Theseus

“	Silence, you monster!! I'll hear no more such wicked lies, half-truths, or quarter-truths! You, however, soon shall hear my blessed spear! Specifically, the sound it makes whilst sliding into your exposed midsection! Defend yourself!	„
	~ Theseus

Theseus is a former hero and king of Athens, most famous for slaying the Minotaur. He was recruited by Hades to help prevent Zagreus's escape. He fights alongside the Minotaur as the final boss of Elysium, and serves Elysium as its champion and its king.

Affinity

Theseus cannot be given Nectar or Ambrosia.

Codex entry

'...Oft called the great king of Athens, the hero Theseus is nonetheless best-known for his deeds earlier in life; deeds great enough to earn his immortal soul a place of high honor in hallowed Elysium. Now he reigns in this heaven of ours much as I understand he reigned in life; with pride and confidence both in abundance. The kings I knew in life aspired to the same. Yet, there is something distinctly different about him. I do not know if it was merely for pity that Theseus vouched for the bull-headed Asterius to join him in Elysium, doubtless risking his own station there. Some say Asterius is merely an unwilling servant of his, now. But I know mortal battle builds strong bonds. Is it so difficult to imagine that a peerless man like Theseus might find a peer in an unlikely soul?'

Theseus Quotes

For quotes and dialogue regarding Theseus, please refer to Theseus/Quotes.

Combat

Theseus is always encountered in the Elysium Stadium, the final chamber of Elysium, alongside Asterius. The Stadium is a large circular arena with indestructible pillars in the center. Some of these pillars act as stands for an audience to watch the duel between Zagreus and Theseus. The ring of the stadium is also outlined with spectators as well.

Theseus will begin the fight with access to all of his main attacks: Spear Spin, Spear Throw, and Charge.

Spear Spin: Theseus performs a spin attack centered on himself, dealing 17 damage repeatedly while swinging. He will charge in Zagreus' direction as he spins. He will only perform this attack if Zagreus is close to him.
Spear Throw: Theseus takes aim at Zagreus, during which time a crosshair appears on him. He then throws the spear after a short delay, dealing 20 damage if it hits Zagreus. He then recalls his spear which can hit Zagreus again. Occasionally, Theseus will leave the spear on the ground, and recall it after re-positioning or performing another attack.
Charge: Asterius calls Theseus over, and then throws him at Zagreus, dealing 16 damage on impact. If Asterius has fallen, Theseus cannot use this ability.
Shield Bash: Theseus calls to Asterius, having him Bull Rush into the shield that causes a powerful, damaging wave across the arena.

Theseus also carries a shield to defend himself from attacks. All attacks that hit Theseus from the front will be blocked, and do no damage to him. (The exception to this is any projectile created by an Artemis boon or cast will ignore the shield and deal damage. Additionally, any projectile with a "piercing" effect offered by a Daedalus Hammer will ignore his shield and deal damage.)

When Theseus is reduced to 50% max HP, he will become briefly invulnerable and enter his second phase. In his second phase, he has access to a new passive ability, Olympian Aid. After his invulnerability ends, he will call for aid from a random Olympian, who will assist Theseus against Zagreus in the fight. Theseus can only call for aid from an Olympian who has not yet given Zagreus a boon in the current run. Theseus will never call for aid from Hermes. If Zagreus has boons from every Olympian, Theseus will call for aid from Artemis.

While initially calling, the Olympian will spawn damaging circles at Zagreus' position very quickly, doing damage if Zagreus stands in them when they activate. After this, Theseus will resume his normal attack pattern, and an aid attack below will happen every 10 seconds, depending on which Olympian was called. Theseus' attacks will also be given the Olympian's respective curses.

Aphrodite: Summons a ring of large circles around Zagreus that activate all at once. The center will be unaffected. Theseus' attacks apply Weak.
Ares: Summons a chain of many small circles that chase Zagreus, followed by a few large circles spaced throughout the room. Theseus' attacks apply Doom.
Artemis: Summons a dense array of circles that sweeps across the center of the room. Can be avoided by staying near the walls. Theseus' attacks can deal major damage.
Athena: Summons circles that sweep in a spiral from the edges of the room to the center. Theseus becomes impervious for a second.
Demeter: Summons circles that sweep in a spiral, from the center of the room to the edges. Theseus' attacks apply Chill and summon small vortexes.
Dionysus: Summons many small circles scattered randomly near Zagreus. Theseus' attacks apply Hangover.
Poseidon: Summons large, evenly spaced circles near Zagreus. Theseus' attacks are able to knockback.
Zeus: Summons overlapping circles randomly. Theseus' attacks apply Jolted.

The damage from Olympian Aid is counted as Theseus' attacks, thus if Theseus is affected by Weak, the damage from Olympian Aid attacks will be reduced as well.

If Asterius is killed before Theseus, Theseus will become enraged, moving and attacking at a faster rate. Theseus will also lose access to Charge.

Extreme Measures

When using Extreme Measures Level 3 from the Pact of Punishment, Theseus will be outfitted in a golden mask and armor set. He will also appear riding a bronze Macedonian Tau-Lambda, supposedly the strongest chariot to have ever been made. His normal weaponry will be placed with two miniguns which he will mount onto his chariot.

While outfitted in his beautiful chariot, the fight with Theseus has notable changes:

First, Theseus' max health is increased to 12000, instead of his standard 9000.
Theseus will lose access to all of his normal attacks. Instead, he will gain 2 new attacks: Cluster Bombs and Center Dive.
Cluster Bombs: Theseus will begin dropping bombs around the arena, usually in his traveling path, but also at Zagreus' current position. These bombs deal 30 damage if Zagreus is caught in the blast when they land.
Center Dive: Theseus will quickly dart through the center of the arena, towards Zagreus' current position, spraying short ranged bullets in a cone in front of him as he does.
Additionally, coming into contact with the chariot will deal a large amount of damage to Zagreus.
When reduced to 33% health (4000) Theseus' chariot will break, and Theseus will revert back to his default attacks, becoming invulnerable for a short time. While invulnerable, he will begin his second phase, and call for Olympian Aid, just like in the normal fight.
If Asterius is still alive when Theseus loses his chariot, he will be able to use Charge.

Reward

When both Theseus and Asterius are defeated in the Elysium Stadium, Zagreus will be awarded with Ambrosia if Bounty conditions are met. This means that it must either be Zagreus' first victory against them with a weapon, or the Target Heat must be met for that weapon.

Otherwise, they will drop 120 Darkness. (The Darkness reward is improved by Dark Thirst, Ocean's Bounty, and Eclipse).

The order in which you defeat Theseus and the Minotaur does not matter for Bounties. Beating Theseus last, after you've already beaten Asterius last on the same Heat, won't award you any bounties for that Heat level again.

Gallery

Extreme Measures portrait

Additional notes

For additional information on Theseus that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Theseus