Hades

**Hades** is the god of the Underworld and of the mineral riches of the earth, the lord and master of the House of Hades, and the father of Zagreus and Melinoë. He is in charge of maintaining order within the Underworld, determining the placements and punishments of the dead, and hearing the petitions of shades that come before him.

Hades is stern, serious, and dedicated to his work. In the Remembrances that play before some escape attempts, he is shown to have been strict and often cruel to Zagreus during his childhood. He employed Achilles to teach Zagreus fighting and give him more of a "firm direction in life." Meanwhile, Hades seems to have left much of the caretaking and raising of Zagreus to Nyx.

He is resentful of Zagreus' repeated attempts to escape the Underworld and greets his returns with scorn and mockery. Additionally, he will sometimes order shades to congregate near Zagreus to punish him with time trials or to defend his Infernal Troves, in addition to overseeing the Infernal Gates to Erebus. He berates Zagreus upon the prince managing to progress from Tartarus to Asphodel, from Asphodel to Elysium, and finally from Elysium to the Temple of Styx. After Zagreus successfully bribes Cerberus with a Satyr Sack to let him by without violence, Hades realizes that he needs to become personally involved and heads off to face Zagreus at the snowy grounds on the living side of the Temple's archway, having equipped his Helm of Darkness and his fearesome spear Gigaros, to vanquish his son and banish him back to the House. He is the final boss of the main game.

The twin-pronged Sigil of the Dead forms Hades's personal seal, appearing on his person and wargear and being widely used as a mark of cthonic power throughout the Underworld. In the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the House he is officially afforded the title of Unseen One, a ceremonial rank of immense status only achievable by Zagreus through an incredible amount of work and dedication.

Sometime after the events of Hades, he and Persephone manage to conceive a second child-Melinoë. In Hades II, his father Chronos, the Titan of Time, has escaped his imprisonment in the depths of the Underworld and captured Hades. His daughter, Melinoë, has promised to slay the Titan and rescue her father.

## Characteristics and Personality

Master Hades is the god responsible for ruling the underworld, a terrible place and the home of the souls of the afflicted. Lord Hades has the task of commanding and maintaining order within it, determining the placements and punishments of the dead. He listens to petitions from the shadows that come before him. He will block any impertinent chance of escape from his son Zagreus and ensure that various entities of the underworld are after him so that he does not escape.

Hades appears disciplined, dominant and rigid with work, applying the many rules of his domain with severe bureaucratic rigor. Zagreus has always seen his father as a "villain" in his life and has always considered him a distant, impatient, and hard-working man with no time for his son, belittling and acting harshly towards him, constantly reprimanding and repressing him, and always wishing for more attention from his father, but without success.

Despite maintaining composure, one can observe in Hades an extremely short fuse, especially with his brother, Zeus. Upon hearing from his son that "Zeus forgives him," in a tone of sarcasm and contradiction, Hades goes mad with fury at the insolence.

Hades is an enigmatic figure, even to the inhabitants of his own kingdom, or even to his own son. It is difficult to read him and say whether he does something for the good of someone or for inscrutable reasons. Despite his rough exterior, unlike his younger brother Zeus, who appears gregarious and benevolent, only on the outside, beneath all his tough exterior, Hades is well-intentioned, fair, takes his role seriously, and it was thanks to these qualities that Persephone saw in him, which led to their marriage and eventually having a "children" together.

Hades appears incredibly serious and practical. However, a healthy attitude can be observed; whenever Hades sees something he finds funny, he cannot contain himself and momentarily begins to laugh. Despite being inflexible, he appears to fear his wife Persephone, who seems to know all his weaknesses and complies with any request made by her.

Despite being the main antagonist of Hades, in the end, he chooses not to reveal to Zagreus about Persephone, to protect Zagreus from his own truth and largely to avoid a civil war by Demeter, and free Persephone from all the circumstances that bind her son. Hades apologizes to his son and admits that he was a poor father. Now, with Persephone, she is able to bring out the sweeter and gentler side of Hades, leading him to be more paternal and open about his affection for him. He is still not particularly warm towards him afterward. Nevertheless, their relationship improves considerably as he is more willing to acknowledge Zagreus's positive traits and not constantly belittle him as before, sounding more like a father and son.

## Physical description

Hades is a massive, hulking figure, significantly larger than any human. He has gray skin, red eyes with black sclera, and long, wavy, black hair. Notably, he also possesses a waist-length mustache whose two halves intersect each other across his upper chest, forming the shape of his symbol, Gigaros. He wears decadent red robes adorned with numerous pieces of golden, gem-encrusted jewelry with a skull motif. There is a flame-colored wreath laurel upon his head. Like Zagreus, Hades's bare feet emit a fiery glow and singe the ground as he walks.

Before fighting Zagreus, he also wears a long, red cape that he discards as the fight begins. In combat, he dons the Helm of Darkness, a tall, regal crown bearing the Gigaros symbol and the shape of three canine skulls.

## History

**Spoiler warning!**
This article contains detailed information about *Hades* that may spoil your enjoyment of discovering the game's secrets for yourself.
 Read at your own risk!

### Before Hades

Hades is the eldest son of the titan Chronos and rebelled along with his two brothers and the rest of the titans' children against their tyrannical rule. In the end, the Titans were defeated and imprisoned in the pits of Tartarus, Hades and his brothers Poseidon and Zeus drew lots to equally divide the world and Hades drew the shortest lot and received the Underworld as his dominion.

At some point during his rule, Hades became enamored with the daughter of Demeter, Persephone but was unabled to express his feelings to her due to fearing her overprotective mother's retaliation. However, Zeus who began to feel sympathy for his brother's plight and noticing Persephone's general unhappiness on Olympus took Persephone away and brought her to the Underworld as a gift to Hades. Hades was furious at Zeus's recklessness and decided to cut off contact with him and the rest of the Olympians despite this ordeal, he allowed Persephone to stay in the Underworld.

Slowly, Hades and Persephone fell in love and began their relationship culminating with Persephone becoming pregnant. Despite being warned by Hades and others that the Fates had decreed that he [Hades] would never have an heir, Persephone nonetheless was determined to have their child. Disaster soon befell Hades and Persephone the day their child was born, as their new son who they named Zagreus, was stillborn. The loss of their son was too much for Persephone and she left the Underworld for the surface leaving only a letter to Hades.

The Goddess Nyx sought to restore Zagreus to life and succeeded in her endevoar. Hades requested Nyx with the care of the young Zagreus, fabricating a lie that Nyx was Zagreus' true birth mother.

### Before Hades II

After the events of Hades, he and Persephone were able to conceive a second child; Melinoë. Years later after his daughter's birth, his father Chronos managed to escape his imprisonment within Tartarus and overpowered Hades, capturing him in the process and taking control of the Underworld in order to wage war against the Olympians. Melinoë was the only one in his family who managed to escape from the Titan's takeover.

## Affinity

Until the main story has been completed, Hades' affinity gauge will be locked at 1 heart. If given Nectar, there will be some brief dialogue, but he will *not* give any Keepsakes.

After the affinity gauge is unlocked and if Hades is given **2** Nectar in total, he will give the Sigil of the Dead.

Hades' affinity gauge is maxed out at 5 hearts, requiring the gifting of 5 Nectar total. After the fifth Nectar is gifted and the bond is forged, Hades will return all 5 previously gifted Nectar to the player.

If affinity is maxed out with Hades, there will be unique text above his keepsake. this text states:
"From Hades; you share an intractable bond" as well as "The feared and distant underworld king knows that his hardest work is still ahead of him."

### Favor

Hades' favor involves getting Persephone to return to the House of Hades. The affinity gauge will be unlocked when Hades expresses his gratitude for returning her.

## Codex entry

'*...What else is there to say about the Master? Master not just of the House in which I work, but of the entirety of the domain beneath the earth, the place we all end up after we die. He is a god of character, I have to give him that. In life, I once served someone who reminded me of him a little, yet even the kingliest of mortals pales in comparison. Suffice it, then, to say that the Lord Hades takes matters of the Underworld in utmost seriousness. He is impatient with his only son. Impatient to make progress at his never-ending work, for he presides over an endless procession of the dead. The Master claims that he alone can tend to their affairs, but not-so-secretly, I think, desires that his son assisted him. The Master may be dedicated to his work, but has no love for it, nor does he harbor any love for his own family upon Olympus, whom I think he blames for every aspect of his misery. Perhaps you think that he is undeserving of one's sympathies; but, he has some of mine, and I am grateful to him, that he chose me, and released me from an aimless death, and into his employ.*'

Unlock the complete Codex Entry by speaking to Hades after reaching the True Ending. This may require an indeterminate number of Escape attempts.

'*After all, Lord Hades long since severed ties with his family on Olympus, and leads a solitary life, now. His son is his sole remaining connection to his family, and I fear it falters.*'

## Hades Quotes

> *For quotes and dialogue regarding Hades, please refer to Hades/Quotes.*
>
>

## General Information

### Combat Style

Spear and summons,
lasers *(second phase)*

### Base Damage

30 *(Lunge)*

Hades has two phases, each with their own set of attacks and abilities. During the first phase, he will disappear and reappear if Zagreus uses a Call, removing all status effects. He will also summon wretches when his health is 70% and 40%. His attacks are as follows:

* **Lunge**: Hades moves towards Zagreus, lunging with his spear. When at low health, he will throw two casts before lunging.
* **Spin Attack**: With a wide-reaching range, Hades will move towards Zagreus' position, swiping his spear in a circular motion.
* **Skull Cast**: Similar to Zagreus' bloodstone ability, he can shoot a skull-shaped cast at him with slight tracking. If it hits Zagreus, it will remain on him for several seconds before dislodging, giving him the Boiling Blood debuff, causing him to take +100% damage for the duration; if the skull is not destroyed within 5 seconds after missing or dislodging, it will detonate, creating a damaging wave with a large radius across the arena. This attack may be Deflected with an Athena boon, causing it to damage Hades, but it will still fall to the ground as usual afterward. If the Shield of Chaos blocks the cast, the projectile disappears immediately.

When brought to near death for the first time, he will pause as though defeated, before regaining his strength, refilling his health bar, and starting his second phase by unleashing a damaging wave. This phase includes new attacks, as follows:

* **Swipe Combo**: He makes 2 swipes with the spear, following up with a Spin Attack.
* **Brimstone Attack**: He attacks with a Brimstone-like laser that fires in three directions. When he is reduced below half health, it fires in every direction instead.
* **Vase Summon**: He summons vases evenly around the arena. When a vase is broken by an attack (either Zagreus's or Hades's), it creates a small zone of green hands that stuns and damages Zagreus. This counts as a trap.

### Extreme Measures

When Extreme Measures 4 is enabled in the Pact of Punishment, Hades gains new attacks, abilities, increased health, increased damage and a third phase. All Skull Casts that land on the field have an aura that slows Zagreus. During his first phase, he will summon minibosses from any of the first three regions (Doomstone, Wretched Sneak, Megagorgon, Skull-Crusher, Soul Catcher); like Hades, they can cloak into darkness before attacking Zagreus. During the second and third phase, a green vase will always be on the battlefield, no matter how many are shattered.

During the third phase, Hades covers the entire field in darkness, limiting visibility to the immediate area where Zagreus stands.

In addition to the pre-existing attacks that Hades has, the new attacks are as follows:

* **Double Spin Attack**: Approaching Zagreus, Hades swings his spear in a wide-ranged circle twice.
* **Spear Throw**: Hades launches his spear to the position Zagreus was last standing before sweeping across the arena to retrieve it. (similar to the Aspect of Achilles). This attack can also be deflected, causing the spear to land elsewhere and Hades rushing there instead to retrieve it.
* **Swipe Combo**: Can be followed up with either Spin Attack or Spear Throw.
* **Cerberus** (2nd Phase): With HP below 50%, Hades will vanish with Darkness, and Cerberus is called onto the arena, stampeding with a raging quake that fills the arena with falling rocks that deal 50 base damage. Hades reappears shortly afterward for a follow-up attack.
* **Brimstone Pulse** (2nd and 3rd Phase): During his **Brimstone Attack**, Hades releases two waves that push Zagreus away if too close.
* **Vase Healing** (2nd and 3rd Phase): Remaining stationary, Hades draws in energy from random vases on the battlefield, rapidly regenerating lost health in pulses of 1500hp. He stands still and is wide open for damage during this time, so it can be better to attack Hades rather than smash the vases.

## Trivia

* If Hades kills Zagreus during an escape attempt, his name will be subordinated by "[REDACTED]" on the security log.
* People often mistakenly conflate Hades with Lucifer.
	+ Hades is the God of the Underworld, the dead, and riches. ALL souls go to him when they die; good and bad.
	+ In Christianity Satan or Lucifer is the ruler of all that is evil, and unbelieving souls go to him when they die.
		- Ironically Lucifer is actually confirmed to exist in this universe.

## Additional notes

*For additional information on Hades that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Hades*

## References

1. ↑ (January 30, 2020) "Final Bosses HP / Health" via reddit *r/HadesTheGame*, Retrieved January 12, 2021