Celebrate Halloween with the witchiest characters in Hades II
10.2.2024
By Meghan Sullivan
The Mysterious Melinoë
In Hades II, Melinoë is a plucky Underworld princess tasked with freeing her family from the evil clutches of the titan of time Chronos. In reality, Melinoë is a shadowy figure mentioned in just two sources from late antiquity. The first is an Orphic hymn that hails her as the saffron-robed, double-bodied, nightmare-inducing daughter of the Underworld queen Persephone. The second source is a collection of triangular bronze tablets inscribed with magical incantations and the names of six goddesses—including Melinoë. The purpose of these tablets isn’t clear, but evidence suggests they may have been used in Neoplatonic rites related to the moon goddess Hecate. Beyond that, we know nothing else about this ghostly goddess.
Boundless Hecate
Speaking of Hecate, did you know that Melinoë’s mentor and the titanic goddess of witchcraft was not really a witch at all? It’s true: Hecate was actually worshiped as a liminal deity who cared for the dead, protected critical junctions like crossroads and doorways, and ushered gods and mortals between the realms of the living and the dead. But if that’s true, then how did she become the patron goddess of witches?
In ancient times, magic was closely associated with ghosts. Since Hecate was the caretaker of ghosts, spellcasters would often pray to her in the hopes of accessing this nocturnal labor force. After esoteric cults began to spread across Greece during the Hellenistic era, Hecate’s spectral abilities grew in importance. By late antiquity, Hecate’s liminal magic was so powerful that she not only absorbed the attributes of other nocturnal deities (namely the moon goddesses Artemis and Selene), she was even hailed by Neoplatonists as a divine savior who helped souls reach the mystical realm of the intellect.
Alas, Hecate’s popularity faded with the rise of Christianity, and by Elizabethan times she was portrayed as nothing more than the demonic patron of witches. (Thanks, Shakespeare.) Happily, games like Hades II are re-introducing her in her original role: that of a divine guide and helper to those in need.
Sorceress Supreme Circe
Out of all the spellcasters in Hades II, the cat-eared enchantress Circe has to be one of the nicest. Not only does this powerful sorceress offer Melinoë emotional support, but her transformative spells give the underworld princess an edge in battle. Don’t underestimate her, though: According to Greek mythology, this ancient enchantress could be one nasty enemy. Not only did she famously turn Odysseus’ crew into swine in The Odyssey, but according to the poet Ovid, a jealous Circe also used her magic to turn a nymph into a sea monster and a recalcitrant prince into a woodpecker. (Yikes.)
Luckily, this distant cousin of Melinoë isn’t all bad. One tradition states she brought Odysseus back to life after he was accidentally killed by their son Telegonus. Another recounts how she removed the taint of murder from her niece Medea. And if you were nice to her, she was willing to reverse a curse. Still, we’re glad that Melinoë is on Circe’s good side.
Monstrous Medea
Circe can be scary, but her necromantic niece Medea is far worse. Sure, her debuffing Nightly Curses make it easier for players to overcome tough foes, but Medea’s unapologetically vengeful nature and eccentric sorcery hints at her evil nature. And boy, is she evil!
Tradition states that Medea was a princess of Colchis and the prickly, proud wife of the hero Jason. She’s most infamous for killing her children to spite her unfaithful husband (as attested by Euripides in his famous tragedy Medea), but filicide wasn’t her only sin. The Ancient Greek accused her of several heinous crimes, including (deep breath): killing her own brother and dismembering his corpse, tricking a king’s daughters into murdering their father, poisoning her rival, killing her uncle, drugging her enemies, murdering an innocent robot, burning down a palace, cursing the entire of island of Crete, and nearly killing the hero Theseus. Worse, Medea was never brought to justice for her misconduct, which might explain her brazen attitude in Hades II. Talk about scary!
Deadpan Dora
Dora taking up space on this list might seem like a mistake. After all, this amnesiac shade does nothing more than hang around Melinoe’s tent, making snarky remarks and rearranging magical jars. Wait, but what about those magical jars?
If our theory is correct, Dora could be short for Pandora, the world’s first woman, who famously opened up a magic box—jar, actually—and released evil into the world. (If you’re wondering how the word jar got swapped for the word box, that comes from a 16th century mistranslation on the part of Erasmus.) Does opening a jar make Dora magical, though? No. But her origins might. Pandora, whose name means “all-gifting,” may have originally been an ancient vegetation goddess who used her earth magic to bestow humanity with agricultural gifts. If that’s true, then we may have underestimated the comically deadpan Dora. “Dead Pandora.” Get it?
Hades II is available in Early Access on the Epic Games Store.