Hades Main Character Index
Chthonic Gods (Zagreus | Hades) | Olympian Gods | Other Characters

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.

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Chthonic Gods in General

Animal Motifs:
- Dogs for both Hades and Zagreus. Aside from their close bond with Cerberus, both have the animal incorporated in their design; the shoulder pauldron of three dog skulls for Zagreus, while both the Helmet of Darkness and Gigaros both have a stylized dog face in them. Zagreus is very outgoing, eager to make friends left and right, determined, impulsive, reckless and can unintentionally overstep boundaries in his desire to help those he cares about (though he strives to make up for it). Hades for his part is dutiful, hardworking, equally as determined as his son, incredibly distanced to those he distrusts (read: his entire family on Olympus), but in his own way tries to protect his realm and its inhabitants. Oh, and he's still utterly devoted to Persephone.
- Butterflies for Thanatos, as indicated through his Keepsake.
- Bats for Megaera. Not only does she have a bat wing, but her Companion is also a bat.
Anthropomorphic Personification: Many of the chthonic gods in this game are similar to how they are usually depicted in Classical Mythology; they are the personifications and representatives of basic concepts such as night (Nyx), sleep (Hypnos), death (Thanatos), etc. Zagreus appears to be an exception because the story doesn't immediately tell what concept is he the god of… unless you buy Hades's theory that he's the personification of backtalk. Or later, Achilles' theory that Zagreus is the personification of blood and life.
Big, Screwed-Up Family: 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. It's telling something when all of the chthonic gods can help in the 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.
Celestial Bureaucracy: 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 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).
Cold Ham: While the Olympians are full-blown Large Hams, the chthonic gods tend to lean more towards this. This ranges from Nyx's constantly cool demeanor, even when you have crossed a line with her, to Thanatos's dramatic arrival, involving tinting the area in green light, the sound of bells and a catchphrase about the inescapability of death.
Dark Is Not Evil: While the chthonic gods are dark and intimidating, most are at worst neutral or nice individuals who hold unsavory domains because someone has to personify death or darkness.
Deadpan Snarker: While Zagreus and Hades reign supreme in that department, Thanatos, Megaera, and on occasion, even Hypnos, all have a dry wit to them as well.
Disappeared Dad: Most of them are children of Nyx, but their fathers are never mentioned. Possibly justified as it's not unheard of for gods, and Nyx in particular, to give birth without the aid of a partner in the original myths, and in this game Thanatos is explicitly stated to be fatherless in Achilles' codex (and by extension, his twin brother Hynos would be too).
The Dreaded: With the possible exception of Hypnos, all of them are feared to some degree, either by the shades below, the humans above, or both.
Immortality Promiscuity: Gods sleep around enough that Achilles can think of only one god (Hades) who's had just one romantic partner, and chthonic gods appear to consider Polyamory the norm. Megaera even lampshades it, attributing the mortal tendency towards monogamy to their short lives.
Polar Opposite Twins: You can tell that 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.
Resurrective Immortality: If any of them take lethal 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.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: The royal family as a whole qualifies. Hades as the Lord of the Underworld manages the entire realm and when forced to, will fight his own son as a last resort, Zagreus is a Determinator stopping at nothing to find his mother, as well as helping to improve the lives of those he cares about, and later on Persephone upon her return, supports her husband in the management of the Underworld.
Sibling Yin-Yang: Grim, responsible, Workaholic Thanatos is a stark contrast to both his lazy twin brother Hypnos and his impulsively reckless adoptive brother, Zagreus.
Undeathly Pallor: Save for the Hades Shaded Thanatos, all chthonic gods have pale, ashen skintones befitting their place in the Underworld. These range from Raven Hair, Ivory Skin (Zagreus, Nyx) to outright blue (the Furies).
The Weird Sisters: The Furies. Megaera is the one most commonly seen, and a Love Interest to Zagreus. However, 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.

Introduced in Hades

Character-Specific Pages

Nyx

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Jamie Landrum

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadesnyx.png

Night Incarnate

"...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.

Almighty Mom: Owing to the original myths, where even Zeus feared her, Nyx is implied to be one of the most powerful beings in the setting of the game, to the point where not even Hades will take direct measures against Nyx even though she is rather openly aiding Zagreus in his attempts to escape. As flippant as Zagreus can get, he rather quickly backs down the one time he actually does anger Nyx.
Anti-Smother Love Talk: She's Zagreus's strongest advocate against his father's controlling parenting, and Zag witnesses several arguments between him and her over it.
Benevolent Conspiracy: 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.
Berserk Button: Do not doubt her power, or ask too many questions about her daughters, the Fates.
Big Good: While never directly aiding Zagreus in his quest, it becomes apparent that she's been pulling the strings behind the scenes. She gifts Zagreus her mirror to further empower him for his escape attempts, instructs Thanatos to lend him a hand when he's available, and conspired with Charon and Hermes to smuggle Skelly into the training grounds.
Cannot Spit It Out: It's implied that Nyx knows even more than Hades about Persephone's disappearance and why she left, but is unable to tell Zagreus because of Hades's prohibitions and that she swore a binding oath. The most she can do is assist Zagreus in escaping so he can learn the truth for himself.
The Chessmaster: The true reason Nyx chose to aid Zagreus in making it outside the underworld to reunite with Persephone is because this was all part of her long con plan, aiming to bring an end to the feud between the Chthonic and Olympian Gods.
Cosmic Motifs: She has moons on her shoulders and a crown made of stars, fitting for the regal embodiment of Night itself.
Dark Is Not Evil: The embodiment of night and darkness, yet she's one of the kindest characters in the game.
Good Stepmother: She's been the most supportive parental figure to Zagreus while he grew up.
Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Has purple lipstick and her clothing is gold-and-purple. She's also the regal and dignified matriarch figure of the House.
Guilt-Ridden Accomplice: She was never comfortable lying to Zagreus about his true parentage, and her full support of Zagreus's escape from the Underworld is in part to atone for this.
I Am Not Your Father: She's not Zagreus's mother, although she and Hades pretended she was his whole life. His real birth mother is Persephone.
In the Hood: Shared a sprite with Charon until the "Nighty Night" update.
Jerkass to One: Despite being Dark Is Not Evil personified and rather warm to almost everyone who interacts with her, there are (downplayed) exceptions with Dusa and Hypnos.
- Nyx is quite cold towards Dusa if she had been building a bond with Zagreus. For starters, she frankly tells Dusa to stop interacting with him. When Zagreus confronts Nyx about this, she rather dismissively refers to Dusa as the gorgon head. She will later clarify that what actually caused her to dislike Dusa is that she ignored Nyx's warnings concerning her work effort, and thought their bond might only worsen things. Even later, she will admit that she was mistaken and acted with undue haste on the matter.
- Hypnos is rather blatantly The Unfavorite of all of Nyx's children, to the point where Nyx refuses to even talk to him or even allow him to address her as "mother" because it's her way of trying to get him to establish independence. Even after Hypnos' Character Development, a late game conversation between the two hasn't changed much as she spends the entirety of it trying to shoo Hypnos away.
Magic Mirror: Gives one to Zagreus, allowing him to use darkness to improve his stats between runs.
Mama Bear: Subdued, but it's stated that Nyx moved heaven and hell to save Zagreus (who wasn't even her birth son) from stillbirth, which apparently took several years and her going directly against the Fates, so she qualifies.
Mother of a Thousand Young: She is mother — or through Eris, grandmother — to most Anthropomorphic Personifications 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's own.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Zagreus confronts her over Dusa's firing, she gets noticeably angry, stating how Dusa's overexertion in her duties made her a liability and ordering Zagreus never to question her judgement again.
The Old Gods: Nyx is one of the Protogenoi, predating even the Titans.
Parental Favoritism: Nyx is a very attentive mother… to some of her children. There are many others she's no longer even on speaking terms with and that Zagreus has never even heard of, as they were born and raised during a dark spot in her life she wishes to forget.
Nyx: A mother has her victories, and her defeats.
Parental Substitute: 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.
Parents as People: While courteous and loving to Zagreus, she favors Thanatos and wishes Hypnos would focus more, and is cold to Dusa at times, with an instance where Dusa is fired provoking the only time Zagreus is truly angry at her. Nyx later relents once progress is made, though she's still embarrassed by Hypnos to some degree.
Passing the Torch: 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.
Platonic Co-Parenting: 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.
Power Floats: Much like her sons, Hypnos and Thanatos, Nyx floats in mid-air and has a star-studded gown in place of legs.
Purple Is Powerful: Nyx is one of the most powerful gods the game has to offer, and purple is her signature color.
Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Just like Hades and Zagreus. Somewhat ironic, considering Zagreus is not her blood child and yet looks more like her than many of her actual children.
Reasonable Authority Figure: 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.
The Sacred Darkness: 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. She also uses her powers to "veil" Zagreus and Persephone, protecting them from the Olympians' scrying.
Screw Destiny: 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.
Shipper on Deck: Nyx is very on board with Zagreus being in a romantic relationship with Thanatos, likely knowing how her son felt towards the prince, and even asking Zagreus to take care of him.
Shipping Torpedo: 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. Whether or not this contributed to Dusa turning Zagreus down at the end of their subplot is up to the player.
Super-Empowering: She crafted the Mirror of Night, which allows Zagreus to channel Darkness to gain new abilities.
Supernatural Floating Hair: While most of her hair goes down her back, a portion of it is always floating at about ear level.
Supernatural Gold Eyes: A trait she shares with her sons Thanatos and Hypnos, indicating that she isn't human.
Truly Single Parent: Not with all her kids, but Achilles's codex notes Thanatos (and, by extension, Hypnos) to be fatherless.
Verbal Tic: Tends to end arguments and other uncomfortable conversations with "Are we understood?".

Charon

Appearances: Hades, Hades II
Voiced by: Logan Cunningham

Stygian Boatman

"...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.

Charon returns in Hades II as the game's shopkeeper like before. Though with Hades' imprisonment and the Underworld in shambles, Charon's setup is much shabbier than before.

Adam Smith Hates Your Guts: 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 (but at least have greater effects/rarity to make up for it). 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.
- The Convenience Fee condition in the Pacts of Punishment raises all prices by 40% per rank though if you're careful with gold and get some useful Boons to increase your wealth more efficiently, this one is fairly manageable.
Almighty Janitor: According to Thanatos, Charon was already in the Underworld when Hades took up residence there, and despite his role of simply being The Ferryman, the entire Underworld would stop working without him. No one, including Hades, ever oversees his work nor apparently ever needs to. Steal from him and he will remind you that despite being just a ferryman, he is still a chthonic god.
The Battle Didn't Count: 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).
Berserk Button: 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.
Beware the Nice Ones: He helps Zagreus in exchange for Obol, and is involved in his escape attempts much more heavily than most of the other characters in the story. If you shoplift from him, however, he will show you the hard way that he's no pushover, ferryman or not.
Creepy Good: 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 steal from him. 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.
Discount Card: Defeating him in a fight earns Zagreus a "Loyalty Card" that grants him a 20% discount for the run.
The Dreaded: 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". Likewise, when Hermes gets a word of Zagreus being killed by Charon, he explains that Charon, or even the mere presence of his boat, is feared by many.
Dungeon Bypass: Discussed and Averted. Zagreus brings up the great idea that Charon can just ferry him out to the surface world during an escape attempt. The boatman rejects this, forcing Zagreus to escape via the old-fashioned way.
The Faceless: Used the generic hooded NPC look up until The Blood Price update, except in his case no face was visible underneath in his portrait.
Face Framed in Shadow: Most of his face is covered up by shadow, giving you only vague details as to what he looks like.
The Ferryman: The Ferryman, though it's not the role he fulfills in-game. 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. He also offers this service to Orpheus should you manage to get Orpheus and Eurydice back together.
Horrifying the Horror: According to Nyx, his brothers do not dare pick a fight with him. This includes Thanatos, The Grim Reaper.
In the Hood: His sprite up until The Blood Price update presented him as a hooded being in a long cape, with nothing visible underneath.
Intelligible Unintelligible: Zagreus acts like he can understand what Charon's saying, but this being Zagreus we're talking about, it's anyone's guess whether he actually does.
Intrepid Merchant: Fits the role of showing up to sell you things, if not any other part of the description.
Improbable Weapon User: 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: "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). There's also a remixed version if he's faced as a Optional Boss after Zagreus tries to steal from him, which is fittingly titled "Final Expense (Payback Mix)".
Mighty Glacier: 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.
Mysterious Backer: Between providing Zagreus with wares (for fee) and hiring Skelly to help Zagreus hone his skills with various weapons, Charon definitely fits. Skelly suspects that Charon may have some kind of bet going on in regards to Zagreus' attempt to escape the underworld.
Not So Above It All: He's usually The Stoic and The Unintelligible, but if you steal from him, he hams it up before the fight, making a Throat-Slitting Gesture at Zagreus to show that he is very, very unhappy.
Offscreen Teleportation: 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.
Optional Boss: Charon can be fought by stealing Obols from his shop, after which he will try to kill you in order to get his money back causing a boss fight. Should you win, you not only keep the money but gain a boon that gives you discounted prices on all shop and well items moving forward.
Pet the Dog: Once you reunite Orpheus and Euridyce, the former mentions that Charon is ferrying him between Asphodel and the House of Hades. Considering how busy Charon's schedule is, this is quite nice of him.
Power Floats: While it's harder to tell, his 3D model shows that he floats above the ground like his mother and brothers. While he's mainly a ferryman and shopkeeper, he's actually quite powerful.
Psychopomp: Along with Hermes. 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'.
Purple Is Powerful: He wears dark purple robes and in his Optional Boss fight, hits like an absolute ton of bricks.
Schmuck Bait: If the Record Needle Scratch upon collecting it didn't tip you off: no, that sack of coins in Charon's shop is not a gift for you.
Secret-Keeper: 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.
Shoplift and Die: If you dare to steal his obols 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.
Superboss: "Borrowing" the sack of obols from Charon's shop will initiate a fight with him. He has a great deal of health and sends a constant barrage of attacks through the small arena. A single hit from his oar does more damage than even Hades, the final boss. Picking a fight with Charon is optional and the player has to go out of their way to shoplift from him, although if Zagreus defeats him, he awards a loyalty card that lowers the prices of his wares for the remainder of the run.
Suspicious Videogame Generosity: Always appears as a room choice in the last room before a boss.
Throat-Slitting Gesture: He pulls his thumb across his neck in a slitting throat gesture at the start of his Optional Boss fight.
The Voiceless: 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 unambiguous statement 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.
Worthy Opponent: 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.

Hypnos

Appearances: Hades, Hades II
Voiced by: Greg Kasavin

Sleep Incarnate

Hades II

"...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.

Hypnos returns in Hades II, though he's curiously fast asleep through the opening hours, not waking to greet Melinoë whenever she tries interacting with him.

Amicable Exes: Played With 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.
Amazon Chaser: He openly gushes over Meg whenever she kills Zagreus, with the other only giving a half-joking, "My condolences."
Annoying Younger Sibling: Zagreus says that he views Hypnos as being like an annoying little brother, despite Hypnos being older. Hypnos also acts like one to Thanatos, despite them being twins.
Big Brother Worship: Even though they are the same age, Hypnos behaves this way towards Thanatos; clearly looking up towards his brother and wishing to spend more time with him, no matter how coldly his brother brushes him off.
Brilliant, but Lazy: Somewhat implied by the favor Hypnos grants Zagreus so that the latter can snoop around in his father's things. As a god of sleep and a child of Nyx, he undoubtedly has a lot of potential...but by all appearances he'd rather take a nap than live up to it.
Butt-Monkey: Nobody respects Hypnos, especially not his mother, Nyx. His interactions with the other members of the house range from aloof disdain from Thanatos, complete disregard from Nyx, or an explicit order to never talk to him again from Hades. Only Zagreus shows him any sort of consideration, and even that's dependant on player choice.
Blatant Lies: Once you approach him after appearing from the blood pool, Hypnos will snap out of his slumber and may immediately yelp, "I'm up! I'm up!" or "I'm awake! I'm awake!"
Captain Obvious: 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.
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Easily the biggest one the game has to offer. Hypnos is not quite there and has a huge case of Immortal Immaturity. For the longest time, he thought Zagreus's escape attempts were because he was unhappy because he was fired from his job.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He spends most of his time half-asleep and not many respect him, but his powers aren't to be taken lightly, as he helps put the entire House to sleep with none the wiser in a flashback so Zagreus can get some info.
Cuckoosnarker: He's a big Cloudcuckoolander who often acts rather immature for a god, but he'll also very cheerfully make Zagreus's latest death the subject of his unsolicited advice, often condescendingly, like for Wretched Thugs:
Hypnos: They're slow but they hit pretty hard I guess. Have you tried moving out of the way?
Zagreus: I haven't, no!
Dissonant Serenity: Very cheerful, despite the grim nature of his job. He'll also cheerfully suggest to Thanatos to just kill all the mortals at the same time and be done with it, because it would save his brother "a bunch of trips".
Ditzy Secretary: A gender-inverted example. He's supposed to keep track of newly arrived dead souls, but he spends most of his time sleeping, doodling on his paperwork, putting his foot in his mouth, and completely ignoring the actual job he's supposed to be doing. Achilles speculates in the codex that the reason he hasn't been fired yet is because Hades finds him Actually Pretty Funny and keeps him on payroll as an unofficial Court Jester.
Dreary Half-Lidded Eyes: His eyes are always depicted as half-lidded, fitting his sleepy and lazy demeanor (which is, of course, because he's the embodiment of sleep itself).
Fell Asleep Standing Up: Almost constantly.
Flower Motifs: Subtle, but he wears poppies on his belt which are commonly associated with sleep.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: 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.
The Friend Nobody Likes: 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?
Game-Over Man: Hypnos is the first guy who greets you after you die, and he'll often make how you died the subject of some unsolicited advice, though sometimes he'll be in awe about how far you've gotten as Zagreus, such as dying to a boss you've never fought before.
Hidden Depths: He's apparently powerful enough where he can put the entire House except Nyx to sleep, which Zagreus asks him to do when he goes to snoop around. But overall, he's not very good at his job and prefers lazing about and chatting to Zagreus when he appears from the pool from time to time.
Immortal Immaturity: Hypnos has a rather bad case of this, much to the chagrin of his brother and mother who wish he'd take his job more seriously. Note that even Zagreus, who is actually younger than him, views Hypnos as an "annoying little brother".
The Knights Who Say "Squee!": 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.
Lazy Bum: 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.
Motor Mouth: For someone as sleepy and lazy as Hypnos, he can really chatter on, much to some of the House employees and Hades' annoyance. This sometimes comes back to bite him.
Mystical White Hair: Which, apart from their Supernatural Gold Eyes, is the only thing he and Thanatos have in common.
Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: 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.
Obsessed Are the Listmakers: Played with; he loves lists, but he prefers to spend more time making lists than actually doing the tasks on them.
An Odd Place to Sleep: Sleeps while floating upright, in the procession of souls being lead to Hades. Zagreus can buy a couch for him to sleep on, though.
Odd Friendship: While Zagreus doesn't initially consider Hypnos a close friend, Hypnos gladly put the entire house to sleep on the prince's request when asked to so Zagreus could snoop around and eventually find out Persephone is his real mother. If you manage to complete Hypnos' story side quest, he even timidly asks Zagreus if he would want to consider him his best friend.
Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Sometimes being a chatterbox isn't always good. When talking to Meg, she may tell Zagreus that Hypnos gave her some "wonderful bit of advice" and he nervously giggles as she repeats to Zagreus that Hypnos suggested she just try harder not to get killed by him next time. Hades loses his temper quite a few times when trying to reprimand Hypnos on not doing his job properly while the god of sleep carries on going off topic.
Perpetual Smiler: He's always smiling for his character sprite, even when he sounds a bit down at times he's overall very chipper.
Pimped-Out Cape: His cloak resembles a fluffy, quilted comforter. Convenient for when he falls asleep while floating upright.
Power Floats: Like his mother and other siblings, Hypnos can float in the air… And even falls asleep like that as well.
Power Incontinence: Implied, seeing as he's both the god of sleep and narcoleptic.
Sad Clown: He has hints of this regarding his mother and especially his brother. He adores both of them but has grown to accept that his mother is very distant towards him, but is visibly unhappy at the thought of Thanatos, in his own words, "not liking him anymore" — he really wants his brother to spend more time with him.
Shipper on Deck: If Zagreus romances Thanatos, Hypnos may ask Zagreus after he returns back to the House if what Thanatos told him was true about their relationship now, saying that it made sense. When Zagreus confirms what Thanatos said was true about them, Hypnos gives an awed "Whoooooaaa". Other times, he may even admit that he hasn't seen his brother smile so often once he and Zagreus officially become a couple.
Sleepyhead: A given, considering he's literally sleep itself. He even sleeps through the Olympian family reunion in the epilogue!
That Came Out Wrong: 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.
The Unfavorite: 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.
Unwanted Assistance: He's in the habit of offering this to anybody who comes through the Pool of Styx. You can catch him giving Megaera the same spiel if you die shortly after killing her.
Weirder Than Usual: For all of the god of sleep's worth, he does wake up when Zagreus and presumingly others approach him. When he doesn't, it's because he's having family trouble with his brother, Thanatos, and is questioning whether his brother cares for him or not, which is all but directly stated to be messing up his sleep. Even Zagreus notices that something is up when Hypnos doesn't wake up when he approaches, and Zagreus instead has to call out to him to wake.

Megaera

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Avalon Penrose

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cbbd10eb_fa97_4243_a0dd_02ac3d747e95.png

First of the Furies

...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.

Adaptational Attractiveness: The Furies in general are often depicted in the classical mythology as being quite ugly. Meg in this game is by far the most attractive of the sisters.
Affectionate Nickname: Zagreus calls her 'Meg'.
Amazonian Beauty: Megaera is quite well-built (as this art in particular emphasizes), and is one of Zagreus's potential love interests.
Amicable Exes: Despite having to kill each other hundreds of times, she and Zagreus are on rather good terms. If you max out your relationship, you can even take the "exes" part out of it.
- Choosing the "ease off" option after choosing (or accidentally choosing) to pursue her will have Zagreus reject her, apologize for leading her on and ask her if they can still be friends. While she's clearly disappointed with this turnout, she doesn't have any hard feelings over it and their relationship continues on like this.
Animal Motifs: She tends to be associated with bats; she has a single bat-like wing, the Chthonic Companion she can give to Zagreus is a bat named Battie, and she shows a fondness for bats in general (in one conversation, she mentions that she raises bat pups herself).
Anything but That!: Has this reaction if Zagreus suggests that he could switch on the 'Extreme Measures' condition which would force Megaera to work alongside her sisters.
Assist Character: She gifts the Chthonic Companion Battie upon being given an Ambrosia, which allows her to be summoned for a multi-strike attack.
The Battle Didn't Count: 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. There's special dialogue for defeating her after resetting yourself.
Beauty Equals Goodness: The friendliest of the Furies, being merely a Punch-Clock Villain rather than obsessed with battle or duty like her sisters. She's also the most attractive, having neither Alecto's intimidating Slasher Smile or Tisiphone's disturbingly withered appearance.
Berserk Button: Like Hades, Megaera has a special hatred for oathbreakers and finds joy in torturing them for eternity. It's the reason she has No Sympathy when Zagreus confronts her about her continued brutal treatment of Sisyphus.
Consummate Professional: 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.
Deadpan Snarker: Emphasis on the 'deadpan', but she's very much able to keep up with Zagreus.
Death Glare: 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.
Dominatrix: Zagreus seems to outright look forward to getting thrashed by Meg at times, and the audio accompanying their Fade to Black sex scene hints that she whips him in bed just as much as out of it.
Flunky Boss: Megaera periodically summons Thugs and Witches to aid her in fighting Zagreus.
Friendly Enemy: 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.
Gameplay and Story Integration: After going through the requirements of building up Zagreus' bond with Megaera she becomes an optional Assist Character he can summon in combat. Naturally, she cannot be summoned against her own boss fight, Alecto, or Tisiphone in Tartarus, since her role is literally to prevent Zagreus' escape from there.
Insistent Terminology: If Zagreus offers her Nectar, she'll immediately claim it's "contraband" and "confiscate" it off of him. If gifted more, Zagreus will play along by referring to the bottles as "more contraband" and asking her to confiscate them 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.
Kick the Dog: It's implied that Meg takes out her frustration with her defeats at Zagreus' hands on Sisyphus, though there are a myriad of reasons he received his sentence in the first place.
The Knights Who Say "Squee!": If Zagreus fights her with Exagryph, she is shocked that he has it and says she has always wanted to see it in action.
My Master, Right or Wrong: As the Punisher of Oathbreakers, it's against her nature to defy Hades's orders, no matter how much she dislikes them. One of the reasons she starts off so angry at Zagreus is because she doesn't want to stop him, and his continued rebellion forces her into a position she hates.
Not Good with Rejection: Notably averted. If the player has Zagreus "ease off" her when she tries to pursue him, she's noticeably disappointed when he rejects her advances but backs off without having any hard feelings over it.
Odd Friendship: 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.
Only Sane Woman: Amongst her sisters, she's the nicest and calmest, and often gets annoyed by Alecto and Tis' antics. Megaera is also the only one of three who is allowed entrance into the House of Hades.
Perpetual Frowner: Pretty much every one of Megaera's sprites show her as either frowing, scowling, glaring, or sneering. It makes the few times where she breaks into a geniune smile all the more notable.
Polyamory: If the player chooses it, Zagreus can end up in a relationship with her and Thanatos at the same time. All parties are fine with it.
Punch-Clock Villain: 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.
Resurrective Immortality: Same as Zagreus, to the point of having the same animation.
The Rival: Megaera is rather competitive in trying to prevent Zagreus from escaping Tartarus. This can transition into becoming a friendly rivalry if he actually restores his bond with her.
Shipper on Deck: Of Zagreus/Thanatos, surprisingly enough. 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.
Sore Loser: 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. Nonetheless, she still keeps count of her losses, and has some particularly bitter dialogue about the state of her abilities if you beat her more than fifty times.
The Stoic: Generally composed and speaks in a monotone whisper, especially when contrasted with her sisters.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: She doesn't like working with her sisters. Turning the 'Extreme Measures' condition off after fighting her once with it on will have Meg thank Zagreus in their next boss fight.
Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Absolutely towers over her Old Flame, Zagreus.
Torture Technician: 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.
Tsundere: Let's see, she violently beats up her ex-boyfriend Zagreus, vehemently denies any affection she has even though she clearly still cares for him, and she eventually warms up to him and can even rekindle their relationship, although she will still snipe and fight with Zag after they mend fences.
Wake-Up Call Boss: Meg is the game's first real boss fight and is noticeably 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, and the areas Zagreus visits have even more traps and environmental difficulties.
Wardens Are Evil: Subverted. She's the warden of Tartarus who tries to stop Zagreus from escaping, but a pretty likable person when she's off the clock.
Weapon Specialization: The weapon of choice for all three Furies is the whip.
We Used to Be Friends: 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 from Zagreus to offer her an olive branch. It takes additional effort on the player's part to return their relationship to what it once was.
What the Hell, Hero?: 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 the Olympian and chthonic gods have left towards each other.
When She Smiles: While a Perpetual Frowner most of the time, once her relationship with Zagreus starts improving, she becomes willing to show off her more vunerable side around him, leading her to occasionally give a small smile. It looks good on her.
Whip of Dominance: As per Classical mythology, all Furies carry whips as their signature weapons, and each one of them works as a Torture Technician to punish mortal sinners in the Underworld as well as an enforcer who also serves as the border guard between the regions of Tartarus and Asphodel. Megaera is a stern Consummate Professional who is the most level-headed and least emotive of her sisters, seeing as she only treats being a warden of Tartarus as her job, though she's also a Tsundere for Zagreus. Megaera also has shades of being a Dominatrix, as her whip comes into play in the intimate scene between her and Zagreus, should he complete her Romance Sidequest (not to mention all the BDSM subtext accompanying their actual fights whenever he fights her to escape Tartarus).
Wolfpack Boss: Downplayed. Activating the 'Extreme Measures' condition 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.
Working with the Ex: 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.
You Have Failed Me: 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. Hades also states that the task of stopping Zagreus is her punishment in of itself, since he knows she hates it.
Zagreus: I suppose you're going to punish her in some cruel fashion, then?
Hades: Oh, I've already seen to that, of course. You think she volunteered to deal with you?

Alecto

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Marin Miller

Tormentor of Passions

"...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.

Adaptational Attractiveness: Much like Meg, Alecto is depicted here as quite more attractive than her regular mythological depiction. But unlike Meg, Alecto is sadistic as hell, always sports one hell of a Slasher Smile, and utterly relishes the chance to make Zagreus bleed.
Big Brother Instinct: Inverted since Alecto is the youngest of the Fury sisters, but she does show some degree of protectiveness over Tisiphone, the middle sister. After Zagreus fights Tisiphone a number of times and coaches her into adding his name to her One-Word Vocabulary, Alecto will rage at him for "putting ideas in Tisiphone's head" and order Zagreus to stay away from Tisiphone.
Blood Knight: Alecto is positively gleeful at the prospect of getting to kill Zagreus repeatedly.
Blood Lust: She seems to enjoy making Zagreus bleed, and saddles him with the nickname "redblood" after the first battle because he bleeds red.
Boss-Arena Idiocy: Downplayed but it is fairly easy to lead Alecto over her own spike traps (which she can take damage from) during some of her attack phases since she moves around when throwing projectiles unlike Meg who remains stationery when performing a similar move and has less traps in any case, and Tisiphone, who has no traps at all.
Flunky Boss: Alecto can summon Louts to aid her during the fight, though she's far less likely to do so than Megaera.
Graceful Loser: Even barring her Too Kinky to Torture 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.
Hair-Trigger Temper: 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.
Hot-Blooded: Perhaps suitably for a punisher of passions, Alecto is extremely open about her emotions in contrast to Megaera.
I Have You Now, My Pretty: Zagreus does not like it when heart symbols start accompanying her (no less bloodthirsty) dialogue and she insinuates her Blood Lust 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.
I Work Alone: She doesn't like working with her sisters and will thank Zagreus if he disables Extreme Measures, so she can kill him herself.
Kill the God: Alecto is very excited to be tasked with killing Zagreus because she's "always wanted to kill a god."
Locked Out of the Loop: She is the only Fury sister who 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.
Loves the Sound of Screaming: 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.
Noodle Incident: Whatever happened to get her barred from the House of Hades. In the Codex entry, Achilles only refers to 'profane acts of insubordination'.
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: 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.
Perpetual Smiler: In contrast to Megaera, who is shown as a Perpetual Frowner, Alecto always have her teeth bared in a Slasher Smile.
Persona Non Grata: According to Achilles's codex, she's banned from entering the House of Hades for... something unsavory.
Savage Spiked Weapons: Unlike her less violent and sadistic sisters, she releases spinning blade weapons similar to Ares's Blade Rifts, but hers are visibly more metallic and spikier.
Slasher Smile: Has a very prominent grin as the Fury sister with the most bloodlust.
Spectacular Spinning: Most of her attacks involve some form of spinning.
Too Kinky to Torture: Alecto takes getting beaten with surprising aplomb.
"Bad news for you, redblood: I like dying."
Torture Technician: 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 Seven Deadly Sins).
Trash Talk: Alecto never refers to Zagreus by his actual name, always calling him either 'Redblood' or some variant of 'Trash God.'
Turns Red: 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 permanently enraged.
Weapon Specialization: The weapon of choice for all three Furies is the whip.
What Does She See in Him?: Alecto asks this almost word for word should Zagreus and Megaera restart their relationship.
Whip of Dominance: As per Classical mythology, all Furies carry whips as their signature weapons, and each one of them works as a Torture Technician to punish mortal sinners in the Underworld as well as an enforcer who also serves as the border guard between the regions of Tartarus and Asphodel. Alecto is also a full blow Sadist who likes delights in making Zagreus bleed with her whip, and likes being killed as much as she likes killing.
Wolfpack Boss: After defeating Megaera once with 'Extreme Measures' on, Alecto can also show up as the main fighter with her sisters' support.

Tisiphone

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Marin Miller

Tormentor of Murder

"...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.

Axe-Crazy: Even more so than Alecto. Whereas Alecto may be sadistic and filled with rage, Tisiphone is so psychotic that she can only say one word over and over. Suffice to say Tisiphone, much like Alecto are barred from entering the House of Hades because of this.
Black Eyes of Crazy: Well, not strictly 'crazy', but she is fairly obsessive about her job and also stands in Zagreus's path.
By the Lights of Their Eyes: Tisiphone's chamber is darkened, and the only light in the room to see by comes from her.
Fauxshadowing: 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 the only words she can say.
Flunky Boss: Subverted; of the three sisters, she's the only one to face you alone.
Interface Screw: As part of a Wolfpack Boss, Tisiphone can shroud the arena in smoke that obscures things for the player.
Nightmare Face: In contrast to her sisters, Tisiphone's face looks like that of a shriveled corpse and she has the Black Eyes of Crazy.
One-Word Vocabulary: 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". 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!"
Torture Technician: Just like her sisters. Specifically, she's assigned to torture murderers.
The Walls Are Closing In: 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 (or third as of the 1.0 update): In the final stage, the boss arena will barely be the length of a spear-jab.
Weapon Specialization: The weapon of choice for all three Furies is the whip. One of Tisiphone's unique attacks involves using a whip-crack to stun Zagreus in place before charging into him.
Whip of Dominance: As per Classical mythology, all Furies carry whips as their signature weapons, and each one of them works as a Torture Technician to punish mortal sinners in the Underworld as well as an enforcer who also serves as the border guard between the regions of Tartarus and Asphodel. This is Downplayed with Tisiphone since she doesn't display the BDSM or sadism of her sisters, but that's because she's such a strict Workaholic that she hardly knows how to do anything else other than wield her whip to punish mortals.
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.

Thanatos

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Christopher Saphire

Death Incarnate

"...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.

Actor Allusion: Christopher Saphire, who voices Thanatos, previously voiced Asher Kendrell in Transistor — a reserved, (mostly) unemotional character, in a loving relationship with Grant, who prioritizes duty and loyalty. Fortunately, Thanatos's story turns out a lot better than Asher's.
Affectionate Nickname: Zagreus calls him 'Than'.
Aloof Big Brother: 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.
Am I Just a Toy to You?: Between the fifth bottle of Nectar and first bottle of Ambrosia, he confronts Zagreus and demands he clarify what he actually wants from their relationship... only to teleport away before Zagreus can give him an actual answer.
Animal Motif: Butterflies, which are synonymous with souls in Ancient Greek.
Anger Born of Worry: He was greatly upset over Zagreus's sudden escape attempts, and while a good deal of it was due to his Belated Love Epiphany, Nyx also states that he worries greatly for Zagreus as well.
Assist Character: 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.
Battle Couple: With Zagreus if romanced.
Belated Love Epiphany: 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 never viewed Zagreus in the same way he views Hypnos.
Berserk Button: He doesn't take perceived disrespect towards his mother particularly well.
Big Brother Instinct: In a Jerk with a Heart of Gold sort of way, he does clearly care for Hypnos (as much as he annoys him). Especially prominent when he tries to coach Hypnos to develop a better work ethic, when his brother is at the verge of losing his job.
Body-Count Competition: In whichever room he appears in, Thanatos will challenge Zagreus to see which of them can kill more of the enemies in that room. If Zagreus wins, Thanatos will gives Zag a Centaur Heart in addition to whatever room reward you just earned. If Thanatos wins, you still get the room reward, but nothing else.
Brutal Honesty: He can come across as this, as he doesn't mince words and is only trying to help those he gives advice to. This ends up straining his relationships a bit, from Hypnos and especially with Zagreus once the two get together. This even leads the two lovers to fight at one point. He does come around to apologize for phrasing his words a bit too harshly once he has time to think and cool down.
Calling Your Attacks: He's quite chatty in a fight and fond of announcing his Area of Effect ability, which is fittingly known as Death Sentence.
Cannot Spit It Out: When Zagreus decides he wants to genuinely pursue a romantic relationship with Thanatos, it's the latter who has problems voicing his desires. This leads Zagreus to become confused and ask if Thanatos doesn't feel the same, with Thanatos making an attempt to clear up the misunderstanding… and then quickly teleporting away as he claims he has work to do.
Character Catchphrase: "Death approaches". Not only does he say it upon appearing and during the Body-Count Competition, but the caption over the screen also says this.
Childhood Friends: Implied and later confirmed by the head writer that he grew up with Zagreus. It can become a Childhood Friend Romance if Zagreus pursues a relationship with him.
Cold Ham: Thanatos may not raise his voice or milk the giant cow, but he is still very dramatic, tossing out one-liner after one-liner in his chamber encounters. In fact, the bell that heralds his arrival is diegetic.
Compassionate Critic: Even at his most abrasive, Thanatos always means well and wants to help. It's just that sometimes that "help" is bluntly telling a loved one they're being an idiot and ought to stop with this nonsense.
Consummate Professional: He takes his work extremely seriously and expects others to do so as well. This is part of the reason he doesn't get along well with his brother Hypnos, who is prone to sleeping on the job.
Day Hurts Dark-Adjusted Eyes: He's not terribly fond of the surface, particularly since it's just too damn bright for him during the day.
Deadpan Snarker: More subdued than Zagreus's flippant remarks, but still present.
Don't Fear the Reaper: 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. He also sees it as part of his duty to reassure mortals in their dying moments that death is not truly the end for them.
Do You Think I Can't Feel: He chews Zagreus out for running off without saying goodbye and responds poorly to Zagreus's initial advances afterwards, accusing him of Stringing the Hopeless Suitor Along.
Emotionally Tongue-Tied: 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.
Enmity with an Object: Considers the River Styx to be his rival, much to Zagreus's confusion, due to most mortals expecting to be brought to the Underworld via the Styx (and by extension Charon) and not by him, which Thanatos seems somewhat miffed about. Whenever he's in the House of Hades, he can usually be found outside the Administration Chamber, staring out at the Styx.
Everybody Hates Hades: An In-Universe case. While respected by his fellow chthonic gods, Thanatos is Hated by All on the surface and often takes the blame for Ares's bloodshed.
Everyone Can See It: His crush on Zagreus is so obvious that Achilles writes it into his codex entry.
Eye Motifs: There is a giant purple eye on his scythe, as well as his gauntlet and his sword. The pierced butterfly he gifts Zagreus likewise has three pairs of eyes on his wings.
Fashionable Asymmetry: He wears a single golden wing ornament on his right shoulder, along with a single gauntlet on his right hand.
Flashy Teleportation: He appears and disappears in a flash of white-green light.
Flawless Victory: His keepsake boosts Zagreus's damage permanently for each encounter cleared with no damage taken.
Foil:
- Fittingly as his rival, he's this to Zagreus. Where Zagreus is outwardly warm and outgoing, Thanatos is outwardly cold and very reserved. 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's 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.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: 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.
For Doom the Bell Tolls: 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".
Gameplay and Story Integration: Going along with Thanatos' Jerk with a Heart of Gold personality, it's implied through his "contests" with Zagreus that he is severely holding himself back and giving Zagreus a handicap. Being the God of Death, he is capable of instantly killing any enemy, and the damage he can inflict far outclasses anything Zagreus can pull off. But all of his attacks have a delay, almost like he is giving Zagreus a chance to win.
- If Thanatos appears while Zagreus is using the Pierced Butterfly keepsake, he'll order Zagreus to avoid fighting and allow him to clear the room - which speaks both to the Butterfly's mechanics and to how much Thanatos wants to take care of Zagreus.
Thanatos: You have the butterfly I gave to you. Stay back, then, and it'll make you stronger once I'm finished here.
Gay Option: It's up to the player if Zagreus pursues a romance with him or not, with Megaera and Dusa being the straight options.^Note
God of the Dead: 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 The Grim Reaper, as opposed to Hades, who's in charge of running the Celestial Bureaucracy. Thanatos will make note how mortals have trouble telling him and Hades apart, or sometimes even confuse him with Ares.
The Grim Reaper: Thanatos is the one who brings mortals who died peaceful deaths to the underworld, and he has the Sinister Scythe and hooded appearance to match.
He Is All Grown Up: 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.
Hypocrite:
- Despite going out of his way to assist Zagreus when he is free to, he has rather strong words to Sisyphus doing the same.
- He has been known to accuse Zagreus of being a Master of the Mixed Message, but his Tsundere personality, inability to voice his feelings, and tendency to just plain disappear mid-conversation do their fair share to complicate things as well.
Hypocrite Has a Point: A mild case. Thanatos chides Zagreus for involving himself in other people's affairs without their consent, in this case, bringing Orpheus and Eurydice back together. He eventually acknowledges that he isn't really one to talk, given that he frequently involves himself in Zagreus' escape attempts, despite the latter's protests that he can handle himself.
- His strong reaction towards Sisyphus helping Zagreus can seem a little hypocritical, but considering that Sisyphus was quite clever when he was alive, and in fact tricked Thanatos into being bound by his own inescapable chains by feigning ignorance and innocence, he's fairly justified in his suspicion.
Implied Love Interest: Similarly to Megaera, who Zagreus dated before the events of the game, it's implied that Thanatos has feelings for Zagreus even if the player doesn't immediately choose to pursue him.
Incoming Ham: Thanatos, of all people, has quite a flair for the dramatic. As if the tolling bell, green tint, and black cloud of smoke weren't enough to alert to his presence, he will also announce himself either with his catchphrase "Death approaches" or some variations like "Death is inescapable", or "Life and death, one and the same".
I "Uh" You, Too: He's too Emotionally Tongue-Tied to ever get the words out, instead skipping straight to asking So What Do We Do Now?.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: For all his griping, Thanatos doesn't think twice about risking his station to help Zagreus escape, even when it goes directly against his own desire for Zagreus to stay. He explicitly states this whenever he runs into Zagreus during his runs or back at the House.
I Was Just Passing Through:
- 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.
- When asked directly by Zagreus why he decided to help, Thanatos may handwave it by saying he was instructed to by Nyx. The fact that Thanatos intercedes directly more than anyone else who assists Zagreus, he is naturally downplaying his own motives.
- Eventually he admits that he's just doing it because he wants to see Zagreus more often, at which point it becomes possible to romance him.
I Was Never Here: He's not supposed to be helping Zagreus, so he tends to finish their conversations with some variation on this.
It Is Not Your Time: 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 Body-Count Competition.
Jerkass Realization: He has one regarding his treatment of Hypnos. When Zagreus has a heart-to-heart with him about it, Thanatos admits that he catches himself feeling horrid after a conversation with Hypnos and afterwards makes a genuine effort to improve his relationship with his brother.
Jerkass to One: Thanatos is typically aloof but neutral with most people, and even at his worst is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. Sisyphus, however, gets nothing but pure scorn and hatred towards the shade, which is understandable to those who know of the latter's myth...
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He is especially cold and dismissive towards Hypnos, who is notably miffed about it, as Hypnos straight-up adores his brother. As soon as Hypnos is on the verge of losing his job, Thanatos, despite basically saying "I told you so", takes time to help him improve his work ethic. Later on, he even apologizes.
Knight in Sour Armour: Almost bordering on The Snark Knight. He holds himself and everyone else to high standards and despite his hurt feelings does what he can to help Zagreus, genuinely believing that there must be some resolution between Zagreus and his father. Expect him to complain though. A lot.
Leitmotif: "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.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: 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. This official art confirms it.
Magikarp Power: 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.
Mama's Boy: 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. In fact, his complete belief in Nyx's words even causes him and Zagreus to get into a fight where he chides the prince for continuing to talk to Dusa despite Nyx telling him not to.
Thanatos: You're a god, you should learn to start acting like one.
Meaningful Name: 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.
Musical Nod: Thanatos' leitmotif, "Last Words", is a remix of the "Forbidden Knowledge" track from Pyre.
Mystical White Hair: Like his brother Hypnos, which is about the only thing they have in common.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: His name literally means "death" in ancient Greek. He's also given the title of "Death Incarnate", and lives up to it quite nicely.
Nothing Personal: 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.
Not So Stoic: The few times his stoic facade gets a few dents is when he either becomes flustered at Zagreus's romance attempts or when he is summoned to fight Hades.
Not What It Looks Like: If he's summoned to fight against Hades, he sounds outright nervous as one of his lines is this word for word.
Old Shame: An In-Universe example. The incident in which Sisyphus managed to cheat death is considered a big stain on Thanatos's career, which is why he also has no love lost for the guy. ^Explanation What little interactions these two share, Thanatos is nothing but bitter, cold and demeaning.
One-Hit Kill: 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.
Opposites Attract: 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, 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.
Perpetual Frowner: Thanatos takes his job very seriously and he has the facial expression to match. Even when he's actually smiling his frown is still present.
Please, Don't Leave Me: A variation of it; but soon after their first confrontation where Thanatos bitterly tells Zagreus goodbye, he shows up again and in his own stoic way pleads with Zagreus to stay.
Thanatos: Listen to me. I don't know how else to put this, but I want you to come home. Voluntarily.
Polyamory: If the player chooses it, Zagreus can end up in a relationship with him and Megaera at the same time. All parties are fine with it.
Power Floats: His sprite has visible legs unlike his mother, but he floats everywhere.
Power Perversion Potential: Several post-romance conversations indicate Thanatos has incorporated his teleportation abilities into his and Zagreus's sex life.
Pretty Boy: Definitely one of the more attractive depictions of the character, being a soft-spoken young man with Mystical White Hair.
Previously Overlooked Paramour: While Zagreus and Thanatos have been friends for ages, it's not until Zagreus starts his escape attempts that either of them begin to consider each other romantically.
Pride: While humble enough around people he respects, wounding Thanatos's pride is not something he easily forgives. Ages later he still holds a grudge against Sisyphus for humiliating him; with the only reason he isn't mad at Zagreus for freeing the king being that Thanatos knows Nyx must have approved it. On a more humorous note, Zagreus recalls Thanatos looking like he was "about to slice his head off" after the former went up to him and told Thanatos he looked better with long hair.
Royal Favorite: Hades holds him in very high regard for his strong work ethic, going as far as to make him the poster boy of the administrative office's motivational posters. He loses that favor when Hades discovers that he's abetting Zagreus.
Relationship Upgrade: With Zagreus when he reciprocates his previous Love Confession in their max Relationship Values.
The Rival: 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.
Rivalry as Courtship: And just to hammer it in, the Heart Containers Zagreus earns in his little Body Count Competitions are literal hearts.
Sarcastic Devotee: Constantly makes bitter comments about how Zagreus is making his job harder, but is always a helpful figure whenever he shows up.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: While he often leaves soon after talking with Zagreus, as his affection for him starts to grow, it looks more like he's just fleeing the scene more often than just going back to work. This leaves Zagreus attempting to call for the other a moment too late.
Second Love: After Megaera, with whom Zagreus had a falling out with prior to the events of the game.
Security Blanket: 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.
Sinister Scythe: Wields one, fitting with his overall Grim Reaper image and being the god of death. Subverted in that he never turns it upon Zagreus.
Sour Supporter: Thanatos openly views Zagreus's attempts to reach the surface as hare-brained (at least in the beginning) and he will make a ton of snarky remarks about Zagreus making both their lives harder, but even in his very first appearance where he was practically bristling with anger over the prince's sudden departure, he does what he can to help and adamantly refuses to fight his friend.
The Stoic: 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. He does compensate nicely with snark, though.
Subordinate Excuse: Thanatos eventually admits that Zagreus has long outgrown any need for his protection — Thanatos just wants an excuse to spend more time with his crush.
Tsundere: The Harsh type. He's prickly and bitter on the outside and has difficulty vocalizing his feelings, but his actions make it pretty clear that he does care about Zagreus. This becomes especially apparent if Zagreus pursues a romance with him.
Undying Loyalty: 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.
Uptight Loves Wild: Though he's quite Tsundere in expressing it, he straight-up adores Zagreus in spite of (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. I Will Wait for You however long it takes.
Thanatos: Khh! You have no concept of which impulses to act upon and which to keep in check.
Verbal Tic: "Tsch!", "Khh!", "Ugh!"; Thanatos has a habit of making sounds like this, especially when he is flustered. Which can happen quite often if Zagreus pursues a romance with him, to the point where Zagreus teases him about it.
Zagreus: I hope you're ready for some more of the real thing there, Than, because I got you some, and I won't be taking "Tsch, what is this, Zag" for an answer!
Thanatos: Ugh, what is this?
Vetinari Job Security: If Thanatos stops working, so does death itself, as the Greek gods learned when Sisyphus tricked him into imprisoning himself. 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.
When He Smiles: For the most part, Thanatos is seen with a grim and serious expression on his face. If his relationship with Zagreus is strong, he may smile more around the other. Either back at the house, or after Persephone returns and Thanatos greets Zagreus as a fellow co-worker with a smile.
Willfully Weak: Being the incarnation of death itself, he could easily snap his fingers and kill every single enemy during one of his and Zagreus' contests. However, he instead decides to give him a fighting chance by using normal attacks with long build up instead.
Won't Take "Yes" for an Answer: Thanatos never denies having feelings for Zagreus even at his angriest, he's already taken Zagreus's attempts to escape as a pre-emptive rejection and thus dismisses all of Zagreus's subsequent overtures as either insincere or unintended. When Zagreus finally makes his feelings clear and asks if he feels the same, he's so caught off-guard that he runs off without giving a straight answer.
Workaholic: It takes considerably longer for Zagreus to 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 the fact that he's stepping away from his duties to aid Zagreus is so significant.
You Are Already Dead: He says this word for word, as one of his attacks marks his victim with a scythe over their head, with death following a few seconds later.
You Didn't Ask: 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.

Chaos

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Peter Canavese

Primordial Originator

"...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 Anthropomorphic Personification 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.

1-Up: Their Legendary boon gives Zagreus an extra Death Defiance — after suffering a curse, of course.
All-Powerful Bystander: Implicitly more powerful than all the Olympians, but seems happy just to watch Zagreus fight his way out, only bothering to help him if he pays a price first. Justified to an extent however as Chaos cannot exit their realm without potentially destabilizing existence, so their Boons and the Cosmic Egg item is the most they can offer.
Ambiguous Gender: Chaos is referred to in gender-neutral "they/them" pronouns while sporting a masculine body and feminine face. But since Chaos refers to themself as being born at the moment of space-time's creation, they very likely don't even have a gender. Nyx also refers to Chaos as both her mother and her father.
Body of Bodies: Their body looks like numerous bodies fused together into a horrifying amalgam. This is especially true below their waist, which has multiple human heads that appear to be melding together.
Body Horror: Chaos's body looks like a pile of faces and limbs, and even what appears to be a fetus growing from their body.
Cast from Hit Points: Three of their curses damage Zagreus whenever he performs a certain action, such as attacking (Maimed), casting (Addled), or unleashing specials (Flayed). However, they cannot lower Zagreus' health below 1, no matter how much he does so.
Character 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."
Combat Commentator: 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.
Composite Character: Seems to have taken a few aspects of the little-known deity Phanes, being ambiguously gendered, the primeval creator of life, and the parent of Nyx. Fittingly, like Zagreus, Phanes was worshipped by the Orphics.
Cosmic Egg: 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.
Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Chaos does not enter the world they created and interact with their children there because Chaos' sheer presence could risk destabilizing existence as we know it. They know this very well and regret that this means they had no choice but to hold back from interacting with their children, Nyx especially, whom they haven't seen or spoken to in a long time.
Dark Is Not Evil: At a glance, Chaos is an Obviously Evil blend of Lucifer and Cthulhu, holding the Olympians in contempt and aiding the hero purely out of 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.
Deal with the Devil: Meg, Nyx, and the other chthonic gods claim this is what Chaos's boons inevitably turn out to be.
Difficult, but Awesome: They require a tribute of health to enter their domain, unless Zag equipped the Cosmic Egg, and their Boons start off as a massively debilitating curse for a few encounters. Survive, however, and you get an extra powerful boon, curse-free, and those boons stack with Olympic god boons.
The Dreaded: 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.
Eyes Do Not Belong There: They have a Third Eye on their forehead which has two smaller eyes embedded in it. There's also an eye embedded in their chest.
God of Chaos: 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, the vast, infinite void that existed before anything else. Chaos remarks that the god Ares, while showing an appreciation of the primordial god, doesn't really know them well at all.
Got the Whole World in My Hand: Their sprite holds the planet Earth between the tips of their fingers.
Greek Chorus: If you equip the Shield of Chaos, Chaos will fittingly spectate on what Zagreus does and comment on using his Fated Authority. They can see through the shield after all.
Hates Small Talk: They claim to have "a lack of patience for discussion" and urge Zagreus to respond to them only when prompted to respond.
Hidden Depths:
- They love their daughter Nyx, and regret being absent for most of her life for sadly necessary reasons. They also used to play hide-and-seek when they were still together.
- Despite Chaos saying that they are content to ponder the possibilities of the world they created, Chaos is grateful for being able to see glimpses of it when Zagreus wears the Chaos Aspect of the Aegis.
- Chaos doesn't care for material gifts and seems happy to be alone most of the time, but will give Zagreus the cosmic egg in part because they want him to visit more. Combined with Chaos secretly missing Nyx (and possibly Chaos' other children as well), Chaos seems more lonely that they admit to.
It Amused Me: 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 (which it must be noted has zero benefit at this point in the run). If you do so and win, you'll hear them laugh.
- Out of the Olympian gods, Chaos marks out "the drunkard Dionysus" for his unpredictability and therefore acts as a source of amusement for Chaos.
Machine Monotone: They speak without emotion, and use clinical terminology for nearly everything they talk about; for example, they refer to Zagreus catching a fish as "procuring a specimen."
The Maker: Indirectly, as it was done without purpose or intention, but still the origin of Nyx and the Titans (who begat the Olympian Gods).
Many-Faced Divinity: Chaos is depicted with several horrific faces embedded into his writhing body.
Mechanically Unusual Class: 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.
Mundane Object Amazement: They're impressed by Zagreus using a humble fishing pole to catch fish from the rivers of Chaos.
Mysterious Purple: Chaos is the Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous, Anthropomorphic Personification of chaos, a primordial being that is older than the gods themself. Zagreus has no idea who they are when he first receives their call and their intentions for aiding Zagreus in his journey out of the Underworld are obscure; it may be just out of spite against the gods that forgot them, it could be out of a parental desire to reconnect with their child Nyx, or it could be out of sheer curiosity. Their god icon glows a deep indigo and the shield aspect that bears their name features a large purple eye.
Non Human Nonbinary: Not that most of the other characters are human either, but Chaos looks the least human. They have wings on both their back and their head, as well as a Body of Bodies consisting of multiple faces below their waist. In addition, Chaos doesn't seem to have a gender, as Nyx says that Chaos is both her mother and father at the same time.
No Social Skills: 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, Ambrosia especially, they equate it with an act of theft (initially), because Zagreus is taking satisfaction from giving Chaos a gift, and they aren't. Nonetheless, they find this knowledge interesting, which is enough for them to let it slide.
Not So Above It All: Their sidequest involves requesting Zagreus wield their Cosmic Egg keepsake when facing Hades in a future fight, knowing full and well that it'll provide no real advantage. Why? Because they think it would be funny for Zagreus to confuse Hades with it.
The Old Gods: The origin of the old gods, and everything else for that matter.
Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous: 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 gender-neutral writing. Nyx curiously refers to them as "my father and my mother".
Parents as People: Chaos placed enormous expectations in Nyx, and even says that they practically expected her to shine as bright as day and even when she started creating children of her own, they expected her attention to remain undivided. This strained their relationship and they broke off contact with eachother until Zagreus reunites them. Justified as Nyx was one of, if not the very first "child" ever created and so Chaos would have no idea how to raise or even relate to her at all.
Pet the Dog: If you improve your relationship enough, Chaos will remain largely amoral, but will admit that Zagreus is one of their favorite inhabitants.
Power at a Price:
- Just entering a Chaos portal costs a fair bit of health. However, equipping the Cosmic Egg prevents this HP drop from occurring.
- Their Boons provide passive power-ups for the rest of the run, but require you to survive a curse for a certain number of rooms before the blessing activates. For instance, Chaos might offer a boon where your Special will deal 75% more damage, but only after you're cursed with being unable to earn any money for the next four rooms.
Primordial Chaos: Is Primordial Chaos… Or at least the personification of it.
Screw Destiny: 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.
Secret-Keeper: They know about Zagreus's reasons for escaping Hades without Zagreus telling them, but have no interest in sharing that information with anyone else.
Spock Speak: 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.
Time Abyss: 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.
Trickster Mentor: 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.
Truly Single Parent: Of everything, technically speaking, but Nyx specifically refers to them as both her mother and her father.
Voice of the Legion: Chaos speaks with a multitude of echoes to their main voice. Their voice seems to have a male, female, and other voices within it.
What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: 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 is only able to equate it with theft, initially.
You Keep Using That Word: Today we associate "chaos" and "chaotic" with energetic, violent, disordered imagery, which to be fair, DEFINITELY matches the insane physical appearnace of Chaos with the many wrapped and contorting heads that literally make up their body. But traditionally, Chaos in the Greek sense meant the vast, empty, infinite void — this difference in connotation is remarked on by Chaos, whom 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.

Introduced in Hades II

Melinoë

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Judy Alice Lee

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8714c15e_8885_4924_8e1c_12994c0bca2d.jpeg

Princess of the Underworld

"Wait for me, Father. I'll be there soon."

The daughter of Hades and Persephone, sister of Zagreus and a student of Hecate, Melinoë is a minor goddess of spirits and nightmares. While Melinoë was studying on the surface, the titan Chronos broke free from his imprisonment in the depths of Tartarus, sealing away Hades and declaring war on Olympus. Hearing of this, Melinoë decides to make the journey down to Tartarus to free her father and join the fight against Chronos alongside Hecate.

Action Girl: Seen on the official reveal trailer, Melinoë has been trained in combat since she was a small child, wielding as many potential weapons as her brother.
A God Is You: As stated in Supergiant's official FAQ, she's the player character of Hades II and a Greek goddess, albeit a rather minor one.
Contrasting Sequel Main Character: To Zagreus from the first game.
- Zagreus has his father's eye colors in his right eye and mother's on his left eye while his sister's eye colors are in the opposite way.
- Zagreus has Hades' dark hair but Melinoë has Persephone's blonde hair.
- Zagreus restarts each run out of the Underworld by dying first and being sent back to the House via the River Styx. Melinoë restarts each run into the Underworld by using an enchantment that sends her back to her camping spot in Erebus.
- Minus the boons, summons, and artifacts, Zagreus mainly relied on his own strength, weaponry, and Nyx's mirror to defeat his foes. Melinoë has been training in magic since she was young and has her own mana meter, unlike her brother, though she also relies upon Hecate's arcana cards to power herself up.
- Zagreus spent most of his life in the Underworld and is unable to stay in the mortal plane for very long. Melinoë grew up near the surface world (seemingly able to live among mortals) close to Erebus due to Chronos invading her father's realm.
- Zagreus's initial quest involves rebelling against his father, seeking a life outside of his responsibilities in the Underworld. Melinoë wishes only to fulfill her duty, do her parental figure proud, and bring her family back together.
- Mel also has an opposite opinion of most returning characters in comparison to Zag: she reveres the sleeping Hypnos, has respect for Skelly as a veteran, and loves and wishes to be close to her father more than anything despite having not seen him since she was a baby.
Dual Wielding: One of Melinoë's choices in weaponry is a pair of blades named Lim and Oros, a dagger in one hand and a sickle in the other.
Family Eye Resemblance: The reveal trailer shows that 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.
Know When to Fold Them: Unlike Zagreus, when her health reaches zero, she doesn't die and get dragged down into the Underworld but rather teleports back to her base camp at Erebus with the last of her strength. Justified as the actual Underworld has been locked down by Chronos, so she would wind up being imprisoned there like the rest of her family if she actually died.
Lady of Black Magic: 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 Instant Runes and being surrounded by magic circles.
Magic Knight: While she is quite capable with melee weapons, a larger emphasis is placed on her magic capabilities which expand on the possibilities of her builds, even compared to the huge variety that Zagreus is capable of.
Magic Staff: The weapon she starts the game with is a witch's staff, dealing damage in huge mid-range bursts.
Minidress of Power: She wears a tunic that fully displays her legs and kicks a lot of tail in that outfit.
Mythology Gag: In a very literal sense; the mythological Melinoë is described as being "saffron-clad"; in the game, her dress is a saffron-orange.
Nice Girl: Like brother, like sister; Mel is polite, soft-spoken and caring to almost all of her friends and allies, being able to have pleasant conversation with most of the characters she interacts with.
Semi-Divine: Like her brother, as the daughter of Persephone she has a mortal grandfather which makes her mostly divine.
Shared Family Quirks: Despite being raised away from her family since she was a baby, Melinoë does share some quirks with her brother, Zagreus. Like him, she always has a comment for every situation - particularly when the Narrator speaks - and she'll refuse to rest even when prompted to.
Skeletal Appendage: Melinoë's left arm from the bicep down is shown in the trailer as being a translucent green, showing the bones inside. As a child, she lacked this aspect for as-yet-unknown reasons. It should also be noted that the point where Melinoë's arm begins this transition to its usual state happens to be perfectly covered up by the arm band on her bicep.
Strong Family Resemblance. Melinoë's depiction in the sequel's reveal 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.

Hecate

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Amelia Tyler

Goddess of Sorcery

The goddess of witchcraft and teacher of Melinoë. After hearing of Chronos' escape from Tartarus and declaration of war, she raises Melinoë and trains her for her eventual descent into the underworld.

Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: Hecate wears an outfit which leaves her toned abs bare for all to see.
Contrasting Replacement Character:
- To Nyx from the first game; Hecate serves as a mentor and parental figure for the lead character Melinoë, the same way Nyx did for Zagreus, and displays similarly maternal but stern characteristics. Hecate differentiates herself though by virtue of being Hades II's first boss, showing that she's willing to enact more extreme methods to test the hero's capabilities compared to Nyx. This is also reflected by her much more muscular physique, whereas Nyx is quite lean and dressed more conservatively in a way that doesn't heighten her battle-readiness.
- To Hades as well - Hades was Zagreus' main parental figure in the first game and biologically related to him, but was aloof and cold to him at the best of times, while also serving as the Final Boss of each run to prevent Zagreus from leaving the Underworld. Hecate, on the other hand, is Melinoë's adoptive mother and not biologically related to her, but cares for and loves her as if she was Hecate's own, trains Melinoë to break into the Underworld, and serves as the first boss of each run rather than the final one.
Lady of Black Magic: She's the goddess of magic and witchcraft, so naturally she fits the bill. She's seen conjuring and using spells both offensive and defensive against Melinoë in training during the reveal trailer, and her physical appearance is styled after that of an archetypal witch.
The Mentor: Seen in the official reveal trailer, she's Melinoë's trainer, sparring with her and advising her that "we can but learn" when Melinoë claims her fighting isn't good enough.
Mysterious Veil: As shown in the official reveal trailer, she wears a veil over most of her face, leaving only the lights of her eyes visible.
Robe and Wizard Hat: Is clad in a wide-brimmed wizard's hat and a black cloak over her dress.
The Hecate Sisters: The Trope Namer herself. Hecate's pauldrons are moulded in the shape of women's faces, which evoke this archetype when coupled with her actual face. Appropriate, since she's largely the origin of the archetype and it's by far the most popular image that represents her.
Parental Substitute: She raised Melinoë as her own daughter after the latter had to be taken away from her own family when Chronos attacked the Underworld. She is a very caring mother figure to the princess who in turn treats her with a lot of mutual respect and love.
Warm-Up Boss: Not only is she the first boss that Melinoë has to face, but Hecate also serves as this in-universe. She's acting as a Beef Gate for Melinoë because if the princess can't get past her mentor, then defeating Chronos is out of the question. Hecate also explicitly identifies testing Melinoë in combat (albeit non-lethally) as the reason why she's attacking her.
Witch Classic: One of the most ancient inspirations for the modern idea of the witch, her design and environment incorporate later elements like a Robe and Wizard Hat combo and a Magic Cauldron.

Nemesis

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Becca Q. Co

Retribution Incarnate

The embodiment of retribution and daughter of Nyx, Nemesis enacts divine punishment against humans for the crime of hubris. She trained under the goddess Hecate alongside Melinoë.

Amazonian Beauty: Nemesis definitely inherits her beauty from her mother with the bonus of being incredibly physically fit, with a muscular figure on par with and even sometimes surpasing quite a few of the male gods.
Brutal Honesty: She is not hesitant when it comes to her words, expressing her lack of faith in Melinoë's efforts early on and doesn't appear to have high regard for her other siblings.
Continuity Nod: In the previous game, the Stygian Blade can be imbued with the Aspect of Nemesis, turning it into a single-edged blade with red plates, a bronze skull on the handle, and a blue-bottomed hilt. Nemesis is shown wielding this exact sword in the trailer.
Impossible Hourglass Figure: Her waist is tiny compared to the rest of her muscular body.
Strong Family Resemblance: She greatly resembles her mother Nyx, with the main difference being that Nyx wears elegant clothing befitting her position in the underworld heighrachy while Nemesis dons armour in keeping with the more violent nature of retribution.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Her attitude, mannerisms, and voice make her one for Megaera.
Unseen No More: In the first game, Nemesis was only hinted at through one of the aspects of Stygius. Promotional material for the second game shows her in person, with the sword shown in the first game at her side.

Moros

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Sterling Sulieman

Doom Incarnate

The embodiment of doom and son of Nyx.

Horned Humanoid: He has antlers on his head that some of his hair drapes over.
I Have Many Names: He is referenced obliquely by Achilles in the first game as "Doom". Of course, Moros means doom.

Characters / Hades - Chthonic Gods

Introduced in Hades

Character-Specific Pages

Nyx

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Jamie Landrum

Charon

Appearances: Hades, Hades II
Voiced by: Logan Cunningham

Hypnos

Appearances: Hades, Hades II
Voiced by: Greg Kasavin

Megaera

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Avalon Penrose

Alecto

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Marin Miller

Tisiphone

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Marin Miller

Thanatos

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Christopher Saphire

Chaos

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Peter Canavese

Introduced in Hades II

Melinoë

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Judy Alice Lee

Hecate

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Amelia Tyler

Nemesis

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Becca Q. Co

Moros

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Sterling Sulieman

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Index

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Characters / Hades - Chthonic Gods

Edit Locked

Introduced in Hades

Character-Specific Pages

Nyx

Appearances: HadesVoiced by: Jamie Landrum

Charon

Appearances: Hades, Hades IIVoiced by: Logan Cunningham

Hypnos

Appearances: Hades, Hades IIVoiced by: Greg Kasavin

Megaera

Appearances: HadesVoiced by: Avalon Penrose

Alecto

Appearances: HadesVoiced by: Marin Miller

Tisiphone

Appearances: HadesVoiced by: Marin Miller

Thanatos

Appearances: HadesVoiced by: Christopher Saphire

Chaos

Appearances: HadesVoiced by: Peter Canavese

Introduced in Hades II

Melinoë

Appearances: Hades IIVoiced by: Judy Alice Lee

Hecate

Appearances: Hades IIVoiced by: Amelia Tyler

Nemesis

Appearances: Hades IIVoiced by: Becca Q. Co

Moros

Appearances: Hades IIVoiced by: Sterling Sulieman

Previous

Index

Next

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Jamie Landrum

Appearances: Hades, Hades II
Voiced by: Logan Cunningham

Appearances: Hades, Hades II
Voiced by: Greg Kasavin

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Avalon Penrose

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Marin Miller

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Marin Miller

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Christopher Saphire

Appearances: Hades
Voiced by: Peter Canavese

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Judy Alice Lee

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Amelia Tyler

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Becca Q. Co

Appearances: Hades II
Voiced by: Sterling Sulieman