Hades

Nationality/Culture

Greek

Pronunciation

HAY-deez

Alternate Names

Pluto (Roman)

Appears In

Hesiod's Theogony, Homer's Iliad, Greek and Roman creation myths

Lineage

Son of Cronus and Rhea

Character Overview

In Greek mythology , Hades was the god of the underworld , the

kingdom of the dead. Although the name Hades is often used to indicate the underworld itself, it rightfully belongs only to the god, whose kingdom was known as the land of Hades or house of Hades.

Hades was the son of Cronus (pronounced KROH-nuhs) and Rhea (pronounced REE-uh), two of the Titans who once ruled the universe. The Titans had other children as well: the gods Zeus (pronounced ZOOS) and Poseidon (pronounced poh-SYE-dun) and the goddesses Demeter (pronounced di-MEE-ter), Hera (pronounced HAIR-uh), and Hestia (pronounced HESS-tee-uh). When Hades was born, Cronus swallowed him as he had swallowed his other children at birth. However, Zeus escaped this fate, and he tricked Cronus into taking a potion that made him vomit out Hades and his siblings.

Together, these gods and goddesses rebelled against the Titans and seized power from them. Each was given a special weapon or magic item by the Cyclopes (pronounced sigh-KLOH-peez) to help them win the battle; Hades was given a helmet that would allow him to become invisible. After gaining control of the universe, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus drew lots to divide it among themselves. Zeus gained control of the sky, Poseidon took the sea, and Hades received the underworld.

The kingdom of the dead was divided into two regions. At the very bottom lay Tartarus (pronounced TAR-tur-uhs), aland of terrible blackness where the wicked suffered eternal torments. Among those imprisoned there were the Titans, who were guarded by giants with one hundred arms. The other region of the underworld, Elysium (pronounced eh-LEE-zee-um) or the Elysian Fields, was a place where the souls of good and righteous people went after death.

To reach Hades' kingdom, the dead had to cross the river Styx (pronounced STIKS). A boatman named Charon (pronounced KAIR-uhn) ferried the dead across the river, while the monstrous Cerberus (pronounced SUR-ber-uhs), a multiheaded dog with a serpent's tail, guarded the entrance to the underworld to prevent anyone from leaving. Four other rivers flowed through the underworld: Acheron (pronounced AK-uh-ron; river of woe), Lethe (pronounced LEE-thee; river of forget-fulness), Cocytus (pronounced koh-SEE-tuhs; river of wailing), and Phlegethon (pronounced FLEG-uh-thon; river of fire).

Hades supervised the judgment and punishment of the dead but did not torture them himself. That task was left to the Furies (pronounced FYOO-reez), the female spirits of justice and vengeance. Although portrayed as grim and unyielding, Hades was not considered evil or unjust.

Major Myths

Hades appears in very few myths. The best known myth concerns his kidnapping of Persephone (pronounced per-SEF-uh-nee), daughter of Demeter, the goddess of fertility and the earth. Hades saw the beautiful Persephone while he was riding in a chariot on earth and fell in love with her. When Hades asked Zeus for permission to marry Persephone, Zeus told him that Demeter would never agree. However, Zeus did agree to help Hades seize her.

One day while picking flowers, Persephone reached for a fragrant blossom, and the earth opened up before her. Hades emerged in a chariot, grabbed Persephone, and carried her to the underworld. When Demeter discovered that her daughter was missing, her despair distracted her from her duties as a goddess of fertility and growth, and drought and devastation plagued the lands. After finally learning what had happened, she threatened to starve all mortals as punishment to Zeus and the other gods.

Fearing the consequences of Demeter's anger, Zeus sent word to Hades that Persephone must be returned to her mother. Before letting her go, however, Hades gave Persephone a piece of fruit to eat. Persephone ate the fruit, not realizing that anyone who ate food in the kingdom of the dead must remain there.

Zeus intervened again and arranged for Persephone to spend part of every year with her mother and part with Hades. During the growing and harvest season, she lived on earth, but during the barren winter months she had to return to Hades' kingdom and reign there as queen of the underworld.

Hades in Context

In ancient Greece, Hades was generally feared enough that his name was not often spoken out loud. Instead, the name Pluton, meaning “giver of wealth,” was used and understood as a more positive substitute. However, fear did not translate to worship; the ancient Greeks built no known temples to honor Hades. The Greeks' treatment of Hades reflects their attitude toward the afterlife: they did not view the afterlife as something glamorous, fun, or beautiful, but as something dark and frightening.

Key Themes and Symbols

Unhappiness and isolation are often associated with Hades in ancient Greek myths. Although he is a brother to Zeus and the other Olympian gods, he cannot reside on Mount Olympus as they do. He is separated from the land of the gods and the land of the living, and has no companions other than his part-time queen Persephone.

Hades in Art, Literature, and Everyday Life

In ancient art, Hades was often depicted with his queen Persephone or accompanied by his guardian hound, Cerberus. He was usually shown holding a scepter. Although Hades was not as popular with later artists as many other gods were, depictions of the god were created by Rubens, Annibale Caracci, and the sculptor Bernini. The operetta Orpheus in the Underworld by composer Jacques Offenbach (1858) features Hades as a main character. Hades is also memorably voiced by James Woods in the 1997 animated Disney film Hercules. Hades lent his Roman name— Pluto—to the pet dog of Walt Disney's signature cartoon character, Mickey Mouse. In the realm of astronomy, Pluto is the name given to what was once referred to as the ninth and most distant planet in our solar system. In 2006, it was reclassified as a dwarf planet.

Read, Write, Think, Discuss

What do you think the myth of Hades suggests about how ancient Greeks and Romans viewed the afterlife? How does this compare with other, more modern views of the afterlife?

SEE ALSO Cerberus; Demeter; Furies; Greek Mythology; Lethe; Persephone; Titans; Underworld