Hades' Helm

Hades' Helm, also known as the Helm of Darkness, or the Cap of Hades, is one of the main weapons along with the Claws of Hades of the god of the Underworld himself, Hades.

Greek Mythology

The helm was used by numerous figures, including the goddess of wisdom, Athena, the messenger god, Hermes, the hero Perseus and, of course, by Hades, during the Great Titan War.

Also known as the Helmet of Invisibility, the helmet was created by the cyclopes and given to Hades as a gift after his brother Zeus freed them from Tartarus. These same cyclopes also forged the Lightning of Zeus and the Trident of Poseidon, also as gifts for their freedom.

God of War: Ascension

In Multiplayer, their are two Hades' Helms.

Item

An item named Hades' Helm is the first one to be available for Hades' warriors. When used, its owner will evade an attack and become invisible to all the other players for a limited period. It causes the screen screen to glow purple when activated and it will keep flashing in purple as long as the invisibility lasts. Like all the other items of Multiplayer, it can be leveled up to level 3 to increase it's effect duration and decrease it's cooldown period.

Armor

The helmet of the Battle Armor of Hades is the one worn by Hades in God of War III, keeping its horns and even its orange fiery glow.

God of War II

Perseus wearing the Helm of Darkness in God of War ll

Perseus used a magic helm in his battle against Kratos. As he put it on his head, he turned invisible, and took advantage of this in his fight against the Spartan, who could only see Perseus' position by looking at his steps on the water.

After weakening Perseus in his invisible form, Kratos lifted him by holding his neck and stepped on the helmet, destroying it. Then, he threw Perseus back to the ground and their fight continued.

God of War III

Hades wearing his Helm

Hades wears a horned helmet that covers his whole face and from which flames come out. Although this Helm couldn't turn him invisible, apparently (otherwise he would have used such ability against Kratos) or he did turn invisible when Kratos entered the statue as he is nowhere to be seen, it was an important and powerful piece of armor.

For being worn by Hades for so long, it seems to have become even part of his body, causing him great pain if removed and even ripping some of his skin with it. Another hypothesis is that the reason Hades' face was so deformed was because of the digestion he suffered in his childhood inside of Cronos' stomach, and the Helm would only help to hide his face's deformed condition.

During his fight with Hades, Kratos slammed his head on his throne room's ceiling many times, causing him to fall into River Styx and granting Kratos the Claws of Hades, Hades' weapon of choice in the game. Moments later, Hades emerges from the River in his giant form without his Helm. He was ultimately killed by Kratos.

Location

After this fearsome battle, the Helm can be retrieved as one of the Godly Possessions of the game: it can be acquired by swimming to the bottom of River Styx, before using the River to leave to the next room. Since the bottom of the River is very bright and the Helm is made of dark bronze, it's fairly easy to spot. It also keeps its trademark orange glow, making it even easier to be seem. It's needed to swim constantly against the River's currents to get to it, or simply use a swim dash.

Description

Equipping the Helm during Bonus Play maxes out Kratos' heath, magic, and item bars, without the need to collect Gorgon Eyes, Phoenix Feathers or Minotaur Horns throughout the game to do so. Like all the Godly Possessions, it disables trophies as soon as it's turned "on".

Trivia

• In the Greek myth, this helmet was given (or lent) to Perseus by Hades in order to kill Medusa, when he was challenged by the king of his island to do so, but since Medusa wasn't killed by him in God of War, the reasons why he received such helmet are unknown.
  • Another hypothesis is that, in the God of War myth, it was given to him by the gods to kill Kratos or simply to conclude his journey to the Sisters of Fate.
  • A third hypothesis is that he would have actually killed Medusa in the God of War myth and she was simply resurrected by Ares in God of War and then killed by Kratos. The fact that great part of Ares' army in this game was made of undead warriors supports this idea.
• It is explicit that, in the God of War myth, there are at least two Hades' Helms: the one Perseus used and the one Hades himself worn. The reason why the weakest one (with less magic abilities) was in Hades' possession is unknown. Possibly, it was to benefit gameplay and make Perseus' and Hades' respective characters and their original mythological versions more alike.
  • In Ascension, however, the helmet the warriors use as an item does seem to be Hades' one, and not the one Perseus had. This confusing statement may indicate that the helm that Hades worn in God of War III actually could make its owner invisible, but such ability was never used by the Hades in the Series.