Perdicas (or Perdicus) was a recurring character on Xena: Warrior Princess. He was a young farmer from Potedia. He was briefly betrothed to marry Gabrielle prior to her leaving to journey with Xena. The two later met at Troy, before he put down his sword and vowed not to fight again. He proposed to Gabrielle and the two eventually married and Gabrielle loses her virginity to him. This marriage was cut short by Callisto when she killed Perdicus. This sparked the antagonistic relationship between Gabrielle and Callisto.
He was played by Anton Bentley ("Sins of the Past") and Scott Garrison ("Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts", "Return of Callisto").
Story[]
Perdicas was fondly remembered by Gabrielle in their youth. Once, he almost drowned while trying to save Gabrielle's hat, which had fallen into a river. Another time, he nearly got trampled while attempting to give Gabrielle a carriage ride. He also took the blame when Gabrielle was caught stealing corn from Hylus's farm.
Gabrielle would often tell him stories of the romance between Helen and Paris at Troy. Soon after her leaving, Perdicas traveled to Troy and became a soldier within its gates fighting in the Trojan War, eventually becoming an archer at their front gates. During his time at the front gates, he once again met up with Gabrielle, who was traveling with Xena to meet with Helen. He was present when the Greeks under King Menelaus broke through the main gates. After the end of the War, Perdicas left to travel with Helen. (XWP: "Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts")
Perdicas's travels lead him into another war. As a soldier, he killed three men in one day. He began to have nightmares on all the men he killed and almost killed himself over it. He saw a vision of Gabrielle and decided to leave his position as a soldier and convince Gabrielle to marry him. He met up with Xena and Gabrielle and began traveling with them. Soon after, Gabrielle decided to accept his marriage proposal and they both left for Poteidaia. When Callisto escaped from prison, she killed Perdicas to spite Xena.
Gabrielle swore vengeance, but was unable to kill Callisto, herself. (XWP: "Return of Callisto") Her hatred of Callisto made it hard to accept that Xena's spirit was in Callisto's body (XWP: "Intimate Stranger") and hesitant to use Callisto to destroy Velasca. (XWP: "A Necessary Evil")
Appearances[]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mentions[]
- "A Necessary Evil"
- "Ulysses"
- "A Comedy of Eros"
- "The Dirty Half Dozen"
- "Warrior... Priestess... Tramp"
- "Paradise Found"
- "Fallen Angel"
- "Legacy"
Background History
Perdicas (generally spelled Perdiccas) was a famous General for Alexander the Great who became the regent of Macedonia for 3 years after Alexander's death. He became power hungry and in 320 BC, a mutiny broke out amongst his troops and he was killed.