Key & Compass presents:
Hebe
by Marina Diagourta

• Maps
  • Map 1: Overview
  • Map 2: Athens
  • Map 3: Thebes and Delphi
  • Map 4: Aulis
  • Map 5: Sounio
  • Map 6: Paphos
  • Map 7: Ephyra and Underworld
• Walkthrough
• Extras
  • Characters, Credits, Inventory, Score
• Thank You to my Patreon supporters
• Support me on Ko-Fi
• External links:
  • This game at IFDB, and IFWiki.
  • Post about this walkthrough on X.

Maps

Map 1: Overview

Map 2: Athens

Map 3: Thebes and Delphi

Map 4: Aulis

Map 5: Sounio

Map 6: Paphos

Map 7: Ephyra and Underworld

Walkthrough

Mount Olympus Hall

You are playing as the Greek goddess Hebe, celebrating your marriage to Heracles and his ascension to immortality.

> look.

> x Hera. x Zeus. x me. x Heracles.

At this point, Heracles asks you to fetch his club by the thrones. This walkthrough complies right away, but feel free to look at all the other gods or goddesses if you like. Heracles asks again for his club if you delay, but he's very patient.

> x thrones. take club.

> give it to Heracles.

When you give the club, Kronos crashes the party. As time slows down, you grab back the club, but...

Garden of the Hesperides

... you wake in this garden isle two weeks later. The nymphs tell you to consult the Oracle of Delphi and free the captured gods. They also give you the Eternal Chalice of Nectar; you will need it.

Don't bother trying to ask the nymphs any questions; they've already told you all they know.

> x club. x chalice.

> look. x tree.

> sail to Piraeus.

Port of Piraeus

Head straight to the Oracle. There's no scenery worth looking at in any of the cities' ports, gates, or agoras.

> ne. n. nw. s. in.

Oracle of Delphi

> x adyton. x stone. x oracle.

> talk to oracle.

Now you know approximately where almost everyone is. Oddly, you're told nothing about Zeus, Hera, or Kronos.

Rescue the pair in Athens first:

> out. n. se. s. e. in.

Prytaneion Hall

> x scroll. x tablet.

 OLJKW WKH VHFRQG, WKLUG, VLAWK, VHYHQWK
 LIGHT THE SECOND, THIRD, SIXTH, SEVENTH
 DQG WLJKWK WRUFKHV.
 AND EIGHTH TORCHES.

 M ZWFA WCKTZAX TAQT VCYAX SA.
 I HAVE ANOTHER TEXT UNDER ME.
 
 OVT SA NUKBA TK TZA DMXA WCY XAWY MT.
 PUT ME CLOSE TO THE FIRE AND READ IT.

> take tablet. put it on hearth. (The wax melts.)

> read it. ("Light the tenth, eleventh, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth torches.")

> drop tablet. take portable torch.

> light second.

> light third.

> light sixth.

> light seventh.

> light eighth.

> light tenth.

> light eleventh.

> light thirteenth.

> light fourteenth.

> light fifteenth.

> light sixteenth. (You hear something unlock.)

> x carpet. move it. (not with stuff on it)

> move table. move chairs. move carpet.

> open trapdoor. d.

Divine Cell of Hestia & Hermes

> x chains.

> give nectar to Hestia.

> give nectar to Hermes. (+15)

Rescued gods return to Mount Olympus Hall to recover. Do Thebes next:

> u. out. w. n. n. ne. u. in.

Heroon of Kadmos

Awkwardly, you can't refer to the large scale as a whole, but you can still refer to its left and right pans.

> x paintings. x armchairs.

> x table. x rock.

> x altar. x plate.

> x scale. x pan. x first pan.

> x dragon. x head.

> x inscription. ("The key to passage lies from the lightest touch to the heaviest step.")

The paintings and the inscription are your clues on what to do here. First, put the rock onto the dragon head.

> take rock. put it on head. (The mouth opens.)

> look in mouth. take teeth.

Now put the teeth onto the plate. Not onto the altar, which gives a very misleading message.

> put teeth on plate. (A compartment opens.)

> look in compartment. take all from it.

Alas, you must now use the left and right pans to compare the weights to determine their relative weights from lightest to heaviest. Here's how I did it (and do feel free to skip this weighing):

What a fun time we're having. Now place the weights onto the appropriate pans:

> put owl on first.

> put snake on second.

> put sword on third.

> put shield on fourth.

> put spear on fifth.

> put horse on sixth. (The gate unlocks.)

> open gate. d.

Divine Cell of Athena & Ares

> give nectar to Athena.

> give nectar to Ares. (+15)

Do Aulis next:

> u. out. d. sw. e. n. in.

Temple of the Aulidean Artemis

> x sundial. x gnomon.

> x statue. x antlers. x bow. x quiver.

The sundial's inscription tells you something happens at noon and something happens at midnight.

If you consult HELP, you know that the game supports WAIT N HOURS or WAIT N MINUTES, where N is a number. Shame it doesn't support WAIT UNTIL NOON or WAIT UNTIL MIDNIGHT.

And it's a good thing you're not in a hurry. Remember, the nymphs told you you were out of it for nearly two weeks, so another day of doing nothing can't hurt.

> x sundial. (Note the current time.)

> wait N hours —or— wait N minutes —or— z. (as appropriate until it's noon)

At noon, a hatch opens on the gnomon.

> x hatch. take sun key. put it in sun lock.

> x sundial. (Note the current time.)

> wait N hours —or— wait N minutes —or— z. (as appropriate until it's midnight)

At midnight, a drawer pops open on the dial's plate.

> x drawer. take moon key. put it in moon lock.

When both keys are inserted in their locks, you hear something unlock.

> move statue. (You discover stairs.)

> d.

Divine Cell of Artemis & Apollo

> give nectar to Artemis.

> give nectar to Apollo. (+15)

Now head for Sounio:

> u. out. e. sail to Sounio. n. e.

Sounio Beach

The weeping nymph, Amphitrite, is the only character in the game you absolutely must talk to. You cannot enter the water without assistance.

> x nymph. talk to her.

She tells you Poseidon's temple is submerged and she can't leave the seafoam. You explain you need help to reach the temple.

> s —or— talk to Aktaia —or— talk to Erato —or— talk to Ploto.

A nymph guides you to...

Underwater

You can hold your breath for 12 minutes.

> in.

Temple of Poseidon

> x rings. (Five settings for each: barley, wheat, grapes, vine, and empty; initially all set empty.)

> set top ring to barley. (That phrasing doesn't work.)

> turn top ring. (It's now vine.)

> turn second ring counterclockwise. (It's now barley.)

There's nothing else here to give you a clue. When you exit the temple, you hear the rings reset.

> out. u.

Sounio Beach

Think about this. You can't ask these four nymphs about the rings, and every challenge so far has been self-contained, so it's very likely this one is too.

The rings' markings may not be arbitrary, and they obviously have nothing to do with Poseidon. Growing crops is Demeter's domain.

If you think about it, you can associate the symbols with the different seasons. Sprouting barley happens in the spring. Full-grown wheat happens in summer. A basket of grapes? Well, one harvests in autumn. And you'd have an empty vine in the winter.

So you just need to turn the rings to show all four symbols in calendar order, starting with barley for spring.

Because your time underwater is limited, optimize your moves by turning a ring counterclockwise when that direction is quicker.

If you do run out of breath, you re-surface automatically. You are never at risk of drowning.

> s. in.

Temple of Poseidon

> turn top ring counterclockwise. (barley)

> turn second ring counterclockwise. g. (wheat)

> turn third ring. g. (grapes)

> turn fourth ring. (vine)

You hear the trapdoor unlock.

> d.

Divine Cell of Demeter & Poseidon

> give nectar to Demeter.

> give nectar to Poseidon. (+15)

> u. (You quickly resurface.)

Sounio Beach

> talk to queen.

Now back to the garden...

> w. s. sail to garden.

Garden of the Hesperides

...and onto Paphos.

> sail to Paphos. e. n. n.

Throne Room

> x statue. move statue. d.

Secret Garden

> x flower. (which: red, purple, or orange?)

> x red flower. (Adonis; sorrowful memories)

> x purple flower. (Amaranthos; immortality)

> x orange flower. (Butterfly Weed; letting go)

> x candles.

> x tree. (Note the cavity.)

> x lake. x lilies.

> x tools.

> x amphorae. (right one isn't dusty)

> x right. (two women picking roses)

> smell right.

> x gate. (The vines hold it shut.)

Because "statue" refers to the statue in the temple above (I assume it's coded as a door, so logically, you can see it from both sides), refer to the statue that's here as "man".

> x man. (right hand missing something)

> read sign.

The poem directs you to place three flowers: a red flower in the man's right hand, a purple flower in the tree cavity, and an orange flower in the right amphora.

> take red flower. put it in hand.

> take purple flower. put it in cavity.

> take orange flower. put it in right amphora.

> x gate. (The vines have retreated.)

> open gate. e.

Divine Cell of Aphrodite & Hephaestus

> give nectar to Aphrodite.

> give nectar to Hephaestus. (+15)

> x caskets. x shrine. ("A beloved son.")

> w.

Secret Garden

Before you leave, grab those flowers. They'll be useful elsewhere.

> take red. take orange. take purple.

Return to Mount Olympus, and see what the current status is there.

> u. s. s. w. sail to Piraeus.

Port of Piraeus

> ne. n. n. n. u.

Mount Olympus Hall

All the rescued gods are here, resting. Nymphs are repairing damage.

Feel free to talk to any of them, then continue to Ephyra:

> d. sw. n. in.

Necromanteion

> x altar. (safe passage requires an obol)

> x priestess. talk to her. (Make a sacrifice to get an obol.)

> put red flower on altar. (You gain an obol.)

> put orange on altar. (You gain an obol.)

> put purple on altar. (You gain an obol.)

> x obol.

> out. se.

East of Ephyra

You only need one obol; it's good for a round-trip, but I like to be prepared.

> x Charon. x boat. x river.

> talk to him. give obol. (You travel to...)

Elysian Fields

> d.

Asphodel Meadows

> x Heracles. talk to him. (He doesn't know you.)

> give nectar to Heracles.

> x field.

> x bridge. (Heracles says to go that way, one must reliquish eternal life and become mortal.)

Are you prepared (to do that? (Heracles only asks this question if you gave him some nectar, and if you rescued all ten gods.)

>> yes (The bridge is now unlocked.)

The game might get stuck in a loop here, re-asking the question. Answer NO to get out of the loop. As long as you said YES at least once, you can continue downward.

>> no (to exit the loop)

> d.

Tartaros

The finale is a long sequence of text-dumps. You and Heracles find an ensorcelled Zeus and Hera, the titan Kronos, and his five titan friends.

Of course, there's a big battle. The ten rescued gods pop in to deal with Kronos's buddies. Heracles goes to free Zeus and Hera. And you take on Kronos and win! How? Play the game and find out!

*** The End ***

Extras

Characters

Gods, goddesses, and demi-gods:

• Hebe is the player-character and the goddess of youth and immortality.
• Heracles is your husband and a hero raised to godhood a year ago.
• Zeus is the god of the storm and the king of the Greek gods.
• Hera is the goddess of marriage and the queen of the Greek gods. Thankfully, she has agreed to put aside any conflicts for this event.
• Demeter is the goddess of the harvest.
• Hestia is the goddess of the home.
• Poseidon is the god of the seas.
• Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty.
• Apollo is the god of the sun and poetry.
• Artemis is the goddess of the hunt.
• Athena is the goddess of wisdom.
• Ares is the god of war.
• Dionysus is the god of wine.
• Hephaestus is the god of the forge.
• Hermes is the messenger of the gods.
• Ganymedes is the cupbearer of the gods. Who knows where he ended up after Kronos attacked?

Nymphs:

• Aigle, Arethousa, Erytheia, and Hesperie are the Hesperides, the nymphs of the evenings. They guard the sacred tree of their garden.
• Amphitrite, Aktaia, Erato, and Ploto are on Sounio Beach. Amphitrite is Poseidon's wife; the other three nereids are her attendants.

Titans:

• Kronos is terrifying because of his time-based powers.
• Koios, Okeanos, Krios, Hyperion, and Iapetos are Kronos's brother Titans, who he is trying to free from the Underworld.

Mortals:

• The Oracle of Delphi, aka the Pytheia, sits in the adyton, ready to deliver her prophecies.
• The high priestess of the Necromenteion will help you make your sacrifice to the Chthonian gods, awarding you with an obol per sacrifice.

Plus:

• Charon is the silent ferryman of the river Styx.

Mentioned:

• Unnamed merchants, sailors, horses, and other mortals go about their businesses in their cities.
• Iphigenia met her fate in Aulis.
• Kadmos was the founder of Thebes. He is credited with slaying the Dragon of Ismenus, the guardian of Ares' sacred spring.
• The Spartoi are warriors who were born from the sowing of dragon's teeth.
• Hades, Persephone, Nyx, and Thanatos are the Chthonian gods. When you make a sacrifice in the Necromenteion, one of these gods acknowledges it.
• The Erinyes are the avenging deities. They have a hidden shrine under the Temple of the Aulidean Artemis.

Credits

This is the response to CREDITS:

Game Title

 Hebe

Developed By

 Marina Diagourta

Beta Testers

Emanuele Babolo
Giannis Vasilakopoulos
Nadia Navazi

Acknowledgements

Big thanks to Nadia and Giannis for taking part in beta-testing and special thanks to Emanuele for trying to break the game in all ways imaginable and not.

Some text in the game was generated and edited by ChatGPT by OpenAI.

Inventory

You have inventory limits. Try not to carry more than you need to.

• Heracles' Club. In Mount Olympus Hall, Heracles asks you to fetch his club; it's by the thrones there.
• Give the club to Heracles. You automatically take the club back when Kronos crashes the party, but before you can use it, you wake up two weeks later in the Garden of the Hesperides, still holding the club.
• You will automatically use the Club during your battle with Kronos in Tartarus.
• Eternal Chalice of Nectar. The nymphs of the Garden of the Hesperides give the Chalice to you when you wake up there.
• For each god and goddess you find sleeping the eternal sleep, give nectar to him or her. They wake up and return to Mount Olympus Hall. You must free ten gods and goddesses before you attempt to rescue Heracles in the Underworld.
• In the Asphodel Meadows, give nectar to Heracles.
• a portable torch. It's beside the hearth in the Prytaneion Hall, Athens.
• Use the torch to light all the appropriate other torches named by both the parchment scroll's cryptogram and by the secret message within the wax tablet. When all the correct torches are lit (and all the wrong torches are unlit), the trapdoor under the carpet unlocks.
• Drop the torch in the hall after you finished with it. You don't need it elsewhere.
• a snuffer. It's beside the hearth in the Prytaneion Hall, Athens.
• Use the snuffer to put out any torches there that you incorrectly lit. If you light the correct ones the first time, you won't need the snuffer at all.
• a parchment scroll. It's on the table in the Prytaneion Hall, Athens.
• Solve the cryptogram on the scroll to learn some of the torches you need to light with the portable torch. You don't need to pick up the scroll at all.
• a wax tablet. It's on the table in the Prytaneion Hall, Athens.
• Solve the cryptogram on the tablet to learn there's another message under the wax. Put the tablet on the hearth to melt the wax, then read it again to learn the remaining set of torches you must light with the portable torch.
• a red flower, a purple flower, and an orange flower. These flowers are growing in the secret garden underneath the throne room of Paphos.
• Examine the flowers to learn what they mean. The red flowers represent sorrowful memories. The purple flowers represent immortality and unfading love. The orange flowers represent longing for release.
• Read the sign on the statue of the man; the poem is a clue telling you where to put the flowers. Put a red flower in the hand (of the man statue), put a purple flower in the cavity (of the olive tree), and put an orange flower in the right amphora. This makes the vines on the gate retract, giving you access to the divine cell to the east.
• After saving Aphrodite and Hephaestus, feel free to take all the flowers to the Necromanteion and put them on the altar to get some obols.
• a rock. It's on the table in the Heroon of Kadmos, Thebes.
• As suggested by the paintings in the room, put the rock onto the dragon head. (Not onto the dragon. Onto the head.) The dragon mouth opens; six dragon teeth are inside.
• six dragon teeth. They're inside the mouth of the dragon statue in the Heroon of Kadmos, Thebes. Put the rock onto the dragon head to open the mouth.
• As suggested by the paintings in the room, put all the teeth onto the plate of the altar. (Not onto the altar. Onto the plate.) A hidden compartment containing six weights opens.
• an owl weight, a shield weight, a spear weight, a snake weight, a sword weight, and a horse weight. They're inside a hidden compartment in the altar in the Heroon of Kadmos, Thebes. Put all six dragon teeth onto the plate (of the altar) to open the compartment.
• According to the inscription in the room, you must place these six weights onto the six pans of the small scale, from lightest to heaviest.
• To determine which of two weights is heavier, use the large scales' pans. Put one weight on the left pan and another on the right pan. The heavier weight is in the pan that is lower.
• Laboriously compare the weights using the left and right pans until you know their order.
• Put the owl weight on the first pan.
• Put the snake weight on the second pan.
• Put the sword weight on the third pan.
• Put the shield weight on the fourth pan.
• Put the spear weight on the fifth pan.
• Put the horse weight on the sixth pan.
• When all the weights are correctly placed, the dragon gate unlocks and you can go down into the divine cell below.
• an obol. Gain one in the Necromanteion of Ephyra by putting something you don't need onto the altar. I suggest sacrificing a flower from the secret garden in Paphos.
• Feel free to sacrifice three flowers to get three obols. Just in case, y'know?
• At East of Ephyra, give an obol to Charon to cross the river into the underworld. You're paying for a round-trip, by the way. To return to Ephyra, just talk to Charon; you don't need another obol to get back.
• You might think you need an obol for Heracles, but the way events happen, that won't be necessary.

Score

The response to SCORE is:

You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 0, in several turns.

Points are awarded as follows:

• 15 points for freeing Hestia and Hermes.
• 15 points for freeing Aphrodite and Hephaestus.
• 15 points for freeing Athena and Ares
• 15 points for freeing Demeter and Poseidon.
• 15 points for freeing Artemis and Apollo.

Therefore, let's assume that the maximum score is 75. No points are awarded for winning the final battle, but feel free to give yourself 25 points for the victory, making the total an even 100.

Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with

• the support of Robin Johnson, Ville Lavonius, Andrew Schultz, Kenneth Hon, Carl Muckenhoupt, Mark Musante, Phil Tatro, and Daniel Stelzer;
• the generous support of Janice M Eisen, Matthew Foxley, and Thomas Insel;
• the very generous support of Karl Ove Hufthammer, Lance Campbell, and DrkStarr;
• the extremely generous support of Emily Short, Allen Garvin, Jesse McGrew, Jacqueline Ashwell, Jennifer Rexrode, and Durafen;
• and the invisible support of several anonymous patrons.

Ko-Fi is a way to send me small one-time donations. Every little bit helps, and thank you!