the oracle tech is actually really good too. u don't know it til u see it happen and man, it feels like u have 2x the los on the map, very helpful.
uwp isn't that great.
curse is AWESOME, if u know how to use it.
seriously, use it in the middle of a battle after the enemy is a bit dmgd. and use it mainly on their archer units (lowest hp). boom, u now have like 10 PIGS, which are like 300 food each, that's 3000 food! this can end up saving u a bunch of WOOD that u would use for farms, instead u can use that wood for taking tcs, toxotes, etc.
plus, u win the battle, basically for free, have a bunch of units left to go pressure their econ with. it's definitely nice. just DO NOT USE IT ON CAVALRY. too many hps. if u're playing a cavalry civilization, use curse in conjunction with a raid on their gold miners. curse instantly kills about 4 of their miners and then u can kill lik 2-3 more with ur raid. that's a big blow to their gold production.
aphrodite is EXCELLENT cuz u can use her gp every game effectively (unlike apollo), ALL her myth techs help in every game (unlike apollo), her myth unit costs GOLD and can be used effectively every game (unlike apollo). sun ray costs too much to be effective for hades cuz (a) he doesn't get centaurs and (b) u can't get manticores on the field in early heroic. therefore, it only benefits ur archer units and not MUs. and for 40 fav, that's not enough, imo.
if u're hades, definitely pick aphrodite. get both her myth techs asap and then start pumpin' upgraded nemean lions. they are AMAZING (albeit not as good vs. norse).
fh