There is a common saying that power corrupts, and that absolute power absolutely corrupts. Lore takes this a step farther, introducing the idea that a sense of one’s own power, both internally and over others, leads to corruption. Whether god, hunter, or unblooded, a sense of having power changes a person.

Gods, especially new ones, face the greatest potential for corruption. Before ascending to become Wrath, Aristos Kadmou led the Kadmides, the most powerful house among the hunters. His position of authority coupled with his sense of privilege had already corrupted him into a man who believed he was entitled to whatever he wanted. Once he ascends, Wrath adds the literal power of corruption (war and violence) to his arsenal. In the Prologue, he describes how he spread corruption over the last seven years, and throughout the book, he rains down death and destruction upon New York City. His godly power corrupts him further, and the more authority he gains, the more corrupt he becomes. Athena, too, shows a level of godly corruption. She has been corrupted by her powers for hundreds of years. As belief in her died out, she grew desperate to hold power once again, which led her to do whatever necessary to obtain the aegis. By contrast, Castor never held a position of power and was shunned within his house. This kept him humble. His godly powers don’t feel like they belong to him, rather like they simply channel him, which means they don’t corrupt him in the same way Wrath’s and Athena’s do.

Mortals also face corruption, if not on such a grand scale. Van comes from a rich and powerful family, and he is a highly talented archivist (information gatherer) for the Kadmides. As a result, he thinks of himself as better than other hunters and unbloodeds. Van has a prosthetic hand (the origin of which is unknown), which means he is not a fighter and that the hunters look down on him. This gives him a sliver of humility, which grows over the course of the story and keeps the Agon world from corrupting him fully. As an unblooded, Miles faces the most dangerous type of corruption—the newness and excitement of the Agon. After completing a successful information trade, Miles believes he understands and fits into the Agon’s world. His natural charm and way with people give him power in a new way and starts to corrupt him. As he sees the Agon for what it is and comes to know the destruction it brings, Miles realizes the power he holds is an illusion, and his corruption wanes.

The Agon’s world rewards physical strength. Hunters train from a young age to tone their bodies and become proficient with many weapons. Hunters learn that kleos comes to those who either ascend, die a glorious death, or perform epic deeds in battle. Those who fight poorly or who don’t wish to fight are shunned as unworthy and relegated to lesser positions in the Agon hierarchy, such as archivist. These positions are just as essential for the Agon’s world to stay alive and hidden, but these support roles are afforded little respect among hunters.

Van was never good at combat. The details of his lost hand are never revealed, but one theory is that he cut off his own hand to get out of training. While hunters would see this act as cowardly, Van, however he lost his hand, uses the prosthetic to his advantage. Rather than feeling shepherded into his role as archivist, Van embraces gathering information and leading the technical support of the Achillides. More than once, he expresses distaste for the Agon lifestyle. There’s no proof of this, but it’s possible Van could have fed Philip Achilleos false information to weaken the Achillides. Though not physical combat, Van’s mastery of technology and information is its own type of strength.

Castor is proficient in combat, but his greatest strengths lie in other areas. Castor’s illness sometimes kept him from training and often resulted in him tiring easily. Though combat was difficult, and the other hunters harassed him, Castor never gave up, fighting the disease, his own self-doubt, and the harsh words flung at him to become a hunter. Castor’s greatest strength, though, is his compassion, something rarely seen elsewhere in the Agon’s world. Castor is Lore’s rock, always there to bring her back from the edge of memories and anger. His calm voice of reason keeps Lore from making many poor decisions. The night Castor ascended, a wounded Apollo came to his room. Though we never learn how Castor obtained Apollo’s powers, it may be that Castor showed the god kindness and offered him release from his injuries, which led Apollo to gift his healing abilities to the ill Castor. If this is the case, Castor’s compassion brought him relief from his cancer and allowed Apollo to avoid the Agon, things physical strength alone could never achieve.