ArtofACOdyssey 5: Typhoeus

 It’s hard to believe we are already on DAY 5 of #ArtofACOdyssey. Today’s offering (see what I did there?) is a…well-loved vessel with a picture of one of the most recognizable Greek monsters. 

 

Altar with offerings and a Typhoeus vase. Screenshot from Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (Ubisoft 2018).


It’s also apparently a favorite of the dev team as you will find it EVERYWHERE. If you guessed Typhoeus (Typhon), you’re right! The original is on a Chalcidian black figure hydria currently in the Staatliche Antikensammlungen, c. 540 BCE.

Typhoeus was the last and greatest child of Gaia and the last obstacle between the young Zeus and supremacy. He was chaos incarnate: Hesiod describes him as having a hundred dragon heads, eyes that shot fire, and a voice that included every inhuman sound (Theo. 820ff). Suffice to say it was a tough fight. Zeus finally took him down with his lightning bolt, but not before much of the earth was scorched and Typhoeus had sired numerous children with Echidna – hence their nicknames, the father and mother of monsters.

While Typhoeus gets his own space on this particular item, you can see a more faithful representation of the scene on the game map (assuming you haven’t explored everything – it’s a here-be-monsters placeholder) and on temples, such as the Temple of Zeus in Kefalonia from Day 1.

 

Typhoeus fresco in Megara. Screenshot from Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (Ubisoft 2018).


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