Hadesis a popular new video game from Supergiant Games available on Nintendo Switch& PC, and it has only gained more and more publicity. AlreadyHadeshas been listed as Game of the Year for several different gaming publications, and has been nominated in several categories at The 2020 Game Awards, including Game of the Year.
RELATED:Re-Rolling the Past: How Academics Are Using the Historical Settings of Video Games
Hadeshas been well-received for its plot, its gameplay, and its character development — which is particularly interesting, seeing as how the cast are some of the oldest characters in the world. The characters inHades are all figures from Greek mythology, and they have real-life legends making up their backstories.
10 Zagreus, Son Of Hades
In mythology, as in the game, Zagreus is the child of Hades and Persephone. Sometimes, Zagreus even gets combined with or conflated with Dionysus — which is amusing to gamers playingHades,as Dionysus is one of the Olympian Gods who frequently visits Hades and offers him boons throughout the game. Zagreus will often be referred to as the highest God in the Underworld, being the son of its ruler. In some versions of Zagreus’ story, he’s taken to the woods as an infant by the Titans and consumed by them before he can grow up and gain his Godly power. Luckily, Zagreus is all in one piece in the game.
9 Hades,Olympus' Outcast
Hades is Zagreus’ father, as well as the namesake for the Underworld location spirits go to after they die that gives the game Hadesits name. Because Hades is no longer with his siblings on Olympus, he is no longer considered an Olympian God, despite the fact that Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia all remain Olympians. As the legend goes, the three brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were each to take a realm: Zeus took the sky and air, Poseidon took the sea and water, and Hades was left with the Underworld, making an outcast of him eternally.
8 Nyx, Mother Of Sleep & Death
Despite Nyx’s importance in the gameHades,she’s considered a somewhat minor character in Greek mythology. Nyx is the Goddess of the Night, as well as occasionally being the literal embodiment of nighttime.
RELATED:Hades: How Supergiant Games Reinvigorated the Roguelike Genre
Nyx has many children, including her beloved twin sons, Hypnos and Thanatos — the Gods of Sleep and Death, respectively, as well as fellow characters inHades.In the legends, Nyx lives in the Underworld, leaving daily to bring night back to the earth, which is the common land for all.
7 Achilles' Partner, Patroclus
While Hades casts off his son, Zagreus, and Nyx raises him to the best of her abilities, Achilles steps in inHadesto fulfill the role of mentor to Zagreus. Achilles trains Zagreus in fighting as well asserving as emotional support to him, which is particularly interesting when one knows his legend. In the vast network that is Greek mythology, Achilles was the greatest hero and warrior Greece ever knew. He fought bravely in the Trojan War and, after his beloved partner Patroclus was struck down, followed him to the Underworld. InHades,players can help complete their legend and reunite them.
6 Megaera & The Blood Of Uranus
Megaera is one of the Erinyes, or the Furies, both in her real-life legends and in the gameHades.Meg is often considered to be born not only of the blood of Uranus when he was castrated by Cronus, but also the child of Nyx, as well as the sister to the two other Furies, Tisiphone and Alecto, who also feature in the game. In her legends, Megaera is frequently referred to as the jealous, spiteful one among her sisters.
5 Theseus, King Of Crete
The demigod Theseus appears frequently inHadesas a challenger to Zagreus in his repeated attempts to escape from the Underworld. Theseus also appears with Asterius, the Minotaur. In life, Theseus slaughtered Asterius, then went on to live his life as the King of Crete, before eventually becoming a mad tyrant who ends up overthrown and dying in exile.
RELATED:Hades: Here's What Happens in the Endgame
In the game, they have a much happier ending. In the Underworld, Theseus and Asterius get to be best pals and fight all day, every day, together.
4 Persephone, Goddess Of The Underworld
Persephone is a rather well-known figure in Greek mythology. The child of Zeus and Demeter, and wife of Hades, God of the Underworld, Persephone herself is the Goddess of Springtime and Rebirth. Through her marriage to Hades, Persephone is also Goddess of the Underworld. According to legend, Persephone was playing alone outside one day when Hades came and stole her away to be his bride. Demeter – her mother and Hades’ sister – was distressed by this, so she& Hades agreed that Persephone would stay in the Underworld half the year, and return to the earth for the other half — and so we have summers and winters.
3 Thanatos, Son Of Erebus
Like Nyx, Thanatos could either be a God or an embodiment, depending on the story. Being that Nyx, the Goddess of Night, is his mother, Thanatos unsurprisingly has a similar dark theme — he is the God of Death. His father is Erebus, the God of Darkness, Mist, and Shadow, a figure often associated with being the literal embodiment of darkness as well.
RELATED:Hades: Olympian Gods Ranked by the Usefulness of Their Legendary Boon
In spite of — or perhaps because of — his upbringing, Thanatos is not a chaotic force, but a gentle one. Thanatos’ soft touch makes him the God of Peaceful Death, guiding people gently from their lives.
2 Hypnos, Death's Brother (As Poets Deem)
Hypnos is the twin brother of Thanatos, and so also the child of Nyx and Erebus, the Night and the Darkness. A writer and poet named Edwin James Milliken composed a poem in the 19th century entitled “Death and his brother sleep,” in which a line goes: “Sleep—Death's brother, as poets deem,” referring to exactly these two boys. Hypnos is often depicted as sleepy and carrying a horn of opium to send people to sleep, like an ancient Greek sandman variant.
1 Charon, Son Of Nyx
The ferryman of the dead, Charon is the original psychopomp, escorting souls across the River Styx (or, in this case, the River Switch) to enter Hades after death. Charon is the son of Nyx as well, making him a brother to Thanatos and Hypnos, who aid him in his work. In his stories, Charon requires payment to ferry the dead, typically in the form of a coin to pay passage, often placed in the mouth of the dead so that the coin may accompany them in death. If someone had died recently and could not pay Charon, the stories say they will wander the shores of the Styx for a hundred years before Charon will grant them entry.
NEXT:Hades' Side Quests Provide Closure for Greek Myths
