Markos

Markos was a Greek merchant from the island of Kephallonia who lived during the 5th century BCE.
At some point before the Peloponnesian War, Markos took in a young girl named Kassandra who had fled from Sparta and washed ashore on Kephallonia. He subsequently raised her to become a renowned misthios and would regularly enlist her help to solve the problems he caused with his failed get-rich-quick schemes. Although Kassandra eventually realized that Markos was using her and stopped helping him as frequently, the two nonetheless remained friends. 
==Biography==
===Early life===
At some point during the 5th century BCE, Markos employed a mercenary named Cadmus. While working for Markos, Cadmus was hired by the Order of the Ancients member Ianthe to retrieve a treasure rumored to be entombed in the hills of Kephallonia. After locating the tomb, Cadmus informed Markos about it, and the latter decided to remain outside under the pretext of "defending" the area while Cadmus ventured into the tomb.Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book
Cadmus ultimately lost the treasure, an ancient dagger, after Ianthe betrayed him, cooperating with five masked associates and stealing the blade. Markos witnessed Cadmus chasing Ianthe and recovering half of the weapon, only for one of the masked men to flee with the other half. When Cadmus returned to him outside the cave, Markos suggested that they sell the blade, but the mercenary believed it was too valuable and later left Kephallonia to keep the blade safe from others who might attempt to steal it.
Around 448 BCE, Markos found an unconscious young girl on the beaches of Kephallonia. As the girl woke up and threatened him with her spear, Markos, assuming she was hungry, offered her a piece of bread before proposing that they could help each other. The girl accepted and Markos took her in, learning that her name was Kassandra. This marked the beginning of a lucrative partnership where Markos provided Kassandra with food and shelther and in return she performed various errands for him.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Debt Collector
Markos and Kassandra would later gain another aide in Phoibe, an orphan from Athens. However, Markos frequently caused problems for the island's residents due to his schemes to get rich quickly, forcing Kassandra to step in and clean up his messes. When she eventually realized that Markos was using her, she stopped working for him and became a misthios for hire, though the two remained friends and Kassandra would still reluctantly help Markos from time to time.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
===Dealings with the Cyclops===
At some point prior to 431 BCE, Markos got into trouble with a local crime lord known as the Cyclops of Kephallonia, and in turn his thugs began harassing Kassandra and Phoibe. Their problems only got worse after Markos decided to borrow money from the Cyclops in order to establish a vineyard on Mount Ainos, but failed to pay him back on time.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – So It Begins
After learning about Markos' purchase from Phoibe, Kassandra visited him at the vineyard and questioned his intentions, reminding Markos that he still owed her money from a previous errand. Markos then directed her to Duris, a merchant in Sami who owed him money, stating that she would be able to collect his debt from him. Markos also reluctantly allowed Kassandra to take one of his horses as a form of repayment. 
Shortly after, one of the Cyclops' thugs confronted Markos outside the Temple of Zeus and demanded that the man quickly repay his debts before his leader returned to Kephallonia. As Markos and Kassandra devised a plan to deal with the Cyclops, the town's Drucilla confronted Markos about her stolen lumber shipment, a problem which Kassandra offered to fix.
While Kassandra was away, Markos came up with a plan to steal the Cyclops' obsidian eye and sell it to pay off his debt and exact retribution on the crime lord at the same time. When he told Kassandra about his plan, she reluctantly agreed to help and stole the eye from the Cyclops' estate, which Markos advised her to hold onto. He also informed her of a group of bandits that had recently arrived in Kephallonia, and advised her to deal with them, believing they were working with the Cyclops.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – An Eye for an Eye
After the Cyclops had been killed by Kassandra, annulling Markos' debt, she met with him and Phoibe at the harbour of Sami to say her goodbyes before she left Kephallonia. After bidding Kassandra farewell, Markos told Phoibe that he had a job for her and the two walked off.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – The Big Break
===Business on Kos===
Sometime after Kassandra's departure from Kephallonia, Markos himself left the island as well and traveled to Kos, where he sought to enter the wine business again and bought another vineyard with funds from a set of triplet criminals collectively known as the Cerberus. Markos ran the vineyard alongside the widowed wife of the former owner, but soon got into trouble with the Cerberus for failing to pay them back.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Old Friends, Old Problems After they put a bounty on his head, Markos was held prisoner at the Artemisia Fort, where he was eventually found and rescued by Kassandra, who happened to be in Kos at the time.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – A Business Opportunity
After explaining the situation to her, Markos gave Kassandra a sample of what he felt was his best wine to deliver to one of the Cerberus brothers as a peace offering. However, due to the wine's poor quality, the Cerberus brother and his bodyguards assumed it had been intentionally poisoned and attacked Kassandra. After the misthios returned to Markos and revealed what had happened, he decided to deal with the Cerberus to avoid their retribution and asked Kassandra to burn down their farm, which she reluctantly agreed to do.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Farm in Flames
Later, Markos informed Kassandra that he had accidentally sent her to destroy someone else's farm, much to her anger. As Markos begged her to protect him from the Cerberus' wrath, Kassandra, having had enough of sticking her neck out for Markos, was left to decide whether she would help her old friend for the final time.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Markos's Fate
===Legacy===
In the late 9th century, millennia after his death, Kassandra briefly reminisced about Markos when attending a wedding in Kiltaraglen on the Isle of Skye, fondly characterizing him as "an old friend" to the Viking Eivor Varinsdottir who was also present. When the Raven Clan shieldmaiden suggested a celebratory drinking game with mead, Kassandra agreed and mused that the Norse drink could not be any worse than Markos' infamously poor-quality wine, which she described as being strong enough to peel paint.Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories – One Last Sleepless Night
==Personality and traits==
Markos' catchphrase was "Everybody benefits", usually preceded by a suggestion of how he and whoever he was talking with could help each other. However, more often than not, this "mutual help" consisted of Kassandra or someone else having to get Markos out of whatever trouble he had gotten himself into.
Despite his focus on personal gain, Markos was not completely selfish, as he genuinely regarded Kassandra as a close friend, even if he often times used her to solve his problems. The feeling was mutual, as despite her annoyance with Markos' antics, Kassandra considered him one of her oldest friends and remembered him fondly even centuries after his death.
==Behind the scenes==
Markos is a character introduced in the 2018 video game Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. He was voiced by the Greek-Canadian actor Damon Papadopoulos, who later reprised the role as one of the many tour guides in Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece.
==Gallery==
An Eye for an Eye - Assassins Creed Odyssey.png|Markos talking with Kassandra
ACOD So It Begins 13.png|Markos and Kassandra choosing a horse
ACOD Debt Collector 8.png|One of the Cyclops' thugs threatening Markos
ACOD An Eye for an Eye - Markos Receiving Cyclops' Eye.png|Markos receiving the Cyclops' eye from Kassandra
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed: Odyssey 
*Assassin's Creed: Odyssey novel
*Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece
*Assassin's Creed: Where's the Assassin? 
*Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories 
*Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book
==References==
Category:Individuals
Category:Greeks
Category:Ethnic Greeks
Category:Kephallonians
Category:Merchants