Hades 2 fan reveals the Greek myths that likely inspired the trailer

(Image credit: Supergiant Games)

You'll find plenty of two things while playing Hades – clever references to the classical era of history, and hot people. The Hades 2 trailer already has plenty of fans in bits over the latter, though one soul is pulling together every titbit of the former.

Twitter user Argetcross explains that the new lead Melinoe is a lot like her sibling and previous protagonist Zagreus in that she's a relatively minor character in myth, only appearing in Orphic Hymns. She's the daughter of Persephone and Hades and a goddess herself, known to wander the earth at night with ghosts.

The character you see her sparring with at the start of the trailer is likely Hekate, the goddess of witchcraft, necromancy, and much more. Much like how myth casts Zagreus as the potential first form of Dionysus, Argetcross flags Melinoe as likely another form of Hekate.

In myth, Hekate prominently in the Abduction of Persephone tale – something you'll be familiar with if you've played Hades. She hears Persephone's cries when she is taken and acts as Demeter's guide as she seeks her daughter. When Persephone eventually becomes Queen of the Underworld, Hekate takes to her side as a companion and minister. With that in mind, she appears to be an excellent pick for Melinoe's tutor.

OKAY HERE'S MY BIG GREEK MYTH REFERENCES THREAD FOR THE HADES 2 TRAILERFirst off, Hekate is using her twin torches, something she does in fact have in her Ancient Greek depictions, which she used against the giant Clytius here (1/?)#hades2 #HadesGame #Hades pic.twitter.com/lrSn5bX1T6December 9, 2022

Moving onto the big bad, Kronos is the Titan of Time and father to Zeus and Hades himself – you’ve fought your dad, and now you’re fighting your grandad. He overthrew his own father Ouranos – the villain of the third game confirmed? – to claim the title of King of the Heavens. He swiftly grew paranoid as a prophecy foretold him being overthrown by his children, so he ate them all. Expect Zeus, who waged war against his father and imprisoned him alongside the other Titans after being sparred by his mother. There are a lot of daddy issues in Greek Mythology.

If you’re keen to learn more about the Hades 2 cast from the trailer, Argetcross’ Twitter thread has more neat titbits worth checking out.

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I joined GamesRadar+ in May 2022 following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When I'm not running the news team on the games side, you'll find me putting News Editor duties to one side to play the hottest JRPG of 20 years ago or pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new cloak – the more colourful, the better.