Theseus

**Theseus** is a former hero and king of Athens, most famous for slaying the Minotaur. He was recruited by Hades to help prevent Zagreus's escape. He fights alongside the Minotaur as the final boss of Elysium, and serves Elysium as its champion and its king.

## Characteristics and Personality

Theseus, often proclaiming himself as "the great king of Athens," is a hot-headed, stubborn, and even childish ex-hero, but he is best known for his youthful exploits that were significant enough to earn him an immortal soul and boast for eternity in Elysium.

Triumphant Theseus is a pompous and arrogant man, perpetually proud and confident in his victories. Most residents outside of Elysium can't stand him because of this. Theseus will occasionally shine during dialogue when he feels particularly proud of himself. The complete opposite of Achilles, Theseus is immodest and acts more like a schoolyard bully than a noble ex-hero.

He tends to interpret things to the extreme and dismiss evidence that doesn't fit his preconceived notions - thus, he will push Zagreus' buttons. In his mind, Zagreus is useless and not a true warrior, despite accumulating multiple victories against Theseus. Zagreus' attempts at conversation are taken as lies and deception, and he will not accept any provocation if Zagreus says that there are better Heroes than him.

An overly confident warrior in his winning streak, Theseus puts on a show for the crowd. He doesn't accept defeat and can behave in a dramatic and comically immature manner. When Zagreus defeats him in combat, Asterius becomes exasperated if Theseus continues to cry over Zagreus. But he has shown a noble and redeemable side, revealing that he used to be more modest, and deep down, he is a noble hero, as seen when he freed Asterius from his imprisonment and accepted him as a worthy comrade, sharing his champion title.

Despite becoming a broken pedestal for Zagreus, there are enough hints scattered through dialogue that Theseus was indeed a great hero when he was still living: Hades speaks rather highly of him. Given how cynical he is, the fact that Hades continues to hold respect for him and gave him such a high station in Elysium is telling. Asterius' Undying Loyalty towards Theseus is rooted in the fact that it was thanks to Theseus that he was allowed to end up in Elysium. The Olympians offer Theseus their blessings. The Olympians are noted as being rather fickle, and despite both Poseidon and Dionysus considering Theseus to be a blowhard, they still view him as worthy of their blessings.

## Physical description

He and Asterius wear identical clothes, with the only difference being that Theseus keeps his left shoulder uncovered and wears a wide belt around his waist. He is a muscular man who overdid the tan, his blond hair styled back (which in the past was long, similar to Achilles'), and he always maintains a confident expression on his face. His height is similar to Zagreus'. He can transform into a sophisticated battle outfit that includes a golden mask and ammunition on his chest.

The **Portrait, Exalted Hero** item depics Theseus in his youth. In it, he dorns a blue cape with yellow details and a cloak pin with the Zodiac symbol of Taurus, more likely a reference to his connection with bulls throughout many of the stories related to him rather than that being his actual Zodiac sign. His hair is longer and his skin isn't as tanned as it is in-game. His right arm is cover in some red fabric hold together with line by the elbow.

## History

### Before Hades

During his youth, Theseus eventually went to Crete where he fought and defeated the Minotaur bare-handed, and also met Ariadne, with whom he had a fleet affair. On his way back to Athens, they stopped on the Island of Naxos, where Theseus eventually abandoned Ariadne, who was later rescued by Dionysus. Theseus went on to have many other adventures until he eventually died.

Upon reaching the Underworld, he came to be aware of Asterius's, the Minotaur, predicament and used his status as king to negotiate with Hades and have Asterius live in Elysium with him, claiming the Bull of Minos had been his most formidable opponent in life and deserving of living among the other formidable warriors. They've since shared the title of Champion of Elysium.

### Hades

Theseus was tasked by Hades to stop Zagreus's escape attempts by guarding the Elysium Stadium.

## Affinity

Theseus cannot be given Nectar or Ambrosia.

## Codex entry

'*...Oft called the great king of Athens, the hero Theseus is nonetheless best-known for his deeds earlier in life; deeds great enough to earn his immortal soul a place of high honor in hallowed Elysium. Now he reigns in this heaven of ours much as I understand he reigned in life; with pride and confidence both in abundance. The kings I knew in life aspired to the same. Yet, there is something distinctly different about him. I do not know if it was merely for pity that Theseus vouched for the bull-headed Asterius to join him in Elysium, doubtless risking his own station there. Some say Asterius is merely an unwilling servant of his, now. But I know mortal battle builds strong bonds. Is it so difficult to imagine that a peerless man like Theseus might find a peer in an unlikely soul?*'

## Combat

Theseus is always encountered in the Elysium Stadium, the final chamber of Elysium, alongside Asterius. The Stadium is a large circular arena with indestructible pillars in the center. Some of these pillars act as stands for an audience to watch the duel between Zagreus and Theseus. The ring of the stadium is also outlined with spectators as well.

Theseus will begin the fight with access to all of his main attacks: Spear Spin, Spear Throw, and Charge.

* **Spear Spin:** Theseus performs a spin attack centered on himself, dealing 17 damage repeatedly while swinging. He will charge in Zagreus' direction as he spins. He will only perform this attack if Zagreus is close to him.
* **Spear Throw:** Theseus takes aim at Zagreus, during which time a crosshair appears on him. He then throws the spear after a short delay, dealing 20 damage if it hits Zagreus. He then recalls his spear which can hit Zagreus again. Occasionally, Theseus will leave the spear on the ground, and recall it after re-positioning or performing another attack.
* **Charge:** Asterius calls Theseus over, and then throws him at Zagreus, dealing 16 damage on impact. If Asterius has fallen, Theseus cannot use this ability.
* **Bullhorn:** Theseus calls to Asterius, having him Bull Rush into the shield that causes a powerful, damaging wave across the arena.

Theseus also carries a shield to defend himself from attacks. All attacks that hit Theseus from the front will be blocked, and do no damage to him. (The exception to this is any projectile created by an Artemis boon or cast will ignore the shield and deal damage. Additionally, any projectile with a "piercing" effect offered by a Daedalus Hammer will ignore his shield and deal damage.)

When Theseus is reduced to 50% max HP, he will become briefly invulnerable and enter his second phase. In his second phase, he has access to a new passive ability, **Olympian Aid**. After his invulnerability ends, he will call for aid from a random Olympian, who will assist Theseus against Zagreus in the fight. Theseus can only call for aid from an Olympian who has not yet given Zagreus a boon in the current run. Theseus will never call for aid from Hermes. If Zagreus has boons from every Olympian, Theseus will call for aid from Artemis.

While initially calling, the Olympian will spawn damaging circles at Zagreus' position very quickly, doing damage if Zagreus stands in them when they activate. After this, Theseus will resume his normal attack pattern, and an aid attack below will happen every 10 seconds, depending on which Olympian was called. Theseus' attacks will also be given the Olympian's respective curses.

* Aphrodite: Summons a ring of large circles around Zagreus that activate all at once. The center will be unaffected. Theseus' attacks apply Weak.
* Ares: Summons a chain of many small circles that chase Zagreus, followed by a few large circles spaced throughout the room. Theseus' attacks apply Doom.
* Artemis: Summons a dense array of circles that sweeps across the center of the room. Can be avoided by staying near the walls. Theseus' attacks can deal major damage.
* Athena: Summons circles that sweep in a spiral from the edges of the room to the center. Theseus becomes impervious for a second after attacking.
* Demeter: Summons circles that sweep in a spiral, from the center of the room to the edges. Theseus' attacks apply Chill and summon small vortexes.
* Dionysus: Summons many small circles scattered randomly near Zagreus. Theseus' attacks apply Hangover.
* Poseidon: Summons large, evenly spaced circles near Zagreus. Theseus' attacks are able to knockback.
* Zeus: Summons overlapping circles randomly. Theseus' attacks apply Jolted.

The damage from **Olympian Aid** is counted as Theseus' attacks, thus if Theseus is affected by Weak, the damage from Olympian Aid attacks will be reduced as well.

If Asterius is killed before Theseus, Theseus will become enraged, moving and attacking at a faster rate. Theseus will also lose access to **Charge**.

### Extreme Measures

When using Extreme Measures Level 3 from the Pact of Punishment, Theseus will be outfitted in a golden mask and armor set. He will also appear riding a bronze Macedonian Tau-Lambda, supposedly the strongest chariot to have ever been made. His normal weaponry will be placed with two miniguns which he will mount onto his chariot.

While outfitted in his beautiful chariot, the fight with Theseus has notable changes:

* First, Theseus' max health is increased to 12000, instead of his standard 9000.
* Theseus will lose access to **all** of his normal attacks. Instead, he will gain 2 new attacks: Cluster Bombs and Center Dive.
* **Cluster Bombs:** Theseus will begin dropping bombs around the arena, usually in his traveling path, but also at Zagreus' current position. These bombs deal 30 damage if Zagreus is caught in the blast when they land.
* **Center Dive:** Theseus will quickly dart through the center of the arena, towards Zagreus' current position, spraying short ranged bullets in a cone in front of him as he does.
* Additionally, coming into contact with the chariot will deal a large amount of damage to Zagreus.
* When reduced to 33% health (4000) Theseus' chariot will break, and Theseus will revert back to his default attacks, becoming invulnerable for a short time. While invulnerable, he will begin his second phase, and call for **Olympian Aid**, just like in the normal fight.
* If Asterius is still alive when Theseus loses his chariot, he will be able to use **Charge**.

## Reward

When both Theseus and Asterius are defeated in the Elysium Stadium, Zagreus will be awarded with Ambrosia if Bounty conditions are met. This means that it must either be Zagreus' first victory against them with a weapon, or the Target Heat must be met for that weapon.

Otherwise, they will drop 120 Darkness. (The Darkness reward is improved by Dark Thirst, Ocean's Bounty, and Eclipse).

The order in which you defeat Theseus and the Minotaur does not matter for Bounties. Beating Theseus last, after you've already beaten Asterius last on the same Heat, won't award you any bounties for that Heat level again.

## Trivia

* As an Easter egg, Theseus and Asterius, with identical designs from Hades, were honored at the 2023 DC Comics event 'Lazarus Planet' in 'Lazarus Planet: We Once Were Gods,' appearing as undead, fighting against Wonder Woman and the Amazons.
* Theseus can react with surprise whenever Zagreus calls on a God. For the majority of them, he only has two specific quotes adressed to them, with the exception of Poseidon and Dionysus, the gods more intrinsic in his life, that have a third one.

## Additional notes

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