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This article is about the Relic in Age of Mythology. For other uses, see Relic.
Relic aom prev

Relics are mythical objects in Age of Mythology that each confer a different bonus to a player once garrisoned in a Temple. Players can collect and garrison multiple Relics, though each Temple can only store five each. They can only be picked up by heroes. Egyptian Priests can pick up Relics only once Hands of the Pharaoh is researched.

There are 49 Relics in Age of Mythology.

Contents[]

List of Relics[]

A Pair of Golden Lions[]

Aomrelicskull
  • Effect: A pair of Golden Lions appears at a Temple; they respawn one minute after both are killed.
  • Use: Good early on in a rush, or for scouting.
  • Mythical reference: The story of Atalanta, who was turned into a lion (along with her lover) as a result of fornicating in a temple dedicated to Artemis. Could alternatively be a reference to Freya, whose chariot was pulled by a pair of giant cats.
Note: The Relic always spawns two Lions at a time. If a single Golden Lion has been killed, the other one must die as well for the pair to respawn again.

Ankh of Ra[]

Aomrelicvase
  • Effect: Produces a trickle of 2.4 favor per minute.
  • Use: Useful for all, especially for the Norse early on.
  • Mythical reference: The ankh was a symbol of eternal life in ancient Egypt. Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, notably Ra.

Anvil of Hephaestus[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Armory technologies cost 10% less.
  • Mythical reference: Hephaestus was the blacksmith god and was commonly identified with an anvil.

Armor of Achilles[]

Aomrelicarmor
  • Effect: Infantry units have 5% less vulnerability to hack damage.
  • Mythical reference: Achilles, the legendary Greek hero who was invulnerable in all but one spot - his heel. After the Trojan War, Ajax and Odysseus competed for possession of Achilles' armor.

Arrows of the Alfar[]

Aomrelicweapons

Black Lotus[]

Aomrelicvase
  • Effect: Villagers collect food from Farms 10% faster.
  • Use: A solid benefit to any player from the mid-game onwards.
  • Mythical reference: In the Odyssey, the lotus is a plant with a narcotic effect, encountered by Odysseus and his crew. In some Asian cultures, the real lotus flower is regarded as a symbol of purity. It could also be reference to one of the most expensive cards in the card game Magic: The Gathering.

Blanket of Empress Zoe[]

Aomrelicshield
  • Effect: Buildings take 20% less crush damage.
  • Mythical reference: Possibly named after one of several Byzantine empresses named Zoe.

Blue Crystal Shard[]

Aomrelicvase
  • Effect: Gold and wood gather rates increased by 5%.
  • Use: A benefit that adds up significantly over time.

Boots of Kick Everything[]

Aomrelicarmor
  • Effect: Hero units move 10% faster.
  • Use: Very useful both in combat and to collect other Relics, especially for the slow-moving Egyptian heroes.
  • Mythical reference: Magical boots that grant the wearer super-speed are found in numerous fairy tales and myths. The name of the Relic itself, however, is something of a joke.

Bow of Artemis[]

Aomrelicweapons

Bridle of Pegasus[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Summons a Pegasus for free one minute after the Relic has been garrisoned. When killed, another Pegasus will simply respawn at the Temple after a minute.
  • Use: Vast improvement to scouting for the Egyptians, Norse, Atlanteans, and Chinese. For the Greeks, it can be beneficial to players who are still in the Archaic Age or do not prefer to select Hermes when advancing to the Classical Age, as it can save at least 50 food, 2 favor. Also note for the Greeks that this Relic will not spawn a Pegasus if the player has at least one existing on the map.
  • Mythical reference: Possibly the same bridle used by Bellerophon to tame the original Pegasus.

Canopic Jar of Imsety[]

Aomrelicvase
  • Effect: Infantry units are trained 15% faster.
  • Use: Useful for any player using lots of infantry, especially the Norse.
  • Mythical reference: Canopic jars were used in mummification in Ancient Egypt. Imsety was one of the four sons of Horus and is commonly depicted as a mummified man.

Scales of a Catoblepas[]

Aomrelicskull
  • Effect: Myth units take 20% less crush damage.
  • Use: A fairly minor improvement (typically amounting to only 4%).
  • Mythical reference: The Catoblepas was a mythical beast from Greek folklore. Described as having the body of a bull and a shaggy, heavy head, its gaze or breath could petrify people.

Dwarven Calipers[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Siege Weapons cost 20% less resources.
  • Use: A substantial saving on these very expensive units.
  • Mythical reference: Dwarves were said to be master smiths and craftsmen, capable of creating almost any object imaginable, from Mjรถllnir, Thor's hammer, to Gullinbursti, Freyr's animated golden boar statue.

Eye of Horus[]

Aomrelicvase
  • Effect: Town Centers support +2 population.
  • Mythical reference: The Eye of Horus was a symbol of protection, good health, and royal power in ancient Egypt.

Eye of Ornlu[]

Aomrelicskull
  • Effect: Hypaspists, Axemen, Throwing Axemen, Cataphract, and Cheiroballistae deal 5% more damage.
  • Use: A minor benefit to counter-infantry infantry units, as well as Cataphracts and Cheiroballistae.
  • Reference: Ornlu, the alpha male wolf from the first scenario of the Genghis Khan campaign from Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings.

Fetters of Fenrir[]

Aomrelicskull
  • Effect: Worker units can kill nearly all wild animals in a single shot.
  • Use: Sometimes useful, as it means dangerous animals (predators and aggressive huntables) can be killed by workers without taking losses. Particularly useful against Set players, as it also applies against all Animals of Set.
  • Mythical reference: Gleipnir, the ribbon said to hold the monstrous wolf Fenrir (or Fenris) shackled until Ragnarok comes, when he would break free of its bonds.

Flagstone of Buhen[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Walls cost 25% less resources.
  • Use: Not much of a saving except for highly defensive players.
  • Mythical reference: The ancient Egyptian town of Buhen, known for its fortress.

Gaia's Book of Knowledge[]

Aomrelicweapons
  • Effect: Infantry do 300% more damage against Titans.
  • Use: Good for defending against Titans, although this does not apply to infantry heroes, Including Atlantean infantry upgraded to heroes.
  • Reference: In The New Atlantis campaign, Gaia wishes to imprison the Titans back into Tartarus.

Girdle of Hippolyta[]

Aomrelicarmor

Grugnir, Odin's Spear[]

Aomrelicweapons

Harmonia's Necklace[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Worker units collect gold 10% faster.
  • Use: Useful to everyone, especially the gold-obsessed Egyptians.
  • Mythical reference: Harmonia, the Greek goddess of harmony and concord.

Harter's Folly[]

Aomrelicshield
  • Effect: Scout units gain +2 Line of Sight.
  • Use: Most useful in the early game, but has little overall effect.
  • Reference: Harter's Folly may be an indirect reference to Harper's Folly, a fishing ground near Charleston, North Carolina, USA. Additionally, it might reference Harter Ryan, an Ensemble employee.

Head of Orpheus[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Buildings gain +8 Line of Sight.
  • Use: A benefit to any player, especially defensive ones.
  • Mythical reference: Orpheus, the ancient Greek poet, musician and prophet who failed to rescue his beloved Eurydice from the realm of Hades. He fell so deep into mourning that a group of maenads tore him to pieces, thinking that he was spurning them. Despite this, his severed head continued to sing.

Hera's Thundercloud Shawl[]

Aomrelicshield
  • Effect: All human soldiers take 5% less pierce damage.
  • Mythical reference: Hera, wife of Zeus and Goddess of motherhood and marriage. The Thundercloud Shawl in question is probably an allusion to her husband's role as God of Thunder.

Khopesh of Horus[]

Aomrelicweapons
  • Effect: Heroes' damage multiplier against myth units is increased by one.
  • Mythical reference: The khopesh was a type of curved edged weapon in ancient Egypt. Horus wielded a khopesh against Set in his bid for the throne.

Kithara of Apollo[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Worker units move 10% faster.
  • Use: Always comes in handy, especially for the Atlanteans, whose Citizens are particularly slow.
  • Mythical reference: The kithara was a Greek musical instrument, a variant of the lyre and ancestor of the guitar. Apollo was the God of Music.

Mithril Horseshoes[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Cavalry units move 10% faster.
  • Use: Makes the already quick cavalry units even more devastating in their role.
  • Reference: Mithril is a fictional metal found in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, described as resembling silver but being stronger and lighter than steel.

Monkey Head[]

Aomrelicskull
  • Effect: Summons 3 Relic Monkeys 1 minute after garrisoning; they will respawn if all are killed.
  • Use: Useless in actual combat, but the Monkeys are adequate scouts.
  • Easter egg/reference: The Monkey Head is a recurring gag in the Age of Empires series since Age of Empires II. It is also a reference to the cheat in The Age of Kings, "I LOVE THE MONKEY HEAD".
Note: The Relic always spawns three Relic Monkeys at a time. If a Relic Monkey has been killed, the trio will not be complete again until the remaining two also die for them to respawn again.

Nose of the Sphinx[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: All buildings have 15% more hit points.
  • Mythical reference: The Sphinx was a creature from Egyptian mythology that had the body of a lion and the head of a human or several other creatures. The nose is a reference to the modern-day Sphinx at Giza. Its nose fell off centuries ago.

Odin's Wand[]

Aomrelicweapons
  • Effect: Temple technologies are 20% cheaper.
  • Use: Helps affording improvements for myth units and other myth technologies.
  • Mythological reference: Odin was also called Gondlir, which means Wand-Wielder or Wand-Bearer.

Oseberg Wagon[]

Aomrelicshield
  • Effect: Caravans are 25% cheaper and move 15% faster.
  • Use: Increases the generation of gold in the late game, which is typically very important.
  • Historical reference: Oseberg is the name given to a Viking ship that was discovered intact.

Pandora's Box[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Myth units are trained 25% faster.
  • Mythical reference: Pandora's Box is a famous Greek myth about a woman who opened a box that she was forbidden from opening, causing all the evils of the world to be unleashed.

Pelt of Argus[]

Aomrelicskull
  • Effect: All units gain 6 Line of Sight.
  • Mythical reference: Argus was a giant with a hundred eyes covering his body.

Pygmalion's Statue[]

Aomrelicshield
  • Effect: Worker units have 40% more hit points.
  • Use: Makes workers less likely to be eaten by wild predators or slaughtered by enemy raiders.
  • Mythical reference: Pygmalion was a sculptor in Phoenician-Greek mythology who fell in love with one of his creations, an ivory statue. The statue became a real woman when blessed by Aphrodite.

Reed of Nekhbet[]

Aomrelicvase
  • Effect: Naval myth units do double damage.
  • Use: Makes naval myth units super effective versus enemies.
  • Mythical reference: Nekhbet was a Predynastic Egyptian goddess who resembled a vulture.
Note: This Relic was deemed overpowered and was removed from the Relic-spawn list since The Titans.

Ring of the Nibelung[]

Aomrelicvase
  • Effect: Produces a trickle of 18 gold per minute.
  • Mythological reference: Nibelung was a member of the dwarven race who hoarded gold and magic, they were lead by the leader of the same name, and came from Nibelheim, Land of Mist. Whilst its name is a reference to Der Ring der Nibelungen, a Richard Wagner musical drama.
  • This Relic has a similar effect to the Relic in Age of Empires II and Age of Empires IV, albeit with a lower production.

Scarab Pendant[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Portable Rams, Scarabs, and Behemoths have their attack multiplier against buildings increased by one. Also affects Fire Siphons and Fire Lances in Tale of the Dragon.
  • Use: Improves slow expensive melee units which are good only against buildings better in their role.
  • Mythological reference: The scarab was a common symbol of Ra and pendants in its likeness were very common accessories among ancient Egyptians.

Shingles of Steel[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Houses and Manors have triple hit points.
  • Use: Makes the owner much less vulnerable to having their population cap compromised.
  • The game files indicate a multiplier of 1.5 for Manor HP.

Ship of Fingernails[]

Aomrelicvase
  • Effect: Produces a trickle of 24 food per minute.
  • Use: A slightly larger bonus than the Ring of the Nibelung, but for food which is more useful in the early game.
  • Mythical reference: The Ship of Fingernails (Naglfar, 'nail ship' in Old Norse) was a mythical ship made entirely of the fingernails and toenails of the dead.

Sistrum of Bast[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Worker units cost -10% food.
  • Use: The earlier it is collected, the more beneficial it is. Atlantean Citizen wood cost is not discounted.
  • Historical reference: A sistrum is an Egyptian musical instrument. The sistrum can be seen being held by Bast in Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Staff of Dionysus[]

Aomrelicweapons
  • Effect: Villager units can carry 20 extra food.
  • Use: Helpful, especially when hunting. Of no use to the Atlanteans.
  • Historical reference: A Thrysus (a type of staff) was commonly associated with Dionysus.

Tail of the Cerberus[]

Aomrelicskull
  • Effect: Myth units' special attacks recharge 25% faster.
  • Use: Increases their effectiveness against human units and other myth units. Especially useful for myth units with instant-kill abilities.
  • Mythical reference: Cerberus was the three-headed dog that guarded the Underworld in Greek mythology, keeping the dead in and the living out.

The Titans Treasure[]

Toothed Arrows[]

Aomrelicweapons
  • Effect: Archer units and Ballistae have 5% more attack. Also affects Throwing Axemen since Tale of the Dragon.
  • Historical reference: A toothed (or broadheaded) arrow is a type of arrow that had barbs on the back end of the head. These caused tremendous pain as they would become lodged in a body part and had to be pushed rather than pulled.

Tower of Sestus[]

Aomrelicweapons
  • Effect: Towers have 30% extra ranged attack and 10% extra boiling oil attack.
  • Use: Helps with defense and claiming neutral areas.
  • Historical/mythical reference: Sestus was a Greco-Thracian town near the Hellespont (modern Gallipoli). In Greek mythology, the priestess Hero lived in a tower at Sestus, where she would light a lamp each night to guide her lover Leander's way to her.

Trios Bow[]

Aomrelicweapons
  • Effect: Archer units have +2 Line of Sight and range. Also affects Throwing Axemen since Tale of the Dragon.

Trojan Gate Hinge[]

Aomreliccoins
  • Effect: Walls have 20% more hit points.
  • Literature reference: The Trojan Walls and Gates were unbreachable if the events of Homer's Illiad, and related stories to the Trojan War are any indication due to the length of the war.

Tusk of the Iron Boar[]

Aomrelicskull
  • Effect: Cavalry units and Chariot Archers have 10% more hit points.
  • Reference: As with the Eye of Ornlu, this is a reference to Age of Empires II. The Iron Boar was a creature that Attila the Hun hunted in the first level of his campaign.

Wedjat Eye[]

Aomrelicvase
  • Effect: Myth units cost 10% less food, wood, and gold.
  • Use: Helps reduce the cost of these very expensive units.
  • Mythical reference: The eye is personified in the goddess Wadjet.

Trivia[]

  • There was a Relic in the beta version called "Aeolus Bag of Winds", which boosted ship speed.
    • The Aeolus mentioned is the Greek God of Winds, who instead of aiding Odysseus and his men, gave them a bag filled with wind, which when opened by the curious sailors, blew them in all directions.
  • There are some Relics that appear in the The Ancient Relics scenario that grant god powers: (The effects of the following Relics are done via triggers)
    • Whirlwind Relic, which grants one use of Tornado.
    • Relic of Bronze, which grants one use of Bronze.
    • Relic of Earthquake, which grants one use of Earthquake.
    • Relic of Ancestors, which grants one use of Ancestors.
  • At one point in development, every Relic had a unique appearance. This idea was dropped, but the models for some of the Relics are still present in the game's files.
  • Every hero has a unique bored, walk, and idle animation whilst carrying a Relic.
  • If a Kronos player Time Shifts a Temple with Relics inside, the Relics will be automatically ejected and will stay next to the Temple's original position.
  • Unlike in Age of Empires II, players initially could not garrison Relics into an ally's Temple; this has been changed since patch 2.8 for Tale of the Dragon.
  • There are a few bugged Relics found in campaign scenarios. They do not have an icon, name, description, message when garrisoned, and just generally do not have any effect at all. Possibly a result of general gameplay changes, like the removal of Reed of Nekhbet, that were not properly handled for campaign scenarios.

Gallery[]

Gameplay elements in the Age of Empires series
Age ยท Ability (M ยท III ยท IV) ยท Architecture set (II ยท III) ยท Area of Effect (Trample damage) ยท Armor/Resists (hack/melee ยท pierce/ranged ยท crush/siege)  ยท Armor class/Tag (I - original ยท I - Return of Rome ยท II ยท IV) ยท Artificial intelligence ยท Attack (Attack bonus/Multiplier) ยท Attack delay ยท Attack ground ยท Aura ยท Auto Scout ยท Building (I ยท II ยท M ยท III ยท IV) ยท Civilization (I ยท II ยท M ยท III ยท IV) ยท Civilization bonus ยท Cheat code (I ยท II ยท M ยท III ยท IV) ยท Conversion ยท Counter ยท Diplomacy ยท Gaia/Mother Nature ยท Game modes ยท Garrison ยท Gather Point ยท Healing ยท Hit points ยท Hotkey ยท Line of Sight ยท Mini map ยท Player ยท Population ยท Range ยท Rate of Fire ยท Regeneration ยท Relic (II ยท M ยท IV) ยท Renewable resources ยท Repairing ยท Resource ยท Scenario Editor (I ยท II ยท M ยท III ยท IV) ยท Score ยท Signal Allies/Flare ยท Soundtrack (I ยท II ยท M ยท III ยท IV) ยท Speed ยท Stealth mode ยท Taunt ยท Technology (I ยท II ยท M ยท III ยท IV) ยท Technology tree (I ยท II ยท IV) ยท Town Bell ยท Trade ยท Tribute ยท Unit (I ยท II ยท M ยท III ยท IV) ยท Unit formation ยท Unit stance (III) ยท Upgrade (I ยท II ยท III) ยท User interface ยท Victory
Genie Engine
Frame delay ยท Full Tech Tree ยท Team bonus
ReturnRome-AoEIcon Age of EmpiresRuins ยท Discovery
AoE2-DLCicon-0 Age of Empires IIPass-through damage ยท Projectile duplication
Bang Engine
Autoqueue ยท Snare
Aom original icon Age of MythologyGod (Major ยท Minor) ยท God power ยท Settlement
3Icon48px Age of Empires IIIAge-up methods (Politician/Tribal Council/Wonder/Federal State/Allianceยท Banner army ยท Consulate ยท Damage Cap ยท Home City ยท Home City Card ยท Inspiring Flag ยท Promotion ยท Revolution ยท Target Lock ยท Trade Monopoly ยท Trade Route ยท Treasure
Essence Engine
GameIcon-AoE4 Age of Empires IVBounty ยท Dynasty ยท Fire armor ยท Imperial Council (Vizier Point) ยท Influence ยท Landmark ยท Religion ยท Sacred Site ยท Variant civilization
If a gameplay element has different pages across games, like civilization, the individual pages are linked in brackets.
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