| “ | Greetings there, young man! Look, your father's always been rather difficult, and he's not so much as called in quite some time. You'll have a better home where you belong, here on Olympus! And to help you on your journey, have my blessing. | „ |
| ~ Zeus |
Zeus is the god of the sky and thunder, and the ruler of the Olympian Gods, Zeus is Hades's younger brother and Zagreus's uncle. He offers boons to his nephew which give his abilities chain lightning or lightning strikes.
Zeus' boons excel at dealing damage to groups of enemies, as chain lightning effects bounce between enemies, and lightning strikes can hit multiple enemies.
His signature Status Curse is Jolted, which causes enemies to inflict damage to themselves when they attack, consuming the Curse.
Zeus is one of five Olympian gods (the other four being Demeter, Poseidon, Hermes and Aphrodite) who will not appear in the very first run of a save.
Zeus will return in Hades II and offer his boons to his niece Melinoë in her fight against Chronos. His new signature Status Curse will be Blitz, which causes enemies to be hit with lightning after taking a certain amount of damage.
Characteristics and Personality[ | ]
The King of the Olympians, Zeus appears gregarious, affable, and especially paternal, in contrast to his brusque brother. However, this is only superficially. While his brother Hades is well-intentioned and fair beneath his exterior, Zeus is the opposite. In his essence, Zeus can be quite cunning, superb, displays a superiority complex, and possibly has the most inflated ego of the Olympians.
Zeus tries to act like a benevolent god, but even his acts of "kindness" are rooted in what pleases him. He is not afraid of the consequences of his actions and never takes responsibility. He seems unable to acknowledge that he participated, does not listen to others, and is always making fun of serious matters.
Zeus tends to act compassionate with Zagreus, offering encouragement, but he is also somewhat self-centered. He forces everyone to say something good about him, about how he is "the most elegant, powerful, and divine of the gods." and can joke about his nephew having a "Celestial Revenge" if he accepts another benefit.
Zeus can be quite cynical, like when he likes to mention Demeter's missing daughter in their family conversations and commenting blatantly about how lamentable the whole case is, while acting as if he's just as perplexed as the others. However, he is absolutely aware that he is entirely responsible for the kidnapping of Persephone. His audacity also leads him to send his nephew to send a message to his father on his behalf, saying that "Zeus forgives him," maddening Hades with fury with his contradictory insolence, despite having caused the all problem in question.
Zeus in his splendor is not purely selfish, as he was when he saved the cosmos by waging war against the Titans and dividing the world almost fairly with his brothers. He very much wanted to reconnect with Hades and liked Zagreus, wishing him as a son. Although in the most wrong way possible, he certainly saw Persephone as a "gift". Zeus realized that his older brother was alone in the underworld, liked Persephone, and that she reciprocated and wanted to leave Olympus. So he staged the kidnapping with her and brought her to Hades, in part to fix things with him and reconcile, however radical the approach.
Physical description[ | ]
Zeus appears as an imposing, elderly man with a tan skin tone and a loose robe revealing his musclebound chest. His hair and beard are stark white and emulate the clouds of his heavenly domain. He is armed with his signature lightning bolt, alongside two other bolts worn in his hair as a laurel wreath. He also adorns golden bracelets and rings.
In Hades II, Zeus now wears a Muscle cuirass.
History[ | ]
Before Hades[ | ]
Zeus is the youngest son of the Titan Chronos, like the rest of the Titans' children he rebelled with his siblings against their tyrannical rule. During the Titan War he wielded Aegis and defended his brothers and sisters from the Titans. After the Titans were defeated, Zeus and his older brothers Poseidon and Hades would draw lots to decide how the world should be ruled. Zeus gained the Heavens, Poseidon the Sea and Hades the Underworld. Zeus would rule as the King of the Gods in Mount Olympus and took Hera as his wife and queen and conceived two sons with her: Ares and Hephaestus. However despite his marriage, he would prove to be extremely unfaithful to Hera and have multiple affairs with other goddesses and mortal women which begat his other godly and demi-god children: Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Hermes, Heracles (his most famous half-mortal son) and more.
Knowing his brother had an interest in Persephone and feeling sorry that Hades had gotten stuck with overseeing the Underworld, Zeus kidnapped the daughter of Demeter as a "consolation prize" for his brother. Hades, however, was not a party to this act and did not approve of Zeus' decision. While Persephone was happy for any reason to leave Olympus (a fact Zeus was aware of) and went with him willingly, she notes that even if she didn't want to go, Zeus still would have taken her.
This act led to his and Hades' estrangement, as in addition to his disgust at Zeus for treating Persephone like an object, this "gift" put Hades himself in a difficult position; Demeter would be enraged over her daughter's kidnapping if Hades returned her, but since Persephone didn't WANT to return to Olympus, he couldn't send her back anyway.
Hades, knowing the tendencies of his kin, assumed that if the Olympian gods were to find out the truth, total war would break out. Already at the limit of tolerance for Zeus's selfish antics, this final act caused Hades to cut Zeus and the rest of Olympus out of his life.
Hades[ | ]
Zeus appears to Zagreus after he attempts a second escape from the Underworld and offers his boons to his nephew to help him escape. Like the rest of the Olympians he believes that Zagreus wishes to join them in Mount Olympus not knowing his true goal is to find his birth mother; Persephone. He'll often talk of the pleasantries Zagreus will have once he's in Olympus.
As Zagreus gets closer to the truth, Zeus asks him to tell Hades that "Zeus forgives him". This only angers Hades further, but Zeus is unaware of that.
Epilogue[ | ]
After Persephone returns, she decides to hold a feast and invite the family to sort everything out. Zeus is obviously also invited, and content with the fake tale Persephone told that doesn't put him in any risks, he and Hades shake hands and consider this a matter solved. From then on, he'll keep lending Zagreus his help.
Hades II[ | ]
After the events of the Hades, his father Chronos escaped his prison in Tartarus taking his brother Hades captive and launching a war against Olympus. Zeus in turn will offer his boons to his niece Melinoë to aid her in her quest to vanquish the Titan and his forces.
Affinity[ | ]
If given Nectar, Zeus will give you the Thunder Signet.
Zeus' affinity gauge is maxed out at 7 hearts.
Favor[ | ]
Zeus' favor involves hearing the other Gods' opinions of him, as well as seeing Zeus express a desire to reconnect with Hades, along with Hades' response.
Codex entry[ | ]
Mechanics[ | ]
Zeus' boon flowchart
Zeus' duo boon chart
Zeus boons mostly revolve around two main effects. The first is chain-lightning. Chain-lightning effects will bounce between enemies, dealing damage to each enemy they bounce to. Additionally, Zeus also can grant lightning bolt effects, which cause a lightning bolt to strike an enemy, dealing damage in an area around it. These are both considered "lightning effects" and can be improved or amplified by other Zeus boons, such as Static Discharge, which adds the Jolted effect to all of your lightning effects.
Boons[ | ]
Hades Boons[ | ]
| Boon | Description | Rarity | Notes | Prerequisites | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lightning Strike |
Your Attack emits chain-lightning when you damage a foe. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Thunder Flourish |
Your Special causes a lightning bolt to strike nearby foes. |
|
Has internal cooldown of .2 per target. (Bolt only triggers, at most, 5 times per second per enemy)
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Electric Shot |
Your Cast is a burst of chain-lightning that bounces between foes. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
Thunder Flare |
Your Cast causes a lightning bolt to strike nearby foes. |
|
Tier 1 | Unique to Aspect of Beowulf | ||||||||
 Thunder Dash |
Your Dash causes a lightning bolt to strike nearby foes. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Zeus' Aid |
Your Call makes lightning strike nearby foes repeatedly for 1.5 Sec. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Heaven's Vengeance |
After you take damage, your foe is struck by lightning. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Lightning Reflexes |
After you Dash just before getting hit, a bolt strikes a nearby foes. |
|
Tier 1 | None | ||||||||
 Storm Lightning |
Your chain-lightning effects bounce more times before expiring. |
|
Tier 2
|
Lightning Strike or Electric Shot | ||||||||
 High Voltage |
Your lightning bolt effects deal damage in a larger area. |
|
Tier 2 | Thunder Flourish, Thunder Dash, or Zeus' Aid | ||||||||
 Double Strike |
Your lightning bolt effects have a chance to strike twice. |
|
Tier 2 | Thunder Flourish, Thunder Dash, or Zeus' Aid | ||||||||
 Static Discharge |
Your lightning effects also make foes Jolted. |
|
Tier 2 | Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, Electric Shot, Thunder Dash, Zeus' Aid, Heaven's Vengeance, or Lightning Reflexes | ||||||||
 Clouded Judgment |
Your God Gauge charges faster when you deal or take damage. |
|
Tier 2 | Aphrodite's Aid, Ares' Aid, Artemis' Aid, Athena's Aid, Demeter's Aid, Dionysus' Aid, Poseidon's Aid, or Zeus' Aid | ||||||||
 Billowing Strength |
After using Call, you deal more damage for 15 Sec. |
|
Tier 2 | Aphrodite's Aid, Ares' Aid, Artemis' Aid, Athena's Aid, Demeter's Aid, Dionysus' Aid, Poseidon's Aid, or Zeus' Aid | ||||||||
 Splitting Bolt |
All your lightning effects create an additional burst.
|
Legendary | Tier 3
|
Storm Lightning, High Voltage, or Double Strike | ||||||||
 Smoldering Air |
Your Call charges up automatically, but is capped at 25%.
|
Duo (Aphrodite) |
|
One of each:
|
||||||||
 Vengeful Mood |
Your Revenge attacks sometimes occur without taking damage.
|
Duo (Ares) | One of each:
|
|||||||||
 Lightning Rod |
Your collectible  strike nearby foes with lightning every 1 Sec.
|
Duo (Artemis) |
|
One of each:
|
||||||||
 Lightning Phalanx |
Your Phalanx Shot Cast bounces between nearby foes.
|
Duo (Athena) |
|
One of each:
|
||||||||
 Cold Fusion |
Jolted status does not expire on your enemies' attacks.
|
Duo (Demeter) | One of each:
|
|||||||||
 Scintillating Feast |
Your Festive Fog effects also deal lightning damage periodically.
|
Duo (Dionysus) | One of each:
|
|||||||||
 Sea Storm |
Your knock-away effects also cause foes to be struck by lightning.
|
Duo (Poseidon) | One of each:
|
Hades II Boons[ | ]
Boons[ | ]
| Boon | Description | Rarity | Notes | Prerequisites | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Heaven Strike.png Heaven Strike |
Your Attacks inflict Blitz. |
|
TBA | TBA | ||||||||
| File:Heaven Flourish.png Heaven Flourish |
Your Specials inflict Blitz. |
|
TBA | TBA | ||||||||
| File:Ionic Gain.png Ionic Gain |
Gradually resotres File:Magick.png, but your total amount is reduced by 70%. |
|
TBA | TBA | ||||||||
| File:Storm Ring.png Storm Ring |
Your Ω Cast also causes lightning bolts to repeatedly strike 1 foe at a time. |
|
TBA | TBA | ||||||||
Double Strike |
Your lightning bolt effects may strike 1 more time. |
|
TBA | TBA |
Trivia[ | ]
- In Greek Mythology, Persephone is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. In Hades, Persephone is the daughter of Demeter and a mortal human man.
- In some versions of Greek Mythology, Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. In other versions of Greek Mythology and in Hades, Aphrodite is the daughter of Uranus and Thalassa.
- In Greek Mythology, Zeus and Hera conceived six children which are Ares, Enyo, Hephaestus, Eileithyia, Angelos and Hebe. In Hades, it is known that Zeus and Hera conceived Ares and Hephaestus, but is it unknown if Enyo, Eileithyia, Angelos and Hebe exist in this universe.
Additional notes[ | ]
For additional information on Zeus that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Zeus
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