"In a time of Ancient Gods, Warlords, and Kings, a land in turmoil cried out for a hero. She was Xena, a mighty princess, forged in the heat of battle. The power... the passion... the danger... Her courage will change the world."

An American television series which aired from 1995 to 2001, Xena: Warrior Princess was more than just a cheap spin-off from the show Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Xena inspired many to look at female superheroes in a new light.  Soon the lead actresses in the show, Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor, would be the first of several to ride the crest of a craze for more female leads in action movies and games.  Also, years before Lord of the Rings was filmed there, Xena was filmed on location in beautiful New Zealand.  As Xena reached its finale, several crew and cast members would make their big break with Peter Jackson's big screen Tolkien trilogy.

An historical fantasy drama comedy romance you-name-it-it's-got-it weird kind of television series

Borrowing and adapting mythologies from several different cultures and time periods, the world of Xena: Warrior Princess is a kind of super condensed realm where figures from American pop culture meet medieval sleaze meet Dungeons-and-Dragons-inspired magical acrobatics. Take everything you know about real ancient history and throw it out the window because you're going to be in for a wild ride with Xena! The Warrior Princess has been everywhere and has met everyone who made a mark on the ancient world. She's even slayed gods with little to no respect for the people who worship them. She's been a bad ass as well as an angel. She's basically the kind of woman every girl dreams she could be.  She even has the kind of best friend we wish we all had, too.  Even if Xena: Warrior Princess doesn't accurately show history, it does represent the story of the kind of friendship/love relationship many heroes had for each other in ancient times; a love called Philia which is one of mutual advantage, pleasure, and for the greator good. Yeah, and after watching a couple episodes you'll think it's all about Xena and Gabrielle getting it on! 

A brief history of Xena: Warrior Princess 

Xena of Amphipolis was an ancient Greek heroine. Before her life as a do-gooder, Xena was a murderous villian who plundered the countryside with a ruthless ambition to rule the known world. It would take a chance meeting with Hercules and the divine love from her best friend, Gabrielle, to change the loveless warrior into a hero.

A childhood cut short by war

Her beginnings before becoming a villian are complicated. Her home village was attacked by the warlord Cortese while she was just in her teens. Most of the villagers survived by running for the hills, but many who died were the ones convinced to stay behind and fight by Xena and her younger brother, Lyceus. Even though Amphipolis was saved by the heroic efforts of the dead, the survivors looked upon Xena with ill favor (including Xena's own mother, Cyrene) and she was ostracized. Perhaps overcome by anger and grief, Xena first learned to channel her darkness into a lust for revenge and adventure.

Scarred by betrayal

To avenge her brother's death, Xena took up the sword with the intent to create an army to destroy Cortese. Xena's early career as a warrior was that of a pirate and thief. She traveled the high seas recruiting mercenaries and taking slaves. In a chance event that would change her deeply, her crew captured a young Julius Caesar who offered them a great ransom if they allowed him to live. A young Gaelic slave-stowaway, M'Lila, was also on board at this time who would prove to earn Xena's respect and admiration. M'Lila taught Xena new fighting techniques and how to manipulate the human body with pressure points. This instruction resulted in Xena adopting M'Lila's deadly signature "nerve pinch" maneuver as her own.

Eastward into darkness

When seduced, and ultimately betrayed by Caesar, Xena fully embraced her dark side and slaughtered Romans every chance she could get. But before she would have the strength to face Caesar again, Xena went East where she teamed up with the warlord Borias who left his wife and son to become her lover. Borias and Xena became an unstoppable team, terrorizing Chin (ancient China) 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. Saved from death by Ming T'ien's spiritually powerful mother, Lao Ma, who would give Xena the title of warrior princess. Under Lao Ma's tutelage, Xena briefly abandoned her dark ways, but her continued association with Borias would force a rift between her and Lao Ma, especially so when Xena killed Ming Tzu.

Spiralling further into doom

Exiled from Chin, Xena would travel farther East to Jappa (Japan), where she and Borias kidnapped a girl named Akemi for ransom. Xena ended up befriending the girl who would later break her heart. After teaching Akemi how to kill with pressure points, Akemi then used the "pinch" to kill her abusive father, Yodoshi. After Akemi killed herself, a drunk and grieving Xena tried to put her ashes into 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.

The promised Destroyer of Nations

Moving northward, Xena and Borias were befriended by the Amazon queen, Cyane, and lured into evil by the powerful shamaness, Alti. Pregnant with Borias' child, Xena chose Alti's promise of power, killed Cyane, and sent the Amazon nation scattered to the four winds. She soon set her sights on conquering Corinth. At Corinth, Borias became appalled by Xena's excessive violent behavior and had to stop her from mercilessly slaughtering Centaurs. When this happened, Xena broke away from Borias, but this would not stop him from coming back to her out of love for her and their child. Shortly after giving birth to their son, Borias was killed by one of Xena's lieutenants, Dagnine; but the realization that Borias came back for her because he loved her 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.

Xena the Valkyrie

Shortly some time after giving up her baby, Xena moved north again to the Norselands where she was embraced by the god Odin who made her a valkyrie. In her ambitions for power, Xena stole the Rheingold and made it into a ring. She would later lose this ring to Grinhelda, Odin's lover and chief valkyrie, but when Grinhelda put on the ring it changed her into a monster. Only people with no love in their heart could weild the power of the Rheingold. After the unsuccessful attempt for surpremcy, Xena would return to Greece and obtain her signature weapon, the Chakram of Darkness (apparently given to her by Ares, the God of War). Having apparently lost most of her army at Corinth, she built a new one which cut a path of plunder and conquest through Greece.

Saved by Hercules

Never one to give up in the conquest of immortals and demi-gods, Xena set out to kill Hercules. But then her army turned against her after she stopped her lieutenant Darphus from killing a child. In order to leave her army with her dignity and honor intact, she was challenged to run a gauntlet and survived, but at great cost to her health. Later hoping to gain control of her army again, she hunted down Hercules for 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.

On the path of redemption

A changed woman, yet heavy with guilt and grief, Xena then vowed 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 Potadeia), who became her traveling companion and friend.  This is where the real fun of Xena's life history begins and it made for great television!