Mythology & Religion Power Ranking TOP100
This article introduces Rank 52: Hades from the “Mythology & Religion Power Ranking TOP100”, which ranks the gods, monsters, and heroes of world mythology, religion, and legend in order of strength.
If you want to see the full TOP100 list and the criteria behind the rankings, check out the overview article below.
Rank 52: Hades (Greek Mythology)
Overview
Hades is the god of the underworld in Greek mythology and one of the “three great gods” alongside Zeus and Poseidon.
However, his power is clearly inferior to Zeus and Poseidon, and there are several scenes in the myths where Hades cowers when the other two wield their might and shake the world.
Hades himself never displays world-destroying power, and his fighting style — going into battle wearing the Helm of Darkness to make himself invisible — clearly suggests his direct combat power is relatively low.
Despite his lack of great martial exploits, in the war against the Titans (the Titanomachy) he was thought to be the third most powerful after Zeus and Poseidon, and after the victory he was entrusted with one-third of the world’s domains (the underworld and the depths) alongside Zeus and Poseidon.
By the way, many people may have heard the story that these domains were decided by drawing lots — but in fact, no such scene of drawing lots appears anywhere in the myths. It is a detail that was embellished in later literature to make the story more entertaining.
In the great war against the giants (the Gigantomachy), it is unclear whether Hades participated directly, but Hermes, who borrowed the Helm of Darkness, used it to defeat powerful giants such as Hippolytus.
Reason for This Ranking
As one of the “three great gods” of Greek mythology alongside Zeus and Poseidon, Hades’s authority and power are beyond question.
His “Helm of Darkness” in particular has the effect of making even the gods unable to detect his presence, and it gave him a great advantage in the wars against the Titans and giants.
However, as he devoted himself to ruling the underworld, he has almost no episodes of direct combat or defeating enemies, unlike the other gods. For this reason, he is a god for whom there is limited material to prove actual combat valor, making him difficult to evaluate compared to combat-type gods and monsters.
Nevertheless, since he is said to have power second only to Zeus and Poseidon, and given the strength he wields when wearing the Helm of Darkness, it is beyond doubt that he is among the upper tier of the gods — and so I evaluated him at this position in the ranking.
About the Book
I wrote a book that compiles this entire ranking! The reasoning behind each placement is grounded in the actual lore and episodes from each mythology, so I think it makes for a fairly convincing read.
The book also contains many columns and extras not published on this blog, so if you are interested, please check it out below.
📚 Series: Mythology Power Ranking (Individual Characters) (49/100)
