Thanatos

**Thanatos** is the personification of death. He is one of Nyx's many children and the older twin brother of Hypnos.

As the embodiment of death, Thanatos has many duties requiring him to venture up into the mortal realm. His most recent such venture took longer than usual - speculated by Hypnos and Zagreus to be related to the ongoing war - but returns some time after the game's opening. He apparently dislikes the mortal realm, in particular how bright it can get.

Thanatos occasionally appears at the beginning of regular encounters and challenges Zagreus to see which of them can slay more shades. He is immune to damage during the contest, and will not retaliate if struck (he'll just complain). If Zagreus either kills more enemies than Thanatos does or ties his total, he will award Zagreus a Centaur Heart in addition to the regular room-clear reward.

Within the House of Hades, Thanatos can be found in the same hallway where Achilles keeps guard. After a run in which he was encountered, he has a high (but not 100%) chance of appearing in the House. If he is given nectar during the run right before appearing in the House, he won't be able to be gifted.

## Characteristics and Personality

The embodiment of death, Thanatos prioritizes a job well done and likes to keep a perfect record. Despite his strong work ethic, this does not stop him from moving in the shadows as Thanatos breaks his loyalty vow to the House of Hades by offering his support to Zagreus to help him escape.

Despite, as the personification of death, Thanatos represents peaceful and non-violent death, removing life in a painless and expected way. He sees death as a compassionate friend responsible for taking mortals to the end of their lives and treats it only as an aspect of his work.

To others in the underworld, Thanatos is seen as a work-loving "sadic perfectionist", insensitive, rude, and always seems to be in a bad mood. Even when he apologizes, his words can be harsh. However, Zagreus claims that beneath his prickly exterior, Thanatos is very cordial, respectful, and friendly, deconstructing down the "Ice king". Thanatos is also reserved, does not open up easily, and does not share details about his private life unless they are related to work. However, he is surprisingly talkative in combat, announcing his next moves. Zagreus considers listening to this as "a Death Sentence."

Thanatos is has a strict code of conduct at work, especially when it comes to his twin brother Hypnos. Hypnos tends to be sloppy in his work, while Thanatos is methodical, solemn and completes his tasks in an orderly manner. Thanatos tends to ignore or reprimand Hypnos, but he sees it as an incentive to improve. When Hypnos is at risk of losing his job, Thanatos intervenes. As Hypnos becomes more active in his tasks in the House, Thanatos secretly praises him.

Proud and hesitant, Thanatos is a "tsundere" who is not honest about his feelings, but also not good at hiding them. Everyone in the underworld seems to already know how he feels about Zagreus. He takes things extremely seriously, so when Zagreus says he wants to go further, Thanatos asks him to clarify and hopes that Zagreus doesn't think he's joking. If Zagreus accepts Thanatos' offer, he needs to understand that Thanatos' distant and unsettling silence does not indicate indifference and Zagreus will have to deal with it.

## Physical description

Thanatos is a figure with a grayish-brownish skin tone, though pale, slim, and slender, but sculpted with striking features and short silver hair that used to be long, now falling in strands around his face. He has dark circles around his eyes, with remarkable golden eyes that gleam with a supernatural light. He is generally seen with an apathetic expression.

His dark leather armor is adorned with golden wings, similar to his twin brother's, but with "three" ornaments instead of "four," placed on just one shoulder. He wears a hood that covers the top of his head and frames his face, and his black cloak flows behind him as he moves gracefully and agilely. In his hand, he wields a black scythe with a sharp, curved blade that emits a purple light resembling an eye. Thanatos' physical appearance exudes a quiet and mysterious aura befitting his role as the God of Death.

## Affinity

If given Nectar, Thanatos will give you the Pierced Butterfly.

After 6 bottles of Nectar, further gifts will be locked until you complete his favor.

After completing his favor, giving Thanatos Ambrosia will give you Companion Mort in exchange.

Thanatos' affinity gauge is maxed out at 10 hearts, requiring the gifting of 6 Nectar and 4 Ambrosia total.

If affinity is maxed out with Thanatos, there will be unique text above his keepsake. this text states: "From Thanatos; you share an undying bond" as well as "with whom should death belong, if not with blood, with life?"

### Favor

Thanatos' favor is not mentioned, and acts more as a narrative event between Zagreus and Thanatos.

Beating Thanatos after giving him 6 Nectar will randomly prompt a discussion between the two about Zagreus being powerful enough to escape the Underworld without Thanatos' help. Once Zagreus proves his strength to Thanatos, Thanatos can be given Ambrosia the next time he is encountered in the House of Hades.

### Romance

Reaching maximum affinity with Thanatos will unlock a scene in Zagreus's Room, where Zagreus can either begin a romantic relationship with him or continue as friends. Thanatos, Dusa, and Megaera can be romanced at the same time with no negative repercussions.

If Zagreus is able to fully romance both Thanatos and Megaera, another scene will be unlocked in Zagreus’s Room, in which he, Thanatos and Megaera meet up and can begin a polyamorous relationship.

## Codex entry

'*...Few gods traverse the boundary that divides the realm of surface realm where dwell the living, and this one, where dwell the dead. Thanatos ranks high even among those of such authority and power. Although it is my Master who presides over the Underworld, Thanatos is death itself, brother of Sleep, an instrument in sending mortals on their way into the Underworld; more peacefully than violently, mind you, as I did not encounter him myself when my time came, by Ares' and Apollo's design. As death is swift and unavoidable to mortals, so is Thanatos devoted without question to his work. Fatherless, he honors always his mother, the goddess Nyx. He tirelessly serves his foreign Master, whose son at least he adores, despite their opposing manner and outlook. Thanatos would never speak of this, but it is clear, to me. Whence came the bond they share? My thought is that the Master's son must be the god of blood; of life. Thus, they are inexorably drawn.*'

## Quotes

> *For quotes and dialogue regarding Thanatos, please refer to Thanatos/Quotes.*
>
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## Encounters

After seeing either Alecto or Tisiphone for the first time, Thanatos has a chance to first be seen after the 3rd chamber of Elysium. Once this occurs, Thanatos has a chance to appear in any area except for the Temple of Styx. He may appear at the beginning of any encounter (excluding Trials of the Gods or Survival Rooms). This initiates a contest where they compete to slay more foes than the other, for that encounter. The spawn rate of foes is noticeably higher and the encounter lasts three waves. If Zagreus either kills more enemies than Thanatos does or ties his total, he will award Zagreus a Centaur Heart. Zagreus and Thanatos are immune from each other's attacks.

Thanatos has two types of attacks that can instantly kill foes, even those with armor, during the contest:

* He spawns a large purple circle which, after a delay, instantly kills foes inside the area of effect.
* He marks an enemy with a purple scythe on their head, which kills it after a delay.

Thanatos's attacks are slow and delayed, which gives Zagreus a chance to kill the enemies and claim more points.

In Elysium, Flame Wheels that self-destruct are not counted as points. Exalted warriors count as two points, once when they are wielding weapons, and another time when they are in their weapon-less soul form. Exalted warriors will not spawn a soul when Thanatos kills them, but only count as one point for him.

## Trivia

* While his relationship with Zagreus is officially described as childhood friends, Thanatos will make several remarks about having met Persephone through the course of the game, while Zagreus never knew previously that she was his mother. Some confusion about this may arise from the **Portrait, Cerberus** item that can be purchased at the Contractor, but this item does not depict canon events due to Skelly's inclusion in the image.
* Zagreus comments that Thanatos used to have long hair, and it looked good on him, but he cut it because he thought it was hindering him in battles. Official art confirms this.
* His catchphrase is "**Death approaches.**"
* Thanatos is a gay character in Hades, although he may be open to other relationships. He confirms his orientation to his twin brother, Hypnos, in a conversation.
* Christopher Saphire, the voice of Thanatos, formerly portrayed *Asher Kendrell* in *Transistor*, a reserved and emotionless character involved in a romantic relationship with *Grant*, bearing a strong resemblance to Thanatos and Zagreus' relationship.
* Thanatos shares an inexplicable connection with Zagreus. Achilles' codex speculates that Zagreus may be the god of blood and/or life, which would explain why Thanatos, the god of death, is drawn to him.
* There are several cases of this, Thanatos may have *OCD* and dislikes his regular count being interrupted routine.
	+ Upon entering the room where he appears, Zagreus can either attempt to outperform Thanatos to earn a Centaur Heart or simply step aside, letting Thanatos clear the room by himself. However, Thanatos will object if you kill and steal from him.
* Between the fifth bottle of Nectar and the first bottle of Ambrosia, he confronts Zagreus and demands that he clarify what he truly wants from their relationship... only to teleport away before Zagreus can provide a real answer.
* Surprisingly, he can break out of his rigid demeanor and become animated and talkative during a battle, especially when announcing his area of effect ability, appropriately named the "Death Sentence.
* He doesn't like the surface very much, mainly because it becomes too bright for him during the day, hurting his eyes accustomed to the darkness.
* Butterflies often appear when Thanatos is near, as they symbolize souls in Ancient Greece.
* He considers the *River Styx* as his rival, as most mortals expect to be brought to the Underworld through the Styx, not by Thanatos. This annoys him. Whenever he's in the House of Hades, he's often seen gazing frustratedly at the Styx outside the Administrative Chamber.
* He is heralded by the sound of bells, Zagreus might even playfully acknowledge it as Thanatos says "Guh-dong."
* Thanatos' sound theme, "**Last Words**," is, in fact, a remix of the track "**Forbidden Knowledge**" from *Pyre*.
* Thanatos has verbal tics like "Tsch!," "Khh!," and "Ugh!," especially when he's nervous.
* It is implied that one of the reasons for Thanatos being so stern at work was the incident with Sisyphus, which he considers a permanent blot on his career.

## Additional notes

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

## References

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4uyc7SBSlc
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/0jenzee0/status/1344403851563028481/photo/1