Hades

Greek mythology – Present

Ruler of the Underworld and the dead; a brother of Zeus and Poseidon who is grim and feared, but not evil, and is usually not counted among the twelve Olympians.

greek mythologygod

Hades was the Greek god of the Underworld, the shadowy realm of the dead, which was also called Hades after him. When the three sons of Cronus divided the world, Zeus took the sky and Poseidon the sea, while Hades drew the Underworld. Because he ruled far from Mount Olympus and rarely came to the surface, he is usually not counted among the twelve Olympian gods. It is important not to confuse Hades with the modern idea of the devil. Hades was grim and stern, and the Greeks feared him enough that they often avoided even saying his name, but he was not evil. He was a fair, if unyielding, ruler who made sure the dead stayed dead and that the boundary between the living and the dead was respected. His most famous myth is the abduction of Persephone, whom he took to be his queen, a story the Greeks used to explain the changing of the seasons. Hades matters to the Odyssey because of one of its most haunting episodes: Odysseus must sail to the edge of the Underworld and summon the spirits of the dead to seek guidance for his journey home. There he speaks with fallen comrades and even his own mother. The scene shows a hero brave enough to face death itself, and it gave later writers, from Virgil to Dante, a model for the classic 'journey to the underworld.' How we know. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter and Odyssey Book 11 are the core texts. See Hades and Persephone and Odysseus in the Underworld.

Hades

Further reading

Hades

Further reading