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).

History
Hades is the eldest male child of the Titans, Kronos and Rhea as the first of their children. He was consumed immediately after birth by Kronos who was paranoid that he would be overthrown by one of his own children. Hades thus spent his childhood in his father's stomach along with his brother, Poseidon, and his sisters: Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. During the Titanomachy, he proved to be a ferocious warrior and greatly contributed to the ultimate downfall of Kronos and his followers. Although it was Hades' birthright to be named his father's successor, he agreed to divide the Titan King's former domain with his brothers and acquiesced, albeit resentfully, to taking the Underworld as his prize.

Although he distanced himself from his family, Hades was lonely and wanted a wife to fill the void. One day, he spotted a young goddess named Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, whose great beauty and tender countenance won his admiration. Hades decided to take her as his bride despite his estrangement with her parents and his siblings, Demeter and Zeus. Hades secretly received Zeus' blessing but he knew that their overprotective sister would refuse to even consider the marriage and so promptly kidnapped Persephone. He then proceeded to woo the distressed goddess with gifts but eventually won her heart through empathy and kindness.

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 gods, Zeus demanded that the lord of the dead return his daughter. Hades refused to lose his wife so easily and persuaded Persephone to eat six pomegranate seeds which would ensure that she returned to him for six months of each year.

The Lightning Thief
Hades sends the Minotaur to abduct Sally Jackson and use her as a bargaining chip at the time when Percy Jackson was accused of stealing Zeus' Master bolt. Percy and his friends travel to California to enter the Underworld when Percy thinks that Hades stole Zeus' Master bolt. It turns out that Hades' Helm of Darkness is also stolen, and Hades thought that he stole it. After Percy defeats Ares (who was responsible for placing the Master Bolt stolen by Luke in Percy's backpack) and reclaims the Helm of Darkness, Percy gives the Helm of Darkness to the Furies (who saw and heard what happened) whom 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.

The Titan's Curse
After about seventy years, Hades had the Fury Alecto (who was disguised as a male lawyer) get his children Bianca and Nico di Angelo out of the Lotus Hotel and Casino as he hoped that one of them could be the child in the Great Prophecy, shortly before the events of this book. Bianca later finds a Mythomagic figurine of Hades, which Percy later gives to Nico.

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 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 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, he 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. His 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. He is also noted to be a 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.

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 in love and searching for a wife). He 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. 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.

His lover, Maria di Angelo, stated that he 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 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. His voice is also described as oily. In The Demigods Files, he is described as having a beard. He often wears black silk robes with evil souls threaded into the cloth. In battle, Hades rides on a black chariot pulled by fearsome dark shadowy mighty horses, 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, he has the ultimate powers a god can possess. They are rivaled only by 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, he 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.


 * 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. In The Last Olympian, Hades even offered to built 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, he has divine authority and absolute control over the deceased.
 * 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.


 * Monsters: Hades has absolute control over 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. 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' attributes are his scepter, two-pronged staff, his Helm of Darkness, his pet dog, Cerberus, and now his sword (after The Demigod Files).

He is mostly seen sitting in his throne in the Underworld, with Cerberus, while wearing his Helm of Darkness. Hades' main attribute is the Key of Death. Other attributes include the Scepter, the Drinking Horn, the Cypress, and the Narcissus.

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

Persephone
When Hades fell in love with Persephone, he kidnapped her, but she did not want to stay with him, and wanted to be rescued. Over time though, she 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 gifts at first, but then took to spending all of his day with her, trying to make her happy. Persephone was tricked and ate the 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 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 younger sister Demeter is his mother-in-law, and his youngest brother Zeus is his father-in-law.

Immortal family
His 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 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 he 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.

The Lightning Thief
Hades 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

 * The dwarf planet, Pluto, is named after Hades' Roman aspect.
 * His Roman name Pluto means "the Rich One."
 * He 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.
 * 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.