WMG / Hades

Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

The Narrator is in fact Lachesis, one of the three Fates.

Not likely since all of the Fates are female and the narrator is explicitly male.

Thanatos smells like dead people.

Which is 80% of the reason mortals aren’t fond of him.

Theseus gave Asterius what counted as technically a proper burial.

It’s why Asterius is in the underworld in the first place.

Pink is used by Asterius to soften his image.

Not with “feminine” connotations, but “boyish” ones.

In-Universe, Callisto and Zeus’ affair was consensual and Artemis knew of it all along.

Artemis actually approved of the union because of her own Asexuality. Zeus shapeshifted into Artemis on Callisto’s request and the story of it got warped along the way.

• Artemis thinks the part where Zeus shapeshifted into her is a lie, though.

Ares counts wins or losses by the number of people killed/mutilated/aggressed-in-some-way in each faction

He wouldn’t even consider cold wars actual wars.

Asterius is the one secretly pining one-sidedly for Theseus.

He’s long since made peace with it.

The Fates made Hypnos' comfy cape-blanket.

They gave it to him an act of sisterly affection.

Hypnos will generate Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos by himself.

Pasithea will marry Hypnos specifically because she grew fond of the three godlings, and Morpheus will be Hypnos' favorite and he will be smothered with affection by his dad so much that he'll prefer the company of his uncle Thanatos, or even Zagreus'.

Zagreus is Dionysus.

A rather straightforward theory given real-world mythology. Zagreus and Dionysus have been established as the same individual for many real-world myths, with Dionysus often being portrayed as the son of Hades and Persephone. In turn, Dionysus also frequently is associated with the same concepts of death and rebirth that are so critical to Zagreus in this game. The conspicuous lack of Dionysus elsewhere means Zagreus could take the name for himself... And pick up a wine cult in the process.

• Jossed: Dionysus is another god whom you can meet and get boons from. Though the connection is referenced in the game; for his own amusement, Zagreus lies about it among other things to Orpheus, inadvertently kickstarting orphism.

Zagreus (somehow) killed Persephone before the story begins.

The game seems to be setting things up that there is some reason for why Zagreus CAN'T leave the underworld, with Hades hinting that his attempts to keep Zagreus from escaping are more than just Zagreus belonging in the underworld with his family. On top of this, Persephone has apparently gone missing; she isn't in the underworld, but nobody above knows where she is either (Demeter is apparently keeping the world in perpetual winter until Persephone shows up in fact). And then there is the fact that Tisiphone can only call Zagreus a murderer, something that is taken as just an odd quirk of hers. But perhaps Zagreus somehow accidentally killed his mother and had his memories of the act removed, and Hades wants him to give up his quest so he won't have to confront what he's done. Zagreus's domain has been hinted to be of blood and life, so perhaps he lost control of his power somehow and caused her death. The only big strike against this theory is that upon defeating him for the first time, Hades tells Zagreus to tell Persephone that Cerberus is doing okay, but perhaps he means to say it to Persephone's grave or something.

• Jossed. She's alive and well.

Hades is not the Final Boss.

A staple tradition of Roguelikes is unlocking more and more content for later runs, and with it, more and more boss fights. While it seems that the end boss of the current version is Hades, it is quite possible that he's just a step before the True Final Boss.

• If that is true, the True Final Boss will be Persephone or her mother, Demeter.
• Jossed. Hades is the final boss.

The game takes place in modern times.

Currently, the world outside of the Underworld has yet to be seen; it's possible that, despite the main characters originating in Greek Myth, the world beyond has developed past their time. The only direct references to the state of mortals is when the Olympian gods discuss the (surprisingly advanced for ancient times) Exagryph, or in the possible, comical Diabolus ex Machina of the game's current state of development, which mention things like rakes and banana peels (the latter of which originates from a strain of the fruit not cultivated until the 1800's).

• Jossed: The "Long Winter" update introduces the Guan Yu aspect for the spear, but states it's attuned to a future wielder, which means that this game's story at least predates the Three Kingdoms era of China (lasting from roughly 169 to 280 AD).

Persephone isn't in the surface either.

It's snowing.

• Sort of confirmed: The "Long Winter" update heavily implies that wherever Persephone is, Demeter doesn't know about it and is keeping the mortal world in an Endless Winter because she thinks Persephoine is just still trapped in the underworld.
• Jossed: she lives on the surface, not far from the Styx Temple - above the notice of Underworld, beneath the notice of Olympus, informing neither of her whereabouts.

Potential identities of Skelly's Mysterious Backer:

• Persephone, to keep tabs on Zagreus and make sure he's well.
• The Narrator, since Zag needs to know how to fight for the story to not hit a dead-end.
• Eris, purely for the discord caused by hell literally being torn asunder by a family dispute.
• Hades himself. There is a very convoluted plot going on.
• Hermes and Charon. They are up to something secret.
  • It's confirmed to be Charon.

Odysseus is already in the game

Odysseus is one of the most famous Greek heroes out there, yet is conspicuous in his absence. However, he was known as a master of disguise, even fooling his own family. He may well be in the game as another character.

• Bouldy? Apparently, there was a mythological tradition where Odysseus was related to Sisyphus, but this is much too silly.
• Red Shade? It would be the equivalent of hiding as a beggar... so could he be one of them?
• Skelly? Nah, that's... Wait a minute... Achilles in the codex admits that he doesn't like him very much, and notes that he is "seemingly as though he were an expert in the ways of war" and is "so self-assured in death". Skelly does like screwing around with Zagreus - which wouldn't be that put of place for the man who boasted in front of the Cyclopes and disguised himself for mo good reason in front of his own father. And honestly, if someone was trying to help Zag, why not hire the trickiest Greek hero of all?
• Probably unrelated, but the Narrator is implied to be Homer and confirmed as such in the second game.
• Jossed; Odysseus appears in the second game.

The Adamant Rail will be important to the ending

Fairly soon (from the perspective of gods anyway) after Zagreus escapes, the Adamant Rail will become the model for the first firearms much like the other weapons inspired their respective mortal counterparts. The fates are only conspiring to free Zagreus as a means of finally introducing the Adamant Rail to humanity.

• Jossed: you can bring it to surface, but that's it, nothing related to the main plot.

Possible DLC expansions

First, something to do with the Titans. Maybe they broke out and Zagreus has to beat them to the surface before they screw everything up. The second will have Zagreus explore Olympus for the first time.

• Jossed: the development after release is in support-only mode, with no mention of any expansion.

In a future expansion, it will turn out that Nyx will be a Greater-Scope Villain

While this is very unlikely, the idea of Nyx going out of her way to help Zagreus feels suspicious to me. Sure, it could be her just being nice, but she does practically everything to ensure that not only Zagreus remains alive, but that he completes his mission. Perhaps she has something to gain from the Chthonic gods and the Olympians going to war with each other?

• Jossed: Him meeting Persephone in the end puts the whole debacle to rest and reunites the extended family. Also, no mention of expansions.
  • Also, part of Nyx's motive is to prevent a war from happening.

Chaos was also the creator deity of other pantheons

The game says that everything was born from Chaos, including Nyx and her siblings. The same game also reveals that All Myths Are True according to certain weapon aspects. At least Egyptian and Norse mythology have beings that originated from nothing or were self-created beings ((Amun)Ra and Ymir). It's likely that these other gods were also born from Chaos.

Hades really will never have a living heir. Just not for the reason anyone thinks.

The Fates' prophecy that Hades would never have a living heir is the reason why Hades and Nyx assume that Zagreus was never supposed to be born, and that his stillbirth was the fulfillment of that prophecy. Assuming that, like in all Greek myths, fate can not be defied, and that the actions of those involved in a prophecy only ensure that the prophecy comes true, we can reason that Hades and Nyx's interpretation of the prophecy was false.

Another interpretation that isn't considered in game, however, is that there will never need to be an heir once Hades steps down. Achilles theorizes both in his codex and in-game that Zagreus is the god of blood and life. He is mostly right. Zagreus is also described by Greek mythology as being the god of rebirth.

In Greek mythology, the dead who do not have an Obol to give Charon will not be ferried to the underworld. Instead, those souls are either doomed to wander the banks of the river Styx or have to take a chance and try to swim their way down river. In game, this is symbolized by the hundreds of outstretched hands from the river Styx throughout the Underworld.

Zagreus is only just recently beginning to accept himself as a god in game, and has not had the time or moral support needed to really explore his dominion of blood and life. With the game's true ending, we can assume that he will eventually find out about his true powers and purpose as a god and create what will later be known as the cycle of reincarnation, not only saving the souls trapped in the river Styx, but making it so that there is no need for an Underworld, aside from being a place where souls pass through before they are reborn.

Aphrodite doesn't disdain Hephaestus

She'll mention him after you give her nectar for the fourth time, complaining that he's never around to keep her company. One of the developers has a soft spot for Hephaestus, and has said that they like the version of their marriage where Aphrodite chose to marry him. If Aphrodite is still philandering behind his back in this retelling, it's because he never makes time for her and she needs affection in her life.

Dusa's lack of interest in getting into a relationship with Zagreus may partially have to do with her past

Provided Dusa has a similar backstory as the mythological Medusa, then something may have happened between her and Poseidon that soured her to relationships. Given that Poseidon is portrayed as a pretty okay guy here, it's probably unlikely that he assaulted her, so perhaps the two had a fling once that ended poorly.

Zagreus is the god of blood, but not just of life.

Life may be one of his domains, but he primarily presides over blood ties and blood bonds. Note how he reconciles his various family members, Nyx and her parent, Achilles and his lover/brother-in-arms, and Orpheus and his ex-wife. The credits song "In the Blood" is about relationships that we can't escape or run away from.

Hera figured out Zagreus' parentage, but Zeus made her keep it a secret.

In Greek Mythology, Hera is famously jealous, and knowing her, she probably would have been incredibly suspicious of Zeus sneaking out of Olympus with Persephone. She either followed or had someone else follow him and found out he was dropping her off at the Underworld. Upon doing further investigations (or confronting Zeus) and getting the truth, Zeus convinced/forced her to keep it a secret, and when Zag entered the picture, he prevented her from interfering on the off chance Demeter (or someone who'd tell her) would figure it out and go ballistic.

The Shade who is Zagreus' sole fan in Elysium is his mortal grandfather.

Like any good granddad, he's always ready to cheer on his grandkid.

• This troper thinks the red shade is Ariadne, only here to see Zagreus beat the tar out of the man who abandoned her and rightfully supporting him in this endeavor.
  • Assuming the game follows the mythology post Minotaur slaying, Ariadne is currently living the high life on Olympus as Dionysus’ immortal wife, making this theory unlikely.
  • There is some supporting evidence for this though. In the West Hall decorations you can buy a Portrait of an Exalted hero, which is Theseus. However you can replace this with the more expensive Portrait of a Cretan Princess i.e. Ariadne. And she is wearing a red hood. Presumably her marriage to Dionysus hasn't happened yet.

A future sequel would be about breaking INTO Tartarus.

Whether it's a mortal fueled by another pantheon's gods who can't die, he charges into Tartarus over and over to confront Hades until he finally gets his wish of properly dying, only to finally accept his immortality.

Charon is Urshanabi

That is, the ferryman of the river of the dead in Mesopotamian mythology, who was banished by Utnapishtim during the epic of Gilgamesh. He just resumed his duties under new management.

Points in favor of this are:

• The Underworld is repeatedly stated to predate Hades himself and that multiple deities had taken residence there long before him. Charon would simply be a resident of a much older underworld pantheon, which would explain how he isn't beholden to Hades in the same way other chthonic gods are.
• The Aspect of Gilgamesh indicates that the events of Mesopotamian mythology happened in this universe. Urshanabi famously features in this story, ferrying Gilgamesh to the land of the dead in his search for immortality, and then back to his kingdom in his return. This is mirrored in how he is the one to smuggle Persephone out and then back in the Underworld. Additionally, as he was banished for helping Gilgamesh in his travels, he wouldn't be a stranger to insubordination.

Persephone's mortal dad is actually Iasion, Demeter's mortal lover from myth

While the most famous version of the myth has him being killed by Zeus with thunder, one obscure version has him live to his old age as Demeter's consort, and Super Giant has shown isn't afraid to play around with the interpretation of myths, so this wouldn't be a radical change.

Time is different for mortals and gods.

Time is a mortal thing — the gods can attend their duties at the same time across the world, according to myths. Kronos, being the personification of time, was said to rule over time itself. The gods killed Kronos… But it barely matters in the Underworld anyway.
Is it a wonder that the game's time period is ambiguous at best? That a railgun can exist alongside broadswords and hours and chariots? Not really — it is the Underworld. Time is meaningless here. It just happens to be.

In a sequel, we will visit the other underworlds.

We will be introduced to the chthonic gods of other myths and religions, like Hel, Mictlantecuhtli, we'll meet Lucifer in person, Anubis or Osiris, and Yanluo Wang.

In the sequel, "Time cannot be stopped" will be the Arc Words.

Just as Zagreus constantly struggles to leave the underworld because there is no escape from his father's domain, Melinoë will continuously attempt to overcome Chronos the Titan of Time itself. "Time Cannot Be Stopped" will be repeated every time she is defeated.