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Spoiler Alert!
Warning! This page contains spoilers for The Court of the Dead. |
Pirithous was a Greek demigod son of Zeus and the king of the Lapiths.
History[]
Adventures with Theseus[]
Sometime after defeating the Minotaur, Theseus fell into bad company with Pirithous and became far more reckless and villainous than ever before. He became a tyrannical king, best friends with Pirithous and, seeking to marry a daughter of Zeus, kidnapped a 12-year-old Helen of Sparta (this was long before Paris), deciding to hold onto her until she was old enough to marry him (Helen escaped later however).
Punishment in the Underworld[]
Pirithous also wanted a beautiful daughter of Zeus as a wife, but he chose a much more unattainable one - Persephone herself. Leaving Helen with his mother, Aethra, Theseus and Pirithous traveled to the Underworld. An enraged Hades, however, called the Furies to punish both heroes. When they sat down to drink, Pirithous had turned to stone and cracked while Theseus' bottom was stuck to the ground. While Theseus was eventually freed by Hercules a few months later (during the completion of his twelfth labor), Pirithous was condemned to remain there for eternity, since he had committed too great a crime for wanting the wife of one of the Big Three as his own bride.
Power Play[]
Pirithous remained imprisoned in the Underworld for millennia where he was encountered by Hazel Levesque who would remember that Pirithous was constantly complaining about his punishment. Believing that Pirithous had changed, Hades eventually released him, but the king began plotting with Tantalus and Mary Tudor to overthrow Hades and take control of the Underworld for themselves. Finding the Chains of Prometheus, the three, as the Court of the Dead, are able to force several minor gods to do their bidding.
The Nico di Angelo Adventures[]
The Court of the Dead[]
As a judge of the dead, in the middle with a Hades mask
After sentencing a Telekhine named Morpho to death, they bring Asterion forward for his trial. When the judges speak, Asterion requests to be addressed by his preferred name and for the judges to reveal their identities. The three judges agree to his terms and remove their masks. The judges then list his actions from his birth to a few years ago, and that he has betrayed the natural order by changing his ways. Asterion remains silent as the judges press him for a response. Soon, the courtroom becomes a Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden, due to an illusion by Hazel Levesque, and Nico di Angelo and Will Solace sneak up and unchain Asterion. However the bull-man and demigods and Asterion are quickly subdued, and the illusion vanishes. He and the other judges sentence Asterion to death, and the bull-man is disintegrated. Once it is done, Hazel is called to stand trial. The demigods are stunned as the judges read out Hazel's actions since she returned to life, but state they are unreliable before listening, the daughter of Pluto's first life. The judges explain that Hazel is their prime target as she was returned to life, something they want for themselves. Nico, Will, and Hazel try to explain that the daughter of Pluto was meant to return to life as she was destined to serve a purpose, but the judges do not listen and ignore when the demigods point out their wrongdoings. Without hesitation, they sentence Hazel to death. A fight breaks out as Will and Nico try to get to Hazel.
Pirithous later goes to Golden Gate Park, where those executed are imprisoned in a barrier surrounded by the Mist, and taunts Hazel and mythics from Camp Jupiter before revealing his backstory and unjust punishment. They ask for his endgame, and Pirithous reveals he wants to overload the Mist to reveal the mythics to them so that Hazel's father will look bad and, ultimately, stand trial before his court. Hazel scoffs at his revenge plot as the king leaves, saying they are completely encased in the barrier.
As the enclosure nears capacity, he and the other judges, as well as their followers, go to Golden Gate Park where Pirithous reveals they are aware of the prisoners' escape attempt before stating that the judges have agreed to let the prisoners go. Pirithous explains that Hades has let the natural order be corrupted and that by overthrowing the ruler of the Underworld, balance will be restored. The judge even offers a pardon to the prisoners if they join him. While Hazel and her allies call Pirithous's bluff, most of the other captives volunteer to join in the hopes of getting a pardon. After the daughter of Pluto realizes the judges are forcing their followers to work for them, she calls out the judges for this and for thinking they could trap her father. While his coconspirators seem shaken, Pirithous holds firm as the enclosure shatters. Not long after, mortals see the mythics and go into a panic; some even film what they see. Soon, two deities appear from the clouds, and they present themselves as the god of truth and the goddess of honor. However, Laverna outs the two as Apate, goddess of description, and Dolus, god of trickery and guile. The two chastise Laverna for serving a mortal as he orders his followers to get the secret weapon ready, as he tries to convince the two to join his cause willingly. The two deities disintegrate Tantalus and Mary Tudor before sending Laverna away. However, before Pirithous is harmed, his secret weapon is unleashed. A giant pair of shackles is spilled out from the wagon, and the gods are imprisoned. Pirithous explains that they were used to imprison Prometheus and that they will swear loyalty to him soon enough as Apate and Dolus scream in agony. After the enclosure explodes and the Mist shatters, he hides behind cyclopes and orders his followers to attack the reformed mythics and demigods.
When Dolus and Apate are freed, they create a personal illusion for everyone when they restore the Mist. He uses this as a cover to escape. He and two of his guards steal Camp Jupiter's van and attempt to drive away. However, Hazel catches up to them and crashes the van. After the crash takes out one of his guards and Quinoa deals with the other, the daughter of Pluto stands over him. When Dolus, Apate, and Hazel's allies come over to them, the twins trap him in an illusion with giant spiders until he releases his followers. As everyone discusses what to do with him, Hecate arrives. Everyone bows to the Goddess of Magic as Pirithous explains his actions to Hecate. The goddess appears to applaud his actions as she summons a large sheet of rock, calling it a throne. Everyone stays quiet as the judge crawls to the rock and is fused with it before being sent to the Fields of Asphodel.
Appearance[]
Pirithous was younger than Tantalus and Mary. He had a mop of dark hair, a finely trimmed beard, and fierce brown eyes. He looked like a haughty maitre d' at a fancy restaurant whose only pleasure in life was turning away improperly dressed customers.
As a judge of the dead, Pirithous wore a gold comedy mask that looks like Hades smiling and a black robe.
Personality[]
Pirithous is an arrogant man who wishes to gain as much power and status as he can. He sees himself as the most important person in existence, as he is unable to see his flaws. He is also cowardly, as he hides behind his forces when a fight breaks out.
Fatal Flaw[]
According to Hades, Pirithous' fatal flaw is self-importance. Pirithous believed himself to be much grander, more powerful, and more deserving than he actually was. As Hades puts it, Pirithous is a fool who expects the world to cater to him, and he complains of injustice when it does not. As shown, when he was entitled to have Helen and Persephone only for his self-importance to cause him to be punished by Hades by being turned into stone and getting Theseus stuck in the underworld for months before Hercules freed him.
Fears[]
Pirithous has a fear of giant spiders so great that he released the minor gods from his control when Dolus and Apate used an illusion of giant spiders on Pirithous.