Kodos the Executioner - Definition

Kodos the Executioner in 2266

In 2246, a rare fungus destroyed most of the colony's food and the 8,000 colonists were faced with starvation. To combat the crisis, Governor Kodos began implementing his own theories of eugenics and subsequently executed 4,000 of the colonists.

The revolution is successful. But survival depends on drastic measures. Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony. Therefore I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV.

— excerpt from Kodos' speech to the 4,000 people he murdered.

Shortly afterwards, relief ships arrived sooner than expected. A burned, unidentifiable corpse was subsequently discovered and presumed to be Kodos's. Twenty years later, Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, one of the last survivors of the massacre, learned that Kodos had not died but had fled and became the actor known as Anton Karidian.

In the ensuing drama, Karidian (Kodos) is killed by his deranged daughter, Lenore.

Arnold Moss played the part of Kodos.

See also

• Star Trek: The Original Series
• Star Trek.com's Episode Summary (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TOS/episode/68686.html)