From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
                                  5-14    Amphipolis Under Siege   
      
      
   First air date was Feb 14, 2000.   
   [19 years ago]   
      
   The episode starts with semi-soldiers guarding a road. A woman warrior   
   dressed in silver comes out of the woods. She says she has no money for the   
   toll. Then a handful or more like her come out and shoot arrows at the men.   
   One gets hit in the shoulder. Xena's Chakram breaks the other arrows. She   
   flips and lands between the archers and men and deflects arrows with her   
   Chakram. Gabrielle is holding Eve behind a tree out of danger. Xena and the   
   leader face off and they sword fight some. Xena's sword cuts her cheek. She   
   whistles and all the women warriors run off.   
      
   Xena thinks it's Ares doing it. He appears and hints it's another god. Xena   
   pulls the arrow from the man's shoulder and realizes it’s Athena.   
      
   The woman warrior, Ilanius (or Elanius), is on horseback with Athena. Athena   
   heals her wound, and says she will kill Eve for Zeus.   
      
       Xena and Gabrielle arrive in Amphipolis and lets Cyrene hold Eve, then   
   hustle them to safety.   
      
       Athena and Ilanius are looking at a model of Amphipolis. Ares appears   
   and notices that Athena has legions from Rome, Cleopatra's Royal Guard,   
   knights from Britannia, and her own elite archers. Athena asks why he is   
   there. He says his survival is also at stake. Athena reminds him of rumors   
   about him offering to protect Xena if she'll give him a child, and Ilanius   
   mentions that she refused. Athena says the people of Amphipolis are loyal to   
   her and will give up Eve.   
      
       Xena is telling the people of Amphipolis that she doesn't want to bring   
   the army down on them, but won't sacrifice her child. Athena appears and   
   asks the people that if  they are eager to die for Eve. Cyrene starts   
   singing and the rest of them join in. Athena says she protected them over   
   the years and this is how they repay her. And they have chosen their fate.   
      
       The armies approach. The towns folk are in trenches. Gabrielle yells   
   'fire!' and barrels of a flammable liquid are thrown with catapults onto the   
   soldiers.  Then the townies attack the soldiers. Gabrielle is using a staff   
   or large spear.   
      
       Athena is suspicious of the attack and suspects Xena has some kind of   
   plan.   
      
       Xena and townies are in tunnels that will lead them behind the soldiers.   
   But Ilanius and soldiers are blocking their way. They ignite Greek fire and   
   everyone runs away. Xena knocks down a tunnel support to block the way and   
   the explosion goes up and stops the battle. Gabrielle, now using a sword,   
   has the survivors fall back to the trenches.   
      
       Gabrielle tells Xena that if she puts on captured armor, Xena and Eve   
   can escape  after dark and Athena will stop the attack. Xena disagrees.   
   Suddenly arrows rain down on everyone as the archers shoot volley after   
   volley. Ilanuis starts to shoot a little girl. Xena flips through the air   
   and catches the arrow. Ilanius laughs and they withdraw.   
      
       Inside a makeshift hospital, Athena appears to Xena, no one else can see   
   her. Xena says she was the only god she respected. Athena says she has no   
   choice, the Fates decreed it. Xena argues that warriors make their own fate.   
   She offers to fight Athena with no tricks or god-like powers to settle it   
   but Athena refuses. Athena says she poisoned the water and asks what will   
   she give them when they are dying of thirst – love?   
      
       Xena goes into Ares' temple and calls him out. He says she's losing   
   because she's fighting the goddess of wisdom and warfare. Xena offers to   
   give Ares the child he wants if he'll side with her against Athena. If he'll   
   help her, she is his. She kisses him, but he jerks back because he doesn't   
   trust her. He says she's always coming with some way to mess with his head.   
      
       A pig farmer is complaining about not being a soldier and all he knows   
   about Eli is that Ares killed him. Gabrielle grabs him, then berates   
   everyone, saying they are not just fighting for Eve, but for all of their   
   children. She calls out for Ares. She says she knows Xena made him an offer   
   but if he accepts, she'll never love him, but she has never said anything   
   she doesn't mean. He disappears with a thoughtful look on his face.   
      
       Ares goes back to Athena's camp. He says maybe he can convince Xena to   
   leave with Eve. And he mentions that maybe the prophecy is self-fulfilling –   
   what can Xena's baby really do to them? Athena says Zeus is already dead,   
   and there will be no compromise.   
      
       Ares goes back to his temple and finds Xena's armor on the floor. She is   
   on a sofa wrapped in a skin, offering herself to him. She throws him down on   
   the sofa, lies on top of him and they start kissing. She stops and asks if   
   he hears something, he says he didn't. An explosion breaks open part of a   
   wall and Cyrene with Eve sees them there. Xena says it isn't what it looks   
   like. Ares says yes it is.  Cyrene says Gabrielle has started an attack on   
   Athena's army. Xena gets dress to go help.   
      
        Athena and Ilanius are watching the battle. Athena tells  her to put an   
   arrow into Gabrielle, who is using a long-handled croquet mallet to fight   
   with. Suddenly they see Xena walking into the battle carrying Eve.   
      
       Xena says she is giving up Eve to save the people and for Athena to pull   
   back her army. Xena puts Eve on the ground and Athena draws her sword to   
   kill her. But Ares appears in front of her, stopping her. Xena yells to   
   Gabrielle who yells for more of the townies to attack. Ares and Athena sword   
   fight. Xena and Ilanius sword fight. The townies and Gabrielle fight the   
   soldiers.   
      
       Xena stabs Ilanius and she dies in Athena's arms, since her wound was   
   beyond Athena's healing powers. As she dies, Athena tells Ares to take a   
   good look because they're next. And she and Ilanius disappear.   
      
       Ares expects Xena to keep her bargain. She refuses because Ares saved a   
   doll, not Eve. He asks if she didn't feel anything in the temple. She says   
   she felt nothing. After he disappears she confesses she felt something.   
      
       Xena and Gabrielle, explain to Cyrene they had everything planned out.   
      
       As they are walking away Gabrielle asks if Xena really felt something.   
   Xena says she didn't say that, but maybe felt a little something.   
      
   ………………………….   
      
   Xena is back in her original leathers and armor.   
      
   And another good episode. Lots of good action, some good lines, and Xena   
   messing with Ares' head – again. But it's another episode I remembered   
   nothing about, so it wqas like a brand new one to me.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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