Inspired by Lucian's Menippus: A Necromantic Experiment, Nekyia
is a webcomic by A-gnosis which tells the story of Melito, a priestess of Hades, who takes her brother Theodorus, a philosopher, to the underworld to learn its secrets. In the process, we are introduced to Hades and Hermes.
Nekyia provides examples of:
- Call-Forward: The reason Hermes is in the underworld is to deliver Hades an invitation to The Family Party on Mount Olympus.
- Death by Childbirth: This is how the ghost Hermes is guiding died. Though she doesn't remember this until she drinks the blood Theodorus and Melito brought with them.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Melito kicks Hades in the shins out of frustration.
- Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: Once Hades discovers that Melito's offering to him is cookies, the tension is dispelled, and everyone has a nice party.
- The Ferryman: Theodorus and Melito get a ride from Charon himself. He seems to be an okay, albeit grumpy, guy who frequently returns to the land of the living for a drink at a tavern. (Though, Hermes stiffed him on some of the day's earnings.)
- Ghost Amnesia: The shade Hermes is guiding did not realize she had died and did not know why her family was ignoring her.
- Have You Seen My God?: Unlike his more interventionist relatives, Hades left one set of instructions with his priests, left for the Underworld, and stopped listening to prayers. Hermes has to remind him that humans can't be expected to carry on unchanged for six hundred years without any supervision.
- Judgement of the Dead: We meet the judges of the dead, Rhadamanthys and Minos. Though, since it's a slow day, they are taking a break playing a board game.
- Mystical Cave: The Nekromanteion is a temple of Hades built over a cave that leads to the Underworld. Melito and Theodorus use this entrance to visit Hades.
- Not Listening to Me, Are You?: Priestess of Hades, Melito, has never had a response to her prayers. This is because, along with being antisocial, Hades only cares about the dead and doesn't see the point of having mortal worshipers at all.
- Offerings to the Gods: Theodorus and Melito bring a basket of cookies along with them. It's the only thing that keeps them from being cast out of the underworld.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: They're harmless and most of them don't talk at all. Drinking blood lets them remember their lives.
- Psychopomp: Hermes comforts a lost soul and takes her to Hades' palace. Because of this, Hades hires him for the job of guide to the dead.
- Punch-Clock Villain: "Villain" might be too strong a term, but the Erinyes are fun-loving and friendly when they are off the clock.
- Shout-Out: The hypothetical situations Theodorus asks the Erinyes about is mostly the plot of The Oresteia.
- Sticky Fingers: As the god of thieves, Hermes just can't help himself. He takes a fossil from Hades' collection.
- Stop Worshipping Me: Hades doesn't care about the living and actually distrusts people who pray to him, assuming they're trying to exploit the dead for power. He insults his priestess Melito when they meet and is slow to accept that she's acting in good faith.
- Trickster God: Hermes as always. He uses several of his tricks to get past Rhadamanthys and Minos.
