The planetary alignment is a celestial event that occurs periodically within the Solar system where the Earth (Gaia) and the other planets, known as the Astra Planeta, align. The event was prophesied by the Fates to occur again 18 years after Hercules' birth and would allow Hades to conduct a "hostile takeover" against Mt. Olympus with the help of the Titans.
Energy released by the planets lining up created a vortex that moved the water away from the place in the ocean where the Titans had been imprisoned by Zeus back when the Earth was new. Hades then broke the energy gate covering their prison and the Titans climbed free to begin an assault on the home of the gods. However, in their anger, they initially headed in the wrong direction until Hades got them turned around.
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Trivia[]
- In the vision of the Fates, only six planets appear (Earth and five others), even though at the time of the film's release they were considered nine and, since 2006, eight. This is not a mistake since in the time of Ancient Greece only 7 planets were known, including the Sun and the Moon, while the Earth would not be recognized as such until centuries later.
- Curiously, the planets of the Solar system are named after characters from classical mythology (excluding Earth in English), mostly Roman equivalents of various Greek gods seen in the film:
- Mercury is the Roman name of Hermes.
- Venus is the Roman name of Aphrodite.
- The Earth is called Terra or its derivatives in several Romance languages, being the equivalent of Gaia.
- Mars is the Roman name of Ares.
- Jupiter is the Roman name of Zeus.
- Saturn is the Roman name of Cronus.
- Uranus is already a Greek name, although its Roman equivalent is Caelus.
- Neptune is the Roman name of Poseidon.