Hades

In Greek Mythology Hades is the ruler of the three aspects of the Underworld. First is the Elysian Fields (Or otherwise known as Elysia or Elysium). Some claim this is where the souls of hero’s go when they die. Other’s claim it’s not just for hero’s but for all souls who have lived good lives. Either way it is the best place in the Greek Afterlife. It has its own sun, it’s own world for that matter. A world of never ending happiness and beauty…

Next is the Asphodel Meadows. This is a place akin to limbo. It’s not the Elysian Fields but it sure beats the heck out of Tartarus. In the Asphodel Meadows you always have enough to eat and drink. You may find some loved ones there or make new friends. You may even have fun once in a while, but that is hard to do for it’s a bleak and unpleasant place for the most part.

Then there is Tartarus. This place is akin to Hell. It’s described as a pit full of horrors and tortures. There is no dispute about what kind of souls end up here.

Hades rules them all. He began as an uneasy ally in the Xenaverse when he made his appearance in “Death In Chains” when he asks Xena to save his sister Celesta from King Sisyphus. Then he returns in “Mortal Beloved.” The evil soul of Atyminius (Paul Willis) steals his most useful tool in managing the darker areas of the Underworld: The Helmet Of Invisibility. With it Atyminius can move between the different sections of the Underworld and the land of the Living. Xena swings into action with the help of her lover Marcus (who was sentenced to Tartarus) to retrieve the Helmet so Hades can set things right and put the souls back where they belong. She also uses the Helmet as leverage to win Marcus a place in the Elysian Fields.

He is mentioned-though not seen- in “Ten Little Warlords” when he makes a deal with Sisyphus. “Send me 10 of the worlds worst warlords” he says, and he will give Sisyphus Ares’ sword and with it, Ares’ place as the god of War in revenge for Ares’ invasion of his kingdom and taking Callisto’s soul from her rightful place in Tartarus.

He returns in four more episodes.

1-Adventures in the Sin Trade- Xena goes to Hades while he collects the souls of slain villagers and asks him if he has the soul of her friend Gabrielle.

2-“God Fearing Child”-The uneasy alliance between Xena and Hades turns treacherous when he works against Xena to trap her in the Underworld as she is just about to give birth to her child.

3-“Looking Death In The Eye”-Hades teams up with Hephaestus (who up until now was always one of the good guys in the Herc and Xenaverse) and Athena to kill Xena, Gabrielle and baby Eve.

4-“Motherhood”-Twenty-five years have passed and the truth about Xena, Gabrielle and Eve still being alive has reached the ears of the gods and Hades has teamed up with Athena, Artemis, Ares, Discord, Deimos, Hephaestus and Poseidon to kill the three warriors.

Hades was one of only two gods to go from an ally to an enemy in the Xena/Hercverse. The other gods were either portrayed as being directly for or against the hero’s. However Hades and Hephaestus are unique in their betrayals.

Caina Q. Fuller.