In Greek mythology, the king of the Underworld, terrible but just; he was responsible for the seizure of Persephone. To the Greeks, Hades was always a person, never a place, but by transference the Underworld - the house of Hades - became known by that name (which means the unseen). It is located below the Earth or in the far West; there the shades or feeble spirits of the dead continue to exist.
Hades (from Greek ᾍδης, Haidēs, originally Ἅιδης, Haidēs or Ἀΐδης, Aïdēs; ᾍδού, Haidou its genitive, was short for "the house of Hades".
Hades was also known as Pluto (from Greek Πλούτων, Ploutōn), and was known by this name, as well as Dis Pater and Orcus, in Roman mythology; "Hades" is employed by Christians as a residing place for souls that have fallen from grace.
Hades, abode of the dead
There were several sections of Hades, including the Elysian Fields (contrast the Christian Paradise or Heaven), and Tartarus, (compare the Christian Hell).
In Roman mythology, an entrance to the underworld located at Avernus, a crater near Cumae.
The deceased entered the underworld by crossing the river Acheron ferried across by Charon (kair'-on), who charged an obolus, a small coin for passage, placed under the tongue of the deceased by pious relatives.
The five rivers of Hades are Acheron (the river of sorrow), Cocytus (lamentation), Phlegethon (fire), Lethe (forgetfulness) and Styx (hate).
The first region of Hades comprises the Fields of Asphodel, described in Odyssey xi, where the shades of heroes wander despondently among lesser spirits, who twitter around them like bats.
Beyond lay Erebus, which could be taken for a euphonym of Hades, whose own name was dread. In the forecourt of the palace of Hades and Persephone sit the three judges of the Underworld: Minos, Rhadamanthys and Aeacus.
Hades, lord of the Underworld
In Greek mythology, Hades (the "unseen"), the god of the underworld, was a son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. He had three older sisters, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, as well as two younger brothers, Poseidon and Zeus: together they accounted for half of the Olympian gods. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades received weapons from the three Cyclops to help in the war. Hades the helmet of invisibility; During the night before the first battle Hades put on his helmet and, being invisible, sneaked over to the Titans' camp and destroyed their weapons. Following their victory, according to a single famous passage in the Iliad (xv.187-93), Hades and his two younger brothers, Poseidon and Zeus, drew lots for realms to rule. Zeus got the sky, Poseidon got the seas, and Hades received the underworld, the unseen realm to which the dead go upon leaving the world as well as any and all things beneath the earth.
Hades obtained his eventual consort, Persephone, through trickery, a story that connected the ancient Eleusinian Mysteries with the Olympian pantheon.
Despite modern connotations of death as "evil", Hades was actually more altruistically inclined in mythology. Hades was often portrayed as passive rather than evil;
Hades ruled the dead, assisted by demons over whom he had complete authority.
Besides Heracles, the only other living people who ventured to the Underworld were all heroes: Odysseus, Aeneas (accompanied by the Sibyl), Orpheus, Theseus, and Psyche. In particular, the Greek war hero Achilles, whom Odysseus met in Hades (although some believe that Achilles dwells in the Isles of the Blessed), said:
"Do not speak soothingly to me of death, glorious Odysseus. Homer, Odyssey 11.488Hades, god of the dead, was a fearsome figure to those still living; To many, simply to say the word "Hades" was frightening. Since precious minerals come from under the earth (i.e., the "underworld" ruled by Hades), he was considered to have control of these as well, and was referred to as Πλούτων (Plouton, related to the word for "wealth"), hence the Roman name Pluto. Sophocles explained referring to Hades as "the rich one" with these words: "the gloomy Hades enriches himself with our sighs and our tears."
Because of his dark and morbid personality he was not especially liked by either the gods or the mortals. Feared and loathed, Hades embodied the inexorable finality of death: "Why do we loathe Hades more than any god, if not because he is so adamantine and unyielding?" Hades ruled the Underworld and therefore most often associated with death and was feared by men, but he was not Death itself — the actual embodiment of Death was Thanatos.
When the Greeks propitiated Hades, they banged their hands on the ground to be sure he would hear them. The blood from sacrifices to Hades dripped into a pit so it could reach him. The person who offered the sacrifice had to turn away his face. Hades was known to sometimes loan his helmet of invisibility to both gods and men (such as Perseus). His other ordinary attributes were the Narcissus and Cypress plants, the Key of Hades and Cerberus, the many-headed dog.
Artistic representations
Hades is rarely represented in classical arts, save in depictions of the Rape of Persephone. Hades is also mentioned in The Odyssey, when Odysseus visits the underworld as part of his journey. However, in this instance it is Hades the place, not the god.
Persephone
The consort of Hades, and the archaic queen of the Underworld in her own right, before the Hellene Olympians were established, was Persephone, represented by the Greeks as daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Persephone did not submit to Hades willingly, but was abducted by him while picking flowers with her friends. Hades tricked Persephone into eating six pomegranate seeds, which meant that she would be unable to leave the underworld even with the help of Zeus. Persephone knew of her mother's depression and asked Hades to return her to the land of the living, on the condition that she would stay with him for 6 months; Every year Hades fights his way back to the land of the living with Persephone in his chariot.
Orpheus and Eurydice
Hades showed mercy only once: Because the music of Orpheus was so hauntingly good, he allowed Orpheus to bring his wife, Eurydice, back to the land of the living as long as she walked behind him and he never tried to look at her face until they got to the surface.
Minthe and Leuce
According to Ovid, Hades pursued and would have won the nymph Minthe, associated with the river Cocytus, had not Persephone turned Minthe into the plant called mint. Similarly the nymph Leuce, who was also ravished by him, was metamorphosed by Hades into a white poplar tree after her death.
Theseus and Pirithous
Hades imprisoned Theseus and Pirithous, who had pledged to marry daughters of Zeus. Hades pretended to offer them hospitality and set a feast;
Heracles
Heracles' final labour was to capture Cerberus. Athena and Hermes helped him through and back from Hades. Heracles asked Hades for permission to take Cerberus. Hades agreed as long as Heracles didn't harm him, though in some versions, Heracles shot Hades with an arrow. When Heracles dragged the dog out of Hades, he passed through the cavern Acherusia.
User Comments Add a comment…