What Did Griffith Do? Berserk’s Most Infamous Betrayal Explained

Griffith is one of the most unforgettable characters in Berserk because he begins as a beautiful, charismatic leader with a dream that inspires absolute loyalty. For a long time, he looks like the kind of person who can change the world through ambition, strategy, and sheer force of will.

So, what did Griffith do? Griffith betrayed the Band of the Hawk during the Eclipse, sacrificed his comrades to become Femto, a member of the God Hand, and sexually assaulted Casca in front of Guts. This betrayal destroyed the group that once loved him and became the emotional core of Guts’ revenge.

This article explains what Griffith did, why the Eclipse matters, how his dream led to betrayal, and why this moment remains one of the darkest turning points in manga history. Spoilers ahead for Berserk’s Golden Age arc and Eclipse. For more manga character and story explainers, readers can also explore ManhwaClan.

Quick Answer: What Did Griffith Do?

The direct answer to what did Griffith do is that Griffith sacrificed the Band of the Hawk during the Eclipse so he could be reborn as Femto, the fifth member of the God Hand. During that event, most of his comrades were slaughtered by Apostles, while Guts and Casca survived with permanent trauma.

Question	Answer
Who is Griffith?	The former leader of the Band of the Hawk
What did Griffith do?	He sacrificed the Band of the Hawk during the Eclipse
What did he become?	Femto, a member of the God Hand
Who did he betray?	Guts, Casca, and the Band of the Hawk
What happened to Casca?	She was sexually assaulted by Griffith/Femto and left deeply traumatized
Why did he do it?	To reclaim his dream of obtaining a kingdom, no matter the cost

Griffith’s betrayal is not a small villain turn. It is the moment that changes Berserk from a tragic medieval war story into a nightmare about ambition, fate, sacrifice, revenge, and the cost of dreams.

Who Was Griffith Before the Eclipse?

Before the Eclipse, Griffith was the leader of the Band of the Hawk, a mercenary army that rose from battlefield obscurity to national fame. He was intelligent, beautiful, calm, strategic, and almost impossibly charismatic.

People followed Griffith because he made them believe in something larger than survival. His dream was to obtain his own kingdom, and the Band of the Hawk became the tool that carried him toward that dream.

Griffith was not a simple villain from the start. That is why his betrayal hurts so much. He gave people hope. He gave Guts a place to belong. He gave Casca purpose. He gave the Band of the Hawk a future that seemed impossible for ordinary mercenaries.

That is also why the question what did Griffith do carries so much emotional weight. He did not betray strangers. He betrayed the people who trusted him most.

Why Griffith’s Dream Was So Dangerous

Griffith’s dream was always beautiful and terrifying at the same time. He wanted a kingdom, and he was willing to use war, politics, strategy, and human lives to reach it.

At first, his ambition seems inspiring. The Band of the Hawk rises because Griffith gives them direction. But as the story continues, it becomes clear that Griffith’s dream is not something he can easily abandon. It is the center of his identity.

For Griffith, losing the dream is almost the same as losing himself. That is why Guts leaving the Band of the Hawk affects him so deeply. Guts was not just a soldier. He was someone Griffith wanted to possess, understand, and keep close.

When Guts defeats Griffith and leaves, Griffith’s control breaks. His reckless decision involving Princess Charlotte leads to his imprisonment, torture, and physical destruction. That collapse sets the stage for the Eclipse.

What Happened Before the Eclipse?

After Griffith is imprisoned, he is tortured for a long time and left physically ruined. When the Band of the Hawk finally rescues him, they do not find the shining leader they once followed. They find someone broken, silent, and unable to continue the life he had built.

This is one of the most important parts of understanding what did Griffith do. His choice during the Eclipse does not happen while he is still at the height of power. It happens after he has lost almost everything that made his dream possible.

Griffith can no longer lead as he once did. He can no longer fight, speak, or command the future through ordinary human means. His dream appears dead.

That despair makes him vulnerable to the Crimson Behelit, which activates and pulls him, Guts, Casca, and the Band of the Hawk into the Eclipse.

What Was the Eclipse?

The Eclipse is the event where Griffith is offered a choice by the God Hand. He can remain broken and powerless, or he can sacrifice the Band of the Hawk and be reborn as something beyond human.

This choice is the center of Griffith’s betrayal. The Band of the Hawk is branded as sacrificial offerings. Apostles descend on them. The people who fought, bled, and believed in Griffith are slaughtered.

Griffith chooses his dream over them. He chooses ascension over loyalty. He chooses power over the lives of the people who carried him there.

That is the simplest answer to what did Griffith do: he traded his comrades for godlike power.

Griffith Sacrificed the Band of the Hawk

The sacrifice of the Band of the Hawk is one of the most devastating moments in Berserk. These were not faceless soldiers. They were people readers had spent the Golden Age arc getting to know.

The tragedy is that many of them believed Griffith would lead them to a better future. Instead, they become the price of his rebirth.

This is what makes Griffith’s act so unforgivable to many readers. He does not simply fail to save his comrades. He actively offers them as sacrifices.

That difference matters. The Eclipse is not only a massacre. It is a betrayal built on consent from Griffith. He accepts the exchange.

Griffith Became Femto

After the sacrifice, Griffith is reborn as Femto, the fifth member of the God Hand. This transformation is not just a power-up. It is the death of Griffith’s human limitations and the birth of something cold, distant, and demonic.

Femto represents the result of Griffith choosing his dream over humanity. He gains immense power, but the cost is everything that once connected him to ordinary human bonds.

This is why fans often separate Griffith and Femto while still holding Griffith responsible. Femto is his transformed form, but that transformation came from Griffith’s choice.

If you are new to the manga and want a broader story foundation before diving deeper into the Eclipse, read what is Berserk about.

What Did Griffith Do to Casca?

During the Eclipse, Griffith, reborn as Femto, sexually assaults Casca in front of Guts. This is one of the most disturbing and important moments in Berserk, and it should not be softened into a vague romantic or ambiguous scene.

Casca does not consent. The act is violence. It is used to traumatize both Casca and Guts, and it destroys Casca’s mental state for a long time afterward.

This is also why the question what did Griffith do cannot be answered only by saying he sacrificed the Band of the Hawk. His assault on Casca is part of the betrayal and one of the clearest examples of how far he has fallen.

The scene is horrifying because it targets both survivors in different ways. Casca is violated. Guts is forced to watch while helpless, losing an eye and an arm in his desperate attempt to reach her.

Why Did Griffith Do It?

Griffith did it because his dream mattered more to him than anything else. He wanted his kingdom so badly that, when faced with the choice, he accepted the sacrifice of everyone who had followed him.

There is also a personal layer involving Guts and Casca. Guts’ departure shattered Griffith’s control, and Guts’ bond with Casca developed while Griffith was broken and powerless. During the Eclipse, Griffith’s actions toward Casca also function as an act of domination and cruelty toward Guts.

But the bigger answer is ambition. Griffith chose the dream. He chose the castle. He chose transcendence.

That is why his betrayal is so central to Berserk. The manga asks whether a dream can become monstrous when every human bond is sacrificed to reach it.

Did Griffith Have a Choice?

This is one of the biggest debates in Berserk. The God Hand frames the Eclipse as fate, causality, and destiny. Griffith is pushed toward the moment by years of ambition, suffering, manipulation, and supernatural design.

However, the emotional force of the scene comes from the fact that Griffith still accepts. The story does not treat the sacrifice as something completely unrelated to his will.

Even if fate arranged the path, Griffith’s desire was real. His dream was real. His willingness to step over the bodies of his comrades was real.

That is why many readers see the Eclipse as both supernatural destiny and personal responsibility. Griffith may have been guided toward the choice, but the betrayal still belongs to him.

How Did Guts Survive?

Guts survives the Eclipse because the Skull Knight intervenes and rescues him and Casca. But survival does not mean escape from consequences.

Guts loses his right eye and left arm during the Eclipse. He is branded as a sacrifice, which means evil spirits and demonic beings are drawn to him afterward. His body survives, but his life is permanently changed.

Emotionally, Guts is consumed by rage, grief, and the need for revenge. The Eclipse becomes the wound that drives much of his Black Swordsman journey.

So when readers ask what did Griffith do, the aftermath is part of the answer. Griffith did not only kill the Band of the Hawk. He created the version of Guts who would spend years hunting Apostles and chasing revenge.

What Happened to Casca After the Eclipse?

Casca survives physically, but the trauma of the Eclipse leaves her mentally shattered for a long time. Her sense of self collapses, and she becomes unable to live as the same person she was before.

This is one of the cruelest consequences of Griffith’s act. Casca had already lived through war, hardship, loyalty, and emotional conflict. The Eclipse takes away not only her comrades but also her ability to remain herself.

Her trauma also changes Guts’ journey. At first, he is consumed by revenge, but Casca’s survival becomes a painful reminder that his path cannot be only about hatred.

Berserk uses Casca’s condition to show that trauma does not end when the violence ends. It continues through memory, body, identity, and relationships.

What Did Griffith Do After the Eclipse?

After the Eclipse, Griffith eventually returns to the physical world and begins building a new path toward his kingdom. He forms a new Band of the Hawk, now including Apostles and powerful followers.

This later Griffith is even more unsettling because he appears heroic to many people in the world. He saves cities, wins battles, gathers followers, and builds Falconia as a kingdom that seems like a refuge for humanity.

That contradiction is part of what makes him such a powerful antagonist. To the world, Griffith can look like a savior. To Guts and Casca, he is the person who destroyed everything.

This tension keeps Berserk morally and emotionally complex. Griffith’s beauty and success do not erase what he did.

Why Griffith’s Betrayal Still Matters

Griffith’s betrayal matters because it redefines the entire manga. Before the Eclipse, Berserk is already dark, but the Golden Age arc still has friendship, ambition, romance, and battlefield loyalty.

After the Eclipse, the story becomes something else. Guts is no longer only a mercenary trying to survive. He becomes the Black Swordsman, a man carrying rage against forces that feel almost impossible to defeat.

The betrayal also changes how readers understand dreams. Griffith’s dream is not portrayed as simple evil at first. That is what makes it frightening. A beautiful dream becomes monstrous when it demands human sacrifice.

If you are following the manga’s current publication status, read is the Berserk manga finished.

Was Griffith Evil From the Beginning?

Griffith is complicated because he was not written as a simple villain from his first appearance. He was ambitious, controlling, and willing to use people, but he also inspired loyalty and seemed capable of genuine connection.

That complexity makes the betrayal stronger. If Griffith had always been obviously evil, the Eclipse would not hurt the same way.

The tragedy is that the seeds were always there. His dream was always above everything. His need to possess Guts was always dangerous. His calm beauty always hid something colder.

So was Griffith evil from the beginning? The better answer is that Griffith always had the capacity to choose his dream over others, and the Eclipse reveals that capacity in its most horrific form.

Common Misconceptions About What Griffith Did

One common misconception is that Griffith only made a mistake. That is too soft. He sacrificed the Band of the Hawk and violated Casca. These are not minor mistakes. They are defining acts of betrayal.

Another misconception is that Griffith had no responsibility because of fate. Causality is important in Berserk, but the emotional weight of the Eclipse depends on Griffith accepting the sacrifice.

Some readers also claim Casca’s assault was ambiguous. It was not. The scene is sexual violence and is shown as traumatic.

Another misconception is that Griffith’s later achievements erase his crimes. They do not. Falconia may look like salvation to many people, but it does not undo the Eclipse.

The final misconception is that Griffith and Femto should be treated as completely separate moral beings. Femto is Griffith transformed, but that transformation came from Griffith’s choice.

FAQs

What did Griffith do in Berserk?

Griffith sacrificed the Band of the Hawk during the Eclipse, became Femto, and sexually assaulted Casca in front of Guts. This betrayal becomes the central trauma that drives much of Berserk.

Why did Griffith betray the Band of the Hawk?

Griffith betrayed the Band of the Hawk because he chose his dream of obtaining a kingdom over the lives of his comrades. The God Hand offered him power, and he accepted the sacrifice.

What did Griffith do to Casca?

Griffith, reborn as Femto, sexually assaulted Casca during the Eclipse. The act traumatized Casca and Guts and remains one of the darkest moments in the manga.

Did Griffith become Femto?

Yes, Griffith became Femto after sacrificing the Band of the Hawk during the Eclipse. Femto is his God Hand form.

Did Griffith kill the Band of the Hawk?

Griffith offered the Band of the Hawk as sacrifices. Apostles slaughtered most of the group during the Eclipse as part of his ascension.

Why does Guts hate Griffith?

Guts hates Griffith because Griffith betrayed the Band of the Hawk, sacrificed their comrades, assaulted Casca, and destroyed the life they had built together.

Is Griffith the main villain of Berserk?

Yes, Griffith is widely treated as the central antagonist of Berserk. His betrayal during the Eclipse defines the conflict between him and Guts.

Conclusion

So, what did Griffith do? Griffith sacrificed the Band of the Hawk, became Femto, sexually assaulted Casca, and shattered Guts’ life. His betrayal is one of the most infamous moments in manga because it turns loyalty, ambition, and friendship into horror.

The Eclipse is not only shocking because people die. It is shocking because Griffith chooses his dream over the people who loved and followed him. He transforms a shared journey into a sacrifice altar.

That is why Griffith remains one of manga’s most disturbing characters. He is beautiful, brilliant, and successful, but none of that erases what he did. His dream created a kingdom, but it was built on betrayal.