Amphipolis was a village in the Edones area of Thrace in north-east Greece, noted as "sheep country." It was the home village of Xena and her family. It was protected by Athena until her death.
The village was the subject of many terrifying accounts during Xena's lifetime: it was ransacked by the ruthless warlord Cortese (which resulted in the death of her brother, Lyceus), raided by Callisto (whilst she was in Xena's body) and even housed a portal to Hell.
Amphipolis has a tomb dedicated to Lyceus and at least one tavern (owned by Xena's mother, Cyrene). It is also renowned for not having any horse dealers.
History[]
Pollux once showed off the award he received after he won the games at Amphipolis.("Winner Take All")
At one point, Strife suggested that Ares start a rockslide in Amphipolis and blame it on the Poteidaians.
Backstory[]
Xena grew up in her mother, Cyrene's tavern with her brothers Lyceus and Toris. Her father, Atrius, was often abroad at war for long periods. Either he suddenly returned home from war one day and conceived Xena with Cyrene (it was suggested, however, that it was in fact Ares in Atrius's form). Later, he tried to murder the baby Xena and was killed by Cyrene.
Much later, when Xena was growing up Amphipolis was attacked by the warlord Cortese. Xena rallied the villagers to defend themselves, resulting in the death of Lyceus and many other villagers and the estrangement of Toris. Many of the villagers blamed her and hated her for their deaths. Xena drove Cortese's army away and began to take control of the surrounding villages as a "buffer zone" against further attacks. This began Xena's path of darkness, which led eventually to her becoming the "Destroyer of Nations".
XWP Season 1[]
Around ten years large, Xena returned home to Amphipolis, perhaps in the hope of reconciling with her mother. On arriving her mother Cyrene disowned her and the villagers told her to leave. Unfortunately, the warlord Draco had followed Xena and threatened the village. Xena was able to defeat Draco and proved to Cyrene that she had indeed changed. Xena, with Gabrielle in tow, then departed to begin her quest for redemption in earnest."(Sins of the Past")
XWP Season 2[]
In an alternate reality shown to her by the Fates, Xena discovered that if she had refused to defend Amphipolis years before, Lyceus would indeed still be alive, living with Xena and her fiancé Maphias in Amphipolis. But while Lyceus lived, Cyrene had been killed instead. The warlord Mezentius ruled the village with Gabrielle as his slave, calling her his "sweet thing". Xena was unable to abide this dark reality, particularly when Gabrielle killed Mezentius with a savage delight. Realizing that this reality wasn't worth it, Xena drew the blood of another warlord and returned to the normal timeline. ("Remember Nothing")
No long thereafter, the villagers of Amphipolis were locked up in a cave by Callisto, who intended to burn them all alive in revenge for the (accidental) fiery destruction of Cirra by Xena years before. Xena chased Callisto to Amphipolis and managed to free the villagers. ("Intimate Stranger")
XWP Season 3[]
XWP Season 4[]
XWP Season 5[]
XWP Season 6[]
At some point following their entombment in ice, Mephistopheles, the King of Hell, used Cyrene's inn as a beachhead for his takeover of the mortal realm, sending vengeful spirits to haunt the inn and torture any who set foot within. Cyrene herself was seen as the source of these demons, and was burned as a witch. When Xena and Gabrielle finally awoke, they were horrified to learn what had happened. They resolved to stop Mephistopheles, with Xena eventually bringing him to the mortal realm and then killing him, freeing Cyrene's spirit and banishing the demons back to Hell.
Unfortunately, the portal to Hell remained open, and proceeded to corrupt the colonists who had come to repopulate Amphipolis. Seeking to save the town and avert her new destiny to become the Queen of Hell, Xena tricked the archangel Lucifer into committing the Seven Deadly Sins, turning him into a new archdemon and the new King of Hell.
Historical Basis[]
Amphipolis was an ancient Greek city in the region once inhabited by the Edoni people in the present-day region of Central Macedonia. It was built on a raised plateau overlooking the east bank of the river Strymon where it emerged from Lake Cercinitis, about 3 m. from the Aegean Sea. Founded in 437 BC, the city was finally abandoned in the 8th century AD.
Sets[]
- Fields nearby, containing wattle houses with barrel-shaped roofs (SOTP)
- Cobbled market square (RN)
- Cyrene's Inn (SOTP, RN?, TF, TOTKO, THOA, HOD), with -
- bar room (SOTP, TOTKO)
- entrance courtyard? (THOA?, HOD)
- guest rooms (TOTKO)
- dining room? (TOTKO, THOA?)
- stables (SOTP)
- Cyrene's Tomb (THOA)
- Lyceus's Tomb (SOTP)
- A stone dungeon (RN)
- A cave containing barred cells (IS)
- A large barn (SOTP)
Other sources of information:
- In Amphipolis Under Siege, a model of the village is used by Athena to coordinate the attack.
- In Takes One to Know One, a rack of keys indicates the number of rooms in Cyrene's inn.
Appearances[]
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