History Characters / Hades

* [[Characters/HadesOlympianGods Olympian Gods]] [[note]]Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, Ares, Dionysus, Hermes, Demeter, Apollo, Hephaestus, Hestia[[/note]]

* [[Characters/HadesOtherCharacters Other characters of note]] [[note]]'''Other Codex:''' Achilles, Dusa, Orpheus, Sisyphus and Bouldy, Eurydice, Patroclus, Theseus, Asterius, Cerberus, Skelly, Persephone '''Non-Codex:''' The Narrator, The Titans (Chronos), The Lernean Bone Hydra, Helpful Shade, Daedalus, Aspects[[/note]]

[[WMG:[[center: [- ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'' '''Main Character Index'''\\

* [[Characters/HadesOlympianGods Olympian Gods]] [[note]]Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Dionysus, Hermes, Demeter[[/note]]

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!!''Hades II''
[[folder:Melinoë]]
Daughter of Hades and Princess of the Underworld. When Hades is imprisoned by his father Chronos, Melinoe ventures deep into the Underworld to rescue her father and slay the Titan for good.
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* DualWielding: The trailer shows Melinoë fighting using a ritual dagger in one hand and a sickle in the other.
* FamilyEyeResemblance: Melinoë shares her brother Zagreus's distinctive heterochromia: one red eye and one green eye, each inherited from their respective parents. Whereas Zagreus had a red-and-green pattern, Melinoë has a green-and-red pattern instead.
* LadyOfBlackMagic: Melinoë is explicitly referred to as a "witch" by the listless shade Dora in the reveal trailer. Other shots of the same trailer show Melinoë creating InstantRunes and being surrounded by magic circles.
* MagicSkirt: The reveal trailer and the poster unveiled at the Game Awards 2022 show that Melinoë wears an orange minidress that barely extends past her pelvis. It manages to keep her covered even through it flaps in the wind during the reveal trailer.
* SkeletalAppendage: Melinoë's left arm from the bicep down is shown in the trailer as being a translucent green, showing the bones inside.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Melinoë's depiction is very similar to her brother, having the same mismatched red and green eyes, although swapped around, and the burning feet that both he and their father share.
[[/folder]]

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[[Characters/HadesCthonicGods Chthonic Gods]] ([[Characters/HadesZagreus Zagreus]] | [[Characters/HadesHades Hades]]) | [[Characters/HadesOlympianGods Olympian Gods]] | [[Characters/HadesOtherCharacters Other characters of note]]]]-]]]

** [[Characters/HadesHades Hades]]

* [[Characters/HadesCthonicGods Chthonic Gods]] [[note]]Zagreus, Hades, Melinoë, Nyx, Charon, Hypnos, Megaera, Alecto, Tisiphone, Thanatos, Chaos, Moros, Nemesis[[/note]]

* [[Characters/HadesOtherCharacters Other characters of note]] [[note]]'''Other Codex:''' Achilles, Dusa, Orpheus, Sisyphus and Bouldy, Eurydice, Patroclus, Theseus, Asterius, Cerberus, Skelly, Persephone '''Non-Codex:''' The Narrator, The Titans (Chronos, Hecate), The Lernean Bone Hydra, Helpful Shade, Daedalus, Aspects[[/note]]

These are the character sheets for the game ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}''. Spoilers may be ahead!

* [[Characters/HadesCthonicGods Chthonic Gods]] [[note]]Zagreus, Hades, Nyx, Charon, Hypnos, Megaera, Alecto, Tisiphone, Thanatos, Chaos[[/note]]

* [[Characters/HadesOlympianGods Olympian Gods]] [[note]]Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, Ares, Dionysus, Hermes, Demeter[[/note]]
* [[Characters/HadesOtherCharacters Other characters of note]] [[note]]'''Other Codex:''' Achilles, Dusa, Orpheus, Sisyphus and Bouldy, Eurydice, Patroclus, Theseus, Asterius, Cerberus, Skelly, Persephone '''Non-Codex:''' The Narrator, The Titans, The Lernean Bone Hydra, Helpful Shade, Daedalus, Aspects[[/note]]

[[Characters/HadesCthonicGods Chthonic Gods]] ([[Characters/HadesZagreus Zagreus]]) | [[Characters/HadesOlympianGods Olympian Gods]] | [[Characters/HadesOtherCharacters Other characters of note]]]]-]]]

[[Characters/HadesCthonicGods Chthonic Gods]] | [[Characters/HadesOlympianGods Olympian Gods]] | [[Characters/HadesOtherCharacters Other characters of note]]]]-]]]

[[Characters/HadesCthonicGods Cthonic Gods]] | [[Characters/HadesOlympianGods Olympian Gods]] | [[Characters/HadesOtherCharacters Other characters of note]]]]-]]]

* [[Characters/HadesCthonicGods Cthonic Gods]] [[note]]Zagreus, Hades, Nyx, Charon, Hypnos, Megaera, Alecto, Tisiphone, Thanatos, Chaos[[/note]]

* [[Characters/HadesCthonicGods Cthonic Gods]]
* [[Characters/HadesOlympianGods Olympian Gods]]
* [[Characters/HadesOtherCharacters Other characters of note]]

[[foldercontrol]]

! Chthonic Gods
[[folder:General/Multiple]]
The gods that reside in the Underworld and are often found in the House of Hades. While most are sympathetic towards Zagreus's plight, obligations to Hades either prevent them from assisting overtly or force them to oppose him.
----
* AbstractApotheosis: Many of the chthonic gods are what are usually classed in Myth/ClassicalMythology as the personifications and usually represent basic concepts such as night (Nyx), sleep (Hypnos), death (Thanatos), etc. Zagreus appears to be an exception, unless you buy Hades's theory that he's the personification of [[DeadpanSnarker backtalk]].
* BigScrewedUpFamily: The original Big Screwed-Up Family, predating even the infamous Olympians. Zagreus hates his father Hades, and his birth mother Persephone is up in Greece, refusing to return to the Underworld. Nyx, the woman who raised Zagreus, also has her misgivings. Finally, the gods are all tangentially related to each other, including Zag to most of Olympus. And they can all help in battle against Hades. Making things even worse is that Hades is on very bad terms with Zeus and Poseidon, and gets incredibly angry when Zeus asks Zagreus to pass on a message that he "forgives" Hades.
* CelestialBureaucracy: Many of these gods have roles that contribute to running the Underworld and managing the souls of the dead. Charon ferries dead souls down the River Styx (after [[{{Psychopomp}} Hermes]] delivers them to him), Hypnos keeps track of new arrivals, and Hades himself decides where the dead will be placed, determines any punishments, and listens to their claims. Meanwhile, Thanatos is in charge of delivering the souls of those who died peaceful deaths, and the Furies punish those who committed particular crimes in life. Despite the focus on the afterlife, it's still very much a bureaucracy with a lot of paperwork involved. There's even an administrative office that Zagreus can gain access to (and he even tried to work there himself, with disastrous results).
* DarkIsNotEvil: While the chthonic gods are dark and intimidating, most are at worst neutral or [[PunchClockVillain nice individuals who hold unsavory domains]] because ''someone'' [[DirtyBusiness has to personify death or darkness]].
* PolarOppositeTwins: You can tell Thanatos and Hypnos are twin brothers by the fact that they're absolutely nothing alike. Than is proactive, stoic, brooding, and a huge threat. Hypnos is lazy, upbeat, happy-go-lucky, and about as dangerous as the sofa cushions.
* {{Polyamory}}: Megaera explains that gods (with exceptions such as Hades) frequently engage in this and that monogamy is mostly a human concept because of their short lives.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: If any of them take letal injuries, the river Styx will pull them back into the House of Hades, reviving as good as new at the Pool of Styx, which lies in front of Hades' desk.
* SiblingYinYang: Grim, responsible {{Workaholic}} Thanatos is a stark contrast to both to his lazy twin brother Hypnos and his impulsively reckless adoptive brother, Zagreus.
* UndeathlyPallor: Save for the HadesShaded Thanatos, all chthonic gods have pale, ashen skintones befitting their place in the Underworld. These range from RavenHairIvorySkin (Zagreus, Nyx) to outright blue (the Furies).
* TheWeirdSisters: The Furies. Megaera is the one most commonly seen, and a LoveInterest to Zagreus. But her sisters can replace her in a boss battle at the end of the first part of the run, and each one's attacks and behavior are slightly different.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Zagreus]]
!! Zagreus
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ba1084f0_3808_4739_9472_ae6ff19bd396.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Prince of the Underworld''']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Darren Korb

->''"...Take one look at him and I think any questions of his parentage are soon resolved. He never seemed to like it much, there, growing up within Lord Hades' well-appointed house."''
-->--'''Codex Entry'''

Zagreus is the son of Hades and Prince of the Underworld. He is the main character and is controlled by the player.
----
* AdaptationalWimp: Downplayed. We know next to nothing about Zagreus' representations in Mycenaean Greece and during the Dark Ages, but one of the few references of him named him "the highest of all Gods". In this game, though pretty powerful, he's not as powerful as other gods and he can be killed by low-level enemies.
* AffectionateNickname: Acquires a great deal of these. "Zag" is the most common (used by Megaera, Thanatos, and Dionysus), though he also has "lad" (Achilles), "little Hades" (Poseidon), "Prince Z" (Sisyphus), "little godling" (Aphrodite), "boyo" (Skelly), "little sprout" (Demeter), "boss" and "Coz" (Hermes).
* AlienBlood: Discussed and inverted. Zagreus has red blood, which is a subject of curiosity to Alecto the Fury and one of anger and derision to his father, Hades. As a god, Zagreus should presumably have the gods' golden ichor running through him, but he bleeds like mortals do. Achilles's Codex notes that his domain of power may, in fact, be blood and life itself.
* AncestralWeapon: All of the Abyssal Arms, but rather than being handed down, they were abandoned before being relocated and given to Zagreus for his escape. The closest straight example is Varatha, which was once used by Hades himself, but all the weapons have had a succession of divine owners.
* AnimeHair: ''Lookit'' those bangs. [[spoiler: He gets them from his mother.]]
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: His interactions with Megaera and Thanatos has both of them quite exasperated with his escapes, giving them both this subtext with him.
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: ImpliedTrope.
** Unlike the other gods in the game, Zagreus does not seem to be the god of anything in particular, which stands out compared to his divine compatriots and gets commented on by others. Alecto dubs him the god of trash, and Hades snarkily wonders if he's the god of talking back to him. Achilles' Codex speculates that given his red blood, the bloodstones he uses to channel his magic, [[spoiler: his mother Persephone being a harvest goddess]], and his bond with Thanatos that Zagreus is the god of blood and life itself. Zagreus angrily asserts that he's not the god of anything when Achilles talks about it with him, and it's ultimately left vague if Achilles' is right or not. [[spoiler: Although post-game, Zagreus mentions to Demeter that he thinks he feels some of her and Persephone's power over life within him, lending more credence to Achilles' theory.]]
** Post-game, [[spoiler:if Zagreus has the flashback where Hades comments that he doesn't know what Zagreus is the god of, Zagreus will comment to himself that he ''is'' the god of blood.]]
** The lack of confirmation as to what Zagreus is the god of is also something of a MythologyGag to the actual Greek god Zagreus. Aside from knowing that he is a chthonic god, that he was the son of Hades and Persephone[[note]]and even this is a point of contention, as Orphism asserts he's the son of ''Zeus'' and Persephone[[/note]], and that he was worshiped by Orphic cults for dying and coming back to life, it's not clear what his particular role and sphere of influence was in the pantheon. Records from that particular time in Greek history are sketchy at best, leaving Zagreus as a bit of a mystery.
* AscendedExtra: In the original myths, Zagreus was a minor god, killed very early on and revived as Dionysus. Here, he's the main protagonist and [[DecompositeCharacter a separate entity entirely from Dionysus]].
* TheBabyOfTheBunch: The Olympian gods see him as this, so eager to meet their new favorite "godling" cousin/nephew that they're helping break him out of the Underworld so they can [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe take him to Olympus as one of their own]].
* BackFromTheDead: No matter how many times he gets killed by whatever Hades and his realm throws at him, [[spoiler:including Hades himself]], he'll always revive at the House. [[spoiler:Nyx revived him for the first time after his stillbirth, by fighting against the Fates themselves to do so.]]
* BattleCouple: With [[spoiler: Thanatos]] if they are romanced together.
* BloodMagic: The bloodstones Zagreus casts are evidently made of his own blood, adding credence to Achilles's theory that he's actually the god of blood. He can also acquire the Boiling Blood and Abyssal Blood traits from the Mirror of Night, which respectively lower the defensive or offensive abilities of the monster a bloodstone is thrown into.
* BloodyMurder: Throws crystallized blood as his 'default' cast.
* BodyToJewel: Bloodstones, which he uses to catalyze magic. Or just throws them at enemies.
* BookDumb: Despite his [[GentlemanSnarker apparent wit]], he's impulsive and inattentive enough to have failed at ''every'' administrative task his father had assigned to him. A flashback dream shows that Zagreus was so bad at bookkeeping that Hades fired him and banned him from ever setting foot into the administrative office ever again. Though he did complain that Hades never actually trained him, only sat him through a several hours long seminar, twice.
* BrokenPedestal:
** While initially delighted to meet and fight Theseus, in a few runs he will be fed up with Thesus being a SoreLoser who frequently spouts belittling comments. Eventually, one of Zag's standard comments on entering the arena is simply;
-->'''Zagreus:''' [[WorthyOpponent Asterius.]] ''Other guy.''
** Overtime Zagreus slowly comes to realize that the Olympian gods aren't quite the warm family he build them up to be in his hand. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration After realizing first hand how petty and vindictive they can be over the simplest slight]] he starts to admit that his father may actually have a point in wanting nothing to do with them.
* BrotherSisterIncest: Zagreus used to be in a relationship with Megaera, and can rekindle it and/or romance Thanatos as well. All of them are said to be children of Nyx, with the Furies being Nyx's adoptive daughters, making them step-siblings, though this being based on [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]] it's not really that unusual. [[spoiler:Subverted when it's revealed that Zagreus isn't actually Nyx's son, although she raised him as if he was]].
* CasualKink: Snarks quite freely and cheerfully about not minding or even [[TooKinkyToTorture being into]] pain. [[spoiler:Rekindling his relationship with Megaera results in [[SexyDiscretionShot audio]] that makes it rather clear he's not kidding about this.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: He goes from someone who wants to leave the Underworld behind after a lifetime of emotional abuse from his father, [[spoiler:to someone who wants to fix his family troubles, feeling that running away solves nothing.]]
* ChildOfTwoWorlds: Zagreus is the son of the God of the Underworld and a goddess from Olympus[[note]]although Hades is brother/uncle to the Olympians, he has settled into his domain and is considered a chthonic god; as a surface denizen, the members of the House consider Persephone different in a way Hades is not[[/note]], raised in the Underworld and raring to get to the surface. Athena in particular sees him as a bridge between the Underworld and the surface. [[spoiler:In the endgame, Zagreus can reconcile both sides of his family.]]
* ChocolateBaby: In a fashion. Zagreus bleeds mortal blood instead of ichor, strongly suggesting some mortal lineage. This has led to serious doubts of the official story for his parentage, as both Hades and Nyx bleed ichor and predate the creation of mortals. [[spoiler:After learning Nyx isn't his birthmother, Zagreus admits it was very obvious in hindsight, noting he looks absolutely nothing like her other sons.]]
* ComebackMechanic: Zagreus can unlock "Death Defiance" at the Mirror, which allows him to survive an otherwise lethal blow and regenerate half his max health up to three times per run. Its counterpart, "Stubborn Defiance" allows Zagreus to regenerate 30% of his health once per room, and the percentage restored in the latter case can be enhanced with temporary power-ups.
* CosmicPlaything: The Narrator ''really'' has it in for Zag:
-->'''The Narrator:''' 'He cannot kill me like this every time,' believes the Underworld Prince. 'He shall eventually have no more ideas.' But the Prince, as is often the case, is wrong.
* ConfusionFu: Zagreus's combat style is essentially random, as his powerset is decided on the fly by the whims of his fickle Olympian relatives and whatever weapon he decides to use, at least one of which is [[CoolGun entirely unique]]. Thus, as both Hades and Asterius note, he's very difficult to form a strategy against.
* CripplingOverspecialization: It gets revealed over the course of the story that Zagreus isn't particularly good at being a Chthonic diety. Without the aid of Nyx and the Olympian Gods, he's not powerful and he's completely in over his head when it comes to the administration side of ruling Hades. The only task he excells at ironically enough is ''breaking out.'' [[spoiler: At the end of the game when Zagreus finally reconciles with his father, Hades decides to make this his official job.]]
* DarkIsNotEvil: Despite being the son of Hades and dressing entirely in red and black, Zagreus is quite friendly and polite - at least to those who he feels deserve it. When Zag runs into the likes of Sisyphus and Patroclus during his runs, Zagreus is unfailingly polite to them.
* DeadpanSnarker: Most of his dialogue involves some variety of snark, which appears to [[SnarkToSnarkCombat run in the family]]. He can be particularly sarcastic towards those he's not on the best of terms with, like Theseus and ''especially'' Hades.
* DecompositeCharacter: In the ''[[Myth/ClassicalMythology Dionysiaca]]'', Zagreus was originally the name of Dionysus before his death and rebirth (often referred to as the Orphic Dionysus-Zagreus). In ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'', he's a separate character[[note]]evidently based on some classicists' suggestions that Dionysus-Zagreus was himself already a CompositeCharacter of Dionysus and the underworld son of Hades and Persephone[[/note]] who jokingly told Orpheus they were the same person once and was taken completely at his ridiculous word.
* DeityIdentityConfusion: Happens in-universe thanks to a joke gone wrong.
-->'''Dionysus:''' Hahaha, Zag, I heard you got to Orpheus. He's got this whole entire ballad now about how you're really me—or maybe it's the other way around? I've no idea, haha!
* DependingOnTheArtist: It's not entirely consistent whether or not his red eye has black sclera, as some in-game art and the animated trailer depicts him with white sclera in both eyes.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: Zagreus felt directionless and out of place for much of his life before the start of the game, not helped by Hades's frequent belittling of his efforts to do anything. He also has the dubious honor of being the only god who does not appear to have domain of power over which he presides, Achilles's theory notwithstanding.
* TheDeterminator: He ''will'' fight his way out of the underworld, no matter how many times he has to die before he manages it.
* DeterminedDefeatist: Even when he does accept that [[spoiler:he is incapable of living on the surface for more than a couple of hours]], he's still gonna try escaping. If nothing else, [[spoiler:repeatedly killing Hades]] is very cathartic.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: It's hard to tell in-game due to the small character model (and character sprite that only goes down to the waist), but he actually just has glowing orange-yellow feet, that are constantly on fire. His father has feet like these too.
* DramaticGunCock: Zagreus will always reload the Adamant Rail with a ''very'' satisfying "CHK-CHK". Invoked by the Aspect of Hestia, as manually reloading even when the clip is full empowers the next shot.
* DreadfulMusician: The game has the option for Zagreus to buy a lyre to keep in his room, and his first attempts to play it show he's not very good. This becomes subverted over time as he gradually gets better through practice and Orpheus' encouragement.
* FaceFramedInShadow: Half of Zagreus's face is hidden in shadow in almost all images of him, matching his mismatched eyes.
* FamilyEyeResemblance: Thanatos tells Zagreus that he has his mother's eyes... [[DualityMotif one of them, anyway]]. His green eye is from Persephone, his red one from Hades.
* FamilyOfChoice: A downplayed but still touching example. Zagreus is initially shocked to learn that Nyx is not his biological mother but remains on good terms with her. Despite still having both of his parents alive Zagreus can make it clear that he sees Nyx as his mother [[HasTwoMommies just as much as Persephone]].
* FourthWallObserver: Zagreus can hear the Narrator just as well as the player, and will often respond to him as if spoken to directly. He also discovers that [[spoiler:Persephone is his real mother rather than Nyx]] not from any direct evidence left behind, but because the Narrator carelessly describes [[spoiler:Persephone]]'s DearJohnLetter as "written in [[spoiler:his mother]]'s hand."
* FragileSpeedster: Compared to most bosses: he lacks their vitality, and their damage per-hit but he is far better at avoiding attacks and does far more hits. Hades specifically refers to him as "scrawny, though slippery."
* FreakyFashionMildMind: Though he dresses like he's RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver, he's a polite, genial (if cheeky) NiceGuy who almost never raises his voice in anger.
* FriendVersusLover: Zagreus runs into an interesting case of this with Sisyphus if he [[spoiler: enters into a relationship with Megaera and Thanatos. The latter two Sisyphus with a passion, and Sisyphus for his own case is deeply disturbed at how Zagreus could be in a relationship with either of them.]]
* FutileHandReach: Whenever he manages to get back onto the Surface to see [[spoiler: Persephone and starts to die once more, he tries to outstretch his hand towards her before it falls with the rest of his body into the pool of Styx.]]
* GeneHunting: He's prompted into his endless struggle to escape the Underworld by the discovery that Nyx is actually his stepmother rather than birth mother and that his actual birth mother has evidently been {{Unperson}}ed. Ironically, this discovery doesn't damage his relationship with Nyx at all (who's an active ally in his endeavor to find out what happened to his MissingMom, and he is still happy to call Nyx his mother), but is instead the final straw for Zagreus's already bitter relationship with his father, Hades. It also causes some initial friction in his relationship with Thanatos, since Thanatos thinks Zagreus' search is showing disrespect to Nyx, who raised him as her own.
* GentlemanSnarker: Rebellious troublemaker he may be, he's invariably well-mannered and soft-spoken in his snark.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Zagreus usually shows respect to everyone he first meets, and he's a very supportive friend, often trying to help people he's friends with overcome their personal problems like with Patroclus and Eurydice. That said, Zagreus still isn't afraid to lay waste to his opponents, and he can also be quite bitter and spiteful to people he doesn't like (especially Hades, who he has a very strained relationship with).
* GradualRegeneration: Hellish Vitality, once upgraded, will heal three HP with each room entered. While it's not much, it adds up over the 50-odd rooms in a full run.
* GildedCage: The House of Hades serves as his. While a very nice BigFancyHouse on its own, it's location at the deepest levels of Tartarus, Hades's oppressive presence, and the fact that Zagreus is forbidden from leaving it on pain of death make living there so intolerable to Zagreus that he's willing to die hundreds of deaths in his efforts to escape it.
* HappilyAdopted: [[spoiler:Zagreus towards Nyx, after it's revealed that Hades had him believe she was his mother instead of Persephone. His giving her a bottle of Nectar mentions it's as thanks for all she's done for him, and she was planning to give him her keepsake anyway. She even continues to refer to him as her child after the reveal and maxing the bond between them has Zagreus say she's as much of a mother to him as Persephone and that he loves her, which Nyx responds by saying she loves him too.]]
* TheHeart: Ends up fulfilling this role with the Olympian and Chthonic gods, along with multiple residents aof the Underworld. Generally speaking, if you don’t immediately resort to violence with Zagreus then you will become a happier, more well adjusted person.
* HasTwoMommies: Once [[spoiler:Persephone returns]].
-->'''Zagreus:''' I just get the benefit of having two great mothers rather than one.
* HatesTheirParent: His relationship with Hades is terse, to say the least. Hades thinks he is an ungrateful son that is trying to do something ridiculous, while Zagreus sees Hades as an over-controlling father that doesn't want him to meet the rest of his own family.
* HeightAngst: Asterius giving him the InnocentlyInsensitive nickname of "short one" has made him a bit sensitive about his height. It doesn't help that [[LargeRunt he's shorter than the other Greek gods we see in person]].
-->'''Asterius:''' My opponent has arrived in short order.\\
'''Zagreus:''' "Short order"? That was another jab about my height, wasn't it!\\
'''Asterius:''' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint I do not jab. All of my strength goes into every strike.]]
* HereditaryCurse: Like his father, [[spoiler:Zagreus is metaphysically bound to the Underworld, and even a successful escape will end with him being dragged back home by the Styx.]] [[DeterminedDefeatist This does absolutely nothing to stop him.]]
* HereditaryHairstyle: [[spoiler:Minus the braid, his hairstyle is virtually the same as his birth mother, Persephone's]].
* HeroesLoveDogs: More like heroes love [[HellHound giant three-headed demon hounds]], but close enough in the case of Cerberus. Zagreus loves Cerberus dearly and can even pet one of his heads in-game.
* HistoricalInJoke: It turns out the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagreus#Orphic_Dionysus_Zagreus the Orphic "first Dionysus"]] was the result of Zagreus pranking Orpheus on Dionysus's suggestion and claiming that he and Dionysus the same person.
* {{Hunk}}: He's a Greek god who's built like...well, a Greek god, having a muscular build and chiseled features. Aphrodite herself is quick to note that he's quite the specimen.
* InadequateInheritor: Hades is happy to remind him that he's a BookDumb good-for-nothing who fails at even the most basic administrative tasks. Zagreus has gotten so fed up with the constant belittling that he's [[RejectingTheInheritance Rejected the Inheritance]] entirely and is dying (quite literally) to escape the underworld. [[spoiler:Hades even speculates, after Zagreus beats him a few times, that [[ExactWords this is what the Fates meant]] when they decreed he would not have "a living ''heir''". Eventually Hades decides to hire him as a security consultant, charged with trying to escape and find any loopholes that can be used to leave Hades' realm.]]
* InformedFlaw: Coinciding with the above trope, one could also question if Zagreus could have learned to adapt to the Administrative Leadership if he had an actual patient mentor and not ''[[SinkOrSwimMentor Hades]].'' Zagreus gets so fed up with Hades verbal abuse that he quits.
* IWillFindYou: His motive in escaping the underworld is to [[spoiler: find his true mother, Persephone. And he does, albeit not without considerable difficulty]].
* JavelinThrower: Varatha can be thrown and called to return to his hand, doing decent damage in a line. Its baseline Aspect of Zagreus is based around this by buffing the throw when leveling it up. Achilles' aspect allows you to throw it, then rush to its location, essentially giving you an extra dash.
* KleptomaniacHero: He has little trouble looting his father's realm as he battles through it. [[spoiler:This comes to bite him in the ass when he discovers Charon has a ShopliftAndDie policy.]]
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee:
** Will quickly go googly-eyed upon his first encounter with Theseus. This attitude quickly changes once he realizes how self-righteous and disrespectful the latter is.
** Zagreus sometimes brings up Herakles and has even gotten excited about the prospect of fighting him.
* LargeRunt: He is hardly short by mortal standards, being the same height as Theseus (who towers over the Elysium colosseum's crowdgoers and was noted by Plutarch as exceptionally tall). But he's a god, not a mortal; and when standing next to other gods, (particularly his own father), Zagreus looks absolutely tiny. This may have to do with the fact that [[spoiler:he's one quarter human, as his birth mother Persephone is SemiDivine]].
* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: Several characters will comment that he's a stark departure from his father in temperament and character. [[spoiler:Nyx says he gets it from his birth mother, Persephone.]]
* LoserDeity: Zagreus can't help but feel inadequate and out of place in the House of Hades--he doesn't appear to have any sort of godly domain, he's [[InadequateInheritor hopeless at the duty he was raised for]], he can only really compare to other deities in power with a generous amount of help from the Olympians' boons and Nyx's mirror, and his father is always happy to remind him how much of a disappointment he is any chance he gets. [[spoiler: There are many hints that Zagreus is much closer to mortalhood than any of the other gods, and that his potential domain is life itself. While this would make him quite strong, it still pales in comparison to his godly relatives.]]
* LoveEpiphany: If the player maxes out the relationship values with Thanatos, Zagreus apparently had one of these when Thanatos first sought him out to confront him about leaving the House of Hades, during one of his escape attempts.
* MagicMirror: The Mirror of Night, the source of many of his powers, courtesy of Nyx.
** Once Zagreus has unlocked the entirety of the Mirror, Nyx seems to imply in one dialogue that [[spoiler:[[MagicFeather those powers he unlocks are]] [[ItWasWithYouAllAlong inherent to him]]]].
* MasterOfTheMixedMessage: Thanatos accuses him of being this, especially since he only starts courting him after he's made his intentions clear that he has no plans of staying in the Underworld.
* MayDecemberRomance: This is utlimately relative due to them all being ageless gods but it's frequently noted that both Megaera and Thanatos are considerably older than Zagreus. They're also his two primary romance options.
* MenCantKeepHouse: Hades constantly hounds him over his messy room and why he never takes as much initiative tidying up as he does escaping.
--> '''Hades:''' Why don't you clean your chambers so ferociously?\\
'''Zagreus:''' What, so they could look like your boring chambers?\\
'''Hades:''' You take that back about my chambers!\\
'''Zagreus:''' They're boring, I say!
* MinorlyMentionedMythsAndMonsters: Zagreus is a rather obscure deity in Myth/ClassicalMythology, to the point that he usually just gets shoved into Dionysus's MultipleChoicePast as a prior incarnation when he's mentioned at all. The game spends a little time LeaningOnTheFourthWall by implying his obscurity is because Hades hid his existence out of shame and only allowed Zagreus's DeityIdentityConfusion with Dionysus so [[IHaveNoSon people might forget he's his son]].
* AMistakeIsBorn: [[spoiler:Zagreus was never meant to happen. The Fates had decreed that Hades would have no heir, so he never intended to have a child. But then Persephone got pregnant anyway.]]
* ModestRoyalty: Zagreus's RequisiteRoyalRegalia is far sparser than his parents', with his burning civic crown being the only indication he's royal at all.
* MommasBoy: Zagreus loves Nyx as much as he loathes Hades. [[spoiler:When he learns that Persephone's his birth mother and finally persuades her to return to the Underworld, he simply decides he HasTwoMommies to adore instead of choosing between them.]]
* MoralityPet: Demeter manages to have something of a soft spot for him despite her bitterness. [[spoiler:And she implies that she would have been ''much'' angrier about Persephone and Hades's relationship were Zagreus not the end result.]]
* MultiMeleeMaster: Capable of skillfully wielding [[HeroesPreferSwords Stygius]], [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe Aegis]], [[BladeOnAStick Varatha]] and [[PowerFist Malphon]] in melee combat.
* MultiRangedMaster: Able to use [[ArcherArchetype Coronacht]] and [[TheGunslinger Exagryph]] from a distance. He can also throw Aegis and Varatha.
* MultiShot: A feat Zagreus is capable of with the heart-seeking bow, and the upgraded Adamant Rail.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: PlayedForLaughs. Zagreus loves messing with [[SuperGullible Orpheus]] by telling him grandiose tales of his life, but comes to this conclusion when not only does Orpheus write a song about it, ''he is unable to think any differently''.
* MythologyGag: One of the fibs that Zagreus tells Orpheus is how he and Dionysus are one of the same being. Dionysus was "reborn" from Zagreus' original heart. This is a literal Mythology Gag because one of the few accounts of the actual Zagreus from the myths is exactly this origin for Dionysus.
* NiceToTheWaiter: He treats the shades around the House of Hades quite well, always addressing Dusa and servant shades with kindness. This has made at least Dusa get [[{{UST}} an unrequited crush on him]].
* NoodleIncident: The details of Zagreus' breakup with Megaera prior to the start of the story gets alluded to several times thoughout conversations but never fully explained what went down. The most that ever gets fully confirmed is that both parties consider Zagreus to be the one at fault
* OCStandIn: A rare canon example. He's this more-or-less by necessity, as his mythological counterpart has barely any surviving records about him, and the few he does have end with him reincarnating into Dionysus.
* OddJobGods: Inverted in that Zagreus does not seem to be the god of anything in particular. Mockingly referenced by Hades, who wonders if he's the god of talking back to him.
* OhCrap: If you steal from Charon, he transports you to another area and prepares to kill you. And even Zagreus is nervous.
** The Tiny Vermin / King Vermin encounter in the Temple of Styx [[spoiler:has Zagreus sigh in relief that he's facing only one, small vermin. Said beast unleashes a roar that shakes the entire room]]. He utters ''"Oh Gods!"'' in shock.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: An unusual example in that it's not ''one'' nickname: Almost no-one in-game refers to Zagreus by his actual name and has nicknames for him instead. These range from [[AffectionateNickname the affectionate]] (Nyx's "child", Thanatos' "Zag" and Achilles's "lad") to [[EmbarrassingNickname the much-less so]] (Hades's "boy", Alecto's "redblood" and Theseus's "fiend"). Only the narrator, Orpheus, Eurydice and [[spoiler:Persephone]] consistently use "Zagreus", while Hades only reluctantly uses it once, [[spoiler:when he apologizes to his son for treating him harshly]].
* PatchworkKids: He's a fairly even blend of both his parents in looks. He has one of Hades' red eyes, along with his hair color, skin tone and burning feet. Even the codex says that looking at him will dispel any doubts that Zagreus is Hades's son. When it comes to his similarities to his mother [[spoiler:Persephone, his facial features are very similar (albeit slightly more chiseled) and his other eye is green like hers. They also have [[HereditaryHairstyle similarly spiky hairstyles]]]].
* {{Polyamory}}: The player can choose to either have Zagreus romance Thanatos or Meg separately, or have him romance ''both'' of them, though one would have to happen after the other. When it comes to the topic of cheating on whoever he romanced first, the second option will explain why the first is fine with it and no trouble comes out of the three-way relationship.
* PowerFist: The Twin Fists of Malphon allow Zagreus to brawl his way out of the underworld.
* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: The Shield of Chaos can bounce around in manners that would make Captain America proud.
* PrisonEscapeArtist: He eventually gets so good at escaping the Underworld that [[spoiler:Hades makes it his actual job in the epilogue]].
* RavenHairIvorySkin: Just like his father. [[spoiler:His birth mother has a much warmer color palette on the other hand]].
* RealMenWearPink: He will mention, upon receiving Dusa's Chthonic Companion, that he collects them, something almost no one does "anymore". The muscle-bound, sword-wielding immortal son of Hades collects plush toys, and has not one bit of shame over it.
* RebelPrince: He has no intention of even ''staying'' in the House of Hades, much less assuming any princely responsibilities. Most of his time is spent creating an absolute mess of the underworld in his constant attempts to escape it.
* TheRuntAtTheEnd: While gods tend to be LargeAndInCharge, Zagreus's stature seems firmly within human bounds [[spoiler:possibly owing to the fact that his real mother, Persephone, was only SemiDivine]]. As a result, he's half the height of Nyx, Hades can practically hold him in the palm of his hand, and even his more reasonably-sized romantic options stand OneHeadTaller than him. Asterius has gone as far as to bestow him the EmbarrassingNickname of "short one".
* SelfMadeMyth: He tells Orpheus a lot of untrue stories as a joke, and partly at the influence of Dionysus. In Zag's defense, he had no idea how far Orpheus would run with the stories.
* ShelteredAristocrat: Zagreus has been locked in a GildedCage his whole life, and several characters warn him regularly that he's not remotely prepared for what's in store for him on the surface. Even with Achilles's training, his first several escape attempts are cut very painfully short thanks to his inexperience. He also has a naively rosy view of his Olympian cousins and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking doesn't know what birds or vegetables are.]]
* ShieldBash: The primary method of attacking with Aegis.
* ShipperOnDeck: While at first, he seemed to have a crush on Achilles, he eventually learns that he is still in love with Patroclus, and shifts his plans to instead work to get the two of them together. He's also this to Orpheus and Eurydice. When he finds out the two were lovers in the past, he tries to get them back together, much to Eurydice's initial dismay. After they do end up getting back together, Zagreus does apologize for his actions and poking his nose into their business, but Eurydice assures him she would have given him a good beating if he had overstepped.
* ShootTheDog: Discussed after the epilogue of the story. [[spoiler:Zagreus is relieved that the grand feast with the Olympians went as well as it did, but also laments that his family is still lying to them. Persephone basically told the Olympians the truth, but also left out or changed a few key details to prevent them from getting too angry. Zag admits he understands why his mother lied, and Persephone also smooths things over by saying that [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow they probably knew they were lying]], but also just wanted the proverbial hatchet to be buried.]]
* ShroudedInMyth: He even gets his own Orphic hymn... which is filled with complete nonsense, because he's been telling Orpheus ridiculous tall tales the whole time.
* SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: Wears a trio of dog skulls on his left shoulder, and he also has several human skulls on his belt.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: He can hold his own in a verbal fight with others and mainly his father.
* SummonToHand: The abyssal arms are not so much picked up, so much as they teleport to Zagreus's hands. Exploited with the Spear and the Shield, who add throwing attacks to their melee arsenal. One of the spear's forms can invert this, as Zagreus is summoned to the spear instead of the other way around.
* TeleportSpam: Zagreus's "Dash" is actually a short-distance teleport, as explained in a conversation with Thanatos. While it's technically the same ability that Thanatos uses for his own dramatic entrances and exits, Zagreus never figured out how to go "more than a blade's length in front of [him]" at a time, so the natural solution is to treat as VideoGameDashing and spam the hell out of it. It also explains how Zagreus is able to dash through solid objects and enemy attacks.
* ThreePointLanding: Whenever he leaves the House through the window he lands like this.
* TooKinkyToTorture: Hades's security measures would be a lot more effective if Zagreus didn't ''like'' getting hurt. He even says this to Meg when they first fight as she wonders if her whip could persuade him to think differently while he remarks it hasn't really been persuasive in the past.
* TooDumbToLive: Zagreus tends to get himself killed in his various Early Access/[[spoiler: PlayableEpilogue]] "endings" in very, very dumb ways such as by petting venomous snakes, walking off cliffs, or attempting to befriend bears.
* TragicStillbirth: [[spoiler:He was one originally, dying shortly after birth. Persephone was so devastated that she left the underworld and never came back. Zagreus is only alive today thanks to Nyx using her full strength to bring him back, [[ScrewDestiny convincing her daughters, the Fates themselves]] to let her do so. According to the Fates, Hades was never supposed to have an heir.]]
-->'''Hades''': [[spoiler:You were never supposed to live. Took all of Nyx's strength to circumvent what should have been a certainty. [[ResurrectiveImmortality Now you cannot stay dead]]. Such is the wry humor of the Fates.]]
* TrashOfTheTitans: Both the Narrator and Hades often point out how he never bothers to keep his room clean. It doesn't help that [[AnInteriorDesignerIsYou he can keep putting more stuff in there]].
* UnevenHybrid: [[spoiler:His birth mother, Persephone, in this game was the result of a mortal farmer's DivineDate with Demeter]], making Zagreus one-fourth human.
* TheUnfavorite: Hades respects all of his step- and foster-children far more than his own blood-related son. [[spoiler:The fact that he's the only thing Persephone left Hades with other than her DearJohnLetter might have something to do with it.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:His quest to find his mother almost leads to Olympus learning of his mother, which would be [[DivineConflict a Very Bad Thing for everyone]].]]
* VerbalTic: Calls people "mate" just enough for it to be a quirk.
* VideoGameDashing: Starts with one but can go up to six in a row with Hermes' help. [[NintendoHard You'll need them.]]
* WaitWhat: His reaction when the narrator accidentally exposits that the letter Hades kept hidden in his drawer was from [[spoiler: his actual mother Persephone.]]
* WarriorPrince: Trained by none other than Achilles himself.
* WeakButSkilled: While Zagreus is noted as being weak for gods' standards, through his training from Achilles, Nyx's mirrior and an assortment of boons from the Olympians he manages to fight his way through the underworld. It also becomes apparent that he manages to gain profeciency in 6 weapons and fighting style through repetition of his escape attempts.
* WhatTheHellHero: He is occasionally on the receiving end of this from those who are less sympathetic to his quest, like Megaera, who thinks he is rebelling against his father to stir up trouble just for its own sake, and Thanatos, who considers him an UngratefulBastard for trying to leave Nyx behind.
* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: It's not entirely clear just what sort of son Hades was hoping for other than that it's definitely not Zagreus.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hades]]
!! Hades
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c85777a2_8d45_4d12_b398_ca180b347b77.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''God of the Dead''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/LoganCunningham

->''"...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."''
-->--'''Codex Entry'''

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. 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.
----
* AbusiveParents: Constantly berates his son and laughs at his attempts to escape the Underworld, besides making sure that a number of entities on the underworld are after his hide. [[spoiler:And if Zagreus actually ''succeeds'', Hades hunts him down to return him in person.]] A flashback of Zagreus's life before he began trying to escape, added alongside the Archive, shows that Hades constantly berated and put down his actual attempts at helping around the House. Eventually, after being defeated enough times and progressing through the story, [[spoiler:Hades apologizes to his son and admits he has been a poor father. He still isn't particularly warm to him afterwards, but their relationship does improve considerably as Hades is more willing to acknowledge Zagreus' positives and no longer belittles him constantly.]]
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zagreus' comment about Dionysus inspiring a healthy attitude actually makes Hades momentarily break into open laughter.
* AdaptationalHeroism: Despite being the main antagonist of the game one aspect of Hades character that gets cleaned up for the game compared to original myth is [[spoiler: the start of his relationship with Persephone. In the original myths, both Hades and Zeus conspired together to kidnap Persephone, with the one who actually comitted the deed changing depending on the story. Once their scheme was discovered Hades was pressured into releasing Persephone only to trick her into eating food from the underworld, forcing her to spend at least a third of every year living there. While they eventually had an amiable relationship it was a far cry from the game, which had Zeus take it into his own hands to kidnap Persephone and left her and Hades to work out the baggage on their own.]]
* AlmostDeadGuy: [[spoiler:If defeated, he will return to the House of Hades as he's about to tell Zagreus why Persephone left the Underworld.]]
-->'''Zagreus''': What? Wait, I don't think I owe you any favors here. Though, answer me one question and I'll give it some thought, how's that?\\
'''Hades''': I know your question, boy, but ask it anyway.\\
'''Zagreus''': [[spoiler:Persephone. My mother. Why did she leave?]]\\
'''Hades''': I... URGH!... blood and darkness...
* AloofBigBrother: Older than Zeus and Poseidon, and the least extroverted out of the three of them. It doesn't help that he currently has a very strained relationship with both of them.
* AngerBornOfWorry: [[spoiler: The main reason he's so abrasive towards Zagreus and everyone in the House is because he's absolutely terrified that he'll reveal Persephone's location and the fact that she's his mother to the Olympians, especially to Demeter. Due to his family's infamous reputation for DisproportionateRetribution, both in the game and in the original Greek mythology, his reasons are pretty understandable.]]
* AntiVillain: [[spoiler: Everything he does is for the purpose of keeping Persephone safe and the Olympians in the dark about their relationship. In searching for his mom, Zagreus is unknowingly putting the entire House of Hades at serious risk, and Hades is trying to stop this so a DivineConflict between the chthonic and Olympic gods doesn't occur. The reason that Hades doesn't just tell that to Zagreus is because Hades wants to keep everything under lock and key as much as possible.]]
-->'''Zagreus''': [[spoiler:...I know you love her at least, from all the terrible choices that you've made.]]\\
'''Hades''': [[spoiler:...All the terrible choices I've made. By the time you have existed for as long as I have, pray that you will have made fewer. Although I fear you will surpass me in at least this one regard.]]
* ArchnemesisDad: He's Zagreus' father, and it's clear they do not see each other eye to eye. While Zagreus sees Hades as prohibitive and authoritarian, Hades sees Zagreus as spoiled and ungrateful, and refuses to even talk about the subject of his heritage and family. As Zagreus tries to escape, Hades keeps creating obstacles for him. [[spoiler:He reconciles with his son when Zagreus returns to the Underworld with Persephone]].
* AtLeastIAdmitIt: Look, it's Greek Mythology. ''All'' of the gods borne of Cronos are assholes of different varieties. Hades stands out in that he does not hide it like the Olympic gods, instead letting his innate contempt for his son and the world spill forth. This also bleeds into his worldview- his description of the titan war is notably succinct and lacking any kind of embellishment, no IDidWhatIHadToDo justifications here.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: [[spoiler: Hades himself stops you at the exit from the Temple of Styx which leads to Earth as of the Big Bad Update. [[NintendoHard He's very difficult to fight.]]]]
* BadBoss: Hades has the rare distinction of qualifying as both a BadBoss and a BenevolentBoss. Perhaps his biggest issue being that while he wants people to work to their jobs and stick to what they agreed to in deals with him, he also doesn't necessarily care about their general happiness. At least at first.
** He has Orpheus locked up in solitary confinement, and once his sentence is commuted, he makes him come to the house as a Court Musician. Orpheus is unwilling to play due to losing inspiration from his muse and his failure to bring her back to life. If pointed out by Zagreus, Hades basically says he doesn't care, that Orpheus made his deal a long time ago, and he has a century to start working before he gets sent back down to solitary confinement.
** Similarly with Achilles and Patroclus, he keeps them separated within the Underworld. Mainly because Achilles qualifies for Elysium while Patroclus doesn't, but Achilles made a deal with Hades so Patroclus could have a spot in Elysium. Needless to say, both of them are misrable.
** Depending on what you buy, Hades seems to be against the idea of granting basic comforts to his employees. He balks that Cerberus doesn't need a bed and toys, nor does Achilles or Thanatos need niceties or furnishings around them. And of course, being Employee of the Month doesn't save anyone from tongue lashings if they've failed to contain Zagreus or are aiding him (like Megara and Thanatos).
* BadassMustache: He has an exceptionally long one, to the point it can be mistaken for a beard at first. Upon closer inspection, one can see that it's actually shaped like his own symbol. Hades himself proves himself to be the toughest obstacle Zagreus has to overcome during his escape.
* BeamSpam: [[spoiler:One of his attacks during the second part of his boss fight is to fire continuous laser beams at Zagreus, either in a three beam spread if above 50% health or in all directions if beneath it. Defending against it requires either Athena's Call, the Aegis shield to block, or taking cover behind non-destructible scenery.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: One of the flashbacks has him say that he's assigning Achilles to teach Zagreus to assert himself. [[CallingTheOldManOut Oh boy did that not work out the way he planned.]]
* BecauseISaidSo: A lot of his reasons for trying to prevent Zagreus from leaving or learning about his mother boil down to this. Hades knows why Persephone left the Underworld, but refuses to talk about it. And when that doesn't work, should Zagreus manage to escape from the Underworld anyway and learn why, [[OrwellianEditor Hades just pretends it didn't happen]].
* BeleagueredBoss:
** His bookkeeper is a layabout, his guard dog's gone soft, his son is wrecking the place trying to escape, his partner in running the Underworld, his General, and his top field agent are all helping his aforementioned son behind his back, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and his contractors constantly refuse his requests to install a sundial.]] When Hades isn't berating Zagreus, much of his dialogue consists of lamenting how tedious his job has become.
** Many of the upgrades that Zagreus can purchase through the Contractor are solutions to minor irritations or problems that Hades acknowledges need to be dealt with, but that he doesn't have the time to dig through the paperwork to authorize or transfer necessary funds. Zagreus has to personally acquire the funding to pay for these himself.
* BeleagueredBureaucrat: And with all that said even in the best of circumstances he's still buried up to his eyeballs in parchmentwork, and when at his desk almost always has a line of shades out the door to deal with.
* BenevolentBoss: Is one to Thanatos, and to a lesser extent the Furies. He is shown to respect and think highly of them, though he is disappointed a few times with the way they do their work, but he still even advises Thanatos to take time off when he seems tired.
* BerserkButton:
** Do not bring up [[{{Manchild}} Zeus]], [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Poseidon]], [[NatureIsNotNice Demeter]], [[NoodleIncident Heracles]] or [[spoiler:[[TheRunaway Persephone]]]] around him. The latter has become a borderline UnPerson with Hades forbidding anyone in his household from naming them in his presence.
** If Zagreus gets on good enough terms with Zeus, Zeus will ask Zag to relay a message to Hades telling him that he forgives him for the NoodleIncident that caused them to drift apart. Hades's response to being told the message is to be immensely outraged, blow up, [[RantInducingSlight going on a long rant about Zeus]] before forbidding Zagreus to ever bring up his brothers in front of him ever again. [[spoiler:In the full release's postgame, Hades is eventually convinced to reveal that the "incident" was ''Zeus kidnapping Persephone and giving her to Hades as a consolation prize for having to stay in the Underworld'', justifying this reaction.]]
--->'''Zagreus''': Father... look, Lord Uncle Zeus, I've been in contact with him, and he wishes to make peace. He asked for me to tell you. To tell you he forgives you for... whatever happened.\\
'''Hades''': My brother Zeus... forgives me? Zeus forgives ME?! How dare that blasted little brat! His beard may be luxurious but he's as much of a child as are you. Forgives me, ''bah''!\\
'''Zagreus''': What did you do...? What happened between you?\\
'''Hades''': None of your business! Go on now and frolic with that Lord Uncle of yours, the both of them! And don't you ever speak of him to me again, you hear me?
* BigBad: He's the major antagonist of the game, and every single being trying to stop Zagreus from leaving is following his orders.
* BigOlEyebrows: His eyebrows are noticeably large and have [[UnusualEyebrows forked ends]]. They're so big that they actually grow past his face.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: His schlerae are completely black and he's the main villain of the game.
* BlackSheep: He gets on pretty poorly with his Olympian family (who find him to be a stuffy, humorless {{Jerkass}}) and has distanced himself so thoroughly that they didn't even know his son ''existed'' until Nyx sought their aid in his escape. Hades, for his part, considers himself the WhiteSheep and the only stable and responsible member of a decadent, chaotic family.
* BladeOnAStick: Varatha, the Eternal Spear was his weapon during the Titan War, as some of the Olympians will point out if you wield it. After the war's end, he replaced it with Gigaros, an even more powerful bident that's twice as long as Zagreus is tall. Hades believes that his brother Poseidon based his trident on Gigaros. [[spoiler:He wields it against you in his role as the fourth boss, and copies much of Zagreus's moveset with it.]]
* BlingOfWar: He's not just the god of the dead, but the god of all the minerals in the earth, so of course he has fancy jewelry including rings and a blinged-out belt buckle with a gold skull socketed with gemstones. It's not as ostentatious as Extreme Measures Theseus, but it's there.
* BrutalHonesty: With the exception of [[spoiler:lying about Zagreus' mother]], Hades is known for being very blunt, especially when he's in a bad mood. [[spoiler:Persephone admits that this was what drew her to him when they met.]]
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: When Zagreus asks who the skull on Hades' shoulder belonged to, Hades himself cannot recall. He just knows that it was some enemy casualty of the Titan War.
* CatchPhrase: '''Blood and Darkness!''' Uttered whenever he's annoyed, which is most of the time.
* CharacterDevelopment: [[spoiler: If you manage to beat him ten times, Hades finally gives up in trying to keep his son in the Underworld, and manages to make things better with Persephone. From there on he becomes much more humble and appreciative of his son, and apologizes for his cruel behavior. This also changes the context of the game severely- with Hades now in on the entire details of how Zagreus escaped from Tartarus, he chooses to continue the charade with his Olympic relatives and turns Zagreus' escape attempts into a full time job for his son under the pretense that Zagreus is looking for holes in Tartarus's security. He also turns it into a bonding exercise between the two of them, with Zagreus' escape attempts coming across like a game.]]
* TheCoatsAreOff: He'll dramatically burn off his cloak [[spoiler:at the start of his BossBattle]]. Zagreus at one point snarks about the [[LampshadeHanging sheer number of cloaks he's wasting]] just to do that. Later on, when Zagreus enters his father's room, he sees his wardrobe is full of identical red capes.
-->'''Zagreus''': Just as I thought, it's nothing but capes!
* TheComicallySerious: His stuffy, humorless nature tends to make him this. Best exemplified late in the game, when you can find him staring intensely into a body of water - not because he's suddenly meditative or [[spoiler:waiting for Zagreus]], but because he thinks ''Poseidon has sent a fish to mock him'' and he needs to meet the challenge.
-->'''Hades:''' It's been taunting me, I think, for quite some time.
* ConsummateProfessional: Much of his {{Jerkass}}ery comes from his inability to tolerate others being any less dutiful and professional than he is.
* ControlFreak: He's very particular about how the Underworld should be run, and does not react well to defiance. More unfair rules or contracts tend to be justified with little more than BecauseISaidSo.
* CoolHelmet: He possesses one called the Helm of Darkness, which is said to amplify his already earth-shattering power. [[spoiler:He dons it when he decides to personally put an end to Zagreus's quest.]]
* CriticalHitClass: [[spoiler:If hit by a cast from Hades, Zagreus is afflicted with Boiling Blood, which causes all attacks made against Zagreus to be critical hits. Since Hades already hits like a truck, this is a bad thing.]]
* DarkIsNotEvil: Like his son, despite his snarky behavior, he’s not a malevolent force and takes his job seriously. He's still surly and abusive on a ''good'' day, but someone has to be the judge of the dead.
* DeadpanSnarker: Much like his son, Hades is prone to seething bouts of sarcasm, although most of it is aimed ''at'' the aforementioned son.
* DeclarationOfProtection: [[spoiler:Repeated interactions with Persephone, which eventually leads to conversing about her heritage, imply that Hades has kept her true location a secret not so ''Zagreus'' can't find her, but so the vindictive ''Olympian Gods'' can't.]]
* DirtyBusiness: It's hidden very well, but on occasion, if you [[spoiler: make it to his boss fight, or bring the Hades-transformed Varatha to it]], he reflects on the titan war and considers it to be this.
-->'''Hades:''' ''I could never stand to look at [[EmpathicWeapon it]] once my brothers and sisters and myself...Once our foul work was done.''
-->'''Hades:''' ''[[IDidWhatIHadToDo We had no specific recourse at the time, save to collaborate. Developed a specific plan, and saw it through.]]''
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Just like his son, Hades is barefoot. And just like his son, Hades' feet appear to be on fire.
* DryCrusader: He's banned both Nectar and Ambrosia from much of the Underworld, seeing it as a pointless indulgence. Most of the Underworld's denizens just ignore the ban, even those in charge of enforcing it like Megaera.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: After noting that Poseidon was never that good at fighting with his Stygian Blade, Hades trained him in spear combat. Unfortunately, Poseidon became so proficient and associated with his [[ProngsOfPoseidon trident]] that people now think Hades got his spear skills from ''him'' rather than the other way around.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He might be very abrasive towards everyone in the House, but he cares a lot about Cerberus, although he does use him to try to guilt-trip Zagreus. [[spoiler:He also still loves Persephone deeply, and will do anything, including beating their son into paste, to protect her from the Olympians. Reuniting them is key to reopening his hardened heart.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** He may dislike Demeter, [[spoiler:but he admits she had a rougher lot than he did, as Hyperion was an even worse father than Cronos, who ate his own children.]]
-->'''Hades''':Do not invoke her name inside my House, you hear me, boy? You do not know at all what she is like. Though I can see [[EnemyMine why you two hit it off.]] [[spoiler: She hated her father. Though understandably, as he was [[UpToEleven worse even than mine]]. [[SelfDeprecation Even than yours.]]]]
** It's eventually revealed this is why he doesn't like Zeus. [[spoiler:As it turns out, ''Zeus'' was the one who kidnapped Persephone, and forced her into an arranged marriage as an ApologyGift for Hades being forced into a job he didn't enjoy. While [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage this worked out fine]], to say he found this disrespectful of Persephone is a bit of an understatement, not to mention how it possibly could cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt due to a pissed-off [[MamaBear Demeter]].]]
** Zagreus at one point can confront him on why he has Theseus serving as his champion in Alysium instead of Heracles. Hades completely scoffs at this notion, stating that if not for Zeus' ParentalFavoritism towards Heracles, then no one would actually hold him in high regard due to how terrible of a person he actually is.
* EveryoneHatesHades: Subverted. Hades ''is'' Zagreus's main opposition, is depicted as a formidable foe and a {{Jerkass}}, and treats almost everyone with cold disdain at best. However, it's simply the result of him being dedicated to his job of maintaining the Underworld. It's also heavily justified because he's trapped in the underworld with endless streams of work, his wife has left him, his son is estranged from him, and many of his underlings are incompetent to the point where there is no progress on renovations until Zagreus starts putting resources into them.
* EvilCounterpart: Not so much as evil, but, [[spoiler: should you fight him he shares Zagreus' moveset, wielding Gigaros like his son does with Varatha as well as his own version of Zagreus' Casts.]]
* FantasyForbiddingFather: Specificity to Zagreus, and [[spoiler:his desire to travel to the surface to find Persephone.]]
* FatalFlaw: '''Stubbornness''', by his own admission. [[spoiler:Even when Persephone returns, and Hades apologizes to Zagreus for being a poor father to him, their relationship does improve noticeably, but he still finds it very difficult to open up and be a warmer father to his son.]]
* FinalBoss: [[spoiler: He's the last obstacle that stands between Zagreus and Persephone, at the very entrance of the Temple of Styx, and so he must be beaten before he can meet her.]]
* FlamingSkulls: [[spoiler:Hades's cast takes this form. If they hit Zagreus, they inflict their own stronger version of Boiling Blood, which allows Hades to deal twice as much damage with his attacks. If the skulls fail to hit Zagreus, they will hover in place for ten seconds and then explode, causing a shockwave that covers half the boss arena.]]
* ForgivenButNotForgotten: In a conversation with [[spoiler:Persephone]], Zagreus states that he doesn't hate his father and never did, but his resentment of him may never be totally gone even after their relationship has been patched up. For his part, Hades is fully aware that his son may never forgive him for everything that happened and accepts the blame, admitting that he deserves it for being a bad parent.
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: While most other characters' affection meters go up to ten hearts, Hades only gets five hearts. On top of that, it's only very late into the story that this affection rating can go any higher than one heart. This is to symbolize the still-strained relationship between him and Zagreus, even though it does improve.
* GlassCannon: [[spoiler: Hades's second phase hits harder than his first one. However, he doesn't summon any minions nor turn invisible, and only gets one instance of invulnerability opposed to the first phase's two instances. His third phase on Extreme Measures hits even harder than that, but he doesn't recover to full health and doesn't become invulnerable.]]
* GodOfTheDead: As the God of the Dead, he's in charge of the postmortem CelestialBureaucracy.
* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler: Defeating his Extreme Measures version will make Hades act surprised at the notion of being beaten when he pulled all the stops, then finally congratulate Zagreus, in his characteristically cold and aloof way.]]
-->'''Hades''': [[spoiler:''Urgh... <Gasp> How... I... I went all out... And still...? You... Win... Boy...'']]
* HeelFaceTurn:[[spoiler: Reuniting with Persephone reopens his heart, making his relationship with his son far warmer than it used to be. From then on, Hades refers to Zagreus by his name (mostly). He can also be given Nectar once more after he thanks Zagreus, which shows he also has a Keepsake: the Sigil of the Dead, which allows Zagreus to replace his Call with the ability to turn invisible.]]
* HenpeckedHusband: [[spoiler:The post-game reveals that Persephone is quite good at keeping her husband from being an unreasonable {{Jerkass}}. For instance, when Hades protests the idea of the Olympians coming over for dinner, he timidly retracts his remark and allows her to proceed with her plan.]]
* HeyYou: He refers to Zagreus almost exclusively as "boy". The few times he does call Zagreus by name, Zag lampshades how rare it is. [[spoiler:After Persephone returns, while he does refer to Zagreus by name consistently, he almost always does so after [[VerbalBackspace reflexively calling him "boy" again.]] ]]
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: He stands at least three heads taller than his wife and both are HappilyMarried.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: [[spoiler:After his health bar is depleted, he gets back up and keeps fighting, even stronger than the first time. Once Extreme Measures 4 is unlocked, you find out that despite the sheer strength and might he unleashed upon Zagreus, ''Hades was still holding back.'' Once he goes all out in his third phase, he explicitly says no living being since the Titans had faced him at his full strength.]]
-->'''Hades''': [[spoiler:I was reviewing the terms of the Pact of Punishment to which you are bound. Even when My servants resort to Extreme Measures, they were still unable to surpass you, then. So now, it is My turn.]]
-->'''Zagreus''': [[spoiler:Caught you unprepared, did I? After Theseus and his Macedonian, I half-expected to see you thundering around on some golden chariot of your own drawn by sable steeds. That sort of thing. But it's just you.]]
-->'''Hades''': [[spoiler:It is just Me, indeed. However, that should be more than necessary here. No holding back this time, Zagreus. Are you ready?]]
-->'''Zagreus''': [[spoiler:Let's go.]]
-->'''Hades''': [[spoiler:''[upon entering his third phase]'' Urgh!... No... I'm... Not... Finished... With you... Yet! I can still fight!]]
** When rematched:
-->'''Hades''':[[spoiler: Extreme Measures permitted, even still? You must have forgotten to change the conditions of your Pact of Punishment.]]
-->'''Zagreus''':[[spoiler:Wasn't an oversight. You're strong, Father. I want to be as strong, and more. Not that I'm taking after you or anything.]]
-->'''Hades''': [[spoiler:You wish to test yourself against the full extent of my wrath, then very well. You have earned that right. Besides yourself, only the Titans have. Now then... ''Attack''!]]
* IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer: [[spoiler:The one and only time that [[SkippableBoss Hades just lets Zagreus walk out the door to see Persephone without a fight]], Hades admits he was just delaying the inevitable. But Hades also sadly tells Zagreus that "should harm befall her... I shall bring my worst wrath upon whomever is to blame... including you", giving out an ImpliedDeathThreat before Zagreus leaves.]]
* IHaveNoSon: Ironically, Hades is actually quite pleased with the Hymn of Zagreus--because it's complete nonsense that claims Zagreus is Zeus's bastard rather than Hades's own son--and gleefully hopes it'll become widespread "so that everyone might know that I have nothing to do with you."
* InterfaceScrew: [[spoiler:In Extreme Measures 4, the third phase of his boss fight has him darken the entire arena, making him almost impossible to see unless he's close to you.]]
* {{Invisibility}}: Possesses the Helm of Darkness forged for him by the Cyclopes during the Titan War. This is the same "Helm of Invisibility" that Perseus was lent during his own mythic quests. He uses it during the first phase of his boss fight to periodically go invisible, and during the third phase if Extreme Measures 4 is active. [[spoiler: His Keepsake allows you to replace your Call with this power.]]
* JerkassHasAPoint: Hades is a jerk, but as long as his {{Jerkass}} tendencies aren't focused on Zagreus, he tends to have a solid point. The absolute biggest point he has, however, is that [[spoiler:Zagreus should be ''incredibly damned careful'' about revealing his mother's location to the rest of Olympus. Even Zagreus comes to admit that he can see why Hades was being so careful and so protective. Though that doesn't mean Zagreus likes it.]]
* LargeAndInCharge: His is the biggest sprite in the game, barring perhaps Cerberus and the Bone Hydra, and the head of the Underworld.
* LawOfInverseFertility: The Fates decreed that [[spoiler:Hades would never have a living heir]]. He took this to mean he was sterile. [[AMistakeIsBorn He was not]].
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Will snark at Zagreus in a way that targets the player if you give him Nectar. The "Big Bad" update also added a lot more of these moments to him, [[spoiler:due to serving as the last-added boss but the game still being unfinished. If you fight him multiple times he'll ask Zagreus why he keeps challenging him, knowing you can't proceed past him anyway because the "renovations" aren't done yet, and snarks that maybe "if we had more support" the renovations would be done sooner.]]
* LightningBruiser: [[spoiler: If you can somehow empty the lifebar of his Extreme Measures version twice, Hades will get back up for a third round, moving lightning fast and hitting with the force of a truck. He can also turn invisible again, unlike his second form.]]
* MirrorBoss: [[spoiler:His spearwork during his first stage is similar to Zagreus using Varatha, including his normal attack and spin attack. The skulls he launches also inflict Boiling Blood upon you, the same as Zagreus's own bloodstone attack. If you upgrade him with Extreme Measures 4, he gains a Raging Rush, like the Aspect of Achilles, teleporting to Gigaros after throwing it. He can also summon Cerberus as a companion.]]
* NoCureForEvil: [[spoiler:His Extreme Measures battle averts this. The green jars that Hades summons will heal him for every one that Zagreus doesn't destroy.]]
* NoodleIncident: ''Something'' has happened between him and the Olympians that estranged them to each other, which is why none of the Olympians are initially aware of Zagreus's existence [[spoiler:or Persephone's for that matter]]. Both Zeus and Poseidon will mention how he never calls. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Zeus was responsible for abducting Persephone from her mother and sending her to the Underworld to be Hades' "consolation prize", which deepened the rift with Hades if not outright caused it.]]
** He also had another with Heracles, most likely the time Heracles attacked Pylos and shot him and his sister Hera with his Hydra blood-poisoned arrows. Given what they did to Chiron, he got lucky.
* NotGoodWithRejection: He's still so bitter about [[spoiler:Persephone leaving him]] that it's banned as a topic of discussion within the House of Hades, and he takes a lot of that bitterness out on the biggest reminder of her that she left behind--[[spoiler:their son, Zagreus]].
* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler:One of Zagreus's flashbacks eventually reveals Hades is trapped in the Underworld as well, and has apparently attempted to escape before.]]
* PenPushingPresident: Hades's work boils down to this. Despite being ruler of the Underworld, his Titan-slaying days are over and he now mainly deals with massive amounts of paperwork to fill out. There's so much of it, in fact, that the area around his desk and even the house's ''lounge'' is buried in scrolls of parchment. He's usually seen working and hardly ever leaves his desk [[spoiler:unless he's faced as the FinalBoss after Zagreus successfully makes it to the surface]].
* PetTheDog: He's a jerk to be sure, but he's not completely heartless.
** He has a strong bond with Cerberus, and tells Zagreus to respect the time of Cerberus (albeit by telling Zag not to buy Cerberus dog toys). Love of Cerberus seems to be the only thing they have in common and they even use the dog as emotional blackmail against each other. "Anything you say to me you can say in front of the dog!" [[spoiler:Hades has a Chthonic Companion of him, and is able to summon him to help him but only during Extreme Measures 4 and even then Cerberus [[ObliviouslyEvil merely runs playfully across the arena]], implying Hades either doesn't want or is unable to use Cerberus against Zagreus]].
** He'll grant the desires of some of the shades that stand before him. Depends on what kind of mood he's in, but at least the possibility is there.
** He'll approve of a few of the House Contractor's wares, like the Ominous Bonework, the Bloodless bust, the Golden Pedestals and the Sundial (although he would've chosen a different type of marble). He also likes the portrait of him that gets commissioned.
** He thanks Zagreus (in his own way) when he kills several Satyrs and vermin at the Temple of Styx, since it was a huge pest problem.
** When Hypnos and Thanatos both end up exceeding his expectations, Hades genuinely praises their efforts and tells them to keep up the good work.
*** He also enjoys how Hypnos decorates the margins of his reports, and praises him for his artistic capabilities.
** Some interactions between him and his employees reveal that when he's in a good mood, he'll treat his workers fairly. One such example is when Thanatos reports back to Hades in regards to his attendance record. As he just got back from dealing with a war on the surface, Hades tells him that he's one of his best servants and that Thanatos shouldn't over-exert himself.
** He's also the one who has the final say on who gets to be in the Featured Houseservant Wall, so whenever Cerberus, the Chef, Meg, Achilles, Than [[spoiler:and even Zagreus himself]] appear on it, it's due to him.
** It's heavily implied that he allowed Orpheus to attempt to save Eurydice out of pity. [[spoiler:Considering that Hades is separated from Persephone, it makes sense.]]
* PhlebotinumOverload: Invoked. [[spoiler:After their family is reunited]], Hades refuses to let Zagreus touch his spear, Gigaros, as it's too powerful for him to handle and would tear him to pieces smaller than the Titans' if he tried.
-->'''Hades''': Never lay hands upon Gigaros, boy, ever again. The power in that spear could tear you to pieces finer than the ones to which some of your fellow ancestors were once reduced.
* PunchClockVillain: Due to him running a CelestialBureaucracy. He can be pretty harsh with some of the requests from the shades and others of his house, but it's just his job as the god of the dead.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: Just like Nyx and his son.
* ReformedButNotTamed: [[spoiler:Even after he's reunited with Persephone and comes to better terms with his son, Hades still has his moments of gruffness and will not go soft in his fight either.]]
-->'''Hades''':[[spoiler:You think your mother shall make me go soft, do you?]]
-->'''Zagreus''':[[spoiler:Is that your deepest fear of late, Father?]]
* TheResenter: He initially comes off as this towards his brothers, with everyone believing that his estrangement from them is due to him being saddled with the thankless job of having to rule the Underworld while they got comparatively plum jobs ruling Olympus and the Seas. He later reveals that his problem is less with the duty he's been given and more with how [[YouCantFightFate he was never given his own choice in the matter]]. [[spoiler: It also turns out he has a perfectly justifiable reason for being estranged from Zeus]].
* ResentfulGuardian: Hades never wanted children and finds it baffling that anyone else would either. Actually having a child did little to change his opinion, unfortunately for Zagreus.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: [[spoiler: Like son, like father...and [[IronicEcho it even has the same animation!]]]]
* SecretOtherFamily: Hades made a point of hiding his son [[spoiler:and, it appears, his failed relationship with Persephone]] from his Olympian relatives, who only learned of Zagreus's existence when Nyx reached out to them.
* SeeTheInvisible: [[spoiler:His helm renders him invisible, but he still leaves footprints in the snow.]]
* SequentialBoss: [[spoiler:When Hades's first life bar goes down, he kneels... Only for there to be a second phase to the boss fight. His Extreme Measures 4 version has a ''third'' phase on top of that.]]
* SingleTargetSexuality: While it's been established that deities taking on multiple lovers was normal, Hades stands out because he only ever loved [[spoiler:Persephone, his queen.]] Even before he met her, he never courted anyone and remains single after [[spoiler:she left the Underworld.]]
* SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: Similarly to Zagreus, skulls feature prominently on his clothing. According to him, they belonged to Typhon's many children, of which Cerberus is one of the few survivors.
* SkippableBoss: Only once, and it's played for drama. [[spoiler:When Zagreus reaches Hades after defeating him nine times, Hades has decided that he'll just let Zagreus go see Persephone in spite of all of the warnings. When this happens, Hades will keep his back turned and let Zagreus walk out the door, without a boss fight. It's right after this that Zagreus finds Persephone ready to come back to the House of Hades, so it all works out in the end.]]
* SlouchOfVillainy: As of the ''Nighty Night'' update, Hades will slouch in his chair while listening to the petitions of the Underworld's shades in the House of Hades.
* SNKBoss: [[spoiler: Should you make it to the end of the Temple of Styx, he steps up to try and stop Zagreus. He hits hard, has a Casting mechanic like Zagreus, can summon EliteMooks during the boss fight, as well as having a second phase where he summons multiple beams and hands from the Underworld to stagger Zagreus. And that's his normal form -- his Extreme Measures battle has a third form that's even harder than that.]]
* SoreLoser: If you talk to him in the House of Hades after [[spoiler:you defeat him in battle for the first time]], he'll pretend like it didn't happen, even if Zagreus calls him out on it.
* TheStoic: He has practically no emotional affect at all, beyond snidely mocking his son.
* StopWorshippingMe: Unlike the Olympians, he considers worship and offerings to be a pain in the ass, since they mostly just result in more paperwork for him.
* SurroundedByIdiots: When Zagreus does well on clearing an Infernal Trove, Hades will generally make comments along these lines about his guards.
** NotSoStoic: Naturally, the few spots where he breaks this register are at the peak of emotional distress. He often answers with anger and annoyance.
* ThisCannotBe: [[spoiler: Downplayed. Hades's first reaction to defeat is to quietly ask how, but he accepts the reality of it very quickly afterwards.]]
* TookALevelInKindness: [[spoiler:When Persephone comes back, Hades becomes more affectionate towards Zagreus, still treating him rather coldly, but without the same contempt as before.]]
* TookAShortcut: [[spoiler:No matter how fast you go, Hades will always beat you to Styx. When Zagreus calls attention to it, Hades points out that he can travel the river while Zagreus has to navigate the chambers on foot. There's a passageway in the administrative chamber that points to this conclusion as well.]]
** Accessing the Archives allows Zagreus to find the Eldest Sign of the Underworld, which allows Hades to move freely through his realm. Zagreus comments he's never been able to get it to work.
* TrapMaster: [[spoiler:His flaming skulls will explode in a few seconds, unleashing a damaging shockwave. In his second stage, Hades gains an attack where he causes green amphoras to erupt all over the arena. If Zagreus steps on or attacks one, it causes hands to erupt from the ground around the amphora, causing damage and a short stun. The flaming skulls' shockwaves can also destroy them.]]
* TroubledAbuser: Hades himself is in a pretty miserable situation he can't escape--not to mention he had the terrible dad to end all terrible dads--and he deals with it by dumping all his frustrations on his son.
* TurnsRed: [[spoiler:He's the only boss in the game to have more than one form. Comparatively speaking, his second form hits harder and has harder-to-avoid attacks, but doesn't defend nearly as often. And if you have Extreme Measures up to rank 4, Hades has a third form, which reveals that his second form was Hades ''still'' holding back; the third form is Hades holding back absolutely nothing.]]
* UngratefulBastard: Is the only one to not give Zagreus a gift in return if you give him Nectar, [[SchmuckBait mocking Zagreus -- and by extension the player -- for expecting anything for it.]] After that the option to offer him gifts is permanently disabled, even if you are carrying some. [[spoiler:It's reenabled quite a way into the postgame, after Persephone's return and more of their history with the Olympians comes to light. Hades is so grateful towards Zagreus for reuniting them that he reopens his heart to him.]]
* WhatsUpKingDude: Hades has his hands full with an endless procession of random shades coming to him with every grievance, and he doesn't seem to mind allowing random shades gather in the House of Hades's halls and lounge.
* WorfHadTheFlu: [[spoiler: Not long after defeating Hades, both Zagreus and the player learns that underworlds only have a set limit to remain on the surface before they literally kill over. And then you may remember that Hades was literally waiting for an unknown set amount of time for Zag on the surface so it gives the impression that all the fights against Hades may have also been something of a handicap.]]
* WorthyOpponent:[[spoiler:In the postgame, he grows to see Zagreus as this, being the only one that can match him and even outstrip him in sheer power.]]
-->'''Hades''': [[spoiler:''Argh''... you bested me. I'll grant you, Zagreus... You're... quite... strong...]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nyx]]
!! Nyx

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadesnyx.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Night Incarnate''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Jamie Landrum

->''"...Mother Night, we like to call her, though rare is the occasion when she dotes on us. She has her many, many children to look after, many of whom reside now in locales beyond my reckoning, and perhaps beyond hers."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

The embodiment of night and mother of (among others) Hypnos, Thanatos, Charon, The Furies and Zagreus. She co-manages the Underworld together with Hades, being more involved in the state of the realm itself than its inhabitants. She supports Zagreus's desire to leave.

Nyx granted Zagreus the Mirror of Night, allowing him to upgrade his stats between escape attempts, and also let the Olympian Gods know of his existence and his escape attempts from Hades.
----
* AntiSmotherLoveTalk: She's Zagreus's strongest advocate against his father's controlling parenting, and Zag witnesses several arguments between him and her over it.
* TheBeard: [[spoiler:Hades and Nyx were never together--they just needed an explanation for where Zagreus came from without revealing that Persephone was ever in the Underworld.]]
* BenevolentConspiracy: [[spoiler:Nyx, Charon and Hermes initially worked together behind Hades' back to smuggle Persephone out of the Underworld; the same group later arranges for Zagreus to be put in contact with Athena, setting the events of the game in motion.]]
* BerserkButton: Do not doubt her power, or [[spoiler:ask too many questions about her daughters, the Fates.]]
* CannotSpitItOut: It's implied that Nyx knows even more than Hades about [[spoiler:Persephone's disappearence and why she left]], but is unable to tell Zagreus because of Hades's prohibitions. The most she can to do is assist Zagreus in escaping so he can [[FigureItOutYourself learn the truth for himself]].
* CosmicMotifs: She has moons on her shoulders and a crown made of stars, fitting for the regal embodiment of Night itself.
* DarkIsNotEvil: The embodiment of night and darkness, yet she's one of the kindest characters in the game.
* GoodStepmother: Far more supportive of [[spoiler:Zagreus]] than his own birth parents are.
* GracefulLadiesLikePurple: Has purple lipstick and her clothing is gold-and-purple. She's also the regal and dignified matriarch figure of the House.
* GuiltRiddenAccomplice: She was never comfortable lying to Zagreus about [[spoiler:his true parentage]], and her full support of Zagreus's escape from the Underworld is in part to atone for this.
* IAmNotYourFather: [[spoiler:She's not Zagreus's mother, although she and Hades pretended she was his whole life. His real birth mother is Persephone.]]
* InTheHood: Shared a sprite with Charon until the "Nighty Night" update.
* MagicMirror: Gives one to Zagreus, Allowing him to use darkness to improve his stats between runs.
* MotherOfAThousandYoung: She is mother -- or through Eris, grandmother -- to most {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s in Classical Mythology that aren't Olympian Gods. Achilles notes that while many still live in the Underworld, many more now live in realms beyond mortal reckoning, and perhaps even Nyx' own.
* TheOldGods: Nyx is one of the Protogenoi, predating even the Titans.
* ParentalSubstitute: [[spoiler:To Zagreus, after Persephone left. If Zagreus gives her Nectar, he'll imply she is his mother in many ways even if they do not share any blood; if the bond is maxed out, he says she's as much his mother as Persephone and that he loves her as a mother as well]]
* PassingTheTorch: [[spoiler:She later reveals she was the original ruler of the Underworld, but she was unable to handle the strain of running the place, which led to it being in utter chaos until Hades arrived. Once he earned her trust, she accepted him as the new ruler, and built him his House at the very center of Tartarus.]]
* PlatonicCoParenting: [[spoiler:Not only is Nyx not Zagreus's birth mother, but she and Hades have never even been intimate. Zagreus suspects she feels strongly for his mother, Persephone, instead.]]
* PowerFloats: Much like her sons, Hypnos and Thanatos, Nyx floats in mid-air and has a star-studded gown in place of legs.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: Just like Hades and Zagreus. [[spoiler:Somewhat ironic, considering Zagreus is not her blood and yet looks more like her than many of her actual children.]]
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Much kinder than Hades and gives reassurance and advice to her many children in the House of Hades, Zagreus included, as she tries to ensure the preservation of the House more than Hades' fixation on the work to be done.
* TheSacredDarkness: As the Night itself, she's easily the most supportive figure in Zagreus's life and quest, and all of the upgrades provided by her Mirror of Night are literally powered by darkness. [[spoiler:She also uses her powers to "veil" Zagreus and Persephone, protecting them from the Olympians' scrying.]]
* ScrewDestiny: [[spoiler: By saving Zagreus from stillbirth, she did this. She implies heavily that it was so difficult it took several years and a lot of power and/or bargaining with the Fates. Note that she must have felt quite strongly about this because she forbids even ''discussing'' the Fates most of the time.]]
* ShippingTorpedo: She has some strong words for Dusa if Zagreus starts getting close to her, thinking it improper for the Prince of Hades to be romancing the help. [[spoiler:Whether or not this contributed to Dusa turning Zagreus down at the end of their subplot is up to the player.]]
* SuperEmpowering: She crafted the Mirror of Night, which allows Zagreus to channel Darkness to gain new abilities.
* SupernaturalIsPurple: As the embodiment of Night, she is associated with a dark purple.
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: A trait she shares with her sons Thanatos and Hypnos, indicating that she isn't human.
* TrulySingleParent: Not with all her kids, but Achilles's codex notes Thanatos (and, by extension, Hypnos) to be fatherless.
* VerbalTic: Tends to end arguments and other uncomfortable conversations with "Are we understood?".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Charon]]
!! Charon

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/charon_5.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:'''Stygian Boatman''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Logan Cunningham ([[TheUnintelligible sort of]])

->''"...The Stygian Boatman is a lot of things, although I am afraid he isn't much for conversation; I have tried, though perhaps not persuasively enough. I wonder where he finds the time to mill about as sometimes he is prone."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Son of Nyx and ferryman of the dead, Charon takes the souls of the dead into Hades across the river Styx in return for their obol, the burial coin placed under the corpse's tongue.

Though unwilling to do the reverse service for Zagreus and simply whisk him out of Hades, Charon will appear intermittently during escapes selling items he has dredged up from the Styx during his travels -- though expect to have to pay much more than a single obol for any of them.
----
* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: Charon will avert this trope until the Temple of Styx, where he will show up with a final and greatly expanded selection of wares, many of whom are greatly overpriced compared to his regular prices. This is to make sure the player is able to spend all their remaining obols before leaving the Underworld. Zagreus questions what Charon even needs money for.
* AlmightyJanitor: According to Thanatos, Charon was already in the Underworld when Hades took up residence there, and despite his role of simply being TheFerryman, the entire Underworld would stop working without him. No one, including Hades, ever oversees his work nor apparently ever needs to. [[spoiler: Steal from him and he will remind you that despite being just a ferryman, [[DoNotTauntCthulhu he is still a chthonic god.]]]]
* TheBattleDidntCount: [[spoiler:If provoked into a fight, Charon will give up when 75-80% of his health has been depleted and cannot be fought again for that run, meaning it is impossible for Zagreus to actually kill him (not that it would stick either way, mind).]]
* BerserkButton: Charon hates theft and will immediately teleport you away to fight you should you choose to steal the obol sack that occasionally spawns in his shop.
* BonusBoss: As of ''The Blood Price'', [[spoiler:Charon can be fought by stealing Obol from his shop. Doing so causes a boss fight.]]
* CreepyGood: Probably the single most ominous and inhuman deity in the game short of Chaos themself, but dialogue with Zagreus and the other characters suggest he's actually quite affable and reasonable as long as you don't [[BerserkButton steal from him.]] [[spoiler:It goes much further than that, as he also conscripts both Skelly and Hermes into helping Zagreus and Persephone reunite, and also clandestinely helps Persephone herself both in ''and'' out of Hell. He's not even put out by Zagreus fighting him, and Hermes and Nyx say that he might actually enjoy having someone to spar with on occasion.]]
* TheDreaded: ''No one'' wants to mess with Charon. After fighting him the first time, Zagreus can ask Nyx about just that, and she calls the idea "ruinous."
* TheFaceless: Used the generic hooded NPC look up until ''The Blood Price'' update, except in his case no face was visible underneath in his portrait.
* FaceFramedInShadow: Most of his face is covered up by shadow, giving you only vague details as to what he looks like.
* TheFerryman: ''[[TropeCodifier The]]'' [[TropeCodifier Ferryman]], though it's not the role he fulfills in-game. [[spoiler:At least, not until the very end of the story, when he takes both Zagreus and Persephone back to the gates of the underworld and the House of Hades.]]
* InTheHood: His sprite up until ''The Blood Price'' update presented him as a hooded being in a long cape, with nothing visible underneath.
* IntrepidMerchant: Fits the role of showing up to sell you things, if not any other part of the description.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: [[spoiler:That oar is for paddling both the Styx's waters and shoplifters' faces, and it performs both admirably; even ''Hades'' doesn't hit quite that hard]].
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWKo9zBa5uI "Final Expense"]], which almost always plays whenever Zagreus enters an area where he's selling his wares (the only exception being the Temple of Styx). [[spoiler:There's also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFVjtvuVHpE a remixed version]] if he's faced as a BonusBoss after Zagreus tries to steal from him, which is fittingly titled "Final Expense (Payback Mix)".]]
* MightyGlacier: [[spoiler:He's fairly slow as bosses go and most of his attacks are telegraphed, making it easy to catch onto his pattern and avoid him. To compensate, he does more damage than any boss in the game, his oar swipes a huge arc in front of him, and his ranged attacks cover a lot of the arena.]]
* MysteriousBacker: Between providing Zagreus with wares (for fee) and [[spoiler:hiring Skelly to help Zagreus hone his skills with various weapons]], Charon definitely fits. [[spoiler:Skelly suspects that Charon may have some kind of bet going on in regards to Zagreus' attempt to escape the underworld.]]
* NiceHat: Dons a particularly wide-brimmed one.
* OffscreenTeleportation: Can show up multiple times during a single playthrough, having set up his sales rooms in advance. Justified in that he can move freely using the river Styx, and Zagreus can't.
* {{Psychopomp}}: Part of one. Once Hermes has brought the shades of the dead to the banks of the Styx, Charon takes over. Hermes refers to him as his 'colleague'.
* SecretKeeper: [[spoiler:He is aware of Hermes' involvement in Zagreus' escapades to a degree that none of the other gods (barring perhaps Chaos) are. Some dialogue implies Hermes is working for him to help Zagreus, in which case it would make sense for him to know about his aid.]]
* ShopliftAndDie: [[spoiler:If you dare to steal obol from his shop, you will be instantly taken to a fight with Charon, who can easily wipe the floor with you with a few swipes of his oar.]]
* SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity: Always appears as a room choice in the last room before a boss.
* TheVoiceless: Only makes groans and whispering noises. Zagreus still holds 'conversations' with him through copious amounts of snark, though whether he can actually understand him or is just playing along is anyone's guess. If befriended with enough Nectar, Charon makes one ''very'' unambigious statement [[spoiler:if Zagreus considers telling Nyx that Hermes is aiding him]], making a ''very'' angry sound that causes the Underworld to shake. Zagreus immediately abandons the subject.
* WorthyOpponent: [[spoiler:If you steal from him and survive the experience, he'll give you a membership card that confers a 20% discount to all shop prices for the run. If you encounter Hermes afterward, he might comment that Charon was "impressed" and "isn't even mad" at Zagreus beating him. Nyx will also speculate that Charon enjoys having someone who can actually give him such a challenge, as so few are willing to even try it with him.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hypnos]]
!! Hypnos
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hypnos_welcometohell_hades.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Sleep Incarnate''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Greg Kasavin

->''"...It is said that Sleep is the cousin of Death. That turns out to be not quite correct, insofar as the two, in fact, are brothers, born to Nyx herself. The former of the two, we call him Hypnos; he whiles away, half-sleeping, watching over the Pool of Styx in the foyer of the House, taking stock of those arriving in the Master's domain, or returning to it."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

The embodiment of sleep and the younger twin brother of Thanatos, Hypnos is responsible for the accounting of the newly arrived dead before they are sent to Hades for judgement. This, inevitably, means he'll have to check off Zagreus whenever he is sent back to the House of Hades through an untimely death.
----
* AmicableExes: PlayedWith since the fact that they are dating is news to Megaera when Hypnos brings it up by way of breaking up with her. For her part, Meg takes it all in stride.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Zagreus says that he views Hypnos as being like an annoying little brother, despite Hypnos being older.
* CaptainObvious: What his "advice" to Zagreus generally amounts to. Die to lava, for example, and he'll cheerfully tell you that ''you probably shouldn't stand on it''.
* DeadpanSnarker: Inverted. He will ''very cheerfully'' make Zagreus's latest death the subject of his unsolicited advice, often condescendingly.
* DissonantSerenity: Very cheerful, despite the grim nature of his job.
* FellAsleepStandingUp: Almost constantly.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Played with. He's the foolish to Thanatos's responsible, easily slacking and sleeping on the job, while Thanatos is basically Hades's best underling, with a spotless record and perfect punctuality; however, Hypnos never goes against his boss's orders, while Thanatos is moving behind his back to give Zagreus his support.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Everyone finds Hypnos terribly annoying and surprised Zagreus can tolerate him at all. Even ''Nyx''.
-->'''Nyx:''' Alas, you have seen much of Hypnos lately, child. I hope you find his disposition somewhat tolerable?
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: He's a fan of Theseus and Asterius and will ask Zagreus for their autographs if they kill him enough. This can lead to Zagreus asking Asterius for an autograph prior to their mid-boss fight.
* TheJester: Achilles's notes imply that Hades considers him this instead of... whatever else he's supposed to be doing.
* LazyBum: Sleeps on the job--which isn't too surprising, since he's the god of sleep--and apparently spends more time making lists (and doodling on them) than actually doing what's on the lists. This gradually becomes more downplayed over time after repeated conversations with Thanatos, as he still has a habit of falling asleep but he manages to improve his work ethic.
* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: The line of souls proceeding from the Pool of Blood up to Hades's desk is given the run-around by Hypnos, who introduces them to their hospitable stay in the afterlife and, should they die again, how to avoid it a second time. After doing this long enough, it's given way to snarker tendencies.
* ObsessedAreTheListmakers: Played with; he loves lists, but he prefers to spend more time making lists than actually doing the tasks on them.
* AnOddPlaceToSleep: Sleeps while floating upright, in the procession of souls being lead to Hades. Zagreus can buy a couch for him to sleep on, though.
* PowerIncontinence: Implied, seeing as he's both the god of sleep and narcoleptic.
* ShipperOnDeck: If Zagreus romances Thanatos, Hypnos may ask Zagreus after he returns back to the House if what Thanatos told him was true, saying that it made sense. When Zagreus confirms what Thanatos said was true about them, Hypnos gives an awed "Whoooooaaa".
* {{Sleepyhead}}: A given, considering he's literally sleep itself.
* ThatCameOutWrong: Has a conversation with Megaera in which it sounds like he's asking her out on a date. When Meg points this out he quickly backpedals. This is not helped by the way he moons over Megaera whenever Zagreus is killed by her.
* TheUnfavorite: For Nyx. While she loves all her children and respects Thanatos and Charon greatly, Hypnos' childishness, poor work ethic, and tendency to call her "Mom" in public often leave her exasperated.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Megaera]]
!! Megaera
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cbbd10eb_fa97_4243_a0dd_02ac3d747e95.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''First of the Furies''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Avalon Penrose

->''...The ancient Fury Sisters deal retribution for eternity against all those whose lives unspeakably befouled the lives of others. They each seem to relish their grim work, though none so much as Megaera, the first among them."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Megaera is one of the three Fury Sisters and foster daughter of Nyx, being responsible for punishing adulterers, oathbreakers and thieves. She is sent by Hades to stop Zagreus from escaping the Underworld. Zagreus must defeat her before progressing to Asphodel. After she has been defeated a certain number of times, Hades will grow displeased with her poor performance, and despite Megaera's objections will summon her sisters to help finish the job.

After being defeated during a run, Megaera will be found drinking in the House's lounge and can be interacted with and given gifts, though she'll still attempt to stop Zagreus from leaving Tartarus. If the lounge has yet to be re-opened, she will instead hang around in the hallway, on the opposite side of Zagreus's door from where Nyx usually stands.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Zagreus calls her 'Meg'.
* AmicableExes: Despite having to kill each other hundreds of times, the two of them are on rather good terms. [[spoiler: If you max out your relationship, you can even take the "exes" part out of it.]]
* AssistCharacter: [[spoiler:She gifts the Chthonic Companion Battie upon being given an Ambrosia, which allows her to be summoned for a multi-strike attack.]]
* TheBattleDidntCount: She says she doesn't consider her battles against Zagreus valid because he is fighting while powered up by the Olympians' blessings and Nyx's mirror. She finishes this by saying that she is confident she could win if they fought on the same ground. [[spoiler:There's [[DevelopersForesight special dialogue]] for defeating her after resetting yourself.]]
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: The friendliest of the Furies, being merely a PunchClockVillain rather than obsessed with battle or duty like her sisters. She's also the most attractive, having neither Alecto's [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily intimidating]] [[SlasherSmile grin]] or Tisiphone's [[NightmareFace disturbingly withered appearance.]]
* ConsummateProfessional: Romancing her does not keep Megaera from dutifully trying to kill Zagreus every other run. After maxing out your affection with her, the next encounter with her in Tartarus has her reading you an official censure...then she smiles and says "come on, play along." She also makes it very clear that Zagreus going easy on her or her going easy on Zagreus would be a dreadful insult to them both.
* DeadpanSnarker: Emphasis on the 'deadpan', but she's very much able to keep up with Zagreus.
* DeathGlare: Megaera has one of the coldest stares in the entire game; she disapproves wholeheartedly about what Zagreus is doing and their rocky romantic history only makes it worse.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: She does wear greaves over her legs, but her feet and soles are left exposed.
* {{Dominatrix}}: Zagreus seems to outright look ''forward'' to getting thrashed by Meg at times, and the audio accompanying their FadeToBlack sex scene hints that she whips him in bed just as much as out of it.
* FlunkyBoss: Megaera periodically summons Thugs and Witches to aid her in fighting Zagreus.
* FriendlyEnemy: As shown by her interactions with Zagreus, she's actually pretty close friends with him off the clock, it's just her job to stop him.
* InsistentTerminology: If Zagreus offers her Nectar she'll immediately claim it's contraband and 'confiscate' it off of him. If gifted more, Zagreus will keep referring to the bottles as 'more contraband' and ask her to confiscate it for him.
** At affection level 8, Meg will outright ask Zagreus to stop doing this, and comments that he was never very good at being open about his desires around her.
* KickTheDog: It's implied that Meg takes out her frustration with her defeats at Zagreus' hands on Sisyphus. Though it kind of doubles with KickTheSonOfABitch due to the reason for his sentence in the first place is because of what a terrible person Sisyphus was in life.
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: If Zagreus fights her with Exagryph, she is shocked that he has it and says she has always wanted to see it in action.
* OddFriendship: She and Dusa get along well as they sometimes can be seen gossiping together in the lounge area at the House. Megara even tells Dusa she's more like a sister to her than her actual sisters.
* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]]: Amongst her sisters, she's the nicest and calmest, and often gets annoyed by [[BloodKnight Alecto]] and [[AxCrazy Tis]]' antics.
* PunchClockVillain: She's actually a pretty calm and pleasant individual, and can enjoy moments with Zagreus or Dusa in the lounge when she's off-duty. The problem is her job involves preventing escapes from Tartarus, and she can't make exceptions for Zagreus.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: Same as Zagreus, to the point of having the same animation.
* ShipperOnDeck: Of Zagreus/Thanatos, surprisingly enough. [[spoiler:In fact, if you hook up with Megaera before romancing Thanatos, Thanatos will say that Meg not only knows and doesn't mind, but she's the one who talked him into going for it in the first place.]]
* SoreLoser: She does not take losing to Zagreus well, especially when it becomes the norm. She's quite sure that without help from the Night Mirror that Nyx gave him, she'd win any day. Depending on the player's skill, that may or may not be true.
** Improve their relationship enough, however, and her disposition towards losing to you will subtly improve. Get it far along enough and she'll start occasionally using her last words to urge you onwards towards an escape.
* TheStoic: Generally composed and speaks in a monotone whisper, especially when contrasted with her sisters.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: She doesn't like working with her sisters. Turning the 'Extreme Measures' labour off after fighting her once with it on will have Meg thank Zagreus in their next boss fight.
* TortureTechnician: As a Fury, her job is to torture the souls of oathbreakers, thieves, and the unfaithful. If you squint a bit, all three cover Zagreus to some extent, as he is breaking out of the House without permission, smashing urns and stealing treasure to keep going, and defying his father, a god.
* WakeUpCallBoss: Meg is the game's first real boss fight and is noticably more difficult than the levels before her. She sets the stage for the difficulty the player will face from then onwards. After her, enemies become stronger, the areas Zagreus visits have even more traps and environmental difficulties.
* WardensAreEvil: Subverted. She's the warden of Tartarus who tries to stop Zagreus from escaping, but a pretty likable person when she's [[PunchClockVillain off the clock]].
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Meg takes Zagreus' "betrayal" of trying to escape Hades quite a bit harder than Thanatos does. Even once she realizes he's doing it for altruistic motives, she still cuts off any attempt to Zagreus to offer her a olive branch. It takes additional effort on the player's part to return their relationship to what it once was.
* WhatTheHellHero: In one of their pre-boss battle banters, she points out to Zagreus about how reckless he is in lying to the Olympian gods about his true reason for escape, warning him that such an act could fray whatever goodwill Olympian and chthonic gods have left towards each other.
* WhenSheSmiles: If you manage to max out her relationship, she finally gives a small smile. It looks good on her.
* WhipItGood: The weapon of choice for all three Furies.
* WingedHumanoid: Only one, on her right side.
* WolfpackBoss: Downplayed. Activating the 'Desperate Measures' labour leads to Meg attacking Zagreus alongside both her sisters at the end of Tartarus. Alecto and Tisiphone will act as support characters who teleport in and attack using some of their own moves, but have no health bars and disappear once Megaera is defeated.
* WorkingWithTheEx: Well, ''against'' the ex, but giving her enough Nectar unlocks events that shows she was all but pushed into a relationship with Zagreus by Hades. With Zagreus having gotten on his father's bad side, they've broken up as a result.
* YouHaveFailedMe: Downplayed example: If Zagreus defeats her enough times, Hades will recall the other Furies to 'stop Zagreus' duty but not otherwise punish her. Megaera's reaction implies she sees this as bad enough.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Alecto]]
!! Alecto
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alecto.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Tormentor of Passions''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MarianneMiller

->''"...Each of the ancient Fury Sisters is preoccupied eternally with tormenting a certain swath of moral crime, and Alecto enjoys the broadest swath of all: those who, during their mortal days, committed wrongful acts at the behest of their impulsive passions."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Alecto is the youngest of the three Fury sisters and daughter of Nyx, and is responsible for punishing those who allow their passions to drive them to terrible acts.

She does not initially appear in the game, as both she and Tisiphone are busy with matters in the mortal world. However, after Megaera proves insufficient in stopping Zagreus's escape attempts, Hades summons them both to face him; from that point on, Zagreus may face any one of the three sisters at the end of Tartarus.

Alecto does not appear in the House of Hades, as she's barred from entry, like Tisiphone.
----
* BloodKnight: Alecto is positively ''gleeful'' at the prospect of getting to kill Zagreus repeatedly.
* BloodLust: She also seems to enjoy making him bleed, and saddles Zag with the nickname "redblood" after the first battle because he bleeds red.
* FlunkyBoss: Alecto can summon Louts to aid her during the fight, though she's far less likely to do so than Megaera.
* GracefulLoser: Even barring her TooKinkyToTorture status, Alecto doesn't take nearly as long as Megaera to learn to enjoy fighting and even losing to Zagreus, since she'll always get another chance to hurt him back.
* HairTriggerTemper: Zagreus can bluntly remark (after the latest quip about her making him pay for something) that she finds things to make him pay for with astonishing ease.
* HotBlooded: Perhaps suitably for a punisher of passions, Alecto is extremely open about her emotions in contrast to [[TheStoic Megaera]].
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Zagreus does not like it when [[SayItWithHearts heart symbols start accompanying her (no less bloodthirsty) dialogue]] and she insinuates her BloodLust [[HemoErotic is a bit literal]].
-->'''Alecto:''' You know what I like about you? The way you ''bleed''. Mm.\\
'''Zagreus:''' That... is not the type of flattery I'm used to. You're making me a bit uncomfortable, I'll have you know.
* IWorkAlone: She doesn't like working with her sisters and will thank Zagreus if he disables Extreme Measures, so she can kill him herself.
* KillTheGod: Alecto is very excited to be tasked with killing Zagreus because she's "always wanted to kill a god."
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: She is the only Fury sister who [[spoiler:never learns that Zagreus is officially employed by Hades in the post-game, and continues to treat him as trash who's trying to escape.]] Of course, it's possible she ''does'' know and simply doesn't care.
* LovesTheSoundOfScreaming: She actually asks Zagreus at one point, what it takes to make him scream. When he teasingly retorts about Meg never telling her, she shrugs it off, content to try things out and see what works.
* NoodleIncident: Whatever happened to get her barred from the House of Hades. In the Codex entry, Achilles only refers to 'profane acts of insubordination'.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: If Zagreus stumbles into her chamber on low health, she'll remark that it's 'practically no fun' that someone else did most of the work for her.
* PersonaNonGrata: According to Achilles's codex, she's banned from entering the House of Hades for... ''[[NoodleIncident something]]'' unsavory.
* SavageSpikedWeapons: Unlike her less violent and sadistic sisters, she releases spinning blade weapons similar to Ares's Blade Rifts, but are visibly more metallic and spikier.
* SlasherSmile: Has a ''very'' prominent grin as the Fury sister with the most bloodlust.
* TermsOfEndangerment: Alecto never refers to Zagreus by his actual name, always calling him 'Redblood' instead. The fact that she develops an obsession with trying to torture and kill Zagreus, it's definitely not an affectionate nickname.
* TooKinkyToTorture: Alecto takes getting beaten with surprising aplomb.
-->"Bad news for you, redblood: I like dying."
* TortureTechnician: Like the other Furies. She's also got the most victims, as her domain is to punish the very broad category of "moral crime" (i.e. the Greek precedents of the SevenDeadlySins).
* TurnsRed: The main 'gimmick' of Alecto's fight is that she gets angrier as she's hit in combat or as she powers herself up; at max rage, she becomes stronger and faster, and after a certain health percentage she becomes [[UnstoppableRage permanently enraged]].
* WhipItGood: The weapon of choice for all three Furies.
* WingedHumanoid: Like Megaera, Alecto only has one wing on her right side.
* WolfpackBoss: After defeating Megaera once with 'Desperate Measures' on, Alecto can also show up as the main fighter with her sisters' support.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tisiphone]]
!! Tisiphone
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tisiphone.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Tormentor of Murder''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MarianneMiller

->''"...Among each of the deathless Fury Sisters, the one known as Tisiphone is probably responsible for the particularly fearsome reputation they all share, both on the surface of the earth and here below."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

One of the three Fury sisters and daughter of Nyx, Tisiphone is responsible for the punishment of murderers.

She does not initially appear in the game, as both she and Alecto are busy with matters in the mortal world. However, after Megaera proves insufficient in stopping Zagreus's escape attempts, Hades summons them both to face him; from that point on, Zagreus may face any one of the three sisters at the end of Tartarus.

Tisiphone does not appear in the House of Hades.
----
* BlackEyesOfCrazy: Well, not strictly 'crazy', but she is fairly obsessive about her job and also stands in Zagreus's path.
* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: Tisiphone's chamber is darkened, and the only light in the room to see by comes from her.
* {{Fauxshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Her constant declarations of Zagreus being a murderer seems to be setting up a rather grim, tragic reveal regarding Persephone and why Hades is so deadset on preventing Zagreus from searching for her...only for the full release to show Persephone alive and well. It's just that "murder" and "murderer" are [[OneWordVocabulary the only words she can say]].]]
* FlunkyBoss: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]; of the three sisters, she's the only one to face you alone.
* InterfaceScrew: As part of a WolfpackBoss, Tisiphone can shroud the arena in smoke that obscures things for the player.
* NightmareFace: In contrast to her sisters, Tisiphone's face looks like that of a shriveled corpse and she has the BlackEyesOfCrazy.
* OneWordVocabulary: Tisiphone only ever says some variation of the word "murderer". This unnerves Zagreus, at least until he starts playfully mocking her for it instead, like trying to get her to say "happy". [[spoiler:As of ''The Blood Price'', she's increased her vocabulary by one word to include Zagreus's name. Although there, she expands it in such a way to say "Murder Zagreus!"]]
* TortureTechnician: Just like her sisters. Specifically, she's assigned to torture murderers.
* TheWallsAreClosingIn: Tisiphone's 'gimmick' is that she'll reduce the size of the area you face her every time she loses a quarter of her health: In the final stage the boss arena will barely be the length of a spear-jab.
* WhipItGood: The weapon of choice for all three Furies. One of Tisiphone's unique attacks involve using a whip-crack to stun Zagreus in place before charging into him.
* WingedHumanoid: In contrast to Megaera and Alecto, Tisiphone's singular wing is on her left side.
* {{Workaholic}}: Megaera and Alecto both take their jobs seriously, but Tisiphone is said to practically ''live'' for it. When Zagreus and Meg talk about it, he wonders whether it's that amount of work that has driven her to her current state of madness.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Thanatos]]
!!Thanatos
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thanatos_4.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Death Incarnate''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Christopher Saphire

->''"...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."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

The embodiment of Death and the twin brother of Hypnos, Thanatos is responsible for bringing mortals to the underworld at the end of their lives. This means he's frequently passing from the underworld to the mortal realm; at the beginning of the game, he's still away on business, but he will eventually return to cross paths with Zagreus during his escape attempts. If encountered during an escape, Thanatos can be found in the far left corridor of the House of Hades afterwards.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Zagreus calls him 'Than'.
* AloofBigBrother: While he's Hypnos' twin rather than older brother, he does have this attitude towards him, being prone to ignoring or scolding him for a job poorly done.
* AssistCharacter: [[spoiler:He gifts the Chthonic Companion Mort upon being given an Ambrosia, which allows him to be summoned for a wide-area attack that deals 3500 damage.]]
* BattleCouple: With [[spoiler: Zagreus]] if the two are romanced together.
* BelatedLoveEpiphany: Had one for Zagreus when he realized he was incredibly angry that Zagreus suddenly left and didn't understand why, as well as the fact he [[NotBloodSiblings never viewed Zagreus in the same way he views Hypnos]].
* BigBrotherInstinct: In a JerkWithAHeartOfGold sort of way, he does clearly care for Hypnos (as much as he annoys him).
* BodyCountCompetition: Starts one in the room he appears in. Zagreus can try to beat Thanatos' score for a Centaur Heart, or simply stand aside and let Thanatos clear the room for him on his own. He'll complain if you KillSteal from him, though.
* CallingYourAttacks: He's quite chatty in a fight and fond of announcing his AreaOfEffect ability, which is fittingly known as ''Death Sentence''.
* {{Catchphrase}}: "Death approaches".
* DarkSkinnedBlond: The only one of Nyx's children with a tan, possibly due to being the only one of them who works in the overworld on a regular basis.
* DayHurtsDarkAdjustedEyes: He's not terribly fond of the surface, particularly since it's just too damn bright for him during the day.
* DeadpanSnarker: More subdued than Zagreus's flippant remarks, but still present.
* DontFearTheReaper: He's the embodiment of death itself, but he mainly deals with those who died peaceful deaths and he's presented as nothing but a sympathetic (if somewhat prickly) figure who wants to help Zagreus.
* EmotionallyTongueTied: Like any good {{Tsundere}}, he has trouble vocalizing his feelings, even after he and Zagreus sleep together. He eventually tells Zagreus that he'll just have to put up with it and to not take his silence for indifference.
* EnmityWithAnObject: Considers the River Styx to be his rival, much to Zagreus's confusion.
* EverybodyHatesHades: An InUniverse case. While respected by his fellow chthonic gods, Thanatos has a ZeroPercentApprovalRating on the surface and often takes the blame for Ares's bloodshed.
* FlashyTeleportation: He appears and disappears in a flash of white-green light.
* FlawlessVictory: His keepsake boosts Zagreus's damage permanently for each encounter cleared with no damage taken.
* {{Foil}}: Fittingly as his [[TheRival rival]], he's this to Zagreus. Where Zagreus is outwardly warm, Thanatos is outwardly cold. Zagreus' outfit is accented by warm reds while Thanatos has cold purples. In a minor visual case, Zagreus and Thanatos have very similar outfits, with Thanatos' having his golden wings pauldron on the opposite shoulder to Zagreus' wolf skulls. He also serves as this to his brother Hypnos. While Hypnos is friendly, he remains loyal to Hades and provides no help outside of his keepsake. Thanatos on the other hand is actively defying Hades to help Zagreus in the field despite his colder personality.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Played with in his relationship with Hypnos. Hypnos is prone to slacking off and sleeping on the job while Thanatos seems to be Hades's best underling. However, Thanatos is also betraying Hades's trust by helping Zagreus's escape, which is something Hypnos would never do.
* ForDoomTheBellTolls: His arrival is heralded by the sound of bells. Zagreus may even jokingly acknowledge this when Thanatos appears during a run by saying, "Guh-dong".
* GayOption: It's up to the player if Zagreus pursues a romance with him or not, with Megaera and Dusa being the straight options.[[labelnote:*]]Though progressing through Dusa's relationship reveals her to be more of an [[{{Asexuality}} Ace option.]][[/labelnote]]
* GodOfTheDead: As Death Incarnate, he's the god responsible for collecting souls and bringing them to the Underworld. His role is more akin to that of TheGrimReaper, as opposed to Hades who's in charge of the CelestialBureaucracy.
* TheGrimReaper: Thanatos is the one who brings mortals who died peaceful deaths to the underworld, and he has the SinisterScythe and [[InTheHood hooded appearance]] to match.
* HeIsAllGrownUp: [[spoiler:Persephone]] is very impressed with how he turned out in her absence, and the first thing she does upon learning Zagreus is dating him is quip that Zagreus clearly has much better taste in men than she does.
* IWasJustPassingThrough: Frequently attempts to justify his aiding Zagreus as just being in the area, though he ''also'' mentions 'tracking' Zagreus, so the lie isn't exactly hard to spot.
* IWasNeverHere: He's not supposed to be helping Zagreus, so he tends to finish their conversations with some variation on this.
* ItIsNotYourTime: Death Defiances are actually instances of Thanatos going directly against his duties to get Zagreus back on his feet, and he'll even give this line (or a variation thereof) if you expend a Death Defiance during a BodyCountCompetition.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc4YF3g3TFU "Last Words"]], which was added in the "High Speed" update. It, and the greenish tint, indicate his appearance in that room during Zagreus' latest run.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: The game implies that he used to be one; Zagreus mentions that Thanatos used to have long hair and that it looked good on him, though Than thinks it got in the way, which is why he cut it. [[https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1344403851563028481 This official art]] confirms it.
* MagikarpPower: His keepsake, the Pierced Butterfly, will give the player a permanent attack bonus if he finishes a room without taking damage. The percentage is small (2% when fully leveled up), but after a number of rooms, that attack bonus becomes very significant, especially with boons that already boost attack.
* MamasBoy: As far as he's concerned, Nyx's word is law, for him and for everyone else. He can't even bring himself to be angry with Zagreus commuting Sisyphus's sentence, simply because he knows Nyx must have approved it herself.
* MeaningfulName: He can gift Zagreus a Chthonic Companion called Mort, which can summon him to deal massive damage on the enemy. "Mort" is french for "death", fitting for the god of it.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: His name literally means "death" in ancient Greek. He's also given the title of "Death Incarnate", and lives up to it quite nicely.
* NothingPersonal: Sometimes if he's companion summoned against someone like Meg, he'll apologize to her or sound regretful in some way at having to fight her.
* NotWhatItLooksLike: If he's summoned to fight against Hades, he sounds [[OhCrap outright nervous]] as one of his lines is this word for word.
* OneHitKill: Inflicts these (after a short delay) in combat, even through armor, dealing 9999 damage each hit. This will even kill the heroes of Elysium, who normally leave behind a soul after dying once.
* OppositesAttract: With Zagreus. The codex will note that despite their differing personalities, Thanatos has an unexplained bond with Zagreus. Achilles's codex theorizes that Zagreus might be the god of blood and/or life, and therefore, Thanatos, who is the god of death, [[LifeDeathJuxtaposition would be drawn to him]]. This is taken a step further if they do become romantically involved.
--> '''Codex:''' 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.
* PowerFloats: His sprite has visible legs unlike his mother, but he floats everywhere.
* PrettyBoy: Definitely one of the more attractive depictions of the character, being a soft-spoken young man with MysticalWhiteHair.
* RelationshipUpgrade: With Zagreus when he reciprocates his previous LoveConfession in their max RelationshipValues.
* TheRival: As a gameplay mechanic. Whenever Thanatos shows up, he challenges Zagreus to a contest to see who can slay the most enemies in an encounter. If Zagreus wins, Thanatos will give Zag a health upgrade in addition to the encounter's reward. If Than wins, all Zag gets is the encounter reward.
* SarcasticDevotee: Constantly makes bitter comments about how Zagreus is making his job harder, but is always a helpful figure whenever he shows up.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: While he often leaves soon after talking with Zagreus, as his affection for him starts to grow, it looks more like he's the other more often than just going back to work. This leaves Zagreus attempting to call for the other a moment too late.
* SecurityBlanket: His Chthonic Companion, Mort, was apparently this for him when he was younger. Zagreus mentions that Thanatos used to carry Mort around with him everywhere, and he got very upset when Mort was lost.
* SinisterScythe: Wields one, fitting with his overall [[TheGrimReaper Grim Reaper]] image and being the god of death. {{Subverted}} in that he never turns it upon Zagreus.
* TheStoic: Very much so, never screaming or getting (visibly) upset about anything. While he's clearly very angry at Zagreus for leaving without an explanation, he never lets it show.
* {{Tsundere}}: The Harsh type. Prickly and bitter on the outside, but from his actions and his words it's pretty clear that he ''does'' care about Zagreus. This becomes especially apparent if Zagreus pursues a romance with him.
* UndyingLoyalty: Pun aside, even before Zagreus has a chance to romance him, rule-abiding Thanatos will go behind Hades' back to aid Zagreus in Battle. He even tells Hades as much, stating that no punishment he can come up with will sway Thanatos in his loyalty towards Zagreus.
* UptightLovesWild: Though he's quite {{Tsundere}} in expressing it, he straight up adores Zagreus in spite of ([[OppositesAttract or perhaps because of]]) his recklessness and impulsivity. He even chides Zagreus for showing some uncharacteristic patience and suggesting they take it slow out of consideration for Thanatos instead of jumping his bones then and there.
-->'''Zagreus:''' I want you to know this isn't just some impulsive thing for me. IWillWaitForYou however long it takes.
-->'''Thanatos:''' Khh! You have no concept of which impulses to act upon and which to keep in check.
* VetinariJobSecurity: If Thanatos stops working, [[DeathTakesAHoliday so does death itself]], as the Greek gods learned when Sisyphus tricked him into imprisoning himself. [[spoiler:Thus Hades, upon discovering that Thanatos is aiding Zagreus in his escapes, refrains from locking Thanatos away in Tartarus and settles for merely chewing him out instead. Hades might rule the underworld, but it's ''Thanatos'' that the underworld truly belongs to.]]
* WhenHeSmiles: If his relationship with Zagreus is strong, he may smile more around the other. Either back at the house, or after [[spoiler: Persephone returns]] and Thanatos greets Zagreus as a fellow co-worker with a smile.
* {{Workaholic}}: It takes considerably longer to for Zagreus romance Thanatos than Megaera. This is not because he's any more resistant to the idea, but because he's so damn busy that he's almost never around--which is why [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness the fact that he's stepping away from his duties to aid Zagreus is so significant]].
* YouDidntAsk: [[spoiler:If Zagreus confronts him about Persephone, Thanatos will claim that he met her but he didn't know her importance, nor that Zagreus was her son.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Chaos]]
!!Chaos
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chaos_1.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Primordial Originator''']]

->'''Voiced By:''' Peter Canavese

->''"...Even Nyx, our Mother Night, comes from somewhere; even the Olympians above, and the Master himself. Eternal though they are, they came unto this world after they, or their ancestors, sprang from the darkness of Chaos."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Chaos is the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the primeval state of being from which existence first arose, being the 'parent' of Nyx and the Titans. Chaos resides in the space between worlds, and in the underworld, where the walls of reality are thin, can be encountered by Zagreus during runs by entering Chaos Gates. If contacted inside the gates Chaos offers their own randomized boons to Zagreus for their own inscrutable purposes.
----
* OneUp: Their Legendary boon gives Zagreus an extra Death Defiance - after suffering a curse, of course.
* AllPowerfulBystander: Implicitly more powerful than all the Olympians, but seems happy just to watch Zagreus fight his way out, only bothering to help him [[DealWithTheDevil if he pays a price first]].
* AmbiguousGender: Chaos is referred to in gender-neutral pronouns while sporting a masculine body and feminine face.
* BodyOfBodies: Their body looks like numerous bodies fused together into a horrifying amalgam.
* BodyHorror: Chaos's body looks like a pile of faces and limbs, and even what appears to be a ''fetus'' growing from their body.
* CatchPhrase: Chaos doesn't like to be spoken to unless they request it. When Chaos wants an answer from Zagreus, they end their sentence with the phrase, "Respond."
* CombatCommentator: Forging a maximum-rank bond with Chaos will allow the player to hear their commentary whenever they pick up their Aspect of Aegis, use Fated Authority/Persuasion, or cause particularly delicious devastation in combat.
* CompositeCharacter: Seems to taken a few aspects of little known deity Phanes, being ambigously gendered creator and the parent of Nyx. Fittingly, like Zagreus, Phanes was worshipped by the orphics.
* CosmicEgg: Their keepsake, which allows Zagreus to enter Chaos Gates without sacrificing health and increases the chance that their boons will be of Rare quality or better.
* DealWithTheDevil: Meg, Nyx, and the other chthonic gods claim this is what Chaos's boons inevitably turn out to be.
* TheDreaded: The Olympians and Nyx's family can all sense Chaos's mark on Zagreus, and most of them seem deeply at unease about it. Even Zagreus cuts out the snark around Chaos.
* EyesDoNotBelongThere: They have a ThirdEye on their forehead which has two smaller eyes embedded in it. There's also an eye embedded in their chest.
* GenderNeutralWriting: Chaos is referred to as "they," as Chaos is genderless and speaks with both a masculine and feminine voice.
* GodOfChaos: Exactly what you'd expect from their name, though in this case they have more to do with the ancient Greek definition of "chaos" rather than destruction or disorder--that is, [[PrimordialChaos the vast, infinite void that existed before anything else]].
* GotTheWholeWorldInMyHand: Their sprite holds the planet Earth between the tips of their fingers.
* HarmlessVillain: At a glance, Chaos is an ObviouslyEvil blend of Lucifer and Cthulhu, holding the Olympians in contempt and aiding the hero purely out of [[ItAmusedMe self-interest]]. Spending more time around them reveals them to regret being a poor parent to Nyx and want to reconnect with her, and to gradually begin to look forward to Zagreus' visits. Get close enough to winning the game with a high enough bond, and Chaos will say that, should Zagreus accomplish his goal and never come back, they will miss him.
* HatesSmallTalk: They claim to have "a lack of patience for discussion" and urge Zagreus to respond to them only when prompted.
* HiddenDepths: They love their daughter Nyx, and regret being absent for most of her life. They also used to play hide-and-seek when they were still together.
* ItAmusedMe: Generally, Chaos aids Zagreus mostly out of interest in what he will choose to do next and feels no need for homage or respect from him. More directly, they make a request that Zagreus fight Hades with the Cosmic Egg equipped, purely for this purpose. If you do so and win, you'll hear them laugh.
* TheMaker: Indirectly, as it was done without purpose or intention, but still the origin of Nyx and the Titans (who begat the Olympian Gods).
* MechanicallyUnusualClass: Unlike the Olympians their boons will not replace an existing one in the same slot and instead stack, including with themselves should you find the same one twice in a run. They also can't be sold for obols or upgraded with poms.
* NoSocialSkills: They don't seem to enjoy talking to people, to the point where Zagreus simply talking to them unprompted is an annoyance for them. After giving them gifts, they equate it with an act of theft, because Zagreus is taking satisfaction from giving Chaos a gift, and they aren't. They partially get over it with enough relationship points, though.
* TheOldGods: The ''origin'' of the old gods, and everything else for that matter.
* OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous: Before there was gender, there was Chaos. Unlike all the other deities, who present clearly as male or female, Chaos is "otherworldly" in that they represent the primordial void and are always referred to with GenderNeutralWriting. Nyx curiously refers to them as "my father and my mother".
* ParentalAbandonment: Admits they haven't spoken with their 'children', including Nyx, since the beginning of Creation. Zagreus has the possibility of mentioning this to Nyx, who expresses surprise Chaos would mention her at all. The "Nighty Night" update added an option for Zagreus to help the two talk with each other again.
* PetTheDog: If you improve your relationship enough, Chaos will remain largely amoral, but will admit that Zagreus is one of their favorite inhabitants.
* PowerAtAPrice: Unless you have equipped the Cosmic Egg, entering a Chaos portal costs a fair bit of health. Their Boons are also very powerful, but require you to survive a curse for a certain number of rooms before the blessing activates, e.g. a boost to attack power after being unable to earn any obols for a few encounters.
* PrimordialChaos: ''Is'' the Primordial Chaos... Or at least the personification of it.
* ScrewDestiny: Chaos claims the Fates are merely experts at predicting what people are ''likely'' to do - the future is not predetermined, which is why Chaos finds Zagreus so fascinating. They're genuinely curious to see the outcomes of his choices.
* SecretKeeper: They know about Zagreus's reasons for escaping Hades without Zagreus telling them, but have no interest in sharing that information with anyone else.
* SpockSpeak: Chaos speaks much, MUCH more formally than anyone else in the game, often using technical terms, like advising Zagreus to maintain "sub-infinite distances" from his offspring if he ever has any.
* TimeAbyss: It doesn't get much older than "was here when creation started" and it's a good thing that Chaos likes to dwell in contemplation of infinite possibilities, or they'd have gotten really bored.
* TricksterMentor: In Nyx's words, "Chaos is a trickster, not a deceiver." Their boons also reflect this nature, as they greatly hamper Zagreus for a short number of encounters before granting dramatic long-term advantages.
* TrulySingleParent: Of ''everything'', technically speaking, but Nyx specifically refers to them as both her mother and her father.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Chaos speaks with a multitude of echoes to their main voice. Their voice seems to have a male, female, and other voice within it.
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Chaos can't understand why Zagreus continues to give them offerings despite knowing it won't grant any benefit for them. When Zagreus explains that it simply gives him good feelings to properly thank Chaos for their boons, Chaos calls that theft.
* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Today we associate "chaos" and "chaotic" with energetic, violent, disordered imagery. Chaos in the Greek sense meant the vast, empty, infinite void--this difference in connotation is remarked on by Chaos, who only Ares still pays (the wrong) homage to.
-->He still worships me, you know; yet, I would say he does not know me very well.
[[/folder]]

! Olympian Gods
[[folder:General]]
The gods that reside in the Olympus. They assist Zagreus from afar after being reached out to by Nyx, as they feel like he should be part of their family.
----
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In Greek mythology, the Olympians are known for being vindictive and petty. While they certainly become offended if you side against them in the Trial of the Gods, they [[EasilyForgiven get over it]] after surviving. Otherwise, they're nothing but supportive towards Zagreus and are eager to meet him in person.
* AdaptedOut: Of the Twelve Olympians in the original myths, Apollo, Hephaestus and Hera are noticeably left out, and the game uses the interpretation that favours Dionysus over Hestia as one of the twelve.
* BerserkButton: [[spoiler:Defying the Three Fates. According to Persephone, part of the reason she chose to flee the Underworld beside her heartbreak over Zagreus being stillborn was because she knew the Gods would fly into a rage and punish her if they learned she had defied the Fates' decree forbidding Hades from having a heir.]]
* BigScrewedUpFamily: The original, though they seem to be capitalizing on Zagreus's ignorance to make a rosy first impression. They're all unerringly friendly to Zagreus (unless he offends them), but dialogue with and about each other tends to be filled with sniping.
* BitchInSheepsClothing:
** On the surface, the Olympians put on a rather cordial appearance to Zagreus being welcoming and supportive of his attempts to escape from Hades. If you slight them by taking a boon from one God over another, they will become rather spiteful though.
** They will also claim early on they Zagreus can take all the time he needs to escape since they realize it's an insurmountable task. Occasionally [[TokenGoodTeammate Hermes]] will deliver messages though that cuts through facade and reveal that they are getting impatient.
* ColorCodedCharacters: All of their boons, orbs and even their character designs are characterized by a key color. Zeus is yellow, Poseidon is blue, Ares is red, Artemis is green, Dionysus is purple, Aphrodite is pink, Athena is indigo, Demeter is white, and Hermes is orange.
* CombinationAttack: Duo Boons combine the abilities of the associated gods, usually adding the StandardStatusEffects of another god to Zagreus's pre-existing boons.
* CondescendingCompassion: While they very much like Zagreus and would love to unite with him, they also don't hide very well that they think very little of the Chthonic Gods. A lot of their early conversations with Zagreus sees them dishing out a lot back-handed insults of what a terrible place the underworld must have been.
* EasilyForgiven: During a Trial of the Gods, whichever Olympian you don't choose becomes offended by the spurn and summons waves of empowered monsters, but once you clear them they are quick to forgive you and give up a Boon anyway. [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment That said]], they will begin to notice if you continue to reject them several times in a row, making their Trials progressively harder until you choose them.
* ElementalHair: As above, many of the gods' clothing and hair are color-coded to their areas of expertise, with the exception of [[GrandpaGod Zeus]] (whose hair is a ''literal'' element instead, being made of white clouds much like how Poseidon's flows like water), Athena, and [[WhiteHairBlackHeart Ares]].
* FairWeatherFriend: Chaos regularly will warn Zagreus that the Olympians are helping him because it's convenient and easy to do so, not out of the goodness of their hearts or even out of sincere family loyalty.
-->'''Chaos:''' They place such value on familial bonds, yet none of them remember who I am. Do not place too much faith in them, O Son of Hades.
* FantasticRacism: They don't think highly of the chthonic Pantheon, despite one of their own (Hades) being among them and their cousin/nephew (Zagreus) being raised by them.
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Zagreus will occasionally be presented with a choice of choosing between two boons, with the God not chosen getting offended over the slight and attacking Zagreus for it. [[spoiler: Zagreus will mentioning in a conversation with Persephone that learning how first hand how vengeful they can be is making him reassess what he thinks about them]].
* TheGhost: Apollo, Hephaestus, Hera, and Hestia are all mentioned in dialogue but otherwise absent, the latter two also represented by aspects of the bow and rail respectively.
* TheGodsMustBeLazy: Most of the Olympians don't consider mortals much more than occasional playthings, and even the gods who do have any concern over the world's deteriorating state (such as Dionysus) aren't motivated enough to do much about it. A lot of Hades' disdain for his extended family is due to their negligence creating much more work for the Underworld than there should be.
* HeroicBuild: As you'd expect, they each literally have the body of a Greek god.
* IfICantHaveYou: During Trial of the Gods encounters, whichever god whose boon Zagreus doesn't choose will get so pissed that they try to kill him. Additionally, [[BetrayalByInaction if Zagreus hasn't picked up any boons from a particular god during a run]], that god is more than happy to aid Theseus in smiting him.
* ImTakingHerHomeWithMe: Why did the Olympians break with their policy to stay out of Underworld affairs to help Zagreus? Because they want to steal him away from Mean Ol' Uncle Hades and adopt him into the Olympian pantheon. Zeus and Poseidon especially seem to take this angle.
* LightIsNotGood: They may be a whole lot brighter and more colorful than their chthonic counterparts, but they are hardly their moral superiors, caring little of the devastating collateral damage their petty family squabbles might have for mortals. Even the rosy front they show to Zagreus is quick to break [[IfICantHaveYou the moment they stop getting their way]].
* LimitBreak: Save for Hermes, they provide Calls, where you can summon their direct intervention. It comes with a meter you have to fill up which drains as it's used.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop:
** They were never told about Zagreus' existence, and would be unaware if it weren't for Nyx assisting him.
** All of the gods are under the impression that Zagreus is breaking out of the Underworld to come and live with them on Mount Olympus. None of them (except [[SecretKeeper Hermes]]) are aware that Zagreus [[spoiler:is actually searching for Persephone]]. After Zagreus manages to get to the surface, and even [[spoiler:brings Persephone back with him to the Underworld]], they're still none the wiser.
* {{Polyamory}}: Megaera explains that gods (with exceptions such as Hades) frequently engage in this and that monogamy is mostly a human concept because of their short lives.
* SignatureMove: Each god has a boon that only comes in at "Legendary" rarity and can't be upgraded by any means, as it's usually already fantastic.
** Zeus has "Splitting Bolt", which causes all lightning effects to hit with an additional bolt of chain lightning.
** Poseidon has "Second Wave", which causes a second instance of knockback. Both his and Zeus's also enable double instances of any associated effects, such as Sea Storm.
** Athena has "Divine Protection", which negates incoming damage once and refreshes every 20 seconds.
** Ares has "Vicious Cycle", which causes his blade rift effects to do more damage with each successive strike.
** Artemis has "Fully Loaded", which adds 2 bloodstone crystals to Zagreus's ammo count.
** Aphrodite has "Unhealthy Fixation", which adds a chance of causing charm to any move that induces Weak.
** Dionysus has "Black Out", which causes enemies to take increased damage within Festive Fog if they are Hungover.
** Demeter has "Winter Harvest", which just kills anything Chill-afflicted once they hit 10% HP.
** Hermes has two, depending on which Cast-related mirror ability Zagreus is using. For Infernal Soul, he offers "Greater Recall", which causes bloodstone crystals to instantly return when they dislodge. Stygian Soul gets "Bad News", which increases shot damage by 50% against enemies that do not have a bloodstone in them.
* StandardStatusEffects: Each god also has an associated "Status Curse", which will assist damage in some manner. They are as follows:
** Dionysus has "Hangover", which is basically the typical poison attribute. It can potentially do high damage, and it stacks, making it a great choice with weapons that have high rate of fire.
** Ares has "Doom", which is a single instance of larger follow-up damage.
** Poseidon has a poison effect called "Ruptured", which does large amounts of damage at a fast rate, but only while the enemy is moving, and is only available on moves that already cause knockback. Aside from this being of great use on typically frustrating jumpy enemies, knockback also counts as movement, so you can always take advantage of it.
** Zeus has "Jolted", which causes a large bout of follow-up damage when an affected enemy next attacks.
** Athena has "Exposed", which boosts backstab damage.
** Demeter has "Chilled", which slows an enemy down by a small amount, but stacks, potentially almost halving enemy movement and attack speed. Chill-affected enemies are also eligible for another one, "Decay", which does large amounts of damage over time.
** Artemis has "Marked", which increases an enemy's likelihood of sustaining a critical hit.
** Aphrodite has "Weak", which blunts enemy damage. She also has "Charm", which causes affected enemies to ignore Zagreus and attack their allies.
* SuperEmpowering: Their boons are responsible for altering, improving or even granting new abilities to Zagreus to aid him on his quest.
* WeaponOfChoice: This is played around with. The various Infernal Arms you find have certain Aspects that reveal they were wielded by Olympians during the Titan War, but none of them are the weapons they were particularly known for. This is explained as them all using different weaponry before finding their particular niche. Zeus used the shield Aegis, for example, and Poseidon had a sword, not a trident. Demeter of all people had the ''fist'' weapons before she learned to use cold as a weapon.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Zeus]]
!!Zeus
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1061px_zeus.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''King of Olympus''']]

->'''Voiced By:''' Peter Canavese

->''"...The Master of the Heavens, god among gods; so much of my mortal life was impacted by him. And now, even in death, I serve his brother."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

God of the Heavens and king of the Olympian Gods, Zeus is Hades's younger brother and Zagreus's uncle. He offers boons to Zagreus and permits the other Olympians to aid in Zagreus's escape as well.

As God of the Heavens, Zeus's Weapon of Choice is the lightning bolt and he lends this power to Zagreus's attacks, adding direct lightning damage that can leap from foe to foe.
----
* AloofBigBrother: Inverted, since he's technically the youngest of his brothers (though he's lived for longer than either due to not having been swallowed by Cronos), but fulfills the trope nonetheless, being the distant and powerful TopGod.
* BoltOfDivineRetribution: While Zeus isn't the only god with a boon that damages enemies that hurt Zagreus, his "Heaven's Vengeance" unsurprisingly strikes offenders with lightning.
* ChainLightning: Zeus's Boons can chain from foe to foe. There's also an upgrade that causes it to chain to more enemies, and another one that gives a chance for any lightning-based attacks to deal damage twice when they hit.
* CondescendingCompassion: Early on in the game, Zeus will tell Zagreus how he and Hades previously had a falling out that he wants to repair, and that the next time Zagreus sees Hades to tell him that "[Zeus] forgives him." Goes without saying that [[BerserkButton Hades is pissed off]] when Zagreus tells him this [[spoiler: especially since their falling out was entirely ''Zeus''' fault.]]
* DarkSkinnedBlond: In contrast to Hades and Zagreus, though his hair looks more like it's white due to age than how most lightning themed blonds turn out.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Hades' main issue with his younger brother is this. He considers that Zeus does whatever he fancies at a given moment without consideration for the long term consequences. [[spoiler: For example. Zeus realized that his older brother was lonely in the underworld, that he fancied Persephone, and that she wanted to leave Olympus. So he staged her kidnapping and brought her to Hades as a gift. And while Hades and Persephone eventually got along, Hades initially disaproved of the way his brother went through with his plan, telling Zagreus that there were dozens of ways Zeus could've achieved the same result and not saddle Hades and Persephone with the consequences of what they were doing, and the danger of Demeter finding out.]]
* EverybodyLovesZeus: Holds as true for him as [[EverybodyHatesHades the opposite trope does for his brother]] - which is to say, [[DownplayedTrope not really]]. Zeus is presented as helping Zagreus and offering encouragement, but is also somewhat self-absorbed and aids Zagreus also to tick off Hades.
* FlippantForgiveness: At one point he asks Zagreus to relay a message to Hades - that he forgives him for the NoodleIncident that caused their falling-out. This "forgiveness" only serves to enrage Hades further, as he considers the incident in question to be entirely Zeus' fault [[spoiler: (justifiably so, as explained below)]].
* GodOfThunder: The most famous, natch. All of his boons are based on electricity.
* GrandpaGod: As is standard for Zeus, he's depicted as an old (but still well-built) man with a long flowing white beard.
* ItsAllAboutMe: The most egotistical of all the Olympians, mostly aiding Zagreus as a way of getting back at his brother for staying distant.
* NeverMyFault: The NoodleIncident that drove a rift between Olympus and Hades, which Zeus is willing to forgive Hades for? [[spoiler:Zeus felt sorry for Hades being stuck with the Underworld, knew how Hades fancied Persephone, and also knew how Persephone was unhappy in Olympus. Thus, Zeus thought the best course of action was to ''kidnap Persephone without telling Demeter and send her to the Underworld''. The only thing Hades did was disapprove of his "well-intentioned" actions.]]
* ParentalFavoritism: He makes it obvious that he likes Athena ''far'' more than any of his other children.
* ReallyGetsAround: Downplayed; his mythological philandering is alluded to (especially in that all his children in-game are from different mothers) but never stated outright. He will also make a suggestive comment about Nyx at one point. One of his comments when receiving his boon does have him complain about no one getting his jokes, but then Zeus says "Well, fie on them! [[YourMom I know all of their mothers."]]
* SecretKeeper: While he doesn't know where Persephone is ''now'', he does know why she disappeared [[spoiler:because he was the one who abducted her in the first place]] and has no intention of letting Demeter or the other Olympians find out. [[spoiler:He even goes along with Persephone's lie that she eloped with Hades just to keep that secret.]]
* ShockAndAwe: The thunderbolt is his symbol and WeaponOfChoice, so this is to be expected. All of Zeus' boons are lightning-based, ranging from adding shock damage to your attack to a Call effect that bathes the entire screen in lightning bolts.
* TopGod: Of the Olympian Pantheon.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that he wanted to make Hades and Persephone's lives easier... by kidnapping the latter and giving her to the former as a consolatory prize.]]
* WhyAreYouNotMySon: In one of his lines, he says he'd rather have Zagreus as a son rather than Ares. He also says it almost verbatum when he tells Zagreus he wish all of his kids could've been like Zagreus.
* YouAreAlreadyDead: The Jolt boon grants all electrical attacks a follow up effect of inflicting significant damage the next time an enemy attempts to attack.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Poseidon]]
!!Poseidon
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1200px_poseidon.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''God of the Sea''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Logan Cunningham

->''"...The Master of the Seas, the Earthshaker, Brother to Lord Hades and Lord Zeus... the Lord Poseidon."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

God of the Sea and the middle brother between Hades and Zeus. Alongside the other Olympians, he lends his support to Zagreus upon learning of his existence.

As God of the Seas, Poseidon's power is in the waves and in the wealth of the seas, lending knockback effects and increased resource gain to Zagreus.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Calls Zagreus "Little Hades".
* AlwaysSecondBest: Heavily implied to feel this way towards Zeus.
* BoisterousBruiser: While he never gets to fight personally, he seems to have the time of his life helping his nephew escape, and will boisterously interject into conversations with his other nephews and nieces.
* CoolUncle: He certainly ''wants'' to be one, at any rate. Most of his lines to Zagreus are friendly and encouraging, and when activating his Greater Call he goes PapaWolf over your foes daring to hurt his nephew. Most of his interactions with Zeus's children imply they see him more as an embarrassment.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Most of his duo boon conversations have the other party being slightly exasperated by his presence, or they will note at his wild attitude if they see Zagreus already gotten a boon from Poseidon.
* HerdHittingAttack: The majority of his boons grant area-of-effect to your abilities if they do not already have them.
* HeroesPreferSwords: Wielded Stygius during the Titanomachy, and has an Aspect of it to represent that time. He will comment upon if if Zagreus is wielding the blade, as will his brothers, though he admits that he wasn't very good at using it. Nowadays, he prefers his ProngsOfPoseidon.
* {{Irony}}: Poseidon considers Theseus to be extremely obnoxious and requests that Zagreus defeats a fully decked out Theseus at the collessium to knock him down a peg. The fact that the other Olympians and Hades view ''Poseidon'' in the same light makes it hilarious.
* ItemCaddy: As ruler of the ocean he also presides over its vast bounty. One of his Boons increases the amount of Obols, Darkness and Gems Zagreus can obtain by completing chambers; another simply awards Zag with a large but random stash of treasure outright. Both of these together unlock a Legendary Boon that increases the odds of finding fish to catch.
* {{Knockback}}: Poseidon's boons grant knockback to your attacks, allowing Zagreus to push foes into traps and walls for additional damage. There's also a few boons that enhance the power of this knockback or create additional area-of-effect hits when enemies are knocked into walls. This doesn't work on bosses, but there's another boon from Poseidon that allows effects that would have caused knockback to deal additional damage to bosses instead.
* LordOfTheOcean: His position in the Olympian Pantheon is the god of the seas.
* MakingASplash: Should Poseidon grant you a boon, you get several ocean-themed powers which knockback enemies into each other and environmental hazards. His Call also has Zagreus surfing across a wave beneath him.
* MiddleChildSyndrome: Chaos will typically give StealthInsult of the Olympian Gods should Zagreus approach them after getting a boon from one of them. With Poseidon, Chaos doesn't mince words by saying that Poseidon manages to possess the worst traits of both Zeus and Hades.
* OldShame: An InUniverse example. After Zagreus encounters the Minotaur, Poseidon will bring it up in conversation and explain it's there because of a long, sordid story that was ultimately on him.
* ProngsOfPoseidon: The TropeNamer. It is the symbol on his boons and he is holding it in his image, but don't expect to be able to borrow it
* StealingTheCredit: According to Hades, he was the one who taught Poseidon how to fight with his trident, after Poseidon gave up on using a sword. Much to Hades' annoyance, Poseidon became so renowned to the point where he is now associated with the weapon.
* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: Poseidon's knockback specialization gets particularly a lot of mileage in the infamous Styx level, where the corridors are so cramped it makes it easy to juggle enemies against the walls.
* VerbalBackpedaling: Has a conversation with Zagreus (if Zag already has a Boon from Zeus) where Poseidon praises his little brother but adds that he is actually stronger and more handsome. Zeus immediately enters the conversation and Poseidon is forced to rephrase his last sentence to make Zeus look even better.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Athena]]
!!Athena
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/765px_athena.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Goddess of Wisdom''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MarianneMiller

->''"...Of some things I am certain, and one of them is this: That there were many times, during my mortal life, when my spear found its mark thanks to Pallas Athena."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Daughter of Zeus and goddess Metis and cousin of Zagreus, patron deity of the city of Athens (and of Achilles during the Trojan War) and the Goddess of Wisdom and Battle, Athena is the first deity contacted by Nyx and adds her power to Zagreus in a bid to have her cousin escape his unjust imprisonment, eventually leading to the other Olympians joining in as well.

Being the goddess of wisdom and military strategy, Athena's boons are based around providing invincibility frames and deflecting attacks, her boons generally having non-flashy but defensive effects.
----
* ApologeticAttacker: If refused in a trial of the gods room, she will punish Zagreus like the rest, but without any malice or anger, saying it's just what her position requires.
* AttackReflector: The crux of her boons, giving your powers the ability to reflect attacks they hit, and in the case of projectiles return them to their owner.
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: Chaos speculates that the real reason Athena is so eager to help Zagreus escape the Underworld is because she sees him "as a tool with which her broken family may yet be mended."
* BarrierWarrior: Most of her boons are based around weaponizing barriers to reflect attacks back onto attackers.
* BoringButPractical: Her boons don't make you shoot lightning, cause massive splashes of water, or make massive clouds of poison. They just protect you. From everything. The flashiest this gets is deflecting enemy attacks back on them (which, with bullet hell-type enemies, can stack up fast) but it's still a matter of pragmatism over anything else.
* ComebackMechanic: Athena has several boons that aid Zagreus's Death Defiance, allowing him to defy death additional times and with greater benefits than usual.
* DarkSkinnedBlond: Her colour palette is almost the opposite of her cousin's.
* {{Foil}}: To Ares. Both are gods of war, but she represents the "WarIsGlorious" side of battle, while Ares is the incarnation of the "WarIsHell" side. In gameplay her boons are centered in boosting Zagreus' defense, while Ares is all about increasing his offense.
* InTheBack: Occasionally grants access to the 'Exposed' debuff, which boosts BackStab damage. Makes sense as a goddess of strategy and tactics.
* JerkassToOne: Athena is rather cordial and respectful to her fellow Olympians, even with Ares despite how much [[SiblingRivalry they butt heads.]] The one exception is Aphrodite, who Athena doesn't even make an attempt to pretend to like.
* KarmicJackpot: Chaos theorizes and Athena later confirms that part of her motivation for seeking the other Olympians to help Zagreus is that she believes that this can be the first step in mending the divide between the Olympian and the Chthonic. [[spoiler: This proves to work out much further than even Athena had hoped for as the etnire ordeal ultimately brings to light the mystery surrounding Persephone's disappearance as well.]]
* LadyOfWar: Stoic, graceful and refined, her boons emphasise the tactics of battle and dodging enemies' attacks.
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Wields the original Aegis, and will comment if Zagreus wields a shield as well. Her entire Boon set is based around shielding Zagreus.
* MercyInvincibility: One of her boons grant Zagreus this by making him invincible for a short period after being struck and automatically reflecting any attack hitting him. Her Call grants several seconds of it.
* TheOwlKnowingOne: It is one of her symbols, and she is depicted holding one. Her memento if given Nectar is also an owl pendant.
* TheRival: She is not fond of Ares, the two being war gods of opposite outlook and temperament.
* SitcomArchNemesis: If she and Aphrodite pair up, she immediately voices her disdain, but pushes it aside in favor of helping Zagreus. Even by [[TeethClenchedTeamwork Olympians standards]] the two just flat out don't like each other and their duo boons often result in Zagreus getting thrown into the middle of their beef.
* StoneWall: Most of her boons are purely defensive in nature. The ones that aren't provide less damage overall than the other gods' boons do. Her Call also doesn't do any damage by itself, instead just making Zagreus temporarily invincible while deflecting anything that hits him.
* ThinkNothingOfIt: Athena frequently tries to dissuade Zagreus any time he gifts her a bottle of nectar because she isn't looking to be rewarded for helping him.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Downplayed: most of the gods are merely temperamental and wishy-washy rather than evil, but Athena was the one Olympian willing to help simply because it's the right thing to do, and genuinely comes to respect her cousin as a member of her family if her bond is maxed out. On the other hand, she's just as willing to punish Zagreus for choosing another god's boon over hers when a choice is given.
* WarGod: Alongside Ares, her brother, and also his foil and rival. He represents the bloodbath, while she represents military strategy.
* WomenAreWiser: Probably the most outright benevolent Olympian, aiding Zagreus partially because it's the right thing to do and not just because they're family... But still mostly because they're family.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Aphrodite]]
!!Aphrodite
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aphrodite_4.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Goddess of Love''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Courtney Vineys

->''"...Aphrodite wields her beauty and her charm with much the same lethality as I could wield the spear. I have seen her handiwork first-hand, and it is often not as pretty as she is."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Goddess of Love and 'daughter' of Uranus, Aphrodite is the embodiment of the Greek concept of ''eros''. She joins with many of her fellow Olympians in aiding Zagreus escape from the Underworld.

Aphrodite's power grants Zagreus access to the 'Weak' debuff: Enemies hit by weakening attacks will deal half damage to Zagreus.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Aphrodite refers to Zagreus as "Little Godling." The fact that Zagreus is one of the few people she ''doesn't'' get [[AlphaBitch incredibly catty with]], it would appear that the nickname is meant to be rather sincere than demeaning.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Makes some oblique hints to her affair with Ares.
* AlphaBitch: Despite being the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite can be particularly venomous towards the other Olympians. She flat out does like Poseidon and especially [[SitcomArchNemesis Athena]], likes to pick on Artemis, and frequently trades barbs with Zeus and Demeter. The only ones she seems to get along with are Ares and Dionysus.
* AttractivenessIsolation: Her boon Different League weaponizes this, reducing the damage of close-range attacks apparently by making enemies too shy to properly approach Zagreus.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Like any god you turn down in a Trial of the Gods, she'll send monsters after you and hit the area with blasts that (in her case) weaken you. In gameplay terms, Aphrodite of all people has the highest damage percentages and ratios on her boons, meaning of all the Olympians sending you help, it's the cheery goddess of love's that allows you to hit the hardest.
* CharmPerson: Her main StandardStatusEffect. While it merely Weakens them by default to deal less damage, Unhealthy Fixation gives any attack that can Weaken a foe a 15% chance of briefly turning them to your side.
* CloseRangeCombatant: Her boons work well with close-combat builds and weaponry, since they reduce damage taken from enemy attacks (and can amplify this for close-range attackers) and she offers the highest damage boosts. Her Dash boon applies its effect when Zagreus reaches his opponent, emphasizing charging into opponents to afflict them with Weak. Her Cast boon turns it into a ShortRangeShotgun with a spread as well.
* CompellingVoice: Her Call fires a projectile that switches a single enemy over to Zagreus's side temporarily. It even affects bosses, albeit with a shortened duration.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindows: She has pink hair and pink eyes.
* FemmeFatale: All of her boons are based around infatuating foes and exploiting the vulnerability it causes.
* FlowersOfFemininity: The most feminine goddess in the game, she is shown with little blooms adorning her head.
* GodivaHair: Aphrodite is depicted as a nude woman draped in jewelry, with her hair covering only the bare essentials.
* GradualGrinder: Aphrodite's boons give the best straight damage boost of any boon, but their main strength is to make sure Zagreus has greatly increased survivability.
* HartmanHips: This depiction of her has a thick lower body.
* HeartBeatdown:
** Grants Zagreus Hearbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, and Crush, which allow Zagreus to literally beatdown his enemies with ThePowerOfLove.
** If you don't pick her boon in twin rooms, she attacks you with homing hearts that can't be deflected and stun if they connect.
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Achilles notes in his codex that among all of the Olympians, Aphrodite terrifies him the most, as her domain is one that has much further-reaching consequences than a lightning bolt or a flood. In gameplay, Aphrodite's damage boosts offer the best numbers of any godly boons, making her a great way to maximize Zagreus's damage. Her Charm status acts as a dangerous crowd-control effect that can afflict ''any'' enemy, even Hades. If she is angered in the Trial of the Gods, her projectiles are among the most dangerous, persistent, and hard to evade.
* {{Hypocrite}}: She snipes in their duo boon that Artemis is so focused on the hunt that she's neglected to pick up "social graces". Artemis rightly points out that walking around in the nude is hardly a display of good social graces.
* LethalJokeItem: Her Greater Call. Charm by itself isn't terribly useful, only lasting a few seconds and expiring almost immediately against bosses. Fill the meter completely and the projectile will deal ''2500 damage'', far and away the strongest single hit from a Call.
* LoveAtFirstPunch: Her Crush boon is a close-range MegatonPunch that induces this.
* LoveGoddess: ''The'' love goddess of the Olympian Pantheon. She openly flirts with just about everyone, male or female. Also, the way her RelationshipValues are fully unlocked is to get a RelationshipUpgrade with all three possible {{Love Interest}}s.
* LoveHurts: Achilles considers her more dangerous than the rest of the gods because, in his words, "a crashing wave or thundering tempest are preferable to a broken heart." Most of her boons involve turning Zagreus into a [[FemmeFatale Homme Fatale]] who breaks enemies' hearts before their skulls.
* MsFanservice: She has the most risque design of all the female characters in the game, wearing nothing except some jewelry with [[GodivaHair her hair covering up anything too explicit]].
* ThePowerOfLove: Her domain, naturally. Most of her boons seem to revolve around the fact that LoveHurts.
* RoseHairedSweetie: She is a woman with long pink hair, and is very sweet and approachable to Zagreus. However, [[BewareTheNiceOnes it's still not a good idea to get on her bad side]].
* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: Her portrait depicts her as completely naked except for some jewelry, with [[GodivaHair her hair covering the naughty bits]]. She never brings this up, but she doesn't seem all that concerned about it either.
* ShipperOnDeck: As befitting her nature, she'll ship Zagreus with just about anyone (when she's not flirting with him directly):
** If you get Artemis's boon before hers, Aphrodite may (jokingly?) note that her reaching out to you is really cute and tell you to take it slow. In the Duo Boon conversation, she'll even tease Artemis about it in her presence, causing Artemis to become ''very'' flustered.
** She's acutely aware of the UnresolvedSexualTension between Zagreus and [[spoiler:Megaera]]. If the two end up becoming intimate again, she'll chime in later and tell him she's delighted they managed to work things out.
** She'll also note if Zagreus gets sweet on Dusa.
* SitcomArchNemesis: With Athena. The two go together like water and oil, and they cannot hold a conversation with one another without it descending into VolleyingInsults.
* SomethingAboutARose: Will gift Zagreus a rose if given Nectar.
* TheTease: Repeatedly flirts with Zagreus when contacted. If summoned with a Greater Call, she'll also express fury that someone is threatening "her little godling." Since she's a LoveGoddess, it fits perfectly.
* WomanScorned: If you pick another god over her in a choice room--but she gets over it quickly.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Artemis]]
!!Artemis
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/artemis_3.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Goddess of the Hunt''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Jamie Landrum

->''"...The goddess of the hunt has always held my highest admiration. Unlike so many of her brethren on Olympus, she seems unconcerned with being praised at every turn by mortals, and instead she dutifully holds her station as a master of the natural world."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

The Goddess of Hunting and the Wilderness, daughter of Zeus and twin sister of Apollo, Artemis eventually decides to lend her power to Zagreus after he has attempted to escape a few times.

As a divine huntress, Artemis' power is based around Critical Hits, giving Zagreus's attacks the chance to deal triple damage. She is also the source of several bonuses to his Cast ability.
----
* AmbiguouslyBi: Artemis is known for her VowOfCelibacy, and complains about her annoyance at and complete disinterest in her many unwanted male suitors, when she'd rather spend more time with her female companions (particularly her nymph friend Callisto, whom she seems the most fond of). However she does get clearly flustered in Zagreus's presence, which Aphrodite can tease her about being because of a crush on him or herself.
* ArcherArchetype: A MasterArcher goddess who is usually aloof and stoic and has associations with the wild through her hunting.
* BraidsOfAction: As a huntress, she is the most tomboyish goddess in the game, and fittingly has her hair in a thick long braid.
* CoolBigSis: Her relationship with Zagreus has elements of this, with her acting as sort of a aloof role model and chiding him when he does things she doesn't approve of such as befriending Dionysus.
* CriticalHitClass: All her Boons have a chance for critical hits, grant the chance for all attacks to deal critical hits, buff critical hits to do more damage, or buff your Cast. [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs With critical hits]].
* DoesntLikeGuns: She'll question your use of the Adamant Rail, since it is rather noisy and doesn't seem like it would be very good as a hunting weapon. She prefers the good old bow and arrow, of course.
* FriendshipMoment: Should Zagreus build up his relationship with Artemis she will admit that she considers him to be one of her best friends, even considering the long distanced nature of their relationship.
* GatheringSteam: Her Call seems pretty mediocre at first, as it simply flings out a single homing projectile that does reasonable-but-steadily-outclassed damage. At full charge, it fires a volley of ten of those arrows instead. With each projectile having a 30% chance to critically hit and deal two to three times the base damage. Use it correctly and she can ''annihilate'' the health bars of the various bosses.
* HasAType: It makes sense that she'd get a crush on Zagreus, since the only man Artemis ever fell in love with in mythology was Orion, brave hunter and expert fighter. Zagreus had better keep on watch for Apollo.
* TheHermit: Artemis doesn't really care for the other Olympian gods at all and spends most of her time alone on the hunt. Dionysus has tried more than once to include her in his usual feasting and revelry, but she can't stand the noise as it goes against all of her hunting instincts.
* HomingProjectile:
** Her Call takes the form of a homing arrow. Her Greater Call is barrage of homing arrows that strikes all nearby foes, or just ''annihilates'' one of them in particular.
** She can also buff Zagreus's Cast to go faster and become unerringly accurate.
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee:
** Turns out to be an Achilles fan if you gain her favour enough, and asks Zagreus to relay her regards.
** If Zagreus contacts her while using Coronacht she'll eagerly tell him to take it up to Olympus so she can try it out.
* MasterArcher: Per mythology, she is a divine huntress and is depicted with a bow and arrows. She will comment the first time you pick her Boon while wielding the bow, and will give Zagreus an arrowhead as a gift if given Nectar.
* NiceToTheWaiter: Artemis notes to Zagreus that she considers Callisto and the other forest Nymphs her closest friends. You can learn later from Eurydice that nymphs are often treated like lesser deities, so the fact that Artemis treats them like equals is rather telling.
* NoSocialSkills: Her dialogue when attempting to show thanks or express emotion is rather stilted and awkward. As some of the other gods note, Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, so she spends a lot of her time alone in the woods with no one to talk to, aside from a few nymph friends.
* NotSoDifferent:
** In the Codex, Achilles speculates that Hades, for all he resents and gripes about his "irresponsible" Olympian relatives, might actually get along with his similarly aloof and dutiful niece if he tried.
-->'''Achilles:''' If only my Lord Hades understood that someone such as Artemis could be someone to confide in, rather than resent along with all the others on Olympus.
** Artemis bonds with Zagreus because from her point of view she feels like they both share similar circumstances with their rocky relationships with their respective fathers and not fitting in in the place that is supposed to be considered their home. Though with Zagreus it proves to be a bit more complicated than at first glance.
* NotSoStoic: Her usual reaction to being passed over in the Trials is TranquilFury. If you pick [[TheHedonist Dionysus]] over her, she will get ''very'' vocally pissed off.
--> "Why would you side with--?! Urgh, why do I even bother with some half-god..."
* OnlyFriend: If Zagreus gets close to her, she'll begin telling him stories of her adventures with Callisto the wood nymph. [[MythologyGag Callisto can apparently shapeshift into a bear]].
* TheQuietOne: She doesn't speak much, and the other Olympians aren't entirely sure why she's helping Zagreus in the first place. She herself mentions that she appreciates Zagreus's lack of unnecessary chit-chat.
* {{Tsundere}}: As Zagreus speaks with her and gives her nectar, it becomes clear that she develops a crush upon him. Though she's clearly shy about expressing it ("I won't interfere with your hunt, I'll just.. um, silently watch everything you do.") Aphrodite seems to pick up on it. Of course.
* UnblockableAttack: Her upgrades to the Cast make it into this, along with the Call and Greater Call being unblockable.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Gets implied during her Duo Bond conversations with Zeus that she has a rather strained relationship with her father. She makes efforts to be the dutiful daughter, even trying to give him a grand introduction in one of the conversations, but he constantly returns it [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent by giving her backhanded putdowns]].
* YouAreNotAlone: If Zagreus befriends her, Artemis will occasionally encourage him with his line when he picks up one of her boons.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: The fact that [[AbhorrentAdmirer her brother Ares]] attempts to pull a BirdsOfAFeather card due to hism considering War and Hunt to being two sides of the same coin creeps Artemis out.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ares]]
!!Ares
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadesares.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''God of War''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Cyrus Nemati

->''"...Although my heart has long since stopped, it yet holds love in it for all the gods, save one, the one who made and ruined me as well. I have no kind words to impart to him, except, perhaps, in the form of this concession: War, much like the heavens and the sea, can be considered as a force of nature."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Greek God of War in its forms of brutality, bloodlust and violence, and the son of Zeus and Hera. When he learns of Zagreus's predicament Ares gleefully offers his Boons to his cousin, so that Zagreus may carve a bloody swathe of mayhem through the Underworld on his way out.

Ares's Boons grant Zagreus's attacks the 'Doom' debuff, which will inflict massive damage on opponents after they are struck, and his powers can create blade rifts that deal repeated unblockable damage to anyone walking over them.
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Non Romantic examples.
** In his Duo boon with Artemis, he's pleased to try and work together since he finds the Hunt and War to be fairly similar domains. Artemis does ''not'' reciprocate. He's also one to Nyx, though it's ''Zagreus'' that's wary about that one. [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys Nyx implies she might actually like the attention.]]
** Thanatos is rather nonplussed when Zagreus tells him how much Ares sings his praises. When asked what his opinion on Ares is, Thanatos admits that he dislikes Ares' views on death but at least appreciates that he is actually cordial with him unlike most of the other Olympians.
* AffablyEvil: His general demeanor is calm and collegial, though this comes in the form of praising Zagreus' immense skill at killing. It extends beyond Zagreus as well; Thanatos will comment that Ares is the only Olympian to treat him with anything beyond cold courtesy, and other Olympians will mention how they find his polite bloodlust to be offputting.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: He's pretty arrogant about his boons, and whenever he notices Zagreus already having someone else's, he'll mention how his are better or will help Zagreus more than the others.
* AttackAttackAttack: In contrast to Athena, Ares's boons do one thing: Damage.
* BlackSheep: None of the Olympians save [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys Aphrodite]] are terribly fond of Ares and will at best damn him with faint praise.
* BloodKnight: To absolutely no-one's surprise, Ares ''loves'' war and mayhem.
* DamageOverTime: His signature status effect, Doom, applies a large stack of damage at once, but it takes time to trigger. Two of his Duo Boons are built on this concept as well - his Duo with Aphrodite, Curse of Longing, causes Doom to repeatedly hit someone affected by Weak, making Doom act more like a traditional Damage Over Time effect, and his Duo with Dionysus, Curse of Nausea, increases how quickly a foe takes damage from Hangover.
* DeadlyRotaryFan: His blade rifts are bloodied blades who spin in a circle, dealing damage to anyone they pass underneath.
* DeathOfAThousandCuts: His blade rift effects don't do much power with each individual hit. But there's a lot of them, which racks up the damage quickly. There's also a boon that causes each successive hit from a blade rift to deal more damage than the last one.
* EliteTweak: Artemis's Duo Boon causes his [[AwesomeButImpractical usually unwieldy]] Blade Rifts to home in on enemies, massively increasing their utility and damage potential. Ironic seeing as she [[TeethClenchedTeamwork hates working with the guy.]]
* {{Fanboy}}: He apparently has high respect for Thanatos and if Zagreus has high affection with Thanatos, Ares will sometimes tell Zagreus to send the god of death his regards or just take time to ask if he was doing well. He'll also totally be on board if Zagreus and [[spoiler: Thanatos]] become an item saying Zagreus picked a good mate.
* {{Foil}}: To Athena. Both are gods of war, but while Ares represents the [[WarIsHell death and bloodshed of battle]], Athena represents [[WarIsGlorious strategy and honorable combat]]. In gameplay, Ares' boons are exclusively offensive, while Athena's are defensive. Ironically, the time delay on Ares' boons suggest a more defensive playstyle, while the protective aspects of Athena's promote a more aggressive style.
* InLoveWithYourCarnage: He takes an interest in Zagreus as a "fellow student of death" and expresses much approval over his impressive body count. The way to fully unlock his affection rating is to kill at least ten thousand enemies, and winning a Trial of the Gods against him has Ares be satisfied with the death that Zagreus dealt to let the transgression slide. He's also very fond of Thanatos, what with him being Death incarnate and all, and even implies himself to be a HopelessSuitor.
* JustThinkOfThePotential: Ares will excitedly comment on the potential of [[CoolGuns Exagryph's]] design in future wars if Zagreus is wielding it.
* NotSoDifferent: Like his sister, his boons are focused on one thing, and his call involves a brief period of invincibility.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: His eyes are blood red and he's a violent BloodKnight.
* RedIsViolent: All of his powers and status effects are colored red, and he represents the brutality of war.
* TheRival: To Athena, being the embodiment of opposite forms of warfare.
* ShipperOnDeck: He'll take notice if Zagreus starts spending more time with [[spoiler:Thanatos]]; since he holds the latter in high regard, he's quick to express his approval.
* SoftSpokenSadist: Despite his enthusiasm for pain and death, he is one of the least hammy of the Olympians, and his tone of voice is always calm even when he's talking about violence.
* SpinAttack: Most of his boons involve "Blade Rifts", spinning vortexes of swords. The closest to the normal trope is his call, which temporally transforms Zagreus INTO a blade rift.
* TokenEvilTeammate:
** Downplayed, He kills for the joy of killing, but is not seen or mentioned doing anything abnormally vile by the god's standards, and is among the more polite of the Olympian gods. He is also the only god that Achilles has no love for.
** Ares will also voice his admiration of Hades since he views War and Death goes hand and hand. Ares is notably the one Olympian god who will offer praise of Hades without it coming off as a backhanded compliment.
* TranquilFury: His response to being not chosen in a Trial of the Gods. He doesn't raise his voice or otherwise show any outward signs of anger, but he makes it very clear that Zagreus has provoked his wrath.
* TheUnfavorite: Zeus is not very good at hiding his disappointment in his "oft-misunderstood" son.
-->'''Zeus:''' Getting along with Ares, are you, Nephew? [[WhyAreYouNotMySon Would that you were my son instead of he]]. But no, [[JustJokingJustification I jest, I jest.]]
* WarGod: Alongside Athena, his sister, and also her foil and rival. Whereas Athena takes the WarIsGlorious route, Ares has a WarIsHell vibe.
* WorthyOpponent: Owing to his being the TokenEvilTeammate, Ares drops in pretense of his taking Zagreus during a Trial of the God being an act of ToughLove. Should Ares' trial be overcome, he's sated specifically because he respects that Zagreus was able to both turn down his boon and live through his trial.
* YouAreAlreadyDead: The crux of the Doom mechanic: A second after the blow is struck, the enemy will take a large amount of follow-up damage. Doom does not stack unless you gain a specific Boon from Ares later. There's also another upgrade from Ares to make Doom effects take even longer to activate in exchange for much more damage.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dionysus]]
!!Dionysus
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadesdionysus.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''God of Wine''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Cyrus Nemati

->''"...Perhaps I ought to feel a kinship with this easygoing son of Zeus, for it is said that he has some mortal blood in him, not just divinity. This may explain why he, among Olympians, is so well-loved by mortal-kind; because he loves them back, bringing to them more joy than suffering, for the most part."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

The God of Wine, revelry and madness, Dionysus is the half-mortal son of Zeus and Semele. He joins the rest of his closest family in helping out Zagreus, if nothing else because the escape attempts make for good watching while having a drink.

Aside from some highly useful health-based boons, Dionysus's power is in the wine, granting Zagreus's attacks the 'Hangover' debuff that deals damage over time as enemies accrue stacks of it. His power is best used with rapidly attacking weapons so as to maximize the amount of damage caused by the debuff.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Calls Zagreus 'Zag'.
* TheAlcoholic: Unsurprisingly, considering how he's the god of wine. While he's never actually seen drinking [[spoiler:(though in the epilogue, he apparently spent the entire feast at the House of Hades getting completely wasted)]], his speech tends to be slightly slurred, as though he's almost always a bit drunk.
* BoozeBasedBuff: One of his Boons grants Zagreus permanent health increases whenever he picks up a bottle of Nectar. It also grants a free bottle to get you started. Another one grants full healing and stackable attack buffs from fountains.
* CoolBigSis: Gender-inverted naturally, but Dionysus, being one of the most easygoing of the Olympians is this personified when it comes to his relationship with Zagreus. He wants Zagreus to make it to the surface so that he can show Zagreus a good time and party with him.
* DamageOverTime: The crux of Hangover, which functions much as a poison effect in other games. Previous iterations of the game gave it different names (Sick, Blight, Poison).
* EveryoneHasStandards: For all of his mischief, Dionysus admits he doesn't like Theseus after he ditched Ariadne shortly after defeating Asterius. Then again, [[UnreliableExpositor he may be twisting the truth a little]], considering that in some versions of the myth Theseus was ordered by either Athena or Dionysus himself to leave Ariadne behind.
* FoodGod: He's also the god of grapes, because what else are you supposed to make wine out of? He even wears grapes in his hair to reflect this.
* FunPersonified: Dionysus cares about one thing and one thing only, and that's having a good time.
* TheHedonist: A very light-hearted example. He says that when Zagreus makes it to Olympus, they'll have a massive feast. He also helps Zag play some good-natured pranks.
* HerdHittingAttack: His Cast enhancement is a cask of booze that damages enemies in a circular area and slows them down within its area of effect.
* IntoxicationEnsues: His Cast enhancement does this to a group of enemies with Festive Fog.
* MotorMouth: While not to the same extent as Hermes, Dionysus is quite chatty and rarely stops for breath.
* MrFanservice: While [[HotGod all of the gods are attractive in some way]], Dionysus is easily the one who best qualifies among the male gods, wearing a short and very loose-fitting chiton while his sprite has him posing in a way that shows off a lot of his chiseled body.
* MythologyGag: Literally. If Zagreus gains enough favour with Dionysus, Zagreus will end up telling Orpheus a tall tale that he and Dionysus are in fact the same person. Zagreus is sometimes believed to be another name of Dionysus in Classical Mythology.
* ThePrankster:
** He proposes Zagreus to have some "harmless fun" with Orpheus and trick him into believing he and Zagreus are one and the same. When Zagreus does so, Dionysus has a good laugh over it.
** Dionysus attacking Zagreus during his Trial of the God should Zag choose a different god's boon. Dionysus admits that he isn't even angry but he puts Zagryus through the trial because [[ItAmusedMe he thought it would be funny.]]
* ProHumanTranshuman: Achilles notes that Dionysus is the only god on Olympus that seems to genuinely ''like'' mortals. At the very least, he's casually chatty and friendly with Zagreus.
* PungeonMaster: Most of his Boon names are alcohol or party puns.
* SemiDivine: Half-mortal, though the unusual circumstances of his birth make him functionally a full immortal god.
* SurferDude: Has a number of characteristics of the trope, though they're related to alcohol consumption and not pot-smoking.
* UniversalPoison: Dionysus's boons revolve around inflicting poison damage. One has to assume it's infusing Zagreus's weapons with undiluted ancient Greek wine, with the hangover coming immediately afterward.
* WhatDidIDoLastNight: He spent the feast at [[spoiler:the House of Hades]] blackout drunk and can't remember any of it.
-->'''Dionysus:''' Hey, back when we had that feast there, man, I, I hope I didn't, you know, make for any inconvenciences down there, did I...?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hermes]]
!! Hermes
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadeshermes.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''God of Swiftness''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Andrew Marks

->''"...One of the free-spirited sons of Zeus, he is patron to travelers, traders, even tricksters. Youthful in spirit and appearance, he could be mistaken for a common lad, if not for his extraordinary swiftness. None whom I know approach his agility or athleticism."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Messenger of the Gods, TricksterGod and God of Merchants and Traders, Hermes hurriedly appears to aid Zagreus's escapes.

A unique Olympian, Hermes cannot be built around, cannot be forced to appear via a trinket, has no duo boons and will not contest Zagreus's favor with any other god. Instead, in keeping with movement and speed being his domains, Hermes' powers grant flat bonuses to his mobility and attack speed - boons which are never not useful, completely regardless of what build Zagreus is using.
----
* DodgeTheBullet: His keepsake and one of his boons grants Zagreus a chance to dodge any attack, making it deal no damage.
* HealingFactor: A very limited one; one of his boons allows Zagreus to recover some of the health lost to the last attack by repeatedly dashing for a short period.
* MechanicallyUnusualClass: Hermes' boons are exclusively passive buffs. He has no Duo Boons, all his Boons are tier 1 except his 2 Legendaries, and they cannot be upgraded with Poms of Power. His Keepsake doesn't increase his Boons' rarity or guarantee his appearance; instead, Hermes' boons will appear a fixed number every run (two, three if you're lucky). Hermes also never appears in Trials of the Gods. Speaking to Hermes enough reveals [[spoiler:that none of the other Olympians know he's aiding Zagreus]], which explains some of it.
* MercurysWings: Being the TropeMaker and in keeping with most depictions of Hermes/Mercury, he has wings on his head and a smaller pair on each of his ankles, as well as the wing being his symbol. Since Zagreus has spent his whole life in the Underworld, though, he remarks that it's some kind of ''bat'' wing, not knowing better.
* MetaGuy: He's much more aware of the situation than any other Olympian gods and will comment on events such as when the player has or breaks a winning streak of successful runs or has the speedrun timer enabled.
* MotorMouth: Speaks ''really'' quickly, which makes sense when you consider that he's the god of messengers.
* OddFriendship: Managed to get on the good side of Charon, who is notoriously unapproachable even by Underworld's denizens. [[FridgeBrilliance Though given he's the god of merchants and traders, and Charon is the primary shopkeeper you deal with throughout the game, Charon falls cleanly into Hermes' domain.]]
* {{Psychopomp}}: Makes references to this by referring to Charon as his colleague; in Classical Mythology Hermes was responsible for guiding the souls of the deceased to the banks of the river Styx, where Charon would take over. The word 'psychopomp' was one of his titles.
* SecretKeeper: [[spoiler:The only Olympian both entirely aware that Zagreus has already reached the surface after the player makes their first successful run, and that Persephone has returned to the Underworld once the player reaches the ending, but will keep hush about it.]]
** He's also hiding the fact that [[spoiler: Charon was the one who arranged for him and Skelly to assist Zagreus. Should Zagreus find out Hermes cheerfully reminds him that he has a lot of dirt on him so he'd better keep the secret too.]]
* SpeedRunning: His keepsake encourages this playstyle, granting a permanent dodge bonus for each encounter you complete in the duration the timer gives, which will vary based on each given room.
* SuperSpeed: His Boons revolve around movement speed, dodge chance, and attack speed. Can increase Zagreus's ground speed movement by up to 50%, and his attack rate up to 40%.
** Normally, when Zagreus is equipped with a given god's keepsake, the first boon he finds is guaranteed to be from that god. Sometimes, however, he can find a boon from Hermes regardless, and then get a boon from the intended god later. Hermes is just ''that fast'', that he gets to Zagreus before the god that was supposed to give him his first boon.
* SupportPartyMember: Unlike the other gods almost none of his boons directly boost the damage Zagreus deals or directly harm enemies[[note]]The one exception is his Bad News legendary boon which boosts cast damage[[/note]]. Instead he raises Zagreus's attack speed and that of his other abilities.
* TokenGoodTeammate: The most straightforwardly nice of the Olympians. Despite being a MotorMouth prone to [[TricksterGod playing tricks]], he's nothing but polite to his cousin Zagreus, and unlike his sister Athena, never forces him into a choice of boons either. Aside from Zagreus, Hermes speaks kindly of the other chthonic gods, and has a genuine camaraderie with his fellow [[{{Psychopomp}} fellow caretakers of the dead]], though Thanatos finds him exhausting.
* TricksterGod: The one of the Greek Pantheon. [[spoiler:He's collaborating with Charon to help Zagreus find Persephone behind the other Olympians' backs.]]
* VerbalTic: {{Inverted}}. He mentions Charon quite often, but never uses his name, resorting to "professional associate", "big boatman" and such.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Demeter]]
!!Demeter

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadesdemeter.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300: '''Goddess of Seasons''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Laila Berzins

->''"...Over time, mortals have come to fear great Demeter, eldest of Olympians, goddess of seasons, bringer of plenty, and taker-awayer of it."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Eldest child of Hyperion and Theia, sister of Hestia, Helios, Selene and Eos[[note]]a departure from Classical Mythology, where Demeter was the second eldest child of Cronus and Rhea and thus sister to Zeus, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Poseidon[[/note]], mother of Persephone and Goddess of the Harvest, Agriculture and the Seasons. Demeter eventually lends her power to Zagreus to help him reach the surface.

Due to the surface being in the midst of winter, Demeter has taken on the aspect of a winter goddess. Her boons imbue Zagreus with the 'Chill' debuff, which grants a stacking reduction to attack and movement speed to enemies.
----
* AffectionateNickname: She'll refer to Zagreus as "little sprout", but only after her affection rating has been built up enough with nectar bottles. She also refers to her daughter as "Kore" [[spoiler: Persephone later tells Zagreus that her old name was really embarrassing and hates hearing it, comparing it to if she called Zagreus something that sounded overly cuddly.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Zagreus lampshades how odd it is for a harvest goddess to grant ice powers that drain the life of those affected, while Achilles indicates that she is capable of far worse if riled. [[spoiler:Should you reach the surface with one of her Boons, Hades implies she has currently locked the world in winter while waiting for Persephone's return, and will do a ''lot'' worse were she to learn the truth. And in the [[GoldenEnding true ending]], Hades says outright that not even Zeus himself would be able to hold back Demeter's fury if she learned the truth about his and Persephone's breakup.]]
* CassandraTruth: Helios told her that he saw [[spoiler:Persephone descend to the Underworld]], but she ignored him because she thought it was absurd.
* CoolOldLady: Both figuratively, and quite literally due to her [[AnIcePerson ice powers]].
* DamageOverTime: One of her boons makes it so if every enemy in a room is Chilled they start rapidly taking damage every second.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Her imperious nature rarely lets up, but if appeased with nectar or chosen in a godly trial, she will start to refer to Zagreus as her "little sprout", and generally treats him with more warmth the more times she is encountered, amplified with further tribute.
* TheDreaded:
** All the other gods (barring Zeus) sound distinctly nervous whenever she gets called up during a Duo Boon. [[spoiler:Hades is terrified of her, and is keeping Persephone's existence under wraps partially out of fear of what she'd do.]]
** Ultimately subverted. For all the danger that's put about her learning the truth, [[spoiler:when she finally learns about Persephone being Queen of the Underworld, and Zagreus being her grandson, she takes it in relative stride - while she disagrees with Persephone's choice of suitor, she accepts that their hearts do what they want.]]
* ElementalHair: She's a winter goddess, and fittingly has platinum blonde hair.
* EndlessWinter: [[spoiler: Demeter is causing one of these due to her daughter being missing. Hades says she would do far, far worse if she knew the truth.]]
* EvilOldFolks: She's both the oldest and the most openly callous and malicious of the Olympians, with some competition from Ares. [[spoiler: She baselessly blames mortals for her daughter's disappearance, and has responded by creating the aforementioned EndlessWinter, which has resulted in mass starvation and war.]] Additionally, most of her interactions with the other gods involve her belittling their domains by mentioning that her cold could render them pointless.
* ExtremeMeleeRevenge: She picked the Twin Fists of Malphon (an especially brutal weapon among the set you get) because her hands were used to tilling the land... and then came upon Hyperion, her own father, a parent so atrociously bad he made the son-eating Cronos look decent. According to the Codex, Demeter proceeded to take out every last bit of rage on him and pummeled him until his body was a smear and even his very ''legacy'' was somehow erased.
* FantasticRacism: Demeter does not care for mortals. Quite a few of her conversations with Zagreus will see her bashing mortals saying they are not worthy of her gifts.
* GoodIsNotNice: She's on Zagreus's side, but that's it. She's quite imperious and cold, seeming more of an icy matriarch than a kindly grandmother, rather like the inverse of Nyx. [[spoiler: Though she becomes more doting when she learns that Zagreus is her grandson.]]
* HeartbrokenBadass: She's the goddess of the harvest. However, she takes on her much deadlier winter form [[spoiler: due to Persephone's disappearance. She is beyond bitter not knowing where her daughter is and has taken her grief out on the surface world, blanketing it in snow.]] Every other conversation she has with Zagreus is her warning him on being careful whom he loves, or how much she misses her daughter and worries for her safety.
* AnIcePerson: She grants ice powers with her Boons. Since she's the goddess of the seasons, she's caused a winter up on the surface because of Persephone going missing.
* KnightTemplarParent: Demeter saw Persephone's mortal heritage as something that made her fragile, especially after the death of her father, and thus she became overbearing and controlling out of fear of losing her. And when she ''did'' lose her, she concluded that all of humanity should suffer for it.
-->'''Demeter:''' It was her mortal blood that made her weak! Born to mortals, taken by mortals, I suspect. So now, they ''pay''.
* LifeDeathJuxtaposition: Often understood as a harvest goddess and little more, Demeter's full power as the goddess of winter (aka, the time when the earth goes cold and things die) is played up here. She is the goddess of life, and by extension, death. This is reflected in her boons; one of her boons enhances life restoration from all sources, while her legendary boon instantly kills any enemy at 10% health (even bosses) if they're afflicted with Chilled.
* LightIsNotGood: She wears white and light blue colors, and although she shows gentle moments to Zagreus from time to time, she is far from kind. This is due to the fact that [[spoiler: Persephone is missing which has turned her bitter and caused the Surface to freeze over in her absence]].
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: In accordance with her role in Classical Mythology, [[spoiler:the season on the surface being winter is due to Persephone being missing. Hades says outright that it would be ''very bad'' were she to learn why.]]
* TheLostLenore: She [[MayflyDecemberRomance fell for a mortal farmer]] and clearly regrets being left behind when he died. It's kind of understandable why her mood is so icy having lost [[spoiler: both a lover and a child]].
* LoveObstructingParents: While Demeter isn't even aware of the relationship between [[spoiler:Hades and her daughter]], much of [[spoiler:Hades]]'s more questionable actions are motivated by the assumption that she would go on the warpath were she ever to learn of it. [[spoiler:When she does find out, while she does note she would have opposed the union had she known from the start, she tentatively accepts it in no small part due to Zagreus.]]
* MamaBear: Her love for her daughter is unmatched (if [[MyBelovedSmother overbearing]]) and it's implied that [[spoiler: Persephone's disappearance has left her bitter, which is why the surface is covered in snow.]]
* MayflyDecemberRomance: She will bitterly advise Zagreus not to ever fall in love with a mortal, as such affairs are doomed. She can go on to confirm that she fell in love with a farmer who paid tribute to her, producing [[spoiler: Persephone]], but that he is long gone.
* MisplacedRetribution: She blames mortals for her daughter's disappearance and punishes them with an eternal winter as a result.
* MissingChild: If befriended she will eventually mention to Zagreus that her daughter is missing, and Demeter does not know where she has gone.
* MoralityPet: Even going by the TeethClenchedTeamwork standards of the Olympians, Demeter doesn't try to hide the fact that she doesn't care for any of them. The only person she seems to hold in high regard is Zagreus [[spoiler: and her daughter Persephone]].
* MyBelovedSmother: [[spoiler:Persephone calls her overbearing, and she's one of the reasons her daughter decided to leave Olympus.]]
* NeverMessWithGranny: In addition to [[spoiler:being Zagreus's actual grandmother]], the other gods seem to be a bit wary of her; Hades in particular calls her a "witch" who could do terrible things if angered.
* NotHimself: It's implied by the Codex that Demeter has become a much darker and less merciful figure in her old age. [[spoiler:The loss of Persephone likely has something to do with it.]]
* NotSoDifferent: For all her criticism of Hades, it's heavily implied that she was as much a bitter, controlling parent to Persephone as Hades is to Zagreus, and for many of the same reasons.
* ObnoxiousInLaws: Although she was initially unaware that Zagreus [[spoiler: was her grandson, Hades will mention if Zagreus has been in contact with the winter goddess of how much she doesn't like Hades.]] He snarks that she and Zagreus must have gotten along very quickly due to their mutual dislike of him. [[spoiler: Even after everyone is reconciled, Demeter keeps the surface around the Temple of Styx locked in eternal winter as a snub to Hades.]]
* TheOlderImmortal: She looks and acts the oldest of all the gods, and her siblings refer to her as 'The Elder One'.
* PersonalityPowers: Similar to Poseidon, the boons she grants fit her demeanor quite well. She is a ''literal'' SugarAndIcePersonality (being the god of grain ''and'' the god of ice at the same time) and has powers revolving around both.
* PowerCrystal: Her cast Boon makes the blood crystal from Zagreus's cast hover in place and fire [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]] instead of its normal effect.
* RelatedInTheAdaptation: Inverted. Demeter mentions being the daughter of Theia and presumably thus also the Theia's brother-husband Hyperion, which would make her the first cousin of her mythological siblings. She stresses that she's Zeus's ''foster'' sister and states that Zeus is telling people she's more closely related to the Olympians than she actually is. This also means [[spoiler:Hades and Persephone's relationship wasn't between an uncle and his niece]].
* SecretCharacter: Unlike the other Olympian Gods, who can randomly offer their Boons starting from Zagreus's original escape attempt, Demeter only appears after [[spoiler:he encounters Hades on the snow-covered surface]].
* SelfMadeOrphan: Is stated to have killed her father Hyperion using the Twin Fists of Malphon.
* WinterRoyalLady: 'Divine' rather than 'royal', but her costume is heavily winter-themed in her aspect as the goddess of seasons. The reason she's going for the winter look is that Persephone has escaped her notice, leading Demeter to suspect that Persephone is dead.
[[/folder]]

! Others of Note
[[folder:Achilles]]
!! Achilles
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/09a990a1_0529_40d8_b862_d808fc5e0a17.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Forgotten Hero''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Logan Cunningham

->''"...I see no reason to regale you with stories of my past. Suffice it that I fought, as bravely as I could, alongside many of the finest men the world has ever known. I buried far too many of them, and sent many others to this place, where now at last we are all peers."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Achilles is a demi-god hero known for his role in the Trojan War. He is famed for his strength in battle and his near-invulnerability. After his death on the battlefield, his shade descended to the Underworld, where he was eventually hired by Hades to train a young Zagreus in battle and military discipline. Since he was hired, Achilles has made an effort to be a source of support and encouragement for Zagreus in the face of Hades's often harsh treatment.

Achilles is responsible for authoring all entries in the Codex, which he gave to Zagreus to provide information and guidance about the Underworld and the Olympian Gods.
----
* AdaptationalHeroism: His famous rage and pride have been tempered greatly by his death; the Achilles we meet in this game is calm and supportive. He refers back to his living days as an old shame.
* AssistCharacter: [[spoiler:He gifts the Chthonic Companion Antos once Zagreus bonds with both him and Patroclus and reunites them via paying off Achilles' contract, allowing the two of them to be summoned for an attack.]]
* BargainWithHeaven: Achilles made a deal with Hades where [[spoiler:he gave up his place in Elysium to Patroclus.]]
* BladeOnAStick: Wields a spear, and the Codex makes repeated references to it being his favoured weapon. The Aspect of Achilles is also one of the aspects that can be unlocked for Varatha.
* CatchPhrase: "Fear is for the weak." In most contexts, it sounds like a BadassBoast; however, in his writing of the Codex entry for Patroclus, it becomes a combination of SurvivalMantra and MadnessMantra.
* CombinationAttack: [[spoiler:He's joined by Patroclus for his assist attack.]]
* DoesNotLikeSpam: If the Red Onion codex entry is any indication, Achilles violently despises onions.
** Humorously, apparently he didn't know that you're supposed to cook them before you eat them.
* DrowningMySorrows: It's possible for Zagreus to run across Achilles drinking in the House's lounge, and it's implied that this isn't a rare occurrence.
* ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: His final codex entry on Poms of Power notes they apparently contain some magic called "antioxidants" but adds that knows little of it since he's a warrior, not a nutritionist.
* LoveHurts: He feels that Aphrodite may be the most powerful and dangerous of the gods. He's bitter as he is still in love with his past lover, but can't be together with him anymore, as he is in Elysium while Achilles himself is in the House of Hades.
* MadnessMantra: His Codex entry on Patroclus eventually devolves into repetitions of "fear is for the weak".
* MeaningfulName: His Chthonic Companion, Antos, is shaped like an ant. Meaningful because Achilles commanded the Myrmidons, a word interpreted as "ant-people". In some retellings they were originally ants transformed into human soldiers.
* TheMentor: To Zagreus, after being assigned to train him.
* MentorOccupationalHazard: Inverted: Achilles died and then became mentor to the protagonist, instead of the other way around.
* OlderAndWiser: He's a lot more level-headed than he was in the Iliad, having learned where his anger and petulance lead him back in the Trojan War.
* SemiDivine: Was born to the water goddess Thetis, who he mentions was the primary god he prayed to in life.
* ShipperOnDeck: Achilles ships Zagreus with Thanatos so hard that he writes it into the codex.
* TeacherStudentRomance: Achilles was employed by Hades to teach Zagreus the ways of combat. Zagreus can give Achilles multiple bottles of Nectar as gifts, to which Achilles responds by [[spoiler:letting him down gently as even so long after his death, Achilles's heart still belongs to Patroclus.]]
* TooUpsetToCreate: Achilles writes all of the Codex entries. Patroclus's entry is uncharacteristically short and... unusual.
-->''...Forgive me. It is not my place to say much of him, now. May his name yet live. May his soul bask forever in the glory of Elysium. No more. [[MadnessMantra Fear is for the weak. Fear is for the weak. Fear is for the weak. Fear is for the weak.]]''

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dusa]]
!! Dusa
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dusa.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Duty-Bound Gorgon''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Courtney Vineys

->''"...A splendid House such as the Master's own requires a great deal of cleaning, and the little gorgon seems forever doomed to do it all herself. I sometimes offer my assistance, although it is here the little gorgon bares her fangs, refusing any help. That I can clearly see my own reflection in our polished countertops suggests she doesn't need it, either."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

A severed Gorgon's head, now working as the House of Hades's long-suffering maid. She has a painfully obvious crush on Zagreus, but can never express her feelings as a result of her severe social anxiety, and more importantly, her never-ending list of things that must be cleaned.
----
* {{Asexual}}: Discussed: [[spoiler:If her bond is maxed out, she mentions how she had a crush on the ''idea'' of Zagreus and not the actual person. When he asks her about if she's interested in anyone at all, Dusa admits she doesn't really think of anyone in that way, and is relieved when Zagreus admits his platonic love for her as a friend, which she reciprocates.]]
* AssistCharacter: [[spoiler:She gifts the Chthonic Companion Fidi upon the House of Hades getting enough renovations and being given an Ambrosia, which allows her to be summoned for a homing petrifying projectile barrage attack.]]
* BetterAsFriends: [[spoiler:The conclusion she comes to at the end of her romance arc. She does like Zagreus and admits he's one of the nicest people in the House of Hades, but she's just not attracted to him in that way. They choose to remain friends, though.]]
* ButtMonkey: Almost all of her appearances involve her being victim to yet more grueling work, or suffering a severe bout of social anxiety, particularly when talking to Zagreus.
* CuteMonsterGirl: Her demeanor and friendly, non-threatening design really helps reduce her inherent freakiness and the fact that she's a floating severed head with snake hair.
* DontYouDarePityMe: Achilles notes that he's offered to help her clean, but she just bared her teeth at him and refused.
* EndearinglyDorky: Zagreus certainly thinks so, as he progresses in his relationship with her. [[spoiler:But it turns out she's just not attracted to him (or anyone, for that matter) in that way, so they decide they're BetterAsFriends.]]
* FlyingFace: She's just a floating Gorgon head, not counting her snakes' heads.
* HeartSymbol: She'll start emitting floating hearts if Zagreus gets close, before quickly retreating into the rafters.
* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: She balks at the idea of Zagreus even talking to her, much less reciprocating her crush. [[spoiler:Ironically, if you do attempt to romance her, she ends up deciding they're BetterAsFriends]].
* InterspeciesRomance: She's a gorgon with a crush on Zagreus, a god. The player can even choose to have Zagreus reciprocate and romance her, [[spoiler: though they eventually agree to just remain close friends after Dusa realizes she's not actually interested in Zagreus that way]].
* LovingAShadow: Defied. [[spoiler:If Zagreus romances her and maxes out her bond level, she realizes that she had a crush on her idea of Zagreus rather than him as a person.]]
* MarriedToTheJob: [[spoiler:What's her first reason for turning down Zagreus? A relationship would cut into time she could spend on work.]]
* {{Medusa}}: She is heavily implied to be the decapitated head of Medusa, though she seems very embarrassed about the whole thing. If Zagreus asks her if she used to have a body she gets flustered and says some vague things about how she's a very different person than she used to be.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: She's a friendly version of the Gorgon head enemies Zagreus encounters in Asphodel. If Zagreus defeats the Asphodel mini-boss, a gigantic Gorgon head, he'll occasionally snark of Dusa possibly knows her. He'll later ask if she knows the gorgon heads in Asphodel and if it's alright for him to be slaying them, her response being that they're only related in the loosest sense of the word and she couldn't care less what happens to them.
* MysteriousPast: Achilles notes in the codex that not only is Dusa's history unknown to the denziens of the House (other than that she's not one of Asphodel's Gorgons), but Hades has actually ''forbidden'' any further investigation into it. It's implied that she's the severed head of Medusa herself, but she's very tight-lipped about her past and she only makes vague comments about how she's not the same person she used to be.
* NervousWreck: Everytime Zagreus approaches, she gets startled, blustered and shy. She opens up, but it will take a lot of talks before she stops zipping away the moment Zagreus says anything to her.
* OddFriendship: She gets along surprisingly well with Meg as they sometimes can be seen gossiping in the lounge area. When asking about her sisters Meg tells Dusa she's more of sister to her than her actual sisters.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: While it can be inferred she's ''the'' Medusa, everyone just calls her Dusa and she prefers that name.
* PunnyName: Dusa is a maid. Maid-Dusa. [[IncrediblyLamePun You may groan now.]]
* ShoutOut: A severed, flying gorgon head? Sounds like a regular mook inside [[Franchise/{{Castlevania}} Count Dracula's Castle]].
* SnakeTalk: {{Defied}}. If asked about the other gorgons' unintelligible hissing, she says it's actually really hard not to hiss while speaking with a forked tongue, and she worked very hard to learn how so as to fit in better with the other residents of the House.
* {{Workaholic}}: Achilles notes she's assiduous in her duties and takes a great amount of pride in her work, as can be witnessed by the lack of dust anywhere in the House of Hades. [[spoiler:There's a brief subplot where Nyx has Dusa laid off because Dusa tries to get so many things done that while the tasks are finished, they're slipshod and not very good; essentially, focusing on quantity of tasks over quality.]]
* YouthfulFreckles: A closer inspection of her character portrait shows she has small freckles going across her face and she definitely acts younger than she may look.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Orpheus]]
!! Orpheus
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadesorpheus.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Court Musician''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Michael Ailshie (NonSingingVoice), Darren Korb (Singing Voice)

->''"...No one sings a sweeter, sadder song than Orpheus, who, if I'm to understand correctly, is among the only mortals who once ventured down into the Underworld, and returned to tell the tale. He now resides among us permanently, ever mournful of what could have been."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

A legendary musician who once ventured into the underworld, attempting to retrieve his wife and muse Eurydice after her untimely death. Though Orpheus failed, after his eventual death he was hired by Hades to be the court musician within the House. Unfortunately, the loss of Eurydice has stripped Orpheus of any desire to sing.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Eurydice calls him "Orphy" [[spoiler:after she and Orpheus are allowed to see each other again]].
* TheEeyore: Starts out as this, being completely unmotivated to sing. It takes repeated interactions with Zagreus to get him to open up.
* {{Foil}}: To Eurydice, reflected in their attire and general mood. Orpheus is gloomy and depressed, completely unmotivated to even do the thing he loved to do the most, and he has completely let himself go due to the loss of his muse. The starkest contrast is in the way he sings 'Good Riddance', which sounds more like a lament.
* HeroWorshipper: Quite literally, as not only is Zagreus a god, but also [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagreus#Orphic_Dionysus_Zagreus a central figure in Orphism]]. Unfortunately for Zagreus, it's all based on a nonsense story he told Orpheus, [[ItWillNeverCatchOn never expecting that Orpheus would turn it into the central lore of a]] MysteryCult.
* InterspeciesRomance: He's a human who was married to Eurydice, an oak nymph. [[spoiler:They can get back together if Zagreus befriends both of them and lifts Orpheus' contract.]]
* InTheHood: Initially shared a sprite with Sisyphus and Nyx, with some minor facial differences. This sprite was removed in the "Superstar" update and replaced with a unique one.
* LooksLikeCesare: His new look has sunken, pale skin and extremely unruly hair. According to Eurydice this sounds like [[ExpositoryHairstyleChange a (relatively) newer look for him]], as she describes him as having curly hair and a nice tan when they were together, much to Zagreus's surprise.
* LovingAShadow: [[spoiler:When Zagreus first brings back news of Eurydice, Orpheus mostly doesn't care. As long as he has his tragic memories of Eurydice, what has actually happened to ''her'' since doesn't concern him.]] Zagreus is quite baffled at being told this. It can be later subverted [[spoiler:if both of them are befriended, since Orpheus comes to realize that he really does miss Eurydice and wants to see her again]].
* MyGreatestFailure: His failed attempt to rescue Eurydice from the underworld. He was supposed to lead her to the surface without looking at her. It ''almost'' worked: at the last moment, doubting that she was really following him, Orpheus turned back... and Eurydice, who really ''had'' been there all along, vanished.
-->'''Orpheus:''' "...And, anyways, I oughtn't have looked back, I mean, the moral of the story is to not look back when you are told not to look back, you understand, don't you, my friend?"
* StealingTheCredit: Subverted. Eurydice reveals that a lot of Orpheus' songs were originally hers, but when Zagreus asks him about it, Orpheus reveals that he did his best to give her proper credit and people just wouldn't listen.
* SuperGullible: Zagreus likes to tell tall stories to Orpheus, as it tends to cheer him up. This backfires on him when he tells Orpheus that he and the god Dionysus are one and the same. [[spoiler:Orpheus is so awed by this that he composes the Hymn to Zagreus in response. And even when Zagreus tries to come clean, Orpheus just assumes he's being humble.]]
* TooUpsetToCreate: He's too broken up over Eurydice to even sing, much less compose, which is why Hades had him placed in solitary confinement shortly before the game.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sisyphus and Bouldy]]
!!Sisyphus
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadessisyphus.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Tormented Soul''']]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadesbouldy2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:'''...''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Andrew Marks

->''"...Most of those who earn the highest form of punishment in Tartarus committed acts I hesitate to commit to the page, though Sisyphus is an exception to the rule."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

The former king of Corinth, Sisyphus twice cheated death before his misdeeds caught up with him. Sent to Tartarus, Sisyphus was sentenced to forever roll a boulder up a mountain, only for the boulder to inevitably slip from his grasp and roll down to the bottom again. Normally forced into his routine by the whips of the Furies, Zagreus's recent escape attempts have left them with little time to keep watch and allowed Sisyphus the occasional rest, during which he can occasionally be met by Zagreus during runs through Tartarus.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Calls Zagreus 'Prince Z'.
* AssistCharacter: [[spoiler:He gifts the Chthonic Companion Shady upon being pardoned, which allows him and Bouldy to be summoned for a brief attack and some healing. Notably, his companion is the only one of the six that can be used to attack Hades (Skelly's can also be used as a distraction) before he gives the permission for the others to be used on him.]]
* AntiNihilist: He has accepted his pointless labor to the point of actually befriending the boulder he's forever forced to push, and is cheerful and friendly as a result.
* TheAtoner: In the Greek myths, Sisyphus was a complete and total ''bastard''. His crimes included robbery, spousal abuse, murder, violating SacredHospitality, attempting to kill his brother, seducing his niece, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking being a tattle-tale on one of Zeus's affairs]]. Although these actions aren't directly mentioned in the game, Sisyphus does admit that he did a lot of bad things when he was alive, but his long and extended punishment in Tartarus has [[HeelFaceTurn shown him the error of his ways]] and made him far [[AdaptationalNiceGuy kinder and friendlier]]. Zagreus has the option of deciding that he has atoned and can commute his sentence.
* BadassNormal: He's not a god or someone with powers, but his time spent with Bouldy has made him ''very'' strong.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: [[spoiler:After repeated interactions with Sisyphus, Zagreus can talk to Hades and Meg about alleviating his sentence, and then spend 10 Diamonds to pardon him. For showing such kindness, Sisyphus rewards him with one of the elusive Chthonic Companions, which lets him and Bouldy come to Zag's aid when activated.]]
* ChainedByFashion: He's chained to Bouldy, and the chains feature on both his model and sprite.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He's gone somewhat loopy over time.
* CompanionCube: Having spent eternity pushing the same boulder, Sisyphus has begun referring to the rock as "Bouldy" and treats it as his life companion and closest confidante. It helps that Bouldy has markings on it that resemble a face, though it's not clear if they're natural or if Sisyphus added them himself.
* EasilyForgiven: Given in some myths Sisyphus trapped Thanatos in a ''chest'', you'd think the god of death would have a bit of a grudge for the former king. However, Thanatos doesn't seem to hold anything against Sisyphus and the only talk he ever gives him is warning Sisyphus to not attempt to assist Zagreus further which he falsely promises not to do.
* HeroicBuild: Remarkably broad-shouldered and muscular, but then he has been shoving a huge rock around for ages.
* IChooseToStay: [[spoiler:After Zagreus releases Sisyphus from the terms of his contract, Sisyphus chooses to stay right where he is. Mostly because he doesn't want to go anywhere without Bouldy. Fortunately, with his sentence commuted, he can push Bouldy all day now without being whipped by the Furies. That and he likes being able to help out Zagreus whenever he can]].
* InTheHood: Shared the look with Orpheus and Nyx until the "Welcome to Hell" update.
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: An eternity of pushing Bouldy has apparently turned him into an impossibly optimistic AntiNihilist.
* NiceGuy: Never has anything but a kind word whenever Zagreus drops in, and gives you a free choice between health, money or darkness. He's even friendly towards Bouldy and The Furies despite being his eternal punishment.
* NiceToTheWaiter: Hermes gets noted as getting on rather well with the Chthonic Gods, which makes him stand out from the other Olympians. He's actually good friends with Charon and even Thanatos notes that Hermes is always friendly with him.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Get enough affinity with him and you get a Cthonic Companion that can summon him and drop Bouldy on top of an enemy while also scattering money, darkness and healing items. Zagreus can ask him about this later personally; Sisyphus is no deity, and is definitely still bound to Tartarus. Sisyphus concludes it must simply be because of their personal bond as well as Zagreus's own divine power making their friendship a tangible force.
* PrisonsAreGymnasiums: They are for him, as he is stoutest, most muscular non-god in the game (and even a lot of them are smaller than him). Pushing that boulder uphill didn't just build his character.
* TheProblemWithFightingDeath: The reason he ended up in Tartarus, having talked his way out of Hades by tricking Persephone and imprisoned Thanatos until Ares rescued him.
* SisyphusVsRock: But of course. He's the TropeNamer. Sisyphus is being tormented by the Furies to forever push a rock up a hill, then have it slip out of his grasp and fall right back down to the bottom before being forced to try again. [[spoiler:Zagreus can release the terms of this punishment, but Sisyphus still chooses to stay where he is, even though he's under no obligation to do that anymore.]]
* TailorMadePrison: The original SisyphusVsRock scenario. He cheated death once by tricking Thanatos, so now he has to push a rock up a hill for all eternity.
* TheVoiceless: Zagreus [[ViolationOfCommonSense can talk to Bouldy following the "Welcome to Hell" update]]. He doesn't talk back. [[spoiler:[[EasterEgg Giving him Nectar, on the other hand]], will provide Zagreus with a minor bonus for the rest of the run.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eurydice]]
!!Eurydice
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadeseurydice.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Carefree Muse''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Francesca Hogan (NonSingingVoice), Ash Barrett (Singing Voice)

->''"...Mortality and immortality are closer than most gods care to believe. There are such minor gods as can be killed. So it is with nymphs, and all the naiads and the dryads and the like, the spirits of the woods, and seas, and skies; in life, they captivate our mortal senses and imagination, but in death, we all are more alike. The nymph Eurydice, born of the oak itself, must know this better than her kind."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Orpheus's ex-wife, famously trapped in Hades following her husband's failed attempt at rescuing her from the Underworld. Destined to the Meadows of Asphodel, having lived a life neither particularly heroic nor depraved, Eurydice has attempted to make the best of a bad situation and set herself up with a small place in an island on the river Phlegethon, where Zagreus may occasionally encounter her. She will offer Zagreus a choice of three unique items when encountered.
----
* AmicableExes: Downplayed example. She's not really angry or bitter towards Orpheus, but mostly doesn't care about him anymore. If both are befriended through gifts of Nectar, it's possible to reconcile the two but Eurydice is still generally happy in her abode in Asphodel.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Befitting a nymph, she's always barefoot.
* {{Foil}}: To Orpheus. Despite losing everything due to her death, Eurydice is one of the most upbeat people in the game. She dresses in bright colours, adorned with leaves despite literally being in the realm of death, and she finds joy and productivity through her music and cooking. The way she sings 'Good Riddance' even sounds happy, with the implication that she can let go of the past with all that she has lost.
* InterspeciesRomance: She's an oak nymph who was married to Orpheus, a human. [[spoiler:They can get back together if Zagreus befriends them both and lifts Orpheus' contract.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTg6y2l4duk "Good Riddance"]], which Eurydice will be singing whenever Zagreus drops by. [[spoiler:If both are befriended beyond level 5, Orpheus will learn the song as well and sing it in the House of Hades]].
* NatureSpirit: Has bark-like skin and hair that looks like a tree, and is stated to be a nymph by the codex. Zagreus specifies she's an oak nymph when talking to Hades about her history with Orpheus, which certainly explains her acorn accessories and [[BeehiveBarrier keepsake]].
* OurNymphsAreDifferent: Eurydice explains to Zagreus that nymphs are basically "gods that can die" and age.
* OralFixation: She constantly has a twig with oak leaves on it in her mouth.
* PlantHair: She has a tree growing out of her head in a way that looks like hair.
* PowerUpFood: Her food grants power upgrades to Zagreus. The three dishes she offers (respectively) upgrade two random boons to the next rarity, increase the levels of four random boons by one, or make the next three boons Zagreus finds have upgraded rarities.
* SupremeChef: Her offered items are all food, and Zagreus frequently remarks on how good it is. She implies she uses Nectar she is gifted in her cooking.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Patroclus]]
!!Patroclus
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadespatroclus.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Fallen Warrior''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Ben Prendergast

->''"...Forgive me. It is not my place to say much of him, now. May his name yet live. May his soul bask forever in the glory of Elysium."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Achilles's former friend and lover, and his companion through the Trojan War that made the latter famous. Slain by Hector during the War, Patroclus was given eternal paradise in Elysium. He can occasionally be encountered by Zagreus during runs through Elysium, brooding in his eternal paradise and offering Zagreus a choice of three unique items when encountered.
----
* OneUp: He'll give Zagreus the option the replenish all his Death Defiances.
* AffectionateNickname: [[spoiler: When they are reunited, Achilles apparently refers to Patroclus as "Pat".]]
* DefrostingIceKing: He'll ever so slightly warm up to Zagreus if repeatedly spoken to.
* DespairEventHorizon: He's close to reaching his by the time Zagreus encounters him. The river he sits on the shore of is the Lethe, and it's implied that he's mustering the courage to drink from it and [[LossOfIdentity have all his memories wiped away.]] [[spoiler:Reuniting him with Achilles pulls him back from the brink.]]
-->'''Patroclus:''' ...It's all forgettable, with just a single drink, and yet, I always hesitate...
* TheEeyore: Being in Elysium without Achilles has left him in a very sour mood. When Zagreus first meets him, he's very gloomy and pessimistic, since he feels out of place in a part of the afterlife that's mainly populated by "heroes" who got there by killing a lot of people in the name of glory. [[spoiler:He [[TookALevelInCheerfulness becomes more cheerful]] if he's reunited with Achilles.]]
* {{Foil}}: To Achilles. Dark-skinned and -haired, in contrast to Achilles' fairer tone, and when donning [[spoiler:battle armor, his cape of choice is a dark green to contrast Achilles' light green]]. Achilles, while much calmer in his afterlife, was famed for his UnstoppableRage; Patroclus by contrast has almost completely shut down emotionally.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Never gives his name and is simply referred to as '???' unless Zagreus (and by extension the player) looks up the new character in the Codex and discovers his identity. Zagreus will then use his name.
* MoralDissonance: Discusses the trope by bitterly noting how insane the qualifications for a 'hero' worthy of Elysium are (i.e. killing a lot of people). [[spoiler:Ironically, he wasn't destined for Elysium and would have gone elsewhere if not for Achilles.]]
* ShellShockedVeteran: Almost entirely emotionless, implied to be a combination of trauma from the Trojan War and being separated from Achilles.
* StrawNihilist: Seems to have almost entirely lost the desire to do anything.
* TookALevelInCheerfulness: He spends most of the game as a very [[TheEeyore gloomy]] ShellShockedVeteran, but he becomes more cheerful [[spoiler:if he's reunited with Achilles. He even gets a new sprite where he's smiling slightly and standing up straighter, as opposed to his original sprite where he's sitting hunched over with no emotion on his face at all]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theseus]]
!!Theseus
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadestheseus.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Hero of Athens''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Cyrus Nemati

->''"...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."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Hero-King and mythical founder of Athens, who performed many mighty deeds in life including slaying the feared Minotaur of Crete. As Champion of Elysium, Hades commands Theseus to stop Zagreus's ascent from the Underworld.
----
* AdaptationalJerkass:
** According to Dionysus, he abandoned Ariadne of his own volition instead of BecauseDestinySaysSo. Of course, [[UnreliableNarrator Dionysus is the one saying it]].[[note]]Then again, the claim of Dionysus forcing Theseus to give up Ariadne is itself thought to be a case of AdaptationalHeroism for Theseus, as it has not been lost on scholars that these versions were written by Athenians, who would've obviously had a bias for him[[/note]]
** He is ''considerably'' more pompous, arrogant and bullheaded than in the myths, and it's made clear that most people outside Elysium can't stand him because of it. Eventually, even ''Asterius'' starts to get exasperated by his constant demeaning of Zagreus.
* BackStab: Forces this playstyle on the player by default, since he's only vulnerable in the back; the shield that Theseus carries can't be pierced without certain Artemis boons or weapon upgrades.
* BerserkButton:
** Insinuating that Herakles is greater than him. The first time Zagreus mentions Heracles in front of him, Theseus will accuse Zagreus [[IShallTauntYou of trying to make him fly into a jealous rage]] before triumphantly adding that he sees right through Zagreus' scheme.
** Reminding him of Ariadne. The more times Zagreus brings a Yarn into the boss fight, the more upset Theseus will be and suggests Zagreus is doing it purely to spite him. Eventually Asterius gets fed up with Theseus denigrating his sister; Theseus apologizes and suggests reconciling with her as well.
* BishieSparkle: As of the "Welcome to Hell" update, Theseus will sparkle on occasion during dialogue when he's feeling particularly proud.
* BlingBlingBang: His Pact of Punishment upgrade gives him a golden chariot, golden gatling guns, and golden armor. Daedalus apparently made it that garish as a joke, and Theseus is simply too full of himself to catch on.
* BoisterousBruiser: Brags with the best of them – though he'll show signs of cracking if Zagreus develops a long win streak – but very much ''does'' live up to the hype; he's the champion of the Elysium arena because he's still an incredible fighter.
* BrokenPedestal: Zagreus quickly goes from TheKnightsWhoSaySquee to hating Theseus' guts after a few encounters. While Zag eventually starts holding Asterius in high regard, Theseus gets no such treatment.
-->'''Zagreus:''' [[SarcasmMode Never meet your heroes...]]
* CallingYourAttacks: "Bull Horn!" for his SpinAttack, and "Delta Strike!" for a shockwave created with Asterius.
* CollisionDamage: If given the Extreme Measures upgrade, Theseus will start his boss fight inside a chariot. The chariot will automatically harm Zagreus if he touches it while it's moving (excluding hitting it with weapons).
* CombinationAttack:
** Has a FastballSpecial with Asterius during their boss fight.
** After Zagreus fights him and Asterius enough times, the two will gain a new attack where Theseus charges Asterius and their collision causes a shockwave that will harm Zagreus upon hitting him.
* CoordinatedClothes: He and Asterius wear matching outfits, with the only difference being that Theseus keeps his left shoulder uncovered.
* DarkSkinnedBlonde: Has a colour palette similar to Zeus, with tan skin and golden hair.
* DirtyCoward: Unlike Asterius, Theseus can never be fought one-on-one. While certainly not weak, the fact that Theseus will only ever face Zagreus when he has Asterius backing him up leads to him becoming a BrokenPedestal for Zagreus.
* DisappearsIntoLight: If defeated.
* DitzyGenius: Clearly not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but a very good fighter and a good-natured hero.
* DualBoss: With Asterius. Notably, this is the only way that Theseus can be fought, as Asterius can show up on his own in Elysium as a mini-boss.
* {{Face}}: He's not just trying to stop Zagreus, he's performing in front of a crowd, and will crow and boast in front of them like the hero in a wrestling match, painting Zagreus as a {{Heel}} - though as noted elsewhere on the page, what seems at first like him playing up the show for the crowd turns out to be his genuine opinion of himself and Zag.
* FastballSpecial: Asterius can throw him during their boss fight, giving Theseus a long-ranged charge attack.
* FinalExamBoss: Theseus combines several gimmicks used by the {{mook}} shades of Elysium. His spin attack is a larger version of that used by the shieldbearers, he's immune to frontal attacks like they are, and he uses homing missile attacks with a targetting reticule like the bow-wielders.
* FlunkyBoss: When Theseus was the FinalBoss during early access, defeating Asterius first during their DualBoss encounter caused Theseus to continually spawn Chariots in to aid him. With the introduction of the Styx level, he stopped doing this.
* ForGreatJustice: Will not shut up about it. It can initially come across as all part of the show, but... nope, he's apparently ''dead'' serious about it. This attitude begins to get more on Zagreus's nerves the more times that they fight.
* GatlingGood: If you upgrade his abilities using the Pact of Punishment, Theseus' chariot comes with dual-wielded gatling guns, which he will occasionally strafe you with.
* HairTodayGoneTomorrow: Zagreus can commission a painting of Theseus in his youth that shows him with long, flowing blonde locks, in contrast to the short haircut he sports in the game.
* HateSink: Outside of Asterius, no one seems to hold that high of an opinion of Theseus. Zaegreus, who tends to be [[FriendlyEnemy rather chummy with all of his other would be captors]] gets progressively exassperated with each new encounter with Theseus where he'll eventually started referring to the duo as "[[WorthyOpponent Asterius]] and the other guy."
* HeroAntagonist: Believes Zagreus is one manner or other of hellspawn trying to trick his way to the surface, and will continue to stand in his way because of it, no matter how much Zagreus protests otherwise.
* HeroicBSOD: Will temporarily go through one of these if defeated enough times, because Asterius believes there may be more to Zagreus than meets the eye. Zagreus' responses imply he's simply being a DramaQueen.
* HumblePie: Subverted. A late-game sidequest will see Poseidon ask Zagreus to defeat Theseus on Extreme Measures in order to knock him down a peg, since Poseidon thinks Theseus is getting too arrogant. In spite of this, Theseus remains as arrogant as he ever was. When next faced on Extreme Measures, Zagreus will even point out that Poseidon thinks he's a blowhard, but Theseus thinks Zagreus is trying to get under his skin.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Theseus will call Zagreus a cheat if he uses a call during the fight against him, even though he himself will also call upon the gods for assistance after reaching half-health.
* IdealHero: ''The'' ideal hero of Greek Mythology, possibly even moreso than Heracles, Odysseus and Achilles, and acts like one in accordance to modern sensibilities as well. Zagreus is in awe when first meeting him, though [[BrokenPedestal it doesn't last long]].
* ImpossiblyTackyClothes: The golden armour getup he gets with the Extreme Measures update. Zagreus finds it incredibly tacky (and according to Achilles, so did its creator Daedalus); Theseus thinks it looks great.
* InspectorJavert: Theseus openly believes that Zagreus is an evil, demonic hellspawn who intends to escape into the mortal world and wreak havoc - essentially treating Zagreus like a monster who needs to be put down and himself as [[WrongGenreSavvy the requisite hero]] - and sticks to that belief (mostly out of pride) even as it becomes increasingly obvious that Zagreus is nothing like that. Asterius, meanwhile, does quickly realize the truth but is as unable to sway Theseus' belief as Zagreus is.
* IRejectYourReality: He's convinced himself that Zagreus is a demonic "blackguard" and a monster who deserves to be cut down where he stands, and will hear no arguments to the contrary. Even when Zag tries to say he has no quarrel with Theseus personally, and Asterius backs him up that Zagreus is just a really good fighter, Theseus isn't interested in hearing it.
* JavelinThrower: Fights with a shield and javelin, and will continue to throw his spear when not engaged in melee. The javelin returns to his hand much like Zagreus's spear as well.
* LargeHam: He constantly talks about the glory of battle, how Zagreus is a "blackguard" and an inhuman monster who deserves death, and says nearly every one of his lines at the top of his lungs with a dramatic flair. It's quite the contrast to Asterius, who is much more subdued and stoic.
* LaughingMad: On Extreme Measures, Theseus' new chariot amps up his already high energy into this, speeding around the arena laughing maniacally.
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Wields a shield that makes him immune to direct attack from the front and sides when he's not attacking, and he won't turn his back to the player until he's thrown his spear.
* MilesGloriosus: Theseus is a bit of a [[DownplayedTrope weird example]] of this. He has all the makings of one being a obnoxious showboat and only willing to face Zagreus in combat when he has Asterius giving him the numbers advantage. Beneath it all, he can actually back up all of his boasts, and Hades actually speaks quite highly of his valor.
* MirrorBoss: If Zagreus brings Varatha. He uses spear moves similar to Zagreus's, and in his second stage will call for an Olympian's aid, which adds a boon to his normal attacks and allows him to use a Call.
* MythologyGag: Will comment upon it if Zagreus faces him while having a Yarn of Ariadne in his possession, and will become increasingly irritated if Zagreus keeps doing it.
* NewFriendEnvy: He does not take Zagreus's rapport with Asterius very well.
-->'''Theseus:''' I can see it in his mismatched eyes! I cannot shake the terrible vision that, some day or night, it shall be me standing alone here, whilst you...? Whilst you take sides against me! With that ''fiend!''
* NotHimself: Implied by the Codex, which says his character appears to have changed in death.
* OhCrap: If Zagreus summons Megaera or Thanatos using their companions, Theseus will comment upon it in a not-very-happy tone.
* OpenMouthInsertFoot: If Zagreus keeps losing to him Theseus will triumphantly gloat upon meeting him again that monsters never learn, before immediately realizing what he just said and apologizing to Asterius.
* PetTheDog: For all his {{pride}} and pomposity, he ''did'' selflessly rescue Asterius from damnation out of the kindness of his heart, and is shown to treat him like a battlefield comrade and an equal. Asterius notes this in mini-boss battles against Zagreus, saying that whatever affection Theseus shows towards Asterius is very genuine, which Asterius clearly appreciates, and if you focus mainly on Asterius in the fight he may warn him to watch out.
* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: Face him enough times and Theseus does this to ''himself'', becoming absolutely convinced that Zagreus is trying to intrude on his friendship with Asterius. This results in Asterius losing his patience with him and explaining how Zagreus' tactics are always evolving and new. Theseus takes it to mean he thinks he can't fight, causing an actual rift between them that's only mended after a few more go-arounds.
* ThePreciousPreciousCar: Theseus is given a tricked-out chariot when you fight him with Extreme Measures 3 on. He quickly becomes attached to his new ride, berates you for damaging it, and if you destroy it in battle he may call on the gods of Olympus to avenge his beloved chariot.
* {{Pride}}: He's immensely prideful in his skill and ability, though not quite to the degree of TheFightingNarcissist.
* ReligiousBruiser: When he TurnsRed he will beseech Olympus for help and constantly bombard the arena in area-of-effects from one of the gods not currently aiding Zagreus. He will also react negatively if Zagreus uses a Greater Call against him, especially Athena's.
* SpinAttack: Will attack using these if Zagreus gets too close.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: If Zagreus enters his arena a second time with a Yarn of Ariadne in posession, he will insist that it's an attempt to bother him and that it definitely doesn't, before going on to insist that her falling in love with him was not his fault nor responsibility. Clearly, it bothers him ''a lot''.[[note]]In all versions of Ariadne's myth, she fell in love with Theseus. Theseus may or may not have reciprocated before she died/he abandoned her on Naxos. Whether or not he was forced to by Dionysus, or not, also differs -- in some versions the Gods demanded it of him BecauseDestinySaysSo, while in others it was because she was ''already'' married to Dionysus.[[/note]]
* ThrowDownTheBomblet: If upgraded with the Extreme Measures punishment, Theseus' chariot allows him to launch bombs everywhere while driving around the arena.
* TurnsRed: If Asterius is defeated before him, Theseus will gain a minor buff to his attack speed and damage (during Early Access, he would endlessly summon Nemean Chariots for backup instead). When reduced to 50% of his health (or 33% with Extreme Measures) Theseus will beseech the Gods for help, granting his attack a secondary effect and creating damaging obstacles in the arena.
* WatchThePaintJob: He'll make a fuss about you scratching his chariot if you attack him while he's riding around in it. He'll get quite upset if it's broken.
* WindmillCrusader: Unlike Asterius, [[BloodKnight who opposes Zagreus because he wants a good fight]], or Megaera, [[PunchClockVillain who opposes Zagreus because Hades ordered her to]], Theseus is thoroughly convinced that Zagreus is an evil monster. This is in spite of Zagreus repeatedly insisting otherwise. It gets to the point that when Asterius wants Theseus to just acknowledge how good of a fighter that Zagreus is, Theseus thinks it's Zagreus trying to poison Asterius against him.
* WorthyOpponent: In the codex, Achilles posits that the real reason Theseus saved Asterius and brought him to Elysium is because he recognized that the minotaur was his greatest adversary, realized that all of his fame and glory in life only existed because of their fight, and so decided it was only right that Asterius join him in that glory in the afterlife. Which, if true, [[PetTheDog would imply that there's a bit more humility in him than meets the eye.]]
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Successfully pulled this off on the Minotaur in the afterlife, and got him a place in Elysium by his side.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asterius]]
!!Asterius
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadesasterius.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Bull of Minos''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Logan Cunningham

->''"...In life, the wretched abomination known as the Minotaur was feared across the coast of Greece; those cast into the Labyrinth in which he, himself, was trapped had no hope of escape. That was until the young hero Theseus entered the Labyrinth voluntarily, and slew him in what was, by most accounts, a spectacular battle. A famous tale -- but what happened when they reunited in death needs to be told, as well."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

The Minotaur of Crete himself. An intelligent and powerful warrior in his own right, Asterius lingered in the shadows of the Underworld after death until his slayer, Theseus, took pity on him and gave him a place in the WarriorHeaven of Elysium. He's now become [[DefeatMeansFriendship close friends]] with the former king.

Asterius will face Zagreus at the halfway point through Elysium as an optional mid-boss. Whether defeated or circumvented, he also shows up at the end of Elysium as part of a double feature with Theseus.
----
* AnAxeToGrind: Wields a gigantic, two-handed axe.
* BashBrothers: He and Theseus are (after)life-long friends who take on Zagreus as a duo.
* TheBattleDidntCount: Downplayed. If faced alone as a mini-boss, Asterius will fight until Zagreus has depleted three-quarters of his health; when that happens, Asterius will yield the fight to Zagreus, stand down, and retreat. However, Asterius will subsequently be missing a quarter of his health at the start the DualBoss fight with Theseus, as he's yet to fully heal.
* BlingOfWar: Gains golden armor in his Extreme Measures form.
* BloodKnight: Enjoys combat for its own sake, which is one of the reasons why he keeps facing Zagreus alone.
* BullfightBoss: Both arenas you can face him in play on this expectation, giving you at least two breakable obstacles you could lead him into once he uses his charge attack. But unlike most examples, he can be pretty good at working his way ''around'' them to get to you anyway if you aren't careful.
* {{Combo}}: Asterius' most common attack pattern is a double axe swipe followed up by one to three jumping strikes. With Extreme Measures on, he gains the ability to combo from the jump attack back into the axe swipes almost immediately.
* TheComicallySerious: He's generally very serious and refuses to engage Zagreus in boasting or SnarkToSnarkCombat, though one of Zag's snarky comments eventually elicits an ActuallyPrettyFunny reaction from him.
* CoordinatedClothes: He and Theseus wear matching outfits, with the only difference being that Asterius keeps his right shoulder uncovered.
* DefeatMeansFriendship:
** He is on friendly terms with his former enemy Theseus, the only person to defeat him in life.
** After being defeated by Zagreus a few times, they develop a mutual respect for each other's battle skills.
* DisappearsIntoLight: If defeated, he fades into blue light.
* DualBoss: With Theseus at the end of Elysium.
* FiftiesHair: His mane is styled into a rockin' pompadour.
* FinalExamBoss: Most of the enemies in Elysium that Theseus doesn't have traits of, Asterius has traits of. His dashes and how to avoid them are reminiscent of how the Flame Wheels attack, his sudden leap forward to strike works like that of the Brightspears, and later in the fight, when he starts [[SwordBeam emitting projectiles with his axe strikes]], the projectiles work similar (and are even the same color) as the ones that Brightswords can use.
* FlunkyBoss:
** During Early Access, he would constantly summon Medusa heads during his mid-boss fight. This ended with the Styx update.
** Also during Early Access, defeating Theseus first during their DualBoss fight caused Asterius to continually spawn in Nemean Chariots to aid him.
* FriendlyEnemy: After [[GracefulLoser losing to Zagreus a number of times]] Asterius develops a respect for him and their pre-battle dialogue becomes rather cordial.
* GracefulLoser: Asterius always ends his one-on-one battles against Zagreus by acknowledging him as a WorthyOpponent or thanking him for yet another battle. Also, when defeated during the DualBoss fight with Theseus, Asterius will occasionally compliment Zagreus for his fighting skill.
* HeelFaceTurn: Was redeemed by Theseus in the afterlife and given purpose, for which he is eternally grateful.
* HeyYou: He quickly dubs Zagreus "short one". While Asterius seems to consider it a neutral nickname, Zagreus takes offense, especially since [[DoubleStandard he's no shorter than Theseus]].
* HornAttack: His signature attack is to charge Zagreus, which can only be avoided by forcing him to crash into the walls or pillars of his boss arena. With the golden armour upgrade, he gains a rocket booster that greatly improves his land speed.
* HypercompetentSidekick: A downplayed example, as he's much more aware of Zagreus's true character and nature than Theseus is but refuses to step aside nonetheless.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Asterius does not seem to understand that Zagreus is a bit sensitive about his "short one" moniker, given that he otherwise respectfully treats him as a WorthyOpponent, and he misinterprets Zagreus's words whenever he expresses offense at it.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: If fought alone, he'll admit defeat once his health bar is reduced to a quarter and simply leave. During the proper boss fight, his starting health will be reduced to only three-quarters full to reflect this.
* LiteralMinded: One of the reasons he doesn't realize Zagreus dislikes his "short one" nickname is because he thinks Zagreus is talking about ''physical'' jabs and low-blows when he complains about it.
* ALoadOfBull: The TropeCodifier himself, though much calmer and wiser in death than he was in life.
* MiniBoss: Of Elysium. Encountering him alone is usually optional (he's always in one of two rooms with a skull and a boon, the other containing the Giant Soulcatcher), but since he always shows up with Theseus he's not a SkippableBoss.
* MoralityPet: To Theseus, an intolerable blowhard who nonetheless rescued his old foe from Erebus and treats him like a brother.
* TheNicknamer: Always refers to Theseus as "king", and Zagreus as "short one".
* NotSoDifferent: Asterius provides Zagreus with the means to unlock [[spoiler:the Aspect of Gilgamesh]] and will wonder about the similarities of his own situation to [[spoiler:that of Enkidu]] if Zagreus brings the item to him.
* RealMenWearPink: Just look at that hot pink on his axeblades, horns, and the joints of his gauntlets. Are ''you'' going to tell the giant minotaur he can't wear pink? Didn't think so.
* SpinAttack: In his golden armor, one of his attacks is to spin his axe constantly with a huge area of effect. He'll stop after five seconds or so.
* TheStoic: Much in contrast to Theseus. His combat taunts are monosyllabic and nothing Zagreus says gets under his skin.
* SwordBeam: When Asterius loses half his health, he gains the ability to launch a trio of beams from his axe when performing his jump attack.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Theseus, for having redeemed him in death. Asterius now fights with his former slayer and current companion to the last.
* VerbalTic: He has a tendency to snort when he speaks. He ''is'' part bull, after all.
* WorthyOpponent: Will consider Zagreus this if repeatedly defeated on his own, to the point he claims he looks forward to their next rematch. Zagreus will eventually reciprocate, occasionally commenting that Asterius fought well if he defeats him as a mid-boss.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Cerberus]]
!!Cerberus
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadescerberus.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Hound of Hell''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Solo, Higgins, Regis & Marzipan (all dogs)

->''"...The fearsome multi-headed hound of hell is really not so bad as his deserved reputation otherwise would lead you to believe. Yes, the massive beast has feasted on no short supply of interlopers to the Underworld, or on those attempting to escape. However, tales of the number of his heads are oft exaggerated, and in his old age, his temperament has grown much more relaxed."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

The three-headed guardian of the Underworld, who patrols the banks of the Styx to prevent anyone outside from entering or anyone inside from leaving. Despite his fearsome reputation he's mellowed somewhat with age and has been recalled to the House of Hades, where he now serves more as a house pet than anything.
----
* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: He's a dog whose fur is bright red, and each of his heads has a green nose and a tongue with an orange-to-yellow gradient.
* AssistCharacter: [[spoiler:With Extreme Measures 4 active, in his second phase, Hades can summon Cerberus the same way Zagreus can summon his friends through the Chthonic Companions, shocking him the first time he does it. Cerberus runs through the gates of the Temple of Styx, trampling everything in his path, while also raining meteors behind him and howling.]]
-->'''Hades''': [[spoiler:Now, Cerberus!!]]\\
'''Zagreus''': [[spoiler:[[BigWhat What?!]]]]
* BigFriendlyDog: Cerberus loves Zagreus to the point of having destroyed the lounge when he left on his first attempt to leave the underworld, and is loyal to Hades as well; it's even speculated in the game's Codex that Cerberus is the 'sole source of comfort' for Hades. A portrait of Cerberus that you can buy for the West Wing shows that he even played with Zagreus, Thanatos and Megaera when they were very young. The "Big Bad" patch unlocked the ability for Zagreus to pet Cerberus.
* CanisMajor: A very large three-headed hound who has one of the largest sprites in the game.
* CutenessProximity: Anytime Zagreus returns to the House of Hades, he has the option of petting Cerberus' head all while affectionately cooing at the dog.
* DeathbringerTheAdorable: The narrator always describes Cerberus as a horrifying monster who lets no one pass into or out of the Underworld. The creature we see is huge but adorable.
* FoodAsBribe: To get past Cerberus, Zagreus needs to give him a disgusting sack filled with something putrid as an offering. Thankfully, Cerberus at least wanders off somewhere dark and secluded to eat it.
* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: He's supposed to be the guardian of the Underworld, who never lets a single soul pass. But Zagreus can bribe him time and again with some food in a Satyr sack, which Cerberus never fails to fall for.
* HellHound: His title, though he doesn't live up to it much as far as Hades's household are concerned.
* MoralityPet: To Hades. Outside of a few BenevolentBoss moments, Cerberus is about the only being he treats with care and respect.
* MultipleHeadCase: Whilst Cerberus can't talk, it's clear each head possesses its own personality or at least embodies certain moods more than the others; the center head is always laid out on the floor (or bedding), for instance, and ''only'' the left one ever receives pets (and even then, apparently only from Zagreus and maybe Hades).
-->'''Zagreus''': If I don't pet your other heads, don't bite my arm off, deal?
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: What little we know of Satyr Sacks is that their contents are disgusting, they ''probably'' include offal, and that Cerberus absolutely loves them to the point of temporarily neglecting his otherwise unbreakable duties. Even giant, hellish three-headed dogs enjoy eating the grossest thing available, it seems.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Zagreus, to the point that Hades knows it's pointless to try and use Cerberus to keep him from escaping. When Zagreus escaped the first time, Cerberus got so upset he wrecked Hades's lounge.
* TheUnfought:
** Invoked. [[spoiler: He guards the exit of the Temple of Styx, but Zagreus can't even bring himself to fight against him. Hell, should you strike him, there's going to be a shield that forms. Zagreus then tries to find a way to give the dog a treat in order to pass.]]
** Zigzagged on Extreme Measures. [[spoiler:If you empower Hades with Extreme Measures 4, he can summon Cerberus in the same manner as Zagreus can the Olympians. Cerberus won't attack Zagreus directly, but he will run across the arena, causing meteors to fall in his wake.]]
* VideoGameCaringPotential: A small bit from the "Big Bad" update specifically involves giving the option to pet Cerberus. You don't get any gameplay or story benefits for doing this (outside of needing to pet Cerberus 20 times to unlock the ability to max his affection gauge, which itself has no gameplay or story benefits), it's simply there so that Zagreus can show his love for the big guy.
* YouShallNotPass: Cerberus is duty-bound to keep anyone from entering or leaving the Underworld, and usually enforces this by ravenously devouring anything foolish enough to get near the Temple of Styx (when he's not sleeping by Hades' side). He is still a dog, though, and he loves Zagreus enough to make an exception, ''if'' he's given his snack of satyr offal.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Skelly]]
!!Skelly
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadesskelly.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Training Dummy''']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Darren Korb

->''"...The animated skeleton and I, we seldom get along. He is too talkative for me, and spouts such simple condescensions to all those in earshot, seemingly as though he were an expert in the ways of war. I disapprove of his reckless advice, and am uncertain as to who he was in life, to be so self-assured in death."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

A mysterious bloodless (a skeleton) who appears in Zagreus's weapon room. He aids Zagreus in learning the use of weaponry ([[TrainingDummy by letting the prince test them out on him]]) and claims to be hired by ''someone'' who wants to help the prince escape.
----
* AssistCharacter: [[spoiler:He gifts the Chthonic Companion Rib upon being "slain" and given an Ambrosia, which allows him to be summoned to briefly draw every enemy's aggression away from Zag. It even works on Hades.]]
* DemBones: Is a skeleton, although his sprite shows he has visible eyes and other details other bloodless do not.
* {{Expy}}: He has many similarities to Hanbei the Undying from ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'', including [[spoiler:a request to end his immortal life]].
* FanBoy: While not obnoxious about it, he's a fan of Thanatos, and he's quite pleased if Zagreus summons him when Than and Zag have a body count competition.
* FinalDeath: After being given enough Nectar, he gives Zagreus a humble request: to fully upgrade the Zagreus aspect of the Stygian Blade, and grant him one of these with it. [[spoiler:This is entirely a ruse to prank Zag.]]
* TheGadfly: He goes out of his way to prank Zagreus because he finds the other's somewhat naive reactions to be hilarious. [[spoiler: He pretended to want a FinalDeath just so he could shock Zagreus when he came back. Zagreus of course was less than amused and threatened to stop using Skelly as a practice dummy.]]
* {{Irony}}: During his introduction, Skelly states that if Zagreus wants to know who his employer is, Zagreus would have to beat it out of Skelly. [[spoiler:Zagreus gets him to spill the beans by doing the exact opposite: Zagreus threatens Skelly that he would no longer use Skelly as a TrainingDummy, thereby rendering Skelly's purpose null and void.]]
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Is a friendly version of the Bloodless enemy Zagreus encounters in Asphodel.
* MysteriousEmployer: Whoever hired him, Skelly is tight-lipped about their identity. [[spoiler:It's Charon.]]
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: "Skelly" isn't their real name and, [[{{Troll}} as expected of his character]], he makes a big joke out of hinting what it is. [[spoiler:Dialogue with Asterius hints that the story about being a Cretean naval commander named Schelemeus may not have been ''entirely'' false.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When Zagreus comes upon Skelly looking sullen, his former cheery attitude is gone as he seriously and calmly asks for a favor from Zagreus. He wishes to finally be free and ultimately die, which Zagreus can grant once he powers up his sword to the max. Zagreus can end up fulfilling Skelly's wish [[spoiler: only for the skeleton to come back and laugh that Zagreus actually fell for that prank.]]
* OurFounder: [[spoiler:Upon clearing an 8, 16, or 32-Heat Pact of Punishment run, Skelly unveils a glorious statue...of himself.]]
* PullingThemselvesTogether: You can kill him as much as you like; he always comes back.
* TrainingDummy: His main purpose. Due to being a dead soul in Hades, he can immediately come back from any blow that Zagreus practices on him.
* {{Troll}}: [[spoiler:He fakes being able to undergo a FinalDeath in order to prank Zag.]]
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Speaks with an overblown accent that can at best be called "north-eastern US-ish".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Persephone '''(Unmarked Spoilers!)''']]
!!Persephone
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/persephone_portrait.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Goddess of Verdure''']]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/persephone_queen_min_7.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:'''Queen of the Underworld''']]

-->'''Voiced by:''' Kelly Moore (Pre-1.0), Laila Berzins (Post-1.0)

->''"...In the Underworld, as on the surface, certain topics are never to be discussed, especially in decent company. Well, this is not a discussion, and the company I keep is rather limited. So, let us consider the Queen of the Underworld; who she was, what happened to her, and why nobody seems to know the answer to either of those questions."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

Daughter of Demeter, former wife of Hades and Zagreus's birth mother, though he has never met her. Persephone left her queendom in the Underworld for good shortly after Zagreus's birth and vanished entirely. When Zagreus learns of her existence, and Hades refuses to acknowledge her existence, this proves his final impetus for him to run away to try and meet her.

----
* AdaptationalSpeciesChange: In mythology she was a full goddess, being the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. In this game she's SemiDivine, since her father was a mortal farmer instead.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: One would think this of the willing wife of Hades, but it's actually [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]; Persephone couldn't stand the Olympians' constant bickering, lying, and backstabbing, and the reason she ultimately fell for Hades was because of his honest--if somewhat blunt--nature.
* AnimeHair: Like mother, like son.
* ArrangedMarriage: Zeus kidnapped her without Demeter's knowledge and dropped her off in the Underworld as a sort of housewarming gift for Hades. Neither Hades nor Persephone were particularly pleased by this development, but they did eventually get along well enough to have Zagreus before his TragicStillbirth drove her away.
* BenevolentBoss: Once she returns to the Underworld, she can often be seen chatting with the other members of the House and praising their work.
* ButNowIMustGo: After making peace with the Olympians, she explains to Zagreus that she will need to spend at least some time with their side of the family in order to keep that peace. With this in mind she departs for the surface again, but she promises to return in due time.
* CaringGardener: She was well liked by everyone who knew her, and she's heavily associated with gardening; she hides out in a cottage with a huge, lush garden, and her portrait has her carrying plants and a basket of fruits and vegetables. Considering how her parents are the goddess of the seasons and a mortal farmer, and her title is "Goddess of Verdure", it only seems fitting. After she returns to the Underworld, she even reopens her old garden and can sometimes be found there.
* ConsummateLiar: How she convinces the Olympians to let things slide after Zagreus invites them all to a feast. She tells them things that are all technically true -- she fell in love with Hades, they had a child together, and that Persephone wants to stay in the Underworld. Persephone just leaves out or changes the context behind all of those events so that the Olympians don't bring down their wrath on Hades.
* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: Zagreus's main impetus for leaving is to find out exactly ''what'' that reason was and why she didn't even attempt to bring him with her when she left. As it turns out, she fled of a broken heart after Zagreus was stillborn, having apparently never been told for years that Nyx had managed to revive him. By the time Zagreus manages to temporarily reunited with her, she is no longer able to enter the Underworld out of fear that she will gain Olympus's notice and with that the gods' wrath while Zagreus is unable to stay in the world of the living for much time. After Zagreus visits her enough times, she decides to take the risk and travels back to the Underworld to reconcile with Hades.
* DoNotCallMePaul: Repeated interactions with Demeter and Hades reveal that she was first named Kore (κόρη), a name which she now reviles as it [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/κόρη#Noun can mean]] "girl, young woman, maiden", and "doll, puppet", among other things; she prefers the name that her mortal father gave her. She compares it to Zagreus hypothetically being called "Zaggie-poo" by his parents, which Zagreus instantly agrees would be revolting.
* ElementalEyeColors: Green eyes, fitting her status as the goddess of vegetation.
* EvilCostumeSwitch: {{Subverted|Trope}}. After coming back to the Underworld, Persephone changes her light-colored robes for a stylish black dress and some death-themed decorations such as [[SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset skulls]], in order to fit her role as the Queen, but she's still the same sweet and caring person she always has been.
* TheExile: Persephone has apparently left the world of the Gods entirely, being neither in Olympus or in the Underworld, and none of the Olympians seem aware she's gone in the first place (nor that Zagreus is her child). Her exile is entirely of her own volition, though, and she wasn't forced into her situation by anyone else.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: After she returns to the underworld, she wears her hair up in a PrimAndProperBun to fit her station as Queen of the Underworld, as opposed to the more casual MotherlySidePlait she had beforehand. This shows how she's decided to stop running from her family's problems and start trying to improve her relationships with them.
* FamilyEyeResemblance: Zagreus has (one of) her eyes.
* FlowersOfNature: She wears two sprigs of lavender in her hair, fitting with her role as a goddess of vegetation.
* FishOutOfWater: While she didn't ''hate'' it in the Underworld and notes she was treated well, she also never felt she belonged there. Zagreus's stillbirth served as the ultimate proof of this for her, so she left.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Is blonde, and everyone describes her as a NiceGirl, which turns out to be true. The only time she shows genuine rage is when Zagreus introduces himself, not knowing that he was resurrected from a stillbirth, and thus she thinks he's dead and is understandably pissed off at the "impostor". Once she realizes the truth, she warms up to Zagreus immediately.
* HaveYouSeenMyGod: She's the goddess of verdure, and she's gone...''somewhere''. The Olympians and most of the chthonic gods don't know where she is -- and the ones who do know aren't telling. In retaliation for her disappearance Demeter has inflicted an EndlessWinter on the surface world, and Zagreus's goal is to find her.
* HistoricalInJoke: In the some of the original myths, Persephone is forced to live part-time in the Underworld, a month for every pomegranate seed she ate in the Underworld (thus explaining winter). In the epilogue, it's an excuse to Demeter about why Persephone can't live with her full-time. Persephone even mentions later she doesn't think anyone really bought it.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Hades stands at least three heads taller than her, and both are HappilyMarried.
* ItsAllMyFault: When she realizes who Zagreus is and why the Olympians are assisting him, she feels it's all her fault, but Zagreus immediately dismisses this blame and says none of this was her fault if she never knew he didn't die.
* IWillWaitForYou: Once Zagreus makes it to the surface, she tells him she will always be there to greet him. This later changes when she decides to return to the Underworld after Zagerus convinces her.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: If you know your Greek mythology, you should know that Persephone eventually returns to the underworld.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: She fled the Underworld in grief after Zagreus was initially stillborn. Just as Zagreus was never told that she was his real mother, she was never told of his survival.
* MoralityPet: To both Zagreus and Hades. It's best displayed in the ending, where she returns to the Underworld and helps her son and husband reconcile.
* MotherlySidePlait: She wears her hair in this fashion while in Greece, cementing her role as Zagreus' birth mother as well as her caring nature.
* MysteriousParent: Everything regarding Persephone is kept under tight wraps up until Zagreus makes his first successful escape, and finding out what happened to her is the driving force of the story.
* ParentalAbandonment: Of Zagreus, leaving him to be raised by Nyx. This wasn't intentional on her part, as Zagreus had been stillborn and she left in grief because she believed he was dead, not knowing that Nyx later brought him back to life.
* ParentsAsPeople: While she's a much more caring parent towards Zagreus than [[AbusiveParents Hades]], she still isn't without her faults. While she did have her reasons for leaving her husband and son (namely that Zagreus was stillborn and she had no idea he was brought back to life until Zagreus first meets her), she's reluctant to return to the Underworld despite how much Zagreus wants her to come back. It takes Zagreus some time to convince her that she shouldn't keep running away from their family's problems.
* RelatedInTheAdaptation: Like with her mother Demeter, this is inverted. Due to Demeter no longer being as closely related to the other Olympian gods, and Persephone's father being a mortal farmer instead of Zeus, she's no longer Hades' niece like she was in mythology.
* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: The reason she left. Zagreus was stillborn, and by the time Nyx could imbue Zag with new life (apparently a ''lengthy'' process), a devastated Persephone was gone. Hades never revealed the truth, because the Fates made a prophecy that he would never have a living heir.
* ScrewThisImOutOfHere:
** She married Hades to get away from her bickering and vengeful relatives on Olympus and has no intention of going back there. It turns out she didn't leave by her own free will--but she isn't objecting, given how it was ''Zeus'' who sent her off to marry a stranger (and she found Hades somewhat attractive to begin with, from the sounds of things).
** She would later do this again even after marrying Hades. While she'd felt like she was out of place in the Underworld for a while, Zagreus' TragicStillbirth was too much for her to bear, being the final straw that made her leave the Underworld and go into hiding on the surface.
* SemiDivine: She's half-mortal, being the result of a DivineDate between her mother Demeter and a mortal farmer.
* ShesBack: After Zagreus speaks with her ten times, Persephone will decide to return to the Underworld with him and reclaiming her role as Queen of the Underworld. She'll also help Hades make amends with his son.
* SignificantWardrobeShift: In her role as the Goddess of Verdure, she has a simple outfit of white and green in rough fabrics with her hair loosely bound into a rough sort-of ponytail; when she returns to become Queen of the Underworld, she swaps it for finer fabrics in black with white, red, and gold trim, with a lot of skulls and gems, her hair all done up, and an elaborate choker.
* SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: Like her husband and son, she wears a number of skull-themed ornaments after she changes her outfit to fit her role of Queen of the Underworld.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: She and Zagreus do bear a fairly strong resemblance to one another, especially in their [[AnimeHair hairstyle]].
* UnPerson: Hades has forbidden her name from being spoken in the House of Hades and as such information about her is very rare.
* WalkingSpoiler: Most of the game's spoilers have to do with her. Finding her is the real reason why Zagreus keeps trying to break out of the Underworld, and the reason why she left her husband and son behind is a spoiler as well.
* YouAreWorthHell: Zagreus willingly goes through the same trial of escaping the underworld again and again just to be with his mother, and even then he only gets to spend a brief time with her with each attempt. Eventually his stubbornness persuades her that she can't run from the family's problems and that they need to fix things sooner rather than later.
[[/folder]]

! Non-Codex Characters

[[folder:The Narrator]]
!!The Narrator
->'''Our Narrator'''
-->'''Voiced by:''' Logan Cunningham

A disembodied voice that narrates the Prince's (mis)adventures and some of the sights Zagreus sees on his attempts to escape. Zagreus is able to hear his voice.
----
* ButHeSoundsHandsome: The Narrator's true identity is hinted at when he gives a flattering description of a bust of [[spoiler:Homer]].
* DeadpanSnarker: The Narrator excells at finding every opportunity possible to throw shade at Zagreus in the middle of his otherwise serious descriptions.
* InteractiveNarrator: Zagreus can hear him and the Narrator occasionally responds to his snarking.
* LemonyNarrator: Some of his narration can get pretty odd on its own. During the beta (when Zagreus couldn't advance beyond the last-built stage), the Narrator would repeatedly make up transparent excuses for how Zagreus subsequently died and went back to the House of Hades, including tripping on a rock and dying or accidentally stumbling into the River Styx. [[spoiler:These excuses are still present in the full version, and are used after Persephone returns.]]
* NarrativeBackpedaling: During Early Access, the first time [[spoiler:Zagreus defeated Hades]] (and thus reached the then-unreleased content), the narrator would admit that he can't go any further with the story and insist that the player should "pretend for now that [[spoiler:Lord Hades [[CurbStompBattle absolutely clobbered him]]"]], before sending Zagreus right back to the House of Hades as if he were killed.
* NoNameGiven: His real name is unknown, and he's only known as the Narrator. His [[ButHeSoundsHandsome flattering description]] of a bust of [[spoiler:Homer]] may be a hint towards his true identity.
* OpenMouthInsertFoot: When he accidentally [[spoiler:spoils Zagreus's parentage]], the Narrator immediately tries to disown the sentence.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: The LemonyNarrator ended up unintentionally being the instigator behind the plot unfolding after [[spoiler: accidentally letting it slip that Nyx isn't Zagreus' biological mother.]]
* VerbalBackpedaling: After accidentally revealing that [[spoiler:Nyx is not Zagreus's mother, Persephone is]] through his narration, the narrator quickly offers up a poor replacement paragraph that mentions Zagreus ''totally'' discovered that on his own.
* TheVoice: A raspy old man's voice that provides dramatic descriptions for the various locations Zagreus proceeds through.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Titans]]
!!The Titans

As per Myth/ClassicalMythology, the titans were the parents of the gods, whose tyrannical rule they overthrew to make the modern world.
----
* AbusiveParents: Hades and Demeter mention that Hyperion was anything but a good father. Kronos was also hinted to not be the best parent to his children, [[MonstrousCannibalism which canonically is an understatement.]]
* AbusivePrecursors: Once ruled "all between heaven and earth", and not kindly.
-->'''Hades:''' ''...And, The Titans? [[FantasyForbiddingFather You think me cruel,]] yet know nothing of cruelty.''
* AndIMustScream: As not-so-delicately put by Zagreus:
-->'''Zagreus:''' ''And [[SelfMadeOrphan you succeeded.]] Chopped up some of them to many tiny bits, and sprinkled them throughout the pits of Tartarus, so that they can't regenerate! Or so I hear. Inspiring, really!''
* CompleteImmortality: Even bloodily grinding them into ichor was not enough to kill them. The Titan Blood you find is ''still pulsing.''
* TheGhost: They were defeated some time ago and banished to Tartarus. That said, Zagreus never encounters any of them despite Tartarus being the very first step of his journey. Conversations with other characters talks about how they were chopped to bits and scattered throughout Tartarus so they couldn't regenerate.
* TheOldGods: Predated the Olympian and chthonic gods, and were overthrown by them.
* ThePowerOfBlood: Their ichor is needed to infuse the Infernal Arms with more power, as their blood reawakens [[HungryWeapon the weapon's primal lust for titan blood.]]
* RetGone: The codex entry for the Twin Fists of Malphon notes that Demeter didn't just kill her father, but punched him out of history.
-->''The Titan Hyperion suffered the worst of it, his undying body pulverized to such an extent that even his legacy was destroyed. I can only imagine that was not the first such legacy brought to ruin.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Lernean Bone Hydra]]
!!Lernie the Bone Hydra

->''"...Stripped of the flesh the hero Herakles sliced through and cauterized, the Hydra now resides within the Underworld, stewing in the scintillating tumult of the fire-river called the Phlegethon. It mercilessly watches over passage toward Elysium, devouring those shades who would dare seek the comforts of that hallowed place."''
-->'''--Codex Entry'''

The hydra slain by Heracles, still existing in the Underworld as a bone version of itself. It is the boss of Asphodel.
----
* AffectionateNickname: PlayedForLaughs. Meet it enough times and Zagreus will ask if he can call it "Lernie," and takes its angry hissing as a yes. Even its health bar starts displaying its name as "Lernie the Bone Hydra", and the banner displayed upon defeating it changes to "Lernie Vanquished" too.
* AnimationBump: Like the rest of Supergiant's games, the isometric perspective means the the models aren't seen up close[[note]]Where they [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYJ6d1ifSqA look stunning by the way.]][[/note]]. Lernie's main head though is a huge face right in the player's view and gets noticeably smoother animations because of it.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Both Lernie and the heads it summon can be one of five types, with differing coloration and features depending on what ability each of them has.
** Yellow: Fires homing shots.
** Blue: Its slam attack is enhanced by falling debris. The main head can also summon Skull-Crushers that die on impact.
** Purple: Shoot damaging waves in a spread.
** Green: Spits out bone shards that hatch into tiny Boneless if not destroyed. The main head instead hatches the more agressive Blood-Rakers.
** Orange: Spits out lava balls that create hot spots.
* FlunkyBoss: Every time it loses a third of its health, it will become invulnerable and summon a number of other heads, each a random type. The green variant of Lernie and the backup heads will spit out bone pieces that turn into [[DemBones Bloodless]] or Bone-Rakers if not destroyed quickly enough. The blue version of Lernie can summon Skull-Crushers that die on impact but still release damaging waves.
* FlyingFace: The enhanced version, once reduced to one-third health, breaks free of its spine and chases you around the arena. Worse still, it'll do this at the same time it spawns more heads, so it'll be invulnerable until you get rid of them.
* HydraProblem: Given a nod, but overall downplayed. Every time Zagreus cuts down a third of its health, more heads appear to back up the main head, with each subsequent third cut down spawning more heads than the last. However, Zagreus can just keep on cutting and eventually it'll be enough.
* InvulnerableAttack: Played with. Every time Zagreus cuts down a third of the Hydra's health (downgraded from a quarter), it spawns additional heads to back it up, and as long as at least one other head is alive (so to speak), the main head is completely invincible.
* OurHydrasAreDifferent: The Lernean Hydra shows up as the boss of the Asphodel Meadows, having been killed by Heracles and existing [[DemBones as a skeleton]] in the afterlife. It grows additional heads to attack Zagreus [[TurnsRed whenever a third of its health is depleted]], forcing Zagreus to decapitate the additional heads before he can resume attacking the main head.
* UseYourHead: All of the heads can do a slam attack in which they drop onto the ground, creating a shockwave. The main head, in its final form, does this three times in a row.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Helpful Shade]]
[[quoteright:106:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadesredshade.png]]
Zagreus's lone fan in the Elysium arena.
----
* AscendedExtra: Originally little but a graphical EasterEgg, as of the ''Long Winter'' update, Zagreus will hail the Shade if you get close.
* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: It's the only red-coloured Shade in the arena.
* TheRuntAtTheEnd: Being the smallest shade in the arena and also differently coloured from its peers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Daedalus]]
A master artisan who, upon his death, was hand-selected by Hades to design the House of Hades and the various rooms of Tartarus in exchange for a place in Elysium. Every time one of his tasks are finished he discards his current tools, which Zagreus may find to alter their Infernal Arms for the duration of a run.
----
* EquipmentUpgrade: The Hammers of Daedalus do this to your weapon for the rest of the run, offering a choice of up to three randomly-selected enhancements. You can also ''rarely'' find the Anvil(s) of Fates, which exchange one weapon upgrade for two others; these are the only way to get three weapon upgrades, as you can only normally ever find two Hammers in a single run.
* TheGhost: Achilles mentions he is constantly made busy by Hades expanding upon the Underworld, explaining why he's never seen in-game and why his hammers keep showing up everywhere.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Aspects]]
Past, or future, wielders of the various Infernal Arms that Zagreus can wield. Although never seen, Zagreus can tap into their power to alter the weapon's capabilities. Aside from Zagreus himself and some previously-covered deities that fought the Titans with them, these wielders include Hestia, Eris, Chiron, Hera, Nemesis, [[Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms Guan Yu]], Myth/KingArthur, [[Literature/{{Beowulf}} Beowulf]], [[Literature/{{Ramayana}} Rama]], [[Main/{{Satan}} Lucifer]], and [[Literature/TheEpicofGilgamesh Gilgamesh]].
----
* AbsurdlySharpClaws: The Aspect of Gilgamesh turns Malphon into the claws of Enkidu, Gilgamesh's beastman friend.
* AllMythsAreTrue: The Hidden Aspects all belong to different figures from other cultures, religons and mythologies, all of them from time periods far before or after the age of Myth/ClassicalMythology the game takes place in. Naturally, this implies that all of these religions and mythologies exist in this universe as well.
* {{BFS}}: The Aspect of Arthur turns Stygius into the legendary Excalibur, a powerful broadsword that does massive sweeping attacks.
* BloodKnight: All the Infernal Arms are thirsty for a good fight, and they shudder with excitement whenever Zagreus obtains Titan blood.
* ChargedAttack:
** The Aspect of Hera allows you to load your Casts into your bow.
** The Aspect of Beowulf allows you to do the same for your Shield.
** Reloading manually on Exagryph's Aspect of Hestia empowers the next shot.
* EnergyWeapon: The Aspect of Lucifer turns Exagryph in a laser gun which steadily ramps up the damage dealt.
* TheGhost: The Cthonic and Olympian gods mentioned in the aspects are otherwise unseen in the game.
* GlassCannon:
** The Aspect of Guan Yu replaces your ChargedAttack with a ranged attack that has LifeDrain properties, but also halves your max health and the amount you'll get from health boosts.
** The Aspect of Gilgamesh does far more damage than the standard fists, but makes you take 10% more damage while it is equipped. The Maim effect on its Dash-Upper increases the damage the affected enemy both takes ''and'' deals before inflicting a Doom-like burst of damage upon expiring.
* HistoryRepeats:
** If the Aspect of Lucifer for the Rail is equipped, various characters note that it's user wielded it against the one they saw as their father.
** The Aspect of Gilgamesh is revealed to Asterius in a dream, which he later tells Zagreus about so he can unlock it. It's fitting that Asterius would know about it, since Gilgamesh [[DefeatMeansFriendship defeated and befriended]] the beast-man Enkidu, much like how Theseus would kill and later befriend Asterius himself.
* HungryWeapon: They still remember the taste of Titan blood; occasionally when collecting it Zagreus will comment that his equipped weapon just shuddered. Using it on them in the game is what allows them to unlock their aspects and upgrade their abilities.
* MightyGlacier: The Aspect of Arthur is the slowest weapon in the game, with no ranged potential outside of casts or certain upgrades, but it hits like a truck and you start with 50 extra health.
* NoodleIncident: The aspect of Eris mentions that she once made off with the Adamant Rail.
* {{Roboteching}}: The Aspect of Chiron for the bow has all arrows shot from your Special automatically home on to the last enemy you shot with your regular attack.
* {{Synchronization}}: Weaponized by Coronacht's Aspect of Rama, whose special inflicts the Shared Suffering status on a target and some neighbors. Those marked this way will take 30% of the damage any other takes for 7 seconds which, because its base attack is a piercing wave, makes it a damage multiplier that shaves off health if they're clustered together.
* TriggerPhrase: The hidden aspects that reference non-Greek figures can't be unlocked until certain conditions prompt characters to pass on an ominous phrase to Zagreus to say to them. This phrase when spoken to them, done by checking their aspects after selecting them, will unlock the hidden aspects.
* YouWillNotEvadeMe: The Aspect of Talos for the Fists lets you drag foes to you with your Special.
[[/folder]]

* FriendVersusLove: Zagreus runs into an interesting case of this with Sisyphus if he [[spoiler: enters into a relationship with Megaera and Thanatos. The latter two Sisyphus with a passion, and Sisyphus for his own case is deeply disturbed at how Zagreus could be in a relationship with either of them.]]