Cults, Cant, and Converts: An Ideological Issue in Xena:Warrior Princess

This article addresses one of the more engaging and provocative issues in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess, namely that of the threats posed by fanaticism, fundamentalism, and zealotry. Concentrating on the most relevant episodes and providing a fairly wide survey regarding this theme, it illustrates how the series portrays the way various cults and their leaders can harm communities as well as individuals. This survey will also demonstrate that this is a major moral issue in the series, related to that of violence and aggression, as well as to the issue of self-sacrifice.