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Sep 18, 202312 min read


 

Traits of the Creed: Bayek of Siwa

- Written by Adam - Virtual Photography by Evie & Chris -

 

Of the many things Assassin’s Creed is known for, one of its most notable aspects is its protagonists. AC is filled with a variety of complex and relatable characters. In this series, I’d like to explore the main protagonists of the franchise and analyse their personalities. While I can’t cover the entirety of personality in this article. (It's a broad topic). Hopefully, you will find this article insightful and learn a little bit more about your favourite characters, starting with the Last Protector of Egypt himself, Bayek of Siwa.


Virtual Photography by Evie


What is Personality?

A few things you should be aware of; Psychology defines personality as the stable characteristics and behaviours that surround a person’s unique ability to live their life. This includes major traits, interests, values, perception of oneself, and more. There are various theories and measurements for personality, but all agree that it determines a persons’ behaviour. Personality, while fairly stable can change throughout life due to life events and age.


How Do We Measure Personality?

As mentioned above, there are many ways to measure personality; and all vary in effectiveness depending on who you ask. Most psychologists use The Big Five Model of trait dimensions coined by McCrae & Costa, 1992. The Big Five Model has an individual fall on a scale for each trait, and a person may be higher than the general population for one characteristic and lower on the scale for another. Combining these traits describes the persons’ personality.


The Big 5 Personality traits are:

  • Openness

  • Agreeableness

  • Extraversion

  • Conscientiousness

  • Neuroticism


Openness, openness–to-experience, also called openness-mindedness reflects how willing a person is to accept new ideas and the complexities of their mental life. Elements of openness include intellectual curiosity and having a vivid imagination.


Agreeableness is an individual's ability or lack thereof of helpfulness to other people and their degree of positivity. Elements of this trait include respectfulness, compassion, altruism and their trusting nature.


Extraversion speaks for itself. I suspect most of you know the concept of Introversion and Extroversion. In psychological terms, Extraversion is the process of a person being energised from outside sources e.g., social activities. Introversion is on the opposite end of the scale, where a person receives energy from inward sources e.g., reading a book. In reality, most people are what are called ambiverts. They adapt based on the situation they find themselves in.


Conscientiousness is a person’s ability to control impulses and act responsibly and productively. Grit is a much-talked-about sub-factor that involves persistence or stubbornness toward a particular goal.


Neuroticism is a person’s disposition to experiencing negative and demanding emotional states such as depression and anxiety. Neurotic people are often more likely to experience negative emotions than non-neurotic people. The opposite of Neuroticism is often called ‘’emotional stability.


Figure 1: A visual representation of the Big 5 personality traits


Overview

Now that we’ve got that information dump out of the way, let's talk about Bayek. I thought it would be interesting to complete a few Big Five tests answering as I think Bayek would. Keep in mind that these results would not hold up under scientific scrutiny because the tests are all slightly different in wording, and the inventory size differs from test to test. This means that the results will not be consistent. Not to mention the fact that I’m not Bayek! Further complicating matters is the blurry line between gameplay and narrative. What do we take as canon and what do we ignore? Psychologists would brand these results as lacking ecological validity, (they don’t reflect the real world) but they are interesting nonetheless.



Figure 2: Bayek’s biggest trait is conscientiousness


According to this test, Bayek’s most prominent traits are Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Interestingly, his lowest trait is Extraversion



Figure 3: A pattern is emerging



These results paint much the same picture as the previous ones. Agreeableness and Conscientiousness are his most prominent traits, while Extraversion is his lowest. Something of note: Neuroticism is higher with this chart, suggesting he is less emotionally stable.


Figure 4: Openness looks to be an anomaly


See what I mean about the results not being consistent? The scale of this test goes above 100. Still, there is a clear pattern to this, with Conscientiousness and Agreeableness being the highest.


Two of Bayek’s most notable traits are Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. The former can be explained through Bayek’s role as a Medjay and the historical context in which he lives. Medjay were an elite force of warriors that protected the pharaoh and Egypt’s interests throughout the Old, Middle and New Kingdom periods of Egypt. They were the elite guard of the pharaoh, protected tombs and were a symbol of honour, courage and duty. Citizens who became Medjay were bestowed with a badge emblazoned with the Eye of Horus, representing the protection of the Egyptian people.



The Medjay’s duties were hereditary for the most part and this created bloodlines that revolved around the duties of the Medjay. This is what happened to Bayek. His father, Sabu, taught him the ways of the Medjay and this ingrained a sense of duty in Bayek to help the Egyptian people from an early age. To hammer the point home, during the Ptolemaic dynasty, Medjay were in short supply. At the start of Origins, Bayek was one of two Medjay, the other being Hepzefa, heightening that sense of duty.


Bayek reuniting with Hepzefa
Bayek reuniting with Hepzefa


Conscientiousness is the more complicated of the two. While Bayek has a lot of anger and rightly so, he channels that anger into his quest for revenge. Whether you can call that responsible is up for interpretation. However, his revenge does take on a higher level when he is called to action by Cleopatra in defence of Egypt against the Order of the Ancients and could be considered responsible.5 Grit, one of the subfactors of this trait is something that Bayek has in spades. Dropping his duties as Medjay, sacrificing his relationship with Aya for revenge and later for the Hidden Ones takes a lot of determination.


There is one aspect of conscientiousness that Bayek struggles with. His impulses, specifically, his love for Aya. Throughout the story of Origins, Bayek is constantly pining for their relationship to return to the state it was in before the death of their son, Khemu. This links to, in my opinion, Bayek’s major flaw, moving on. But more on that later.


Aya and Bayek together in Assassin's Creed Origins, The Hidden Ones DLC
Aya and Bayek together in Assassin's Creed Origins, The Hidden Ones DLC


In every one of the results, we see that Extraversion is Bayek’s lowest-ranked trait. This is understandable if we track the change in extraversion through Bayek’s life events. Before the death of his son, Bayek was kind and jovial, often playing pranks on Khemu. As mentioned before, he possessed a sense of justice and honour befitting that of a Medjay but after Khemu’s death, he was less willing to trust people, other than his close allies and friends.


He still maintained his lighthearted nature with those who were close to him but showed no remorse for those who, in his mind, had destroyed his life. This doesn’t mean that he is without sympathy for his enemies though. After discovering that Khaliset lost her child, Bayek took pity on her and prayed they would meet again in the afterlife.


He still followed the ways of the Medjay even though his focus was on his revenge, helping and protecting the people of Egypt which can be seen in the many side-quests of Origins. All this suggests that Bayek is an ambivert, like many people. Someone that changes their behaviour based on the situation at hand.


Considering the time Bayek lived in, it’s a surprise that he is as open to experience as he is. Even more so as he is a deeply religious person. Religious individuals in the past were often less open to new experiences, putting almost everything down to higher powers and not because of themselves or coincidence.


This is exasperated in times of great stress, where we fall back on what we know and resist any outward perspectives.7 This could be taken to extremes at times. An example you might have heard of is Pope Urban II convening the Council of Clermont, serving as one of the catalysts for the First Crusade and is partly the reason why the Middle East is constantly at odds with each other and the West today.


Psychologists have aptly named this Rigidity. This is simply a resistance to any change, habits, attitudes and beliefs. This change can seem to welcome chaos and in its advanced form, can inhibit compassion and breed intolerance ala Pope Urban II and the First Crusade. Any person living in Ptolemaic Egypt would likely have a psychological-entropy complex; (uncertainty/anxiety about the disorder that can come from social and environmental changes). Bayek avoids this complex and actively combats it by marrying Aya, a half-Greek woman. In an age where most Egyptians see the Greeks and Romans interfering in their culture and lifestyle, it's impressive that he manages to go against typical social norms.


Bayek smashing Medunamun's head with an Apple of Eden
Bayek smashing Medunamun's head with an Apple of Eden


Neuroticism is where it gets muddy for me. I would consider Bayek to be quite neurotic. He does tend to focus on the negative a lot, as you’d expect from someone bent on revenge. But he never lets it overtake him. Anger and assignment of blame are natural and typical responses to any death. In this day and age, it could be considered socially unacceptable to feel angry or assign the blame but in Bayek’s time, it was encouraged that those who killed family or close friends be punished severely. This is important because the anticipated social outcome can affect the amount of anger felt and the desire for revenge.



The Dark Triad Traits

In addition to the Big Five, psychologists have taken to using three additional traits to study our more nefarious personality traits. These are:


Psychopathology - Covers a lack of empathy, remorse and impulse control among other things. Someone who is highly psychopathic may tend to hurt others without taking responsibility or feeling emotion.


Narcissism - A person’s sense of self-importance and need for entitlement compared to others. Usually manifests itself in the forms of excessive attention-seeking or desire for admiration.


Machiavellianism - Some of you might recognise this one! This refers to a person treating other people to further their own goals. Includes manipulation.


It's important to note, that while Bayek does not show many of the behaviours associated with these traits, it's likely that he can ‘turn off’ his conscience when taking revenge on his son’s killers. This is something that all normal functioning people can do if they choose to.




Psychosis and Disorders

On a surface level, it may seem like Bayek suffers from PTSD. In my not-so-clinical opinion, this is not the case. If we go by the DSM-5, the most commonly used statistical manual for diagnosis, Bayek meets six of the 8 criteria required for a PTSD diagnosis. These are:


  • A stressor, witnessing trauma and arguably direct exposure

  • Intrusion symptoms, unwanted upsetting memories, nightmares, flashbacks, and emotional distress after being exposed to things that remind him of the trauma.

  • Negative changes in mood and/or cognition, Exaggerating his own blame and the blame of others.

  • Changes in arousal or reactivity, difficulty sleeping, irritability and aggression.

  • Duration: This one's self-explanatory, symptoms last more than a month.

  • The exclusion of any substance use or medication which could have caused the symptoms.


In combination with these symptoms, Bayek must also experience high levels of what is called; Dissociative Specification. This could either be:


  • Depersonalisation; an experience of being ‘outside’ or detached from yourself.

  • Derealisation: Experiencing distortion or things not being real.

  • Delayed Specification, the full diagnostic criteria are not met until six months after the incident even though the symptoms may occur instantly.


There are a few examples of the criteria and Dissociative Specification that can be explained by Bayek being forced to use substances but for the most part, it’s all brought on by the death of his son. Diagnosis isn’t an exact science and can require a bit of guesswork depending on the individual.



Bayek kissing Khemu's toy
Bayek kissing Khemu's toy


Survivor’s Guilt

Survivor’s Guilt is a particularly common type of guilt occurring in people who have survived a traumatic event. Some may feel guilt that they survived while others died and some may feel that they could have done more to save people. It’s important to know that the DSM-5 lists Survivor’s Guilt as a symptom of PTSD. It can be seen as one of the many cognitive and/or mood related aspects of PTSD. However, you can suffer from Survivor's Guilt and not have PTSD and vice-versa.


Individuality is important. The reach and severity of guilt vary from person to person. They can also be incredibly similar to those of PTSD. In Bayek’s case, he seems to suffer from;

  • Irritability

  • Mood swings and angry outbursts

  • Obsessive thoughts about the event.


I think it’s extremely likely that Bayek might experience feelings of regret. He might repeatedly ruminate about what happened and what he could have done to save Khemu. This would have deepened the guilt and this is made worse by his failure to do his duty, to protect the innocent on multiple levels, as a father and a medjay. This is why he becomes a Hidden One. To prevent others from suffering the same fate as Khemu.


Taking it further, this rumination might lead to Hindsight bias. Bayek may think back and overestimate his ability to predict the result of the event. Because he felt he should have known what would happen, he might become fixated that he could have prevented Khemu’s death. This leads nicely into another psychological construct.


The Saviour Complex

The Saviour Complex can manifest itself in the need to help others. A person may feel a responsibility to save others. Where it becomes problematic is the need to rescue others at the expense of yourself physically and/or mentally. While not an official diagnosis, it is a state of mind and can be dangerous. To be honest, it can be attributed to the majority of fictional characters including other AC characters. Its use is poignant as Bayek could have developed it because he failed to save his son. This coupled with the fact he was instilled with a strong sense of justice, honour and responsibility as a child, makes this more likely.


Bayek convincing Kawab to change his life for better
Bayek convincing Kawab to change his life for better


Evolutionary Theory and MAOA

Evolutionary Theory is a complex topic that covers all aspects of our psychology from the viewpoint of evolution throughout the history of the human race. I’d like to touch on one aspect that is particularly connected to Bayek, aggression. Bayek is perhaps the angriest protagonist we’ve seen in the series so far and he has a right to be. But where did that aggression come from?


Evolutionary theory suggests that the earliest humans lived in a world where danger lurked at every turn. Because of this, they had a heightened fight or flight response and were more aggressive, allowing them to defend themselves from the worst nature had to offer and even each other. Fast forward to today, the need for aggression has been diluted somewhat. Wars are often fought at long distances, and close-quarters combat is less likely. Aggression has been filtered into our modern lives in the form of rage-quitting, arguments with friends and family etc. Modern society has little use for aggression. In most cases, it actively frowns upon it.


Back in Bayek’s time, anger was common and an accepted outlet. Combat today is no less bloody and gory than it was back then. The difference is that most of it was up close and personal. Even revenge was widely accepted in many cultures. The sudden death of a child will contribute heavily to the parent experiencing anger. From a social psychology standpoint, society’s reaction to the death of a child reduces the likelihood of a parent wanting revenge for their child. This is not the case in Ptolemaic Egypt. While modern society frowned upon aggression, it was normal and actively encouraged in many historical societies.


Related to this is the MAOA gene, commonly known today as the criminal or warrior gene. Mentioned briefly in the Assassin’s Creed 2016 film, this is what Sophia blames for Cal’s violent tendencies. While the reality is more complicated than that, she isn’t entirely wrong. MAOA is a gene that codes for the production of monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A),an enzyme involved in breaking down the neurotransmitters in the brain, including dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin. The low activity of this gene has been linked to increased levels of violence and aggression. Data from a 2007 study suggests that those people with MAOA-L are hypersensitive, making them more affected by negative experiences and more prone to react aggressively.


The first study that investigated behaviour in response to being provoked showed that people with low MAOA activity displayed more aggression than people with high MAOA activity. The environment has also been shown to play a part. Both groups showed similar levels of aggression when faced with low provocation, while people with MAOA-L activity displayed significantly higher levels of aggression in high-provocation situations. Keep in mind that society was more dangerous historically than it is today.


While this isn’t a certainty, I would not be surprised if Bayek possessed this gene. Violence was a part of life back then and it still is. I suspect MAOA would come in handy if you were involved in life-and-death situations as Bayek was. It is certainly a contributing factor and many assassins could possess the gene as it was passed down by ancestors who grew up knowing only violence, such as Altair.


I hope you have enjoyed my mini personality profile of the Last Protector of Egypt! Let us know if you would like to see more of this and what characters you’d like to see covered next.

By Adam Price


 

If you enjoyed this article be sure to follow Scholars of the Creed on BlueSky for more content on the art, history and science of the Assassin's Creed Universe. Safety and peace be upon you.

 

References




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