xena, on the other hand, was not as upset as Gabrielle. This might be because she has dealt with death and pain longer.

When Joxer was nearly killed in "King Con", Xena showed great anger towards the people that were responsible. She was driven to almost strangling their leader to death, but was stopped by Gabrielle. The way that Xena's feelings were portrayed in this situation implied that she cared a lot more for him then she let on. She later showed this when she entrusted him with the location of the Hind's Blood Dagger and he successfully retrieved for her. He was even willing to get captured so that he could get it to her at the right time. When Joxer made his first kill, Xena consoled him about it. She let him know that she was there for him, if he needed it.

When Ares took Xena and Gabrielle away to the ice caverns, Joxer searched relentlessly for them for years. He even took in Argo and looked after her (and later her daughter) as his own. He created a tavern in memory of them. He told his children inspring stories of Xena, Virgil stating that he'd heard so much about her. When he was killed by Eve, Xena gave up on trying to get through to her.

Hercules
When Hercules first met Xena, he thought she was just another cut throat bandit. She seduced Iolaus to a point where he fell in love with her. This angered Hercules and caused a rift between him and Iolaus. She and Hercules fought several times after this and were far from forming the friendship they have. When Xena saves a baby from being killed by Darphus, she begins a process that leads to her friendship and later love with Hercules.

Hercules has great trust in Xena; he told her where the The Sword of Hephaestus was, in case Prometheus was ever captured by the Gods. He became protective over her and the two were very close friends. He stated that he would rather die than let anything happen to (an unborn) Eve.

Autolycus
Xena first heard about Autolycus from Hercules. Without even knowing him personally, she knew that she could trust him to help her steal back a valuble item. She even trusted him to the point where she inhabited his body (as a soul) to instruct him to steal back her body from the Amazons. He succeeded and she was able to be revived.

The two seemed to be quite close, despite only meeting a few times (that we know of). They were able to predict what each other would say and bounce off of each other in situations. There skills combined made an unstoppable team; they would often join forces (although sometimes unintendedly) to solve hard situations.

As much as he hated to admit it, Xena always bought out the best in him. She recognized his talent and realised his potential, in terms of bluffing, stealing, disguising, etc. She once stated that if his code was to kill, he'd be one of the best. Autolycus was willing to break this code for Xena, when a bounty hunter, Ravenica, was out to take Xena dead or alive. He threatened and warned her to stay away. This would lead to some fans arguing that there was an implied message of love between the two.

Lao Ma
Lao Ma, Xena's mentor, was an understanding and graceful woman, full of compassion and forgiveness - something that the Destroyer of Nations would have never of been able to have understood. Despite this, Lao Ma offered her help to her, after Xena tried to kill her. She allowed her to hide in her chambers whilst Ming Tzu's forces stopped looking for her. She taught her how to channel her anger into telekinetic powers and put her feelings of hatred behind. Lao Ma and Xena had an obvious spark; she managed to turn a ruthless killer into a being of grace, even it was only for a few days. Lao Ma had a great and positive effect on Xena. If it wasn't for Borias, her time spent with Lao Ma would have led to an earlier reformation.

An implied romantic relationship was even present. Gabrielle stated that she hated Xena for loving someone else (Lao Ma), and Xena showed the same kind of feelings towards her as she did to Gabrielle, of whom there was also an implied romantic relationship. Xena's feelings towards Lao Ma's were probably stronger than they were for Gabrielle (At that present moment in time), as she was willing to go completely against Gabrielle's wishes and avenge Lao Ma's death and fufill her debt.

Callisto
"You know, there used to be a little respect mixed up in my hatred for you. But not anymore. Your petty scruples are embarrassing. As a villain, you were awesome. As a hero, you're a sentimental fool."

- Callisto, in "Callisto"

Callisto's anger and hatred for Xena stems back to the destruction of her village, which resulted in the death of her parents and sister. Callisto felt nothing but resentment towards the warrior princess, butchering innocence and killing women and children in her name. This led to their first meeting, where Callisto steals Xena's Chakram. Xena felt sympathy towards Callisto; she saw a lot of resemblance between Callisto and herself. Xena was also once confused, lost and heartless. However, this relationship suddenly changed when Callisto becomes the catalyst of Solan's death, unravelling events that lead to the climax of the Rift between Xena and Gabrielle. Xena immeadiatly felt pure hate towards her.

Xena and Gabrielle both took a mentally scarring effect on Callisto after she died. She was tormented by figments of them whilst she was in Hell. When Xena and Gabrielle died and were sent to Heaven, Callisto (and fellow Archdemons) intercepted their journey and this led to Gabrielle falling to the Pits of Hell. Xena fought her way into Hell and rescued Gabrielle, but came into combat with Callisto. Callisto claimed that she will never stop hating her, as she is the reason Callisto never had a home and will never be able to love. Feeling sorry for her, Xena swaps places, sending her to Heaven as an Angel and taking her place as an Archdemon. These events lead to a reformed Callisto choosing to be reincarnated as Xena's daughter, Eve. This means that the two will be a part of eachother's lives forever.

Julius Caesar
Xena met Julius Caesar when he was young, but still as smart as ever. She tried to double-cross him, just as he double-crossed her and broke her legs. That event shaped her into the killer she was, and she will never forgive him for that. Each time they meet, they are constantly trying to get one over on each other. They would not stop until the other did first, or until they were able to kill one another. Although, the first time they met, Xena seemed as if she had fell in love with him. Although it was a rouge to trick him, she seemed as if she had genuine love for him. During "When in Rome", Caesar tried to tell her that she looked nice and then tried to kiss her, to which she wasn't interested and blew him off.

She continued to thwart his attempts at making war with Pompey, mostly for personal reasons; saving innocence was an added bonus. Events in "The Ides of March" eventually made him believe that he'd finally got one over on Xena - by crucifying her and Gabrielle. But, he also died moments before announcing himself Emperor.

Not satisfied that Xena was able to be raised from the dead and roam the Earth once again, Caesar's hatred and desire for her, led him to escape from the Underworld and tamper with Xena's and Gabrielle's fate. He created an Alternate World, where he tried to have Xena killed once again, but the reality was destroyed by Gabrielle.

Hope
"It's strange; the one I love most in all the world and the one I hate look exactly the same."

- Xena to Gabrielle, in "Sacrifice II"

Xena was never convinced of Hope's innocence even when she was a baby, as she realised her origin and reason. Gabrielle was not sympathetic to Xena's view, so she lied to her in saying that she had killed Hope. Gabrielle harboured this secret for months, but it went horribly wrong when Hope returned and killed Xena's son Solan. This is the ultimate factor that led to the Rift in their relationship. Xena struggled to come to terms with the fact that Gabrielle lied to her and what that lie had done, which made it the rift so strong.

After the Rift was resolved, Xena was willing to sacrifice herself to rid the world of Hope; Ares deal with the Fates made sure that Xena would die if she were to kill her. Her hatred for Hope even forced Xena to team up with Callisto, of whom helped her get inside the Halls of War. Gabrielle could not allow Xena to die, but knew that Hope had to. She sold Ares her soul, which was the insurance she needed to kill Hope even more. Unaware of this deal with Ares, Xena was convinced that not only Hope died, but so did Gabrielle. When she discovered Hope was alive and Gabrielle, this hatred grew even more, as Xena had been lured into a false confidence that Hope was Gabrielle. But, Gabrielle did in fact survive and and helped Xena kill Hope.

Alti
Alti was the evil shamaness that was relentless in her desire for power. When she first met Xena and Borias, she had been expelled from her Amazon tribe. Borias referred to her as a witch, warning Xena to keep away from her. Xena did not heed Borias's warnings and she led Xena into almost destroying an entire Amazon tribe. This shaped Xena into the Destroyer of Nations, a title given to her by Alti. She then told Xena to retrieve the Ixion Stone for her, which sparked the Battle of Corinth.

When Gabrielle seemingly perished in the Lava Pit, Xena travelled to Siberia and the Amazon Land of the Dead. She discovered that the Amazon Tribe that Xena had wiped out were unable to crossover to the other side, as Alti had trapped their souls and was using them to harness power. Xena felt it her responsiblity to kill Alti and break the connection between her and the souls. She then showed her a vision of her's and Gabrielle's later death, moments before Xena killed her.

She continued to 'stalk' Xena throughout her adventures, forming an ever growing fued with the Warrior Princess. She even tried to steal an unborn Eve's soul to try and ressurect herself to the surface world, although was thwarted by Xena. living into the 21st century, Alti had an ever growing hunger for Xena's power, by attempting to clone an evil Xena. Although Xena had no real motive to hate Alti, all things that Alti had done to Xena (Making her destroy an Amazon Tribe, showing Gabrielle the vision of their death, etc.) had built up to strong anatgonistic feelings.

Ares
Ares and Xena's relationship is a very complex one. He knew her after she had split from Borias and was travelling to the Norselands, when he gave her the Chakram. It had been heavily implied to the point of confirmation that he was her mentor during these times. After she began fighting for the Greater Good, Ares was constantly tempting her away from that path; framing her for murder, impersonating her father and allowing the Furies to send her insane account for a few of these times. When he realised that their was no changing Xena, he began to respect her path and continue to become an irratant to her.

There has always been a spark of romance (or lust) between the pair, but Ares fell in love with her mid-Season 5. In "God Fearing Child", he admitted this to Xena, but she has always been defiant that there is no chance for them. She stated in "Coming Home" that there is a 1/1,000,000,000 chance of them ever getting together. Despite this she earlier stated in "Amphipolis Under Siege" that she felt something during her heat of passion moment with him. His love for her became so strong, that he gave up his own godhood to save Eve and Gabrielle in order to allow Xena to kill his own sister, Athena. She killed many of his relatives during the Twilight of the Gods, but his love was still ever strong for her. He always said that he wanted nothing more than a child from her, but she couldn't give that to him. However, Xena once claimed that the thought of him and her made her sick.

Although, it is quite possible that Ares did love her before this. He asked her to marry him in "Soul Possession" (Events depicted took place after Sacrifice II) and Agathon claimed in "The Dirty Half Dozen" that he's " always had a thing for the warrior babe".

Although there were some implications of him being her father. The question has been raised twice on the show; once in "Ties That Bind", where Ares actually impersonated her father, naming himself "Atrius", and secondly in "The Furies", where Xena lied to the Furies that he was her father. This possibility has stuck with fans, using it as an answer to Xena's immortal abilities. This could still be true, even if there was a love interest, conisdering that insest relationships were common in the Greek Gods (according to mythology). Furthering this possibilty is that Xena's father was never deeply investigated, causing there to be no identity to Xena's Father, meaning the possibility of Ares being her father is still quite strong.



Argo
"I can't count the number of times that Argo has saved Xena."

- Gabrielle in "Punchlines"

Xena's trusted steed and her were very close. She would obey Xena in ways that seemed un-natural for a horse. They seemed to have an unspoken language; a 'psychic connection', to use the term loosely. Xena had trained her to an extreamly high standard, even to the extend where she would respond to whistling. She was always portrayed as being far from the average horse when around Xena. Argo knew Xena very well. In "Intimate Stranger" she had realised that Xena was not who she said she was, even though it was Xena's body.

Borias
Xena's and Borias' relationship is probably best described as lust than love - in the beginning anyway. Their relationship began when Borias cheated on his wife with her. When she found out, he was ostracized form their camp in Hungary and travelled Europe and Asia with Xena. Their lust later led to Xena becoming pregnant with Solan, which in turn led to Borias falling in love with her, but Xena did not love him back. Before he died, he turned out to be quite a loving man at heart; he wanted his son and Xena to be a 'family', but was killed by Dagnine before he could even see his son up close.

This lust that Xena shared probably did contain a spark of love, but not enough for her to feel it. In "Adventures in the Sin Trade II", she said that if Borias was in love, she'd "cut his sweetheart's throat out", implying jealously and a hint of love. But when he said that he was in love with her, she asked if he had lost his mind, claiming that people like him and her do not fall in love.

Years later, when Xena began fighting for the greater good, she realised that he was a good man and felt guilty for not showing him the compassion he deserved from her. There was a lot of respect mixed up in her feelings for him; he went against her, knowing only too well what she was capable of, in order to stand up for what he thought was right and saved the entire Centaur nation from extinction. Xena stated in "Past Imperfect" that if Borias hadn't of died, then maybe Solan wouldn't have either.

In Popular Culture

 * See Main Article: Xena: Warrior Princess in popular culture



Asia

 * India - Xena and Gabrielle made a journey to India, in hope that it would cleanse Xena of her visions of death.
 * "Devi"
 * "Between the Lines"
 * "The Way"
 * China  - Xena had been to Chin three times. It always involved her former mentor, Lao Ma and/or her children.
 * "The Debt, Part I"
 * "The Debt, Part II"
 * "Purity"
 * "Back in the Bottle"
 * Japan - Xena has been to Jappa twice. Both times involved by Akemi. It is also her deathplace.
 * "A Friend in Need"
 * "A Friend in Need II"
 * Siberia - Xena travelled here when she met Alti and she procliamed her 'The Destroyer of Nations'.
 * "Adventures in the Sin Trade"
 * "Adventures in the Sin Trade II"

Africa

 * Egypt - Although it is mentioned countless times throughout the show, it only appeared in one episode. Xena travelled here after Cleopatra died, to pose as her in order to protect Egypt's democracy from the Romans.
 * "Antony and Cleopatra"
 * "Antony and Cleopatra"

South Africa

 * Unknown province - Xena, Gabrielle, Virgil and Eve travel here to rescue Gabrielle's niece, Sara.
 * "Who's Gurkhan?"
 * "Who's Gurkhan?"

Europe

 * Greece - Greece is the main setting for Xena: Warrior Princess. Xena and Gabrielle both resided here in Amphipolis and Potedia, respectively.
 * Greece appears in almost every episode.
 * England - (Brittania (Britain) as it is known in the show) Xena once travelled here and fought alongside Bodecia, although later betrayed her. Xena and Gabrielle came back here to help Boadicea against Caesar, but Gabrielle became pregnant with the child of Dahak.
 * "The Deliverer"
 * "Gabrielle's Hope"
 * France - ('Gaul' as it is known in the show) Also mentioned a lot throughout the run of the show, it only appeared once, when Vercinix and Crassus where captured by Caesar and Xena, respectively.
 * "When in Rome..."
 * Italy - Asides from Greece, it appeared the most throughout the show. It is mostly Rome and Sicily (Mount Etna) shown.
 * "When in Rome..."
 * "Endgame"
 * "The Ides of March"
 * "Fallen Angel"
 * "Chakram"
 * "Looking Death in the Eye"
 * "Livia"
 * "Eve"
 * "Motherhood"
 * "The God You Know"
 * "When Fates Collide"
 * Denmark (Norway) - Xena has traveled here many times, and even resided here in Valhalla. Her main reason for being here are the Valkyrie.
 * "The Rheingold"
 * "The Ring"
 * "Return of the Valkyrie"
 * "You Are There"
 * "You Are There"

Appearance in Costume
These costumes are only listed if they have been worn for two or more episodes.

First Eight Episodes
Xena's costume from "Sins of the Past" to "Prometheus" consisted of her keeping her sword on her side (on her back in "The Reckoning" and "Prometheus" for unexplained reasons) attached to a bulky, patterned belt. Her Chakram was tied to the belt from a piece of cotton string. The breastplate had a distinctive golden pattern, and she wore a golden corset that was very rarely seen, underneath her leather piece.

Rest of Season One to Season Four

 * Up until "The Ides of March", she wore her trademark leather costume. it was almost identical to her costume in the first eight episodes, except she got rid of the belt. Instead, she had a leather hook sewn onto the right side of her leather garment. She kept her Chakram here, and her Sword on her back.

"Succession" to "Antony and Cleopatra"
This costume was mainly designed to coincide with Lucy Lawless' pregnancy. It was mainly blue and had an alternate design for her breastplate, which was silver. She also wore leather johdpurs and riding boots. Apart from "Succession", she wore a thick fur coat over the top of this. In "Amphipolis Under Siege", she wore the costume stated below. In "Lifeblood" and "Kindred Spirits", she wore Amazonian/cult clothing. In "Antony and Cleopatra", she posed as Cleopatra, and wore Egyptian garments.

"Looking Death in the Eye" to "A Friend in Need I"
She now wears a costume almost identical in every detail to the one she wore throughout Season One to Four, except that the leather is more shiny and waxed, and the upper garment is more tough than before. Her Chakram hook is more smaller in size, giving it more independence on her hip.
 * Note: Xena wore this costume in "Amphipolis Under Siege", too.

Before the events in H:TLJ
Whilst traveling with Borias, she wore a number of different costumes, all of which look as if they are from Chinese or Japanese decent.

Season One

 * With Hercules, she freed Prometheus from Hera and the bird that pecks out his insides everyday - "Prometheus"
 * Responsible for sending Sisyphus to his eternal punishment, pushing a rock up a hill for eternity - "Death in Chains"
 * She was at the plot of the Trojan Horse surpirse attack in the Trojan War - "Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts"
 * Performed the first ever Caesarean on Ephiny - "Is There a Doctor in the House"
 * Performed the first ever Caesarean on Ephiny - "Is There a Doctor in the House"

Season Two

 * Helped David and the Israelites defeat Goliath (Of whom she was friends with) - "The Giant Killer"
 * Invented the Kite - "A Day in the Life"
 * Invented the Kite - "A Day in the Life"
 * Helped Ulysses of Ithica return to his homeland and escape the wrath of Poseidon - "Ulysses"


 * Rescued Cecrops from Poseidon his eternity torment on his ship that he couldn't leave - "The Lost Mariner"

Season Three

 * Helped Boadicea defend Brittania - "The Deliverer"
 * Helped stop an assassination attempt on Cleopatra - "The King of Assassins"
 * Prevented the Persian War (or slowed it down enough for it to stop) - "One Against An Army"
 * Catalyst of the death of Crassus - "When In Rome..."
 * Released the Hero of Gaul, Vercinix, from Julius Caesar - "When In Rome..."
 * Responsible for putting the North Star in the sky - "Fins, Femmes and Gems"
 * Responsible for putting the North Star in the sky - "Fins, Femmes and Gems"

Season Four

 * Took down the leader of the Scythians - "In Sickness and in Hell"
 * Killed Indrajit, Indian King of Demons - "The Way"
 * Killed Pompey, Caesar's sworn enemy - "Endgame"
 * Killed Pompey, Caesar's sworn enemy - "Endgame"

Season Five

 * Witnessed Hercules kill Zeus with the Ribs of Kronos, whilst giving birth to Eve, who would later become Livia of Rome and wife of Augustus Caesar - "God Fearing Child"
 * Posed as Cleopatra after she was murdered - "Antony and Cleopatra"
 * Witnessed the death of Marcus Junius Brutus - "Antony and Cleopatra"
 * Killed Mark Antony - "Antony and Cleopatra"
 * 'Commited suicide' to initiate the Twilight of the Gods - "Looking Death in the Eye"
 * Killed Discord, Goddess of Retribution - "Motherhood"
 * Killed Posiedon, God of the Sea and Natural Disasters - "Motherhood"
 * Killed Hades, Lord of the Dead and God of the Underworld - "Motherhood"
 * Killed Hephestus, God of Arts and Crafts - "Motherhood"
 * Killed Athena, Goddess of Warcraft and Wisdom - "Motherhood"
 * Killed Athena, Goddess of Warcraft and Wisdom - "Motherhood"
 * Killed Artemis, Goddess of the Amazons and Nature - "Motherhood"


 * Killed Deimos, God of Terror - "Motherhood"

Season Six

 * Killed Mephistopheles, King of Hell - "The Haunting of Amphipolis"
 * Responsible for turning the Archangel Lucifer into Satan, and placing him in Hell - "Heart of Darkness"
 * Hid Ares, God of War, until he regained his Godhood - "Old Ares Had a Farm"
 * Responsible for Caligula of Rome's suicide - "The God You Know"
 * Stole the Golden Apples from Odin, the Chief Norse God - "You Are There"
 * Restored Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty's Godhood, after it was stolen by Caligula - "You Are There"
 * Restored Ares', God of Warfare and Bloodlust's Godhood - "You Are There"
 * Killed Bellerophon, son of Artemis and Greek hero - "To Helicon and Back"
 * Killed Bellerophon, son of Artemis and Greek hero - "To Helicon and Back"

Behind the Scenes

 * Xena is the only character to have appeared in some form or way in every episode of Xena: Warrior Princess.
 * Xena is one of the five characters to have appeared in every season of Xena: Warrior Princess. The other four are Gabrielle, Cyrene, Ares and Joxer.
 * Xena has appeared in a total of 9 seasons of and  combined, second only to Ares and Aphrodite who have appeared in 10.
 * Xena has appeared in 140 episodes of both and  combined, more than any other character.
 * Xena was originally going to played by British actress Vanessa Angel, but when she fell ill, the part went Kiwi native Lucy Lawless.
 * Like many of her co-stars, Lucy Lawless's american accent was put on, as she was from New Zealand.
 * Lucy Lawless also plays Lyla, Lysia, Diana, Meg, Melinda Pappas, Xena 2, Leah and Annie Day.
 * Lucy Lawless has a scar on her right breast, something that had bothered fans, in terms of their being a reason for Xena obtaining it. This was later resolved in "A Friend in Need I", where Xena is pushed into a spiked wall and gets a deep cut, causing the scar.
 * Any episode of that only features Xena in the beginning and/or the closing scenes are known as "Xena-Lite" episodes. This style of episoding came in handy when Lucy Lawless had her accident on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which resulted in several episodes of Season Two to be made like this (e.g. "The Quest", "For Him the Bell Tolls", etc.).
 * This accident also resulted in Hudson Leick (Usual role of Callisto) to play Xena in two episodes.
 * When Lucy Lawless became pregnant during Season Five of, the writers created the character of Eve and the "Twilight of the Gods" storyline.

Trivia

 * Xena is one of the four characters to have successfully thrown and caught the Chakram. The other three are Callisto, Gabrielle and Eve.
 * There is some debate over how many times Xena has died in the show;
 * The first time she died was in "The Greater Good", when she was hit by Callisto's poison dart. She says: "Talmic poison shuts everything down. I had to go under with it just to fight the effects; I didn’t expect to be under it so long, is all."
 * The second time she died was in "Destiny", when she was critically injured in battle. She was revived in "The Quest".
 * The third time she died was in "The Ides of March", where she and Gabrielle where crucified. They were revived in "Fallen Angel".
 * The fourth and final time she died was in "A Friend in Need II", where she was beheaded by Morimoto.
 * Xena and Gabrielle did not die in "Looking Death in the Eye". They were "conserved" in the ice for 25 years.
 * Xena appeared in The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horrors X", in the short story "Desperatly Xeeking Xena", with her voice being provided by Lucy Lawless.
 * A running gag on the show is that of Xena being confused for an Amazon.
 * Callisto's story strongly resembles that of Xena's; they were both twisted into vicious killers during a violent ransack on their hometowns, which resulted in the loss of family members, they both took charge of fearless armies and they were both later redeemed by one of their enemies (Xena by Hercules, Callisto by Xena).
 * Xena's death was foreshadowed in "When Fates Collide", with Alti claiming to that her story will end with Gabrielle being unable to save her fallen angel.
 * Speculation of a romance between Xena and Gabrielle was one of the biggest aspects of fandom surrounding . The point was often referenced in the show and a number of comments in the dialogue between Xena and Gabrielle often hinted at a possible relationship. This was joked about in the episode "You Are There", where Nigel, a modern-day reporter, asked them if they are lovers, before the camera cuts out and the answer is not heard.

Other Casting

 * Hudson Leick played Xena in "Ten Little Warlords".
 * Bruce Campbell and Renee O'Connor played Xena in "The Quest".
 * Renee Schuda played a young Xena in "Fins, Femmes and Gems".
 * Ted Raimi played Xena in "Deja Vu All Over Again" and "Soul Possession".
 * Rose McIver played Xena in "Little Problems".