This article is about a fictional character. For other uses of the term, see Ghanima

Ghanima Atreides (pronounced /ɡɑːˈniːmə/; "spoil of war" in the Fremen language) is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Born at the end of Dune Messiah (1969), Ghanima is a central character in Children of Dune (1976).

She is the daughter of Paul Atreides and his Fremen concubine Chani, and the twin sister to Leto Atreides II. Like her aunt Alia and her brother Leto, Ghanima is pre-born; Chani had consumed so much melange during her pregnancy that Leto and Ghanima had awakened to full, adult consciousness before birth, receiving the genetic memories of both their male and female ancestors.

In the Bene Gesserit ritual known as the spice agony, an acolyte ingests an "illuminating poison" called the Water of Life which, if the initiate survives the ordeal, unlocks these Other Memories. These ego-personalities reside in the background of consciousness, but may be accessed to provide unique knowledge and insight. However, the memories unleashed in this ritual are always of female ancestors; access to the male line is unique to the pre-born, and theoretically to a specially-bred male known as the Kwisatz Haderach.

James Andrew McAvoy ( /ˈmækəvɔɪ/ MAK-ə-voi; born (1979-04-21)21 April 1979) is a Scottish stage and screen actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in 1995's The Near Room and continued to make mostly television appearances until the early 2000s. His notable television work includes State of Play, Shameless, and Frank Herbert's Children of Dune. Besides screen acting, McAvoy has appeared on stage with Three Days of Rain in 2009, and in 2011 he did voice work for animated films including Gnomeo & Juliet and Arthur Christmas.

Starting in 2003, McAvoy began to build his film resume with Bollywood Queen. That film was followed with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), a commercial hit. His performance in Kevin Macdonald's The Last King of Scotland achieved him not only critical praise, but several award nominations. 2007's critically acclaimed Atonement marked the breakthrough in McAvoy's career. It also earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination and his second BAFTA nomination. Another big point in the actor's career was starring in Wanted (2008). Since then, he is notable for playing Charles Xavier in the 2011 superhero film X-Men: First Class.

Leto Atreides II (/ˈleɪtoʊ əˈtreɪdiːz/; 10,205-13,724 A.G.) is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Born at the end of Dune Messiah (1969), Leto is a central character in Children of Dune (1976) and is the title character of God Emperor of Dune (1981). The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson sequels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007).

Leto is the son of Paul Atreides and his Fremen concubine Chani, and the twin brother of Ghanima. Leto is named for his paternal grandfather Duke Leto Atreides I, who is killed in the Harkonnen/Imperial invasion of the desert planet Arrakis (Dune) during the events of Dune (1965). Leto II is the second child of Paul to bear that name, the first having been killed as an infant by the Emperor's Sardaukar in Dune.

Chani dies giving birth to Leto and his twin sister Ghanima near the end of Dune Messiah. Blinded by the blast of a nuclear weapon called a stone burner, Paul is at a disadvantage when the Tleilaxu Face Dancer Scytale holds a knife over the newborns and threatens their death if Paul does not surrender his Empire to the Tleilaxu. Paul suddenly finds that he is able to see through the eyes of the infant Leto, allowing him to aim and throw a crysknife that kills Scytale.