Tartarus Prison

Lore & Background

In Greek mythology, Tartarus is both a deity and a place in the underworld. As a deity, in Hesiod's *Theogony* (c. late 8th century BC), Tartarus was the third of the primordial deities, following after Chaos and Gaia (Earth), and preceding Eros, and was the father, by Gaia, of the monster Typhon. According to Hyginus, Tartarus was the offspring of Aether and Gaia. As a location, Hesiod asserts that a bronze anvil falling from heaven would fall nine days before it reached the earth, and would take nine more days to fall from earth to Tartarus. In the *Iliad* (c. 8th century BC), Zeus asserts that Tartarus is "as far beneath Hades as heaven is above earth." Similarly, the mythographer Apollodorus describes Tartarus as "a gloomy place in Hades as far distant from earth as earth is distant from the sky."

While according to Greek mythology the realm of Hades is the place of the dead, Tartarus also has a number of inhabitants. When Cronus came to power as the King of the Titans, he imprisoned the three ancient one-eyed Cyclopes and the hundred-armed Hecatonchires in Tartarus and set the monster Campe as its guard. Zeus killed Campe and released these imprisoned giants to aid in his conflict with the Titans. The gods of Olympus eventually triumphed. Cronus and many of the other Titans were banished to Tartarus, though Prometheus, Epimetheus, and female Titans such as Metis were spared. Other gods could be sentenced to Tartarus as well. In the Homeric hymn to Hermes, Apollo threatens to throw Hermes into Tartarus. Apollo himself was almost condemned to Tartarus by Zeus for the act of killing the Cyclops. The Hecatonchires became guards of Tartarus's prisoners. Later, when Zeus overcame the monster Typhon, he threw him into "wide Tartarus."

Originally, Tartarus was used only to confine dangers to the gods of Olympus and their predecessors. In later mythologies, Tartarus became a space dedicated to the imprisonment and torment of mortals who had sinned against the gods, and each punishment was unique to the condemned. For example, King Sisyphus was sent to Tartarus for killing guests and travelers at his castle in violation of his hospitality, seducing his niece, and reporting one of Zeus's sexual conquests. In Tartarus, Sisyphus was forced forever to try to roll a large boulder to the top of a mountain slope, which would always roll back to the bottom. King Tantalus ended up in Tartarus after he cut up his son Pelops, boiled him, and served him as food when he was invited to dine with the gods. Tantalus's punishment was to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches; whenever he reached for the fruit, the branches raised his intended meal from his grasp, and whenever he bent down to get a drink, the water receded before he could get any. Ixion was punished by being tied to a winged flaming wheel that was always spinning: first in the sky and then in Tartarus. The Danaïdes murdered their husbands and were punished in Tartarus by being forced to carry water in a jug to fill a bath, but the jugs were filled with cracks, so the water always leaked out. The giant Tityos attempted to rape Leto on Hera's orders, but was slain by Apollo and Artemis; as punishment, Tityos was stretched out in Tartarus and tortured by two vultures who fed on his liver. King Salmoneus was imprisoned in Tartarus after passing himself off as Zeus, causing the real Zeus to smite him with a thunderbolt. Arke, the sister of Iris who sided with the Titans as their messenger goddess, had her wings removed by Zeus and was thrown into Tartarus with the Titans. Ocnus was condemned in Tartarus perpetually to weave a rope of straw which, as fast as he weaves it, is just as quickly eaten by a donkey. King Phlegyas was punished in Tartarus by being entombed in a rock and starved in front of an eternal feast as he shouts to the other inhabitants not to despise the gods. According to Plato (c. 427 BC), Rhadamanthus, Aeacus and Minos were the judges of the dead and chose who went to Tartarus. Rhadamanthus judged Asian souls, Aeacus judged European souls and Minos was the deciding vote and judge of the Greek. Souls regarded as unjust or perjured would go to Tartarus. Those who committed crimes seen as curable would be purified there, while those who committed crimes seen as uncurable would be eternally damned. In *Gorgias*, Plato writes about Socrates telling Callicles that doing injustice to others is worse than suffering injustice, and most uncurable inhabitants of Tartarus were tyrants whose might gave them the opportunity to commit huge crimes. According to Plato's *Phaedo*, the uncurable consisted of temple robbers and murderers, while sons who killed one of their parents during a status of rage but regretted this their whole life, and involuntary manslaughterers, would be taken out of Tartarus after one year, so they could ask their victims for forgiveness. In the *Republic*, Plato mentions the Myth of Er, who is said to have been a fallen soldier who resurrected from the dead; according to this, the length of a punishment an adult receives for each crime in Tartarus, who is responsible for a lot of deaths, betrayed states or armies and sold them into slavery or had been involved in similar misdeeds, corresponds to ten times out of a hundred earthly years. There were a number of entrances to Tartarus in Greek mythology. One was in Aornum. In Roman mythology, sinners (as defined by the Roman societal and cultural norms of their time) are sent to Tartarus for punishment after death. Virgil describes Tartarus in great detail in the *Aeneid*, Book VI. He described it as expansive. It is surrounded by three perimeter walls.

In Their Own Story

The air in Tartarus didn't just smell stale; it tasted of recycled ozone and the metallic tang of suppressed Quirks. A guard adjusted his mask, eyes darting across the row of reinforced cells where Japan's worst nightmares lay in suspended animation—or feigned slumber. Across the corridor, the silence was suffocating, broken only by the rhythmic *drip-drip* of condensation echoing off steel walls. Then, the lights didn't just flicker; they died in a deliberate, cascading blackout. In that split second of absolute darkness, a low, rasping chuckle slithered through the corridor—a sound that reminded every officer present that no cage is truly invincible when the inmates decide to break the lock.

Reader's Guide

Tartarus serves as the narrative anchor for the stakes of the My Hero Academia universe, representing the absolute limit of what society can do to contain evil. It is not merely a backdrop but an active participant in the story's conflict, often acting as the catalyst for major plot developments when its security fails or when villains orchestrate escapes from within. The prison plays a crucial role in character arcs, particularly for those who interact with it either as inmates, guards, or rescue targets. It highlights the fragility of order and the relentless nature of villainy, showing that even the most secure systems can be compromised by sheer willpower or internal betrayal. The facility's existence underscores the constant tension between heroism and the threat of total societal collapse. Why it matters: Tartarus is the stage where the war between heroes and villains truly begins to escalate. Incidents originating here often trigger chain reactions that reshape the entire landscape of the world, forcing heroes to confront the reality that their enemies are not just individuals but a coordinated force capable of striking at the heart of justice itself.

Did You Know?

• In Hesiod's *Theogony* (c. late 8th century BC), Tartarus was the third of the primordial deities, following after Chaos and Gaia (Earth), and preceding Eros.
• Hesiod asserts that a bronze anvil falling from heaven would fall nine days before it reached the earth, and would take nine more days to fall from earth to Tartarus.
• In the *Iliad* (c. 8th century BC), Zeus asserts that Tartarus is 'as far beneath Hades as heaven is above earth.'
• According to Plato's *Gorgias* (c. 400 BC), souls are judged after death and the wicked receive divine punishment in Tartarus.
• In Roman mythology, Virgil describes Tartarus in the *Aeneid*, Book VI, as expansive and surrounded by three perimeter walls.