Hades

"I am not an Olympian! My family has made that quite clear."

- Hades

Hades is the Greek god of the Underworld, wealth, and the Lord of the Dead. One of the Big Three gods, his wife is Persephone. Hades' Roman counterpart is Pluto. He is portrayed by Steve Coogan in The Lightning Thief (film).

Birth and Rescue
Hades was the eldest male child of Kronos, the Titan King of Mount Othrys, and his sister-wife Rhea, born after his sisters Hestia, Demeter, and Hera. Since he was their firstborn son, Rhea had hoped that Hades would not get swallowed, since she believed that Kronos would enjoy raising a son and heir. However, since Hades was a god (a member of a more beautiful and powerful race of immortals than the Titans), Kronos, fearing that Hades would one day overpower him, quickly proceeded to swallow him whole as well. Hades, thus, spent his childhood undigested in his father's stomach along with his sisters, and younger brother Poseidon, who was swallowed shortly thereafter. As a result, Kronos became known as "The Cannibal King." Rhea pleaded with Kronos to spare their children but with no success, since even Kronos' great love for Rhea was not enough to overpower his selfish and evil nature. However, Rhea soon gave birth to her final child, Zeus, whom she secretly raised on Crete, far away from Mount Othrys.

After growing up, Zeus successfully infiltrated Kronos' Palace on Mount Othrys as the Titan King's royal cup bearer. Hades was finally released during the final drinking competition that Kronos had with his Titanic brothers and nephews. Zeus poured an extremely powerful emetic (made from nectar mixed with mustard) into Kronos' goblet, which caused the Titan King to disgorge all of the contents of his stomach, in reverse order of swallowing: first the boulder, then Poseidon, followed by Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. All five of them had been growing undigested in Kronos' stomach, being gods.

Zeus quickly introduced himself to his elder siblings, and all of them (including Hades) promptly escaped Mount Othrys, before their Titanic uncles and cousins came to their senses. In Zeus' Cave, at the base of Mount Ida, Hades happily reunited with his beloved mother Rhea, who tearfully embraced him. Shortly thereafter, Hades and the other gods accepted Zeus as their leader, and reached a unanimous consensus on declaring war against their tyrannical father. However, since the Titans were well-armed and the gods still had no weapons, Hades agreed to help Zeus release their Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheire uncles from Tartarus first. For some reason, Hades seemed quite happy at the prospect of venturing into the darkest and most horrifying realm of the world.

Rescuing the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires
Hades was very skilled in navigating under the earth, was able to lead them all into straight into Tartarus (through a network of Underworld tunnels). There, imprisoned in the maximum-security zone, surrounded by huge bronze walls, and a lava moat, guarded fierce demons, were the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires. Their guardian, Kampê, was the most ferocious and fearsome monster in all of Tartarus, and even Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon initially shuddered with horror when they saw the infernal monster for the first time. However, the gods overcame their fear, and were able to sneak in. Zeus managed to talk to the Cyclopes Brontes, and convinced him to forge powerful weapons for him and his siblings behind Kampê's back. The three Elder Cyclopes forged three incredibly powerful weapons: the Master Bolt (for Zeus), the Trident (for Poseidon), and the Helm of Darkness (for Hades). Hades seemed particularly pleased with the Helm's power of generating intense and ineffable terror (which scared even Zeus and Poseidon). With these new weapons, Zeus killed Kampê, and Poseidon shattered the chains of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, releasing them. Afterwards, Hades safely guided his siblings and uncles back out of Tartarus. In return, for their release, all six of Hades' uncles agreed to fight on his side in the upcoming war with the Titans.

The First Titanomachy
Shortly after their return from Tartarus, Hades and his siblings officially declared war on Kronos and the other Titans, which resulted in the terrifying 11-year-long Titanomachy. The Titans initially had the upper hand, since they were much more experienced warriors. However, as the years of the War passed, the gods quickly became skilled warriors as well, and with the help of their new extremely powerful weapons, as well as the aid of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, the gods finally prevailed. Hades himself proved to be a very dangerous and ferocious warrior and greatly contributed to the ultimate downfall of Kronos and his Titanic followers. He was greatly feared among all of the Titans due to his terrifying Helm.

While preparing for the final battle of the War, Hades and his siblings ascended to Mount Olympus (the tallest mountain in Greece after Mount Orthys). During the final battle, Zeus used his Master Bolt to shear off the top of Mount Othrys, and hurl Kronos from his Black Throne, defeating the Titan King. Shortly thereafter, the gods invaded the ruins of Mount Orthys, and finally overwhelmed Atlas, Hyperion, Iapetus, Krios, and Koios.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Elder Cylopes chained up all of the defeated Titans, while the Hekatonkheires forced them to kneel before Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon. Zeus took his father's Scythe, and sliced Kronos into a thousand pieces, before casting him into Tartarus, along with the rest of his followers (except for General Atlas, who was forced to hold the Sky).

Gaining the Underworld
The gods chose Mount Olympus as their official residence, and the Elder Cyclopes built magnificent palaces there for them all. As a result, the gods started to call themselves the Olympians. Shortly thereafter, Hades had a private meeting with his younger brothers Poseidon and Zeus, and the three mighty sons of Kronos agreed to divide the world between themselves. Although it was Hades' birthright (as Kronos' firstborn son) to be named his father's successor, he agreed to divide the Titan King's former domain with his brothers. Hades received the Underworld, Poseidon seized the seas and oceans, and Zeus claimed the heavens as his domain. Shortly after this division, the three mighty sons of Kronos came to be known as "The Big Three." However, Zeus' authority was recognized as superior to that of his brothers, and Zeus became the King of Mount Olympus and the Olympians.

Unfortunately for Hades, he was greatly feared by all of his siblings, nephews and nieces, and hence, he was rarely invited to Mount Olympus (except for the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year). However, by gaining the Underworld, Hades also gained divine authority over all of the precious metals and jewels under the earth, becoming richer than any other Olympian. Hades was so feared by mortals and demigods, that they rarely even used his name, and referred to him as either "The Rich One", "The Silent One", or "The Hospitable One".

Kidnapping Persephone
Although Hades was distanced from his Olympian family, he was lonely and wanted a wife to fill the void. One day, he spotted a young goddess named Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, whose great beauty and tender countenance won his admiration. Hades began to fall madly in love with the young goddess. He would carry portraits of her in his pockets, carve her name into his obsidian breakfast table, have long imaginary conversations with her, and even secretly spy on her while wearing his Helm of Darkness. Hades fell so deeply in love with Persephone, that for the first time ever, he became sloppy in his duties as Lord of the Dead. Hades wished to take her as his bride despite his estrangement with her parents and his siblings, Demeter and Zeus. He knew that Persephone's overprotective mother would refuse to even consider the marriage, so decided to speak with her father instead.

Shortly thereafter, Hades visited Olympus and begged Zeus, Persephone's father to allow him to marry her. Zeus, who was in a good mood at the time, advised his lovesick brother to kidnap Persephone, and helped him (by growing several fields of magnificent flowers). Hence, Hades succeeded in kidnapping his beloved Persephone, but she did not want to stay with him, and wished to be rescued. Over time though, she gradually fell in love with him and was relieved to be free from her mother Demeter's bossiness, nagging, and smothering for a time. Hades was very kind, and he didn't ever nag, boss, or smother Persephone. He very much wanted her love and tried to buy it with many magnificent gifts at first, but then took to spending all of his day with her, trying to make her happy. Hades even hired a skilled gardener to grow a magnificent garden for Persephone, which was full of her favorite trees and flowers. Hence, it was Hades' empathy and kindness with eventually won Persephone's heart.

Meanwhile, a distraught and grief-stricken Demeter soon caused the earth to become barren when she learned of the abduction and furiously blamed Zeus for allowing Hades to court Persephone behind her back. Pressured by mortal prayers and the other Olympians, Zeus demanded that the Lord of the Dead return his daughter, and sent Hermes to deliver the message. Hades was devastated at the prospect of losing his new found wife, but was forced to submit to the will of Zeus. However, while Hermes delivered the message, Hades' gardener tricked Persephone into eating six pomegranate seeds, so she had to stay with Hades for six months of the year. This came at a cost, as Demeter never could accept that her daughter had married Hades, and left her poor mother. Demeter's nagging increased with this action, but Persephone got to stay with her husband this way.

Asclepius
Asclepius was the favorite demigod son of Apollo, who eventually became the greatest healer in the world. In fact, Asclepius became even more skilled in medicine than his father Apollo, most likely because he devoted all of his time to it. With the help of Gorgon Blood (given to him by Athena), Asclepius could cure any ilness, heal any injury, and even bring back the dead (for which Asclepius later began accepting gold). Furious, Hades stormed up to Mount Olympus demanding that Asclepius pay the price for transgressing and openly mocking the natural laws of life and death. Zeus appeased Hades by personally striking down Asclepius with a thunderbolt.

Apollo was angered and devastated by his favorite son's death, and killed one of the younger Cyclopes (who forged Zeus's thunderbolts) in retaliation. To prevent a feud, Asclepius was resurrected and made into a god, but Hades forbid him from ever resurrecting the dead again.

The Eleventh Labor of Hercules
For Hercules' final labor he was ordered by King Eurystheus to bring back Hades' mighty and ferocious pet dog Cerberus as proof of his strength and fearlessness. Hercules eventually found the entrance to the Underworld and entered, but rather than attack Cerberus on sight, Hercules, who had heard many stories of Hades and how the Lord of the Dead treated intruders, ignored the infernal monster (who let him pass) and continued straight onward to Hades' Palace.

Hera's plan to pit Hercules against a furious Hades backfired, when the humbly hero knelt before the terrifying Lord of the Dead, and asked permission to take Cerberus. Hades was impressed by Hercules, who until then had an infamous reputation for acting without thinking, and while all heroes who had previously entered the Underworld did so to win fame, Hercules was the first to place respect for Hades above his own ambitions. Hades was so impressed with this, that he granted the demigod permission to take Cerberus on a few conditions. The first was that Hercules could not seriously injure Cerberus, and thus, could not use his weapons against him. The second condition was that Hercules had to bring Cerberus back as soon as the labor was completed. The third and final condition, was that the hero had to tell Hades who had asked him to bring back Cerberus as a trophy. Hercules promptly agreed to all of the terms, and told Hades, that King Eurystheus had asked the labor of him.

Thus, placing aside his mighty club and deadly Hydra arrows, Hercules returned to Cerberus to wrestle the beast barehanded. Cerberus was tremendously strong and fierce, his three heads biting and snarling rapidly. The combatants seemed evenly matched, and fought so fiercely that earth cracked beneath them and walls shook. In the end, however, Hercules manged to headlock and slowly drag Cerberus out of the Underworld, back to King Eurythseus. The king was terrified when Hercules returned, as he had not expected Hercules to return from what he believed to be a suicide mission, and ordered the hero to get the beast out of his kingdom. As he had promised Hades, Hercules escorted Cerberus all the way back to the Underworld.

In retaliation however, Hades appeared before King Eurystheus while Hercules was dragging Cerberus back. The furious Lord of the Dead demanded to know why King Eurystheus had dared to send someone into his realm to take his beloved pet as a trophy. Eurystheus collapsed in fear and begged Hades to spare him, revealing to Hades that he received orders for all of Hercules' labors from Hera herself who was trying to send Hercules to his death. As a result, Hades payed a visit to Hera and made it clear to his sister, that there would be consequences, for her directly, if she would ever send Hercules on any such errand again.

Oath of The Big Three
Over the centuries the Olympians moved west to the countries that held the seats of their great power and influence. During World War II, Zeus' and Poseidon's demigod children fought together against Hades' own demigod children. After Hades' side (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan) was defeated, the Oracle prophesied that a half-blood child of one the three brothers would either cause the downfall or salvation of Olympus. This caused The Big Three gods to swear an oath to no longer sire any more demigod children, but because Hades already had two demigods (Nico and Bianca di Angelo), Zeus ordered him to take them to Camp Half Blood. Hades disobeyed, for fear that his children would either be turned against him or killed. Angered, Zeus tried to kill the young demigods, Bianca and Nico di Angelo, by destroying the hotel they were currently residing in, but Hades managed to protect them. He, however, failed to save their mother Maria di Angelo, and was devastated, and threatened to "crush him" for what he had done.

Trying to Kill Thalia
Shortly after Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth encountered the satyr Grover, Hades somehow discovered that Thalia was a demigod child of Zeus. Still bitter at his brother for murdering his lover Maria, Hades sends the most terrifying monsters of the Underworld (including all three Furies) to destroy her. The quartet could have escaped from the monsters, except for the fact that a bloodthirsty Cyclops in Brooklyn stopped them, so that the monster army could catch up. The Cyclops chained Thalia, Luke, and Grover in the air to direct the monsters in their direction, but Annabeth saved them by stabbing the Cyclops in the foot. Once the quartet reached Camp Half-Blood Hill, Hades' infernal army finally caught up with them. Thalia told her friends to run to safety, while she selflessly fought the army on her own. Zeus took pity on his daughter and to prevent her soul from going to Hades, Zeus turned Thalia into a pine tree.

The Lightning Thief
As before, Hades attended the annual Olympian Winter Solstice Council. At that time, however, demigods from Camp Half-Blood organized a field trip to Mount Olympus. Late at night, while the other campers and counselors were asleep, Luke Castellan (a demigod son of Hermes) crept into the Olympian Throne Room, and was able to steal the Hades' Helm of Darkness, as well as Zeus' Master Bolt. Hades believed that no one would ever dare steal his personal symbol of power, so he had left the Helm by his throne. Unlike Zeus, Hades decided to keep the theft of his most powerful weapon a secret, believing that none of the other Olympians would offer him the slightest help in searching for it.

As a result, Hades decided to search for the thief himself, with the help of his loyal Furies. On Hades's orders, the Fury Alecto infiltrated Yancy Academy as a mathematics teacher, after the last one had a nervous breakdown (most likely, at the hands of Hades himself). Alecto soon discovers that one of the students, Percy Jackson, is an unclaimed demigod son of Poseidon. Hades deems him to be the thief of both items, and orders Alecto to force him to divulge the location of his Helm to her. However, when Alecto attacks him, Percy, armed with Riptide at the last moment by Chiron, swipes his sword through her, and sends the Fury's spirit back to the Underworld. As a result, Hades sends the Minotaur to abduct Sally Jackson and use her as a bargaining chip for Percy Jackson to return the Helm to him.

Percy and his friends travel to California to enter the Underworld, since Percy himself thinks that Hades stole Zeus' Master Bolt. However, when Percy personally meets Hades, the demigod learns of the theft of the Helm of Darkness, and promises to return it to his uncle, before promptly escaping via Poseidon's Pearls. Shortly thereafter, Percy defeats Ares (who was responsible for placing the Master Bolt stolen by Luke in Percy's backpack) and reclaims the Helm of Darkness from the god of war. Percy proceeds to give the Helm to the three Furies (who saw and heard what happened) who return to the Underworld with it. Thus, Hades is able to uphold his end of the bargain by returning Sally back to her apartment unharmed.

It is also about this time that Hades has the Alecto (who was disguised as a male lawyer) get his children Bianca and Nico di Angelo out of the Lotus Hotel and Casino (after being inside for seventy years) as he hoped that one of them could be the child in the Great Prophecy. Both demigods were promptly sent to Westover Hall, a military school in Maine.

The Titan's Curse
Bianca and Nico di Angelo are discovered by Grover Underwood, along with Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth. Bianca later finds a Mythomagic figurine of Hades at the expense of her life, which Percy later gives to Nico. Near the end of the book, Nico discovers that he is a son of Hades and proceeds to run away from Camp Half Blood.

The Sword of Hades
A new symbol of power was being made for Hades. A sword that contains a key to free and capture souls into and out of the Underworld. The weapon had been made by Persephone without his knowledge. The sword was stolen by Ethan Nakamura and retrieved by Thalia Grace, Percy, and Nico. In exchange for having the sword returned, Percy made Hades swear on the River Styx not to use the weapon against the gods. Afterwards, Hades agreed and left angrily, now realizing that Persephone disobeyed him and made the sword against his wishes.

The Last Olympian
A flashback is seen, showing how Maria di Angelo died, and how Hades cursed the Oracle of Delphi. It is revealed that Hades is actually very protective of his family as he said that he would of build a castle of gold by the River Styx for Maria di Angelo.

Originally, Hades didn't want to help his fellow Olympians during the Battle of Manhattan, saying that they had never helped him and stayed in the Underworld together with Demeter and Persephone. However, eventually persuaded by his son, Nico di Angelo, he arrived just in time to save Olympus and fight off his father, Kronos, with his son, wife, and Demeter. He was able to terrify Kronos' entire army, and almost made them scatter. Hades challenges his father Kronos to a duel, but Kronos quickly separates himself from Hades' forces by an energy field, implying that even he feared fighting Hades. Kronos, however, was stopped by the efforts of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover Underwood. Hades was later welcomed amongst the gods as the savior of Olympus, for his bravery in battle, a feeling he hadn't felt in quite a while. He also sat in the Throne Room, despite the fact that he was only allowed during the winter solstice, while his son Nico sat at his feet beaming. He became angered at Percy, when the hero seemed to suggest that he was a minor god, which Percy quickly denied and went on to say that he too should gain a Cabin at Camp Half-Blood. He also agreed to "streamline the application process" of the Hunters who had died in battle, sending them straight to Elysium instead of waiting in the E-Z Death line (this was done to ease Artemis' glaring at him when she politely demanded that her dead Hunters be sent to Elysium). Shortly thereafter, a cabin is built for his children in Camp Half-Blood.

The Son of Neptune
Nico mentions that ever since Thanatos' capture, Hades is doing everything in his power to retain order in the Underworld, since the Fields of Punishment currently look like a prison riot, and even the Furies can barely keep order.

The House of Hades
At the end of the previous book, Nico di Angelo agreed to lead the Seven to the Necromanteion, Hades' greatest temple and shrine. Later on, Hades' son Lynkos, the cruel King of the Scythians, is mentioned by Triptolemus. Furthermore, due to the bad relationship between Demeter and Hades, Triptolemus initially refuses to help Nico and Hazel in any way. Hades himself was seen very briefly. When Pluto spoke with Hazel Levesque after her confrontation with Sciron, he briefly returned to his Greek aspect (with Skeleton Warriors around it), which scowled, and quickly turned back into Pluto.

Personality
Hades is noted to be a particularly honorable and just as well as a harsh god. He respects oaths and the laws of morality. Ironically, Hades has never killed a mortal before attempting to kill Thalia. This is most obvious in that he never broke the oath concerning the birth of demigod children of the Big Three as well as when he allowed Sally Jackson to return to the mortal realm after his Helm of Darkness was recovered, something he was not bound to do. Hades' respect for the law and his code of conduct is evident as he's the supreme judge of the dead souls and of all creatures that traverse to the Underworld. As shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hades made it his goal to bring living sinners to justice as well, and would dispatch the Furies to drive them to madness, until they were ether killed, or made amends for their misdeeds. Hades is also noted to be a very hardworking and busy god, rather unlike many of the other gods who take their duties and responsibilities in a much lighter manner, such as Dionysus and Apollo. Hades is also extremely intelligent (and certainly the smartest of his siblings), shown by his incredible ability to invent new and original (and sometimes ironic) punishments for sinners in the Fields of Punishment on the spot. Good examples of such punishments include those of Sisyphus and Tantalus.

Despite his honorable habits, there is a cruel and darker side to Hades. Although he was the one to make a compromise with Demeter, he was indeed the one to initially trick Persephone into staying in the Underworld (though he did it because he was deeply in love and searching for a wife). Hades also carries grudges for an extremely long time, a trait he passes onto all of his children. His cruel traits mirror that of his father Kronos in terms of cunning, ruthlessness, and deviousness. Hades, however is not evil like his father, but rather distant and bitter due to past tragedies which leads him to behave the way he does, though Hades does his best not to show it. This does change after the events in The Last Olympian, as he was accepted because he helped save Olympus. As his daughter Bianca put it, "Holding grudges is dangerous for children of Hades. It is our fatal flaw." This is most obvious when he attempts to kill Thalia when Zeus breaks his vow, something that may have been further provoked by Zeus' attempted murder of his youngest children in World War II, ultimately resulting in the death of Maria di Angelo; it should be noted that he did not have the same murderous intent in regards to Percy, despite similarly being the result of the broken vow as a son of Poseidon (probably because he has no grudges against Poseidon).

Hades is a harsh father and is often demanding and critical of Nico, who he constantly compares to Bianca, and rarely shows Nico that he does in fact care for him. After the Battle of Manhattan, though, Hades views his son with pride and respect. Hades begins trusting Nico with much more information, and even tells him about Camp Jupiter and the Roman demigods, trusting Nico not to share this knowledge with anybody else until the time is right. Hades might have foreseen that Nico was destined to find the Doors of Death and lead the Seven Heroes of Olympus there.

His lover, Maria di Angelo, stated that Hades was a kind and generous man, hinting that there may be a softer side to him. His darker side stems from the bitterness he feels at being spurned and feared by his fellow Olympians, which in turn leads to his habit of holding grudges.

Appearance
Hades is described as a tall, imposing and very muscular god with albino white skin, intense black eyes that were either the eyes of a genius or a madman, and having a mesmerizing, evil charisma, and shoulder-length black hair. According to Persephone in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, when Hades is passionate, his black eyes light up with "purple fire." His voice is also described as oily. In The Demigods Files, he is described as having a beard. He often wears black flowing robes with evil souls threaded into the cloth. In battle, Hades rides on a huge gold-and-black chariot pulled by fearsome dark shadowy mighty horses (their eyes and manes "smoldering with fire"), and wears imposing black Stygian Iron armor with a blood-red cape and his terrifying helm. He arms himself with both his two-pronged staff and his mighty sword. He is also known to wear two rings: a silver skull one (that he later gives to Nico), and a opal one (his wedding ring from Persephone).

Roman Form
Hades can change into his Roman counterpart of Pluto. As Pluto, he has a more relaxed demeanor than his Greek aspect that tempers his more disciplined, militaristic, and warlike nature. He also apparently dresses in modern attire with a dark suit, a platinum black tie, and a gray undershirt. Pluto has one daughter Hazel and no descendants at Camp Jupiter near San Francisco. Hades was envisioned by the Greeks as a fearsome and powerful being while the Romans believed that Pluto was less associated with death and more associated with riches. Both associate him with the Underworld.

Abilities


As one of the Big Three, Hades has the ultimate powers a god can possess. They are rivaled only by those of his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon. Hades is so powerful, that when Percy first meets him, he begins to feel very submissive, and has to fight the urge to follow Hades' every order, as well as a strong desire to curl up and sleep at Hades' feet. In The Last Olympian, Hades plays a key role in overwhelming Kronos' huge army.


 * Geokinesis: As the god of the Underworld, Hades has absolute control over all the earth and stones, as well as the walls of the Underworld, Erebos. He has the same geokinetic abilities as Nico and Hazel, only extremely increased.
 * In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hades is shown to be skilled in navigating under the earth, even before he became the God of the Underworld. Hence, Hades was able to lead his siblings in and out of Tartarus.


 * Ferrokinesis: As the god of wealth, he can sense and summon any quantity of precious metals and jewels from under the ground, as well as manipulate them. As a result, Hades is the richest Olympian of all. In The Last Olympian, Hades even offered to build a pure golden palace for Maria di Angelo. Hence, Hades is often referred to as "The Rich One."


 * Necromancy: As the god of the dead and the lord of the Underworld, Hades has divine authority and absolute control over the deceased. Hades' nickname "The Hospitable One" is a reference to him always having room in the Underworld for one more soul.
 * He can call forth endless waves of the dead to fight for him.
 * He can destroy Skeleton Warriors.
 * He can put the dead to sleep.
 * He can silence the dead with a gesture.
 * He can physically grab a ghost.
 * Metamorphysus: He can capture and release living souls in a blast of yellow flames, shown when he abducted Sally Jackson.


 * Death Sense: As the god of the dead, Hades can sense when a person is dying and when their soul is being judged in the Underworld. He can also sense people's life auras.


 * Death Curses: Hades is also able to place curses on the living. While he is unable to kill people before the Fates decree its time, he can prevent a person's soul from ever leaving their body, as he did with the Oracle. This will mean that a person's body will eventually turn to dust with age and their soul will be lost forever.


 * Monster Lordship: Hades has absolute control over countless ferocious monsters native to his realm, such as the Hellhounds, Cerberus, and the Furies.


 * Umbrakinesis: As the god of the Underworld, Hades has absolute control over shadows and darkness.
 * He can surround enemies into pitch black clouds lightless space.
 * He can shoot solid bolts of darkness.
 * He can solidify shadows into shields, which are strong enough to deflect lightning bolts.
 * Using shadows, he is able to travel anywhere he wants at very high speeds (Shadow Travel)
 * He can use shadows to cover himself in darkness to become invisible.
 * Dark Pyrokinesis: Hades has absolute control over black hellfire, which is considerably more destructive than normal flames, as it turns whatever it touches to liquid.


 * Induced Terror: With his Helm of Darkness, Hades can radiate death and terror so intense, that it can unhinge people's minds and stop their heartbeats. According to Grover, this is why most rational beings fear the dark. Kronos' entire army tried to flee from him, but they were more scared of Kronos than Hades. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hades' Helm is shown to be powerful enough to scare even Zeus and Poseidon. Also, the Helm allows Hades to become invisible, similar to Annabeth's Yankee cap, though the Helm is described as much more powerful, since it allows him to become a shadow. This means he can pass through walls and melt into shadows, not be touched, seen or heard by anyone.

Attributes
Hades' main attributes are his scepter, two-pronged staff, his terrifying Helm of Darkness, his vicious pet dog, Cerberus, and now his sword (after The Demigod Files).

He is mostly seen sitting on his throne in the Underworld, with Cerberus, while wearing his Helm of Darkness. His other main attributes are the golden Keys of Hades. According to Nico in The Sword of Hades, with these keys, Hades can "lock or unlock death" by imprisoning souls in the Underworld, or releasing them.

Other attributes of Hades include the Drinking Horn, the Cattle of Hades, the Screech Owl (since its cry is considered a bad omen), the Poplar, the Cypress, and the Narcissus.

Hades' most sacred temple and shrine is the Necromanteion (also known as the House of Hades, or the Oracle of Death) in Epirus, Greece.

Persephone
As shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, when Hades first saw Persephone, he fell madly in love with her. He would carry portraits of her in his pockets, carve her name into his obsidian breakfast table, have long imaginary conversations with her, and even secretly spy on her while wearing his Helm of Darkness. Hades fell so deeply in love with her, that he became sloppy in his duties as Lord of the Dead. Shortly thereafter, Hades visited Olympus and begged Zeus, Persephone, father to allow him to marry her. Zeus, who was in a good mood at the time, advised his lovesick brother to kidnap Persephone, and helped him (by growing several fields of magnificent flowers). Hence, Hades succeeded in kidnapping his beloved Persephone, but she did not want to stay with him, and wished to be rescued. Over time though, she gradually fell in love with him and was relieved to be free from her mother Demeter's bossiness, nagging, and smothering for a time. He was very kind, and he didn't ever nag, boss, or smother her. He very much wanted her love and tried to buy it with many magnificent gifts at first, but then took to spending all of his day with her, trying to make her happy. Hades even hired a skilled gardener to grow a magnificent garden for Persephone, which was full of her favorite trees and flowers. The gardener later tricked Persephone into eating six pomegranate seeds, so she had to stay with Hades for six months of the year. This came at a cost, as Demeter never could accept that her daughter had married Hades, and left her poor mother. Demeter's nagging increased with this action, but Persephone got to stay with her husband this way. She loves and respects him very much, calling him "my lord." Hades, on his part, even claims that Persephone is dearer to him than any precious metals or gems.

Hades loves his wife, but during the time when she is away from him, he does not like to be alone. He seeks out mortal women during this time. Persephone hates hearing of his affairs and detests his demigod children. Hades is apologetic about his girlfriends with Persephone, but she is displeased when they are mentioned. He has the fewest demigod children of the Big Three, not even having any mentioned in the old myths, due to his strong (for a god) devotion to his wife. Hades' marriage to her also means, ironically, that his elder sister Demeter is his mother-in-law, and his youngest brother Zeus is his father-in-law.

Immortal family
Hades' relationship with his family has always been a little "difficult" due to his duties and his position as the loner in the family, but after the Great Prophecy was set, Hades distances himself even more from his siblings, especially Zeus, whom he develops a grudge against. This is because the prophecy said that a child of the Big Three would either destroy or preserve Olympus and Zeus didn't want to take the chance. So Zeus ordered Hades to hand over any of his children to Camp Half-Blood to be "trained" for their own protection but Hades had a fairly good idea what that meant. His suspicions proved to be true when Zeus demolished the building that Hades, the children (Bianca and Nico) and their mother Maria were in. Hades was barely able to detect the attack and managed to save the children but Maria was killed instantly, something that up until recently Hades never forgave his brother for. It was also the incident that almost destroyed the Oracle of Delphi as it was she who gave the prophecy and it was she Hades focused his rage on, cursing her to be trapped within her current host until it withered to nothing, effectively killing her. The only act of protection Hades could offer his children was to wipe their memories and hide them for their own protection in the Lotus Casino.

His grudge with Zeus in part led to Thalia being turned into a tree after it was discovered she was a child of Zeus, effectively meaning she was a living risk and Zeus had broken an oath on the River Styx. Being a god Zeus got off lightly, but Hades was angered by both this and the death of Maria, and he unleashed all the worst monsters in the Underworld to kill Thalia, leading to her sacrificing herself in order protect Luke Castellan and Annabeth whom she was traveling with, though Zeus managed to keep Thalia from ending up in the Underworld by turning her into a tree as she lay on the hill dying.

Hades' relationship with his other brother Poseidon is not shown, though seeing as though he did not attempt to kill Percy like he did with Thalia, it can be assumed it is healthier than his relationship with Zeus. Initially coming off cold and vindictive, Hades is not evil like his father, but rather distant and bitter due to past tragedies which leads him to behave the way he does, though he doesn't show it. This does change after the events in The Last Olympian, as he was accepted because he helped save Olympus.

Mistresses
Hades must have loved Bianca and Nico's mother, Maria di Angelo, very much if he had two separate children with her. Maria was one of the few who always saw Hades' kind and generous side, and even speculated that if the other Olympians saw it as well, they would not spurn and fear him nearly as much. When Maria was killed by Zeus, Hades was devastated. Later, the Oracle appeared telling him that he should not leave Bianca and Nico in the Lotus Hotel just so one of them could be part of the prophecy.

In his fury, Hades cursed the Oracle so that no one else could replace her until he and his children were respected and treated as heroes. He also seems to feel affection for his children, as described by Percy in The Sword of Hades: "Hades turned back to Nico. His gaze softened just a little, like rock soft rather than steel." That shows he must love Nico, 'just a little.' According to the list of children of Hades, many of them are of Italian heritage, which would imply that he is mostly interested in Italian women. He seems to favor his daughter Bianca more than Nico, because in The Last Olympian, Hades tells Nico that "his sister would have done a better job". One of these reasons was the fact that she looks so much like her mother Maria. After the Battle of Manhattan, though, Hades views his son with pride and respect. Hades begins trusting Nico with much more information, and even tells him about Camp Jupiter and the Roman demigods, and trusts Nico not to share this knowledge with anybody else until the time is right. Hades might have foreseen that Nico was destined to find the Doors of Death and lead the Seven Heroes of Olympus there.

It is hinted throughout the series that during WWII Hades children fought against Zeus and Poseidon's children on the losing side. It can be assumed that his children were Adolf Hitler and/or Benito Mussolini. Hazel remarks how much Pluto looks like Hitler upon their first meeting.

Even in mythology, Hades is the one god who never cheated on his wife. One nymph named Minthe attempted to seduce him, but before it could happen, Persephone, his wife, interrupted and changed Minthe into the plant called Mint.

Symbol of Power
Hades' symbol of power is the Helm of Darkness, which allows him to become a shadow. This means he can pass through walls and melt into shadows, not be touched, seen or heard, and radiate fear so intense that it can make a person go insane or stop their heart. It allows Hades to enter the corners of a living creature's mind and project terrifying images in addition to showing their worst nightmares.

In The Sword of Hades, it is revealed that Persephone forged him a new weapon of power in the form of a sword. The sword has a key of death embedded in its hilt, so the wielder can raise the dead from the deepest corners of Tartarus or send a soul to the Underworld by one touch of the blade. In other stories, Hades has a bident or chains with hooks as weapons.

Film
The Lightning ThiefHades is portrayed by Steve Coogan. He made an appearance in one of the early trailers where Percy and the others encounter him in the Underworld. He was seen with his wife, Persephone, on the sidelines, bargaining for the Master Bolt for Percy's mother, Sally Jackson. In comparison with the books, Hades dresses more modern and casual than his brothers, who dress in Greek battle armor, while in the book he was described as the first god Percy met who actually appeared god-like. He is shown wearing dark-colored, torn, Goth-like clothing with jewelry and a finger claw.In a recent clip it was shown that Hades is a proficient shape-shifter and has a bit of a sense of humor. This was shown in the clip when Grover comments in surprise that Hades does not look like they pictured him. Hades morphs into a giant flaming demonic figure, and Grover shouts for him to "stick with the Mick Jagger thing. It works for you."His personality is much more sinister here, taking the place of both Ares and Kronos' in their involvement in the theft of the Master Bolt. Here, Persephone is held against her will and hates him. As he plans to use the bolt to replace Zeus as king of the gods, he is blasted by her in anger and knocked unconscious. Persephone notes that he will not remember a thing when he awakens. Hades

Trivia

 * Hades is also referred to as "The Rich One", "The Silent One", and "The Hospitable One".
 * Hades' mother Rhea is the only one who has always loved him unconditionally.
 * Like Kronos, Hades is greatly feared by all of his immortal siblings, nephews, and nieces, all of whom rarely visit him. As a result, one thing that nearly all the other Olympians agreed upon in their massive family feuds, was not to pick a fight with Hades.
 * However, as of The Last Olympian, this has changed, since Hades helped save Olympus from Kronos, and was welcomed with open arms.
 * Hades is Kronos's firstborn son, and thus, the eldest one of the Big Three.
 * As the god of wealth, Hades is the richest Olympian of all.
 * The dwarf planet, Pluto, is named after Hades' Roman aspect.
 * His Roman name Pluto means "The Rich One."
 * Hades is considered to be a stern and fair god as well as one of the more passive Olympians in real mythology. He is more peaceful in mythology in his Roman form than his Greek form.
 * Indeed, the Camp Half-Blood series, unlike several other modern depictions of Hades, is more faithful to his mythological personality. Rather than showing him as a sinister and malevolent demoniac monarch of sorts, like his father Kronos, Hades is more often a neutral character, with a great appreciation for justice and morality.
 * Hades/Pluto was generally not accepted by the Olympians and was kept in the Underworld, much like how the planet Pluto is not considered to be a planet.
 * Four out of six of Hades/Pluto's children (Bianca, Nico, Hazel, and Adolf Hitler) were born or lived in the 1940s.
 * Three of the six demigod children of Hades/Pluto who appeared within the series had been over (technically) seventy years old and all of them appear young in the books.
 * In the text of the Suda, Macaria appears as Hades' daughter only, no mother mentioned.
 * In early depictions of Hades in mythology, as God of the Dead he had no children for he was infertile, children were added to him in the later depictions.
 * Even though it was mentioned that Hades was invited to Mount Olympus during the winter solstice (since it is the darkest day of the year, and the day ancient, evil magic is at its strongest), he did not make an appearance in the Olympian meeting in The Titan's Curse.
 * He is the uncle and brother-in-law of the campers in the Zeus and Demeter cabins.
 * As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hades frequently hires the greatest deceased actors and musicians from Elysium for entertainment.
 * He is the uncle of Thalia Grace and Percy Jackson.
 * His Egyptian Counterpart is Set
 * He is the only member of The Big Three who is known to have not broken the oath.