| “ | "There is no escape." | „ |
| ~ Thanatos |
Thanatos is the personification of death. He is one of Nyx's many children and the older twin brother of Hypnos.
As the embodiment of death, Thanatos has many duties requiring him to venture up into the mortal realm. His most recent such venture took longer than usual - speculated by Hypnos and Zagreus to be related to the ongoing war - but returns some time after the game's opening. He apparently dislikes the mortal realm, in particular how bright it can get.
Thanatos occasionally appears at the beginning of regular encounters and challenges Zagreus to see which of them can slay more shades. He is immune to damage during the contest, and will not retaliate if struck (he'll just complain). If Zagreus either kills more enemies than Thanatos does or ties his total, he will award Zagreus a Centaur Heart in addition to the regular room-clear reward.
Within the House of Hades, Thanatos can be found in the same hallway where Achilles keeps guard. After a run in which he was encountered, he has a high (but not 100%) chance of appearing in the House. If he is given nectar during the run right before appearing in the House, he won't be able to be gifted.
Characteristics and Personality[ | ]
The embodiment of death, Thanatos prioritizes a job well done and likes to keep a perfect record. Despite his strong work ethic, this does not stop him from moving in the shadows, as Thanatos breaks his loyalty vow to the House of Hades by offering his support to Zagreus to help him escape.
As the personification of death, Thanatos represents the natural and non-violent end to mortal existence, removing life in a painless and expected way. He sees death as a compassionate friend responsible for taking souls to the end of their journey and treats it only as an aspect of his work.
To most in the Underworld, Thanatos is known as a chronic workaholic and a ruthless perfectionist: aloof, insensitive, and almost always in a bad mood. Even when he apologizes, his words can be harsh. However, Zagreus claims that beneath his prickly exterior, Thanatos can in truth be responsive, respectful, and even friendly when he so desires, deconstructing the "ice king" image his years of duty have cultivated. Thanatos is also reserved, does not open up easily, and does not share details about his private life unless they are related to his work. However, he is surprisingly talkative in combat, sometimes even announcing his next move. Zagreus considers listening to this to be a "death sentence" in its own way.
Thanatos has a strict code of conduct at work, especially when it comes to his twin brother Hypnos. Hypnos tends to be sloppy in his work, while Thanatos is methodical, solemn, and completes his tasks in an orderly manner. Thanatos tends to ignore or reprimand Hypnos, but he sees it as an incentive for his twin to improve. When Hypnos is at risk of losing his job, Thanatos intervenes. As Hypnos becomes more active in his tasks in the House, Thanatos secretly praises him, and even apologizes for how he's previously treated him.
Proud and hesitant, Thanatos is a "tsundere" who is not honest about his feelings, but also not good at hiding them, irrespective of his cool exterior. Everyone in the underworld seems to already know how he feels about Zagreus, whom he is said to "adore". He takes things extremely seriously, so when Zagreus says he wants to go further with their relationship, Thanatos asks him to clarify and hopes that Zagreus doesn't think he's joking. If Zagreus accepts Thanatos' offer, he needs to understand that Thanatos' distant and unsettling silence does not indicate indifference and Zagreus will have to deal with it as it is simply a part of his personality.
Physical description[ | ]
Thanatos is a figure with a grayish-brownish skin tone, though pale, slim, and slender, but sculpted with striking features and short silver hair that used to be long, now falling in strands around his face. He has dark circles around his eyes, with remarkable golden eyes that gleam with a supernatural light. He is generally seen with an apathetic expression.
His dark leather armor is adorned with golden wings, similar to his twin brother's, but with "three" ornaments instead of "four," placed on just one shoulder. He wears a hood that covers the top of his head and frames his face, and his black cloak flows behind him as he moves gracefully and agilely. In his hand, he wields a black scythe with a sharp, curved blade that emits a purple light resembling an eye. Thanatos' physical appearance exudes a quiet and mysterious aura befitting his role as the God of Death.
History[ | ]
Before Hades[ | ]
Thanatos and his twin Hypnos are born from Nyx one day. He's always been able to shift around; however, he couldn't control his teleportation powers very well and was constantly warping around, being a real handful to Nyx.
He came to know of Persephone and like many others appreciated her and her rule. Persephone herself liked Thanatos due to his composed and hard working style.
One day, he is tasked with getting the mortal king Sisyphus, whom the gods have grown tired of his treatment to his guests and other misdeeds. He parts with special chains to bind the king, but is tricked and Sisyphus is able to bind him instead, keeping him locked later. This causes no death to occur, which greatly upsets Ares, since now no one died in his wars. Eventually, the gods find and free Thanatos, who then takes Sisyphus to the Underworld to receive his punishment.
Then Zagreus happens. Due to the conditions in which he was born, Persephone leaves; Thanatos believes she was just unhappy staying in the Underworld, and had no idea Zagreus's birth was the cause. Over the years, both boys bond and become great friends. There was a time when Thanatos lost his cthonic companion Mort and was very sad over it.
Hades[ | ]
When Zagreus starts his escape attempts, Thanatos is too busy fetching mortals due to the ongoing war and thus is not aware of them until much later. He eventually returns and hears of them and sets out to look for Zagreus. The prince assumes his presence is another of his father's way to stop him, which greatly annoys Thanatos who is, in fact, helping him out, and on his own free will too.
Thanatos was deeply hurt when he found Zagreus was thinking of leaving, namely for not have been told beforehand. However, as time passes and Zagreus continues to attempt to escape, Thanatos keeps helping him, despite the risks, and comes to understand his motives better. He's still sad Zagreus won't stay in the Underworld with him and those that cared for him and watched him grow.
Epilogue[ | ]
Thanatos is glad that Zagreus's family matters are taken care of, and that Zagreus won't actually leave.
Affinity[ | ]
If given Nectar, Thanatos will give you the Pierced Butterfly.
After 6 bottles of Nectar, further gifts will be locked until you complete his favor.
After completing his favor, giving Thanatos Ambrosia will give you Companion Mort in exchange.
Thanatos' affinity gauge is maxed out at 10 hearts, requiring the gifting of 6 Nectar and 4 Ambrosia total.
If affinity is maxed out with Thanatos, there will be unique text above his keepsake. this text states: "From Thanatos; you share an undying bond" as well as "with whom should death belong, if not with blood, with life?"
Favor[ | ]
Thanatos' favor is not mentioned, and acts more as a narrative event between Zagreus and Thanatos.
Beating Thanatos after giving him 6 Nectar will randomly prompt a discussion between the two about Zagreus being powerful enough to escape the Underworld without Thanatos' help. Once Zagreus proves his strength to Thanatos, Thanatos can be given Ambrosia the next time he is encountered in the House of Hades.
Romance[ | ]
Reaching maximum affinity with Thanatos will unlock a scene in Zagreus's Room, where Zagreus can either begin a romantic relationship with him or continue as friends. Thanatos, Dusa, and Megaera can be romanced at the same time with no negative repercussions.
If Zagreus is able to fully romance both Thanatos and Megaera, another scene will be unlocked in Zagreus’s Room, in which he, Thanatos and Megaera meet up and can begin a polyamorous relationship.[1]
Codex entry[ | ]
Quotes[ | ]
For quotes and dialogue regarding Thanatos, please refer to Thanatos/Quotes.
Encounters[ | ]
After seeing either Alecto or Tisiphone for the first time, Thanatos has a chance to first be seen after the 3rd chamber of Elysium. Once this occurs, Thanatos has a chance to appear in any area except for the Temple of Styx. He may appear at the beginning of any encounter (excluding Trials of the Gods or Survival Rooms). This initiates a contest where they compete to slay more foes than the other, for that encounter. The spawn rate of foes is noticeably higher and the encounter lasts three waves. If Zagreus either kills more enemies than Thanatos does or ties his total, he will award Zagreus a Centaur Heart. Zagreus and Thanatos are immune from each other's attacks.
Thanatos has two types of attacks that can instantly kill foes, even those with armor, during the contest:
- He spawns a large purple circle which, after a delay, instantly kills foes inside the area of effect.
- He marks an enemy with a purple scythe on their head, which kills it after a delay.
Thanatos's attacks are slow and delayed, which gives Zagreus a chance to kill the enemies and claim more points.
In Elysium, Flame Wheels that self-destruct are not counted as points. Exalted warriors count as two points, once when they are wielding weapons, and another time when they are in their weapon-less soul form. Exalted warriors will not spawn a soul when Thanatos kills them, but only count as one point for him.
Trivia[ | ]
- While his relationship with Zagreus is officially described as childhood friends, Thanatos will make several remarks about having met Persephone through the course of the game, while Zagreus never knew previously that she was his mother. Some confusion about this may arise from the Portrait, Cerberus item that can be purchased at the Contractor, but this item does not depict canon events due to Skelly's inclusion in the image.
- Zagreus comments that Thanatos used to have long hair, and it looked good on him, but he cut it because he thought it was hindering him in battles. Official art confirms this.[2]
- His catchphrase is "Death approaches."
- Thanatos is a gay character in Hades, although he may be open to other relationships. He confirms his orientation to his twin brother, Hypnos, in a conversation.
- Christopher Saphire, the voice of Thanatos, formerly portrayed Asher Kendrell in Transistor, a reserved and emotionless character involved in a romantic relationship with Grant, bearing a strong resemblance to Thanatos and Zagreus' relationship.
- Thanatos shares an inexplicable connection with Zagreus. Achilles' codex speculates that Zagreus may be the god of blood and/or life, which would explain why Thanatos, the god of death, is drawn to him.
- There are several cases of this, Thanatos may have OCD and dislikes his regular count being interrupted routine.
- Upon entering the room where he appears, Zagreus can either attempt to outperform Thanatos to earn a Centaur Heart or simply step aside, letting Thanatos clear the room by himself. However, Thanatos will object if you kill and steal from him.
- Between the fifth bottle of Nectar and the first bottle of Ambrosia, he confronts Zagreus and demands that he clarify what he truly wants from their relationship... only to teleport away before Zagreus can provide a real answer.
- Surprisingly, he can break out of his rigid demeanor and become animated and talkative during a battle, especially when announcing his area of effect ability, appropriately named the "Death Sentence".
- He doesn't like the surface very much, mainly because it becomes too bright for him during the day, hurting his eyes accustomed to the darkness.
- Butterflies often appear when Thanatos is near, as they symbolize souls in Ancient Greece.
- He specifically has a purple butterfly as his symbol. Purple butterflies represent death.
- He considers the River Styx as his rival, as most mortals expect to be brought to the Underworld through the Styx, not by Thanatos. This annoys him. Whenever he's in the House of Hades, he's often seen gazing frustratedly at the Styx outside the Administrative Chamber.
- He is heralded by the sound of bells, Zagreus might even playfully acknowledge it as Thanatos says "Guh-dong."
- Thanatos' sound theme, "Last Words," is, in fact, a remix of the track "Forbidden Knowledge" from Pyre.
- Thanatos has verbal tics like "Tsch!," "Khh!," and "Ugh!," especially when he's nervous.
- It is implied that one of the reasons for Thanatos being so stern at work was the incident with Sisyphus, which he considers a permanent blot on his career.
- His change in personality, from someone cold to more friendly throughout the game, might be a reference to his perception in Greek Mythology, as first the god Thanatos was seen as someone ruthless and hateful, but later became seen as someone more benevolent as he became more associated with peaceful death instead of all death.
- Thanatos will always first appear in Elysium. In Greek Mythology, that is said to be where he and his twin Hypnos lived.
Additional notes[ | ]
For additional information on Thanatos that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Thanatos
- In Greek Mythology, Thanatos appears as a winged figure. In Hades, he doesn't seem to possess such wings, or if he does he hides them.
- Thanatos overall design and vibe is based on the Grim Reaper.
- While in Greek Mythology Thanatos never wielded a scythe, he did wield a sword, which the devs still gave him.
- According to the mythology, he does wear black.
References[ | ]
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