![]() While it echoes ancient fatphobia, this pernicious moralizing is just as contemporary as the most progressive elements of Hades. ![]() The implication is clear: Fatness signifies bad judgment and a lack of control. The only fat characters are an enemy type, the Wretched Lout, who, as Achilles writes in his codex, have “been reduced to merely their most base of negative impulses, these damnable wretches do their part to help uphold the Underworld's cruel reputation.” Though it doesn’t name those impulses, they’re depicted holding vessels filled to the brim with glowy, neon drink. But Supergiant doesn’t subvert all these literally antiquated beliefs in their reinterpretation.Īs we’ve seen, fatness is associated with effeminacy in Greek culture, but only one of them is recovered in Hades. (Not in a hot way though!) So whether Than’s brooding gaze plucks your heartstrings or Meg’s stompy attitude really gets to you, each of these relationships are quite subversive to classical tradition. Meanwhile, Zag’s obvious positionality to the androgynous Megaera would be similarly demeaning. You can decide who’s the top, but either Zag or Than is failing his station when they hook up. Such is the result of a society where virtue is inscribed upon the body. One is a confession of laziness, the other of effeminacy.” This practice and its negative values were present throughout the Balkan peninsula. Aelian records a Spartan law in VariaHistoria: “None of the Lakedaimonians is to be seen with a more effeminate complexion of body or with more weight than the gymnasia will give it. Ritual undressing takes on the more sinister role of policing men’s bodies when we consider what it meant for those not deemed conventionally attractive. Like toxic masculinity today, the hatred of women and femininity reinforced ideals of masculinity. From the myths, we gain that, while both are unnatural, manly women inspire awe and legend, with some cities even crediting their foundation to Amazons, while womanly men can’t even stand against an orator. The Amazons were, however, defeated by Greek heroes like Heracles, serving as just another example of men’s naturalized superiority. This physique, developed by their own system of training, lent itself to their superior combat abilities compared to mortal women. What made the Amazons mythological was their unnaturally hypermasculine behavior and expression in a “womanly body,” making them literally andro and gyné-androgynous. The only agential women existed in myth as goddesses and Amazons, which make a cogent example of the gender binary in Greece. When in motion, women are cast as unbalanced for their lack of control over emotion and sexuality. Korai, statues of women, are shown in static poses that signify laziness, that they’re undisciplined and asymmetrical alike. Women were institutionally and socially subordinate to men in civic life, while their bodies were often portrayed as the antithesis to virtuous masculinity. ![]() So What Were the Women Up To While the Men Were Busy? The game lacks disabled characters and, given the framing of hotness, its depiction of fatness is disappointing to say the least. But Hades doesn’t subvert or even modernize all aspects of the myths it’s reinterpreting. And to the delight of many fans of anachronistically queer interpretations of the Iliad, Patroclus and Achilles are here and they’re quite gay. In Hades, we are literally introduced to the pantheon by a Black Athena. Going so far as to subvert players’ expectations of identity in Greek myth, the game smartly conjectures beyond contemporary scholarship on race in antiquity. While Hades does adhere to classical tradition in notable ways, it also incisively breaks from convention. In an interview with Kotaku, developer Greg Karsavina said of their character design, “Our portrayals of the gods owe greatly to classical tradition." As interviewer Ash Parrish put it: “Gods are hot because they are gods.” But while there is a great diversity of hair, skin, voice, and presence, the limits of Supergiant’s vision quickly become apparent. ![]() If you’re like me, you’ll probably crush on a handful of them from the start. With different styles and pompous attitudes, each character makes a strong impression. (Authors note: upon further runs, I’m starting to think he might not be so bad.) Its lot of sultry beauties fighting and wholesomely sharing ambrosia is a delightful accompaniment to beating up The Worst Dad. Supergiant’s epic of a rogue-like, story-driven action game Hades has understandably taken the gaming world by storm. ![]()
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