The pits of Hell is the final resting place of those who have committed unspeakable crimes on Earth. From its initial appearance, Hell is distinguished from Tartarus as containing far worse torments for those who have committed far worse crimes. It is important to note that consignment to Hell has nothing to do with a person's religion or how they view the afterlife, as Callisto was sent to both Tartarus and Hell on different occasions of her death. The various gods of death seem to be aware of Hell, and can choose to send damned souls there if they consider their own realms of torment inadequate (Sin noted that Hades did this on occasion). As with all deceased souls, most of those consigned to Hell may be reincarnated on Earth into new mortal lives after a time.
Hell occupies the same metaphysical plane as Heaven. Heaven exists as a series of light-filled caverns near the summits of an infinite chain of mountains, while Hell is realized within the caverns far below.
Inhabitants[]
The inhabitants of Hell follow a hierarchy (much like that of Heaven):
- Demon - The average inhabitant. Most Demons wander Hell, waiting to be reincarnated.
- Archdemon - In order to become an Archdemon, one must eat the Fruits of Hell. An Archdemon is not reincarnated unless by means of some extraordinary intervention and instead is devoted to defending Hell and attacking The Heavens.
- King of Hell - the monarch of Hell is the leader of the archdemons: they are at once the head jailor of Hell and the most dangerous prisoner of all. In order to become the king or queen of Hell, one must kill the existing monarch. That person's heart will then be encumbered with darkness until they take their place.
Xena and Gabrielle were both wrongly consigned to Hell for separate reasons: Xena when she traded places with Callisto and Gabrielle when her Guardian Angel failed to protect her from attacking Archdemons.
Portal at Amphipolis[]
After redeeming Eve and the events of the Twilight of the Gods, Xena and Gabrielle return with Eve to Amphipolis and discover that Mephistopheles is trying to use Cyrene's Tavern as a portal to Earth from Hell. Xena is then forced to kill him, in order to prevent Amphipolis from being used as the portal of Hell. To stop herself from taking her rightful place as the Queen of Hell, she tricks the Archangel Lucifer into giving in to the Seven Deadly Sins, making him the King of Hell.
