Never let it be said that Bobo Glaukon was a disloyal servant of Athena.
Where did Minthe go wrong, and what *should* she have done to fix things?
Minthe has been a hot and controversial topic on r/Lore_Olympus recently. I have been pretty hard on Minthe myself, but think that diversity of opinion on Minthe is valuable in the fan community. The question remains, however, if I don’t think that Minthe is a good person, but I alsodon’t thinkhitting Hades is the basic problem, then why is Minthe so bad for Hades, and why is Minthe not a victim of circumstances? Minthe is not toxic because she is violent, or because she want’s to push Persephone away, but because she is trying to lock Hades into a relationship that is advantageous to Minthe and harmful to Hades, and she knows it.
The above post on Reddit is a pretty fair representation of the ways Minthe-shippers view Hades and Minthe’s relationship, but the view represented above essentially ignores the events of the night of the Panathenaeum. Setting aside the fact that Hades and Persephone are (in myth at least) fated to be together, Hades would likely have never met Persephone at the party had Minthe not been deliberately treating Hades like crap, in a relationship gambit that is so stupid, even Thetis recognizes its risks. Minthe was supposed to be Hades’ date, but stood him up in the harshest way possible. We later learn that Minthe’s cruelty was a calculated effort on her part to keep Hades at arms length. Minthe likes the relationship she had with Hades before the Panathenaeum, where she trades sex and (minimal) companionship, for nice things, but when she is offered a relationship mega-upgrade, she refuses it. It is perfectly fair for readers to wonder why self-loathing Hades should get a redemption in this story while also self-loathing Minthe does not, but the Panathenaeum shows us that Hades was trying to be Minthe’s “Persephone” to redeem her, and she wittingly refused.
Minthe also doesn’t really have any legitimate claim to jealousy during most of the story we’ve seen so far. Minthe and Hades are not in an exclusive relationship when Hades is at the party, or when Persephone visits the Underworld and Minthe sends her to Tartarus. Hades, not Minthe, asks for the exclusive relationship, and the first day that Minthe and Hades are in an exclusive relationship is the day Persephone arrives with her homemade baklava. In other words, less than 24 hours after agreeing to be in an exclusive relationship, Minthe stands up Hades on their first date as an official couple. Notably, Hades is both loyal to Minthe (getting absolutely blitzed notwithstanding) and relatively understanding. He does eat the baklava, but only text’s Persephone to complement her on her baking, and perhaps finagling for some more. In he and Persephone’s conversation, he never belies any interest, or even attraction to Persephone.
Minthe is not the innocent victim of circumstances of beyond her control, but made her problems and has consistently refused to take responsibility for her actions, and do the right thing. It is not unreasonable for Minthe to be concerned that her paramour/boss/sugardaddy wants to go straight from (relatively) casual sex to wife/queen, but deliberately crapping on him is a risky gambit that blew up in her face. What a normal person would have done would be to talk with Hades. A particularly sophisticated girlfriend might have gone to the party with Hades, but on the way to the car said something like, “I’m really glad we’re going to this party, and I know that on an important night like tonight it might seem like a good time to do something dramatic and romantic, but lets focus on having fun and maybe we can talk about important things in private.” Hades is no idiot, and when the moment came, if Minthe were interested in an upgrade, she could have shared her legitimate fears and concerns without cutting Hades completely loose to the sea where there are plenty of other fish, and where Persephone hooked him.
Minthe really drove her relationship train totally off the rails with Hades in the aftermath of standing him up on their first official date. Trying to off Persephone was not a great decision, but not really damaging to her relationship with Hades, unless it harmed the Underworld’s relationship with Demeter or Olympus. Having drinks with Thetis was a major mistake, but not irrecoverable, even with what transpired between Hades and Persephone during the night. The way Minthe was distraught on arriving in the office, it was even possible at that point she would do the right thing, and be really sad, maybe cry and apologize. Hades as we have seen him up to that point would have melted like butter in the sun, and forgiven her immediately. He even tried to let her off the hook, by blaming Thetis during their fight. If Minthe had gone to the nearby dress store instead of stewing at her desk, and met Hades in his office for some apology inappropriate-at-work-ness, the story would have unfolded completely differently.
If Minthe really thinks that she is in competition with Persephone, she should actually compete. While we know that Minthe is up against the Fates, Minthe does not know that, and she actually doesn’t seem to be trying to outcompete Persephone at all. Minthe has several advantages over Persephone that Persephone, Minthe and pure fact recognize. Minthe is more worldwise than Persephone, even though Persephone is not as dumb as Minthe thinks. Minthe is beautiful, works with Hades, has a key to his place, all of which should give her a huge leg up over Persephone. Most importantly, Minthe is the status quo and has a long standing relationship with Hades. Minthe knows “that thing he likes,” and they have memories, customs and history together which, if she just tried to win and woo Hades she almost assuredly would have succeeded. It’s notable that, even with all that transpired, Minthe could have woken up with Hades every single morning of the story so far, and the only reason she didn’t wake up with Hades were her choices the previous day. In fact, we are at least three days past the fight in Bldg 3, and there is still no indication that Minthe has made any attempt at an apology gesture of any kind: no text, no card, no fruit bouquet, nothing. Thetis found a way to harass Hera, and Persephone stood in line to complain to Hades before Minthe could communicate with a man whose house she has a key to, whose private phone number she has and whose schedule she has access to.
The real problem seems to be that Thetis is right: Minthe does not actually want a relationship with Hades, but is afraid of losing her sugardaddy. Minthe’s behavior only makes sense if she is trying to preserve a situation that benefits herself at Hades’ expense. Hades is a King, and he needs a Queen, but Minthe wants some of the benefits of being queen, with none of the costs. Her needs get met; his do not. The primary reason Hades is dallying with Persephone at all is that Persephone is interested in meeting Hades’ needs. Ultimately, Minthe is toxic to Hades because Minthe is only looking out for Minthe, and that is why she’ll lose to Persephone. Even if Persephone were a stupid flower nymph, Persephone cares about Hades’ needs and tries to meet them, and that is why even without the fates Persephone will be the one Hades chooses. The irony is, Minthe will be better off for it, (I guess unless Persephone turns her into a plant, like the myth) even though she doesn’t realize it yet.
Bobo Glaukon