Hades

* New
* Old
* OSP reward

**Hades** is the Greek god of the dead and riches, the King of the Underworld and the husband of Persephone. He was known as Pluto or Dis to the Romans.

## Overview

Hades is the fourth-born child and eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although the last son regurgitated by his father. He and his siblings defeated their father, and claimed rulership over the cosmos; Hades received the underworld.

Perhaps the best known myth involving Hades is his relationship and marriage to Persephone, whom he kidnapped and made his wife, thus creating the seasonal cycle when the girl's mother Demeter objected and caused a famine in order to get her back for some months of the year.

His Roman equivalent is the god Pluto (named after himself).

## Miscellaneous Myths

### The Theogony

As soon as he was born, Hades was swallowed by his father Cronus, who feared that one of his children would overthrow him. Hades and his sisters and brother would remain inside their father until their brother Zeus set them free by making Cronus puke. They allied with him, and eventually overthrew him. The three brothers drew lots to determine their domains; Zeus got the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the Underworld.

### Hades and Persephone

Perhaps the most known myth of Hades is that of Persephone’s abduction by him. Hades asked Zeus for a wife, and Zeus agreed to give Persephone to him, without informing Persephone’s mother Demeter, as they knew she would never agree to letting Persephone go to the Underworld.

One day that Persephone was picking flowers, Hades burst through a hole in the ground and snatched her on his chariot, and retreated back in the Underworld, where he married her. Demeter meanwhile in her grief refused to let anything grow, bringing famine and winter to land, which ended up killing a lot of people. Zeus then sent Hermes to take Persephone from the Underworld.

Arriving there, Hermes found Persephone and Hades hanging out, with Persephone being bummed out and missing her mother. Hermes explains the situation, and Hades agrees to let Persephone go. Before she does, he promises to her that he will be a good husband to her, and that she will be a most respected Queen of the Underworld by his side. Then he tricks her into eating pomegranate seeds so that she will return eventually. Although Persephone meets her mother again, due to having eaten the seeds, she will always have to spend sometime with Hades (during which time Demeter doesn’t grow anything) and some months with her mother (during which time nature flourishes).

Red then talks about the meaning behind the hymn as well as the origins of those gods; the hymn doesn’t treat Hades as a villain, neither the event as a violent kidnapping, but rather blames Zeus for everything that happened. What’s more, Hades doesn’t seem to predate Ancient Greece, while both Demeter and Persephone do, as they are Mycenaean in origin (so far Hades’ name has not been discovered on Mycenaean inscriptions); while Persephone’s descent into the Underworld was a major theme of the Eleusian mysteries (a cult dedicated to mother and daughter) and other cultures have a descend myth, an abduction isn’t always present. This could mean that Hades played a small to non-existent role in the story originally, with the focus being on Demeter and Persephone. Red theorizes that Hades might have been an offshoot of Mycenaean Poseidon, who splitted into Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Hades, the god of the Underworld. This is supported by Poseidon’s possible close proximity to the two goddesses in Mycenaean cult.

### Theseus and Pirithous

Hades once complained to Zeus about Asclepius resurrecting people. Zeus then killed Asclepius, though according to Red this wasn’t Hades’ intention.

In another myth, Theseus and Pirithous attempted to steal Persephone so Pirithous would marry her. Hades happily received the guests in his house and offered them seats at his table, but once the heroes sat down, snakes erupted and tethered them there. Hades then unleashed the Furies on them.

### Sisyphus Captures Death

When the gods decided to punish Sisyphus for being a terrible host, it was Hades who suggested they straight up kill him. Hades gave Thanatos, the god of death, a pair of strong chains and sent him to take Sisyphus. Thanatos did as told, but Sisyphus managed to tie him with his own chains and lock him up; as a result, no one could die, and Hades despaired not being able to find Thanatos.

Ares eventually freed Thanatos and brought Sisyphus back to the Underworld, but Sisyphus once more escaped, as he convinced Persephone his wife hadn’t offered him a proper funeral. When, many years later, Sisyphus died once and for all, Hades was the least pleased to see him. Sisyphus was punished by having to roll a rock up a hill for all eternity.

### Heracles

For his last labour, Heracles was sent to the Underworld to retrieve Cerberus, the guarding dog. Hades agreed to let Heracles take him for some time, as long as he didn’t use any weapons trying to capture him. Heracles agreed, but apparently Hades objected somehow because this story ends up with Heracles shooting him with an arrow for some reason.

Later, when Heracles returns Cerberus, Persephone is seen tending to Hades’ wounds.

### The Wrath Of Demeter

Hades appears briefly near the end, visibly shocked about the story of Erysichthon as Demeter related it to him and Persephone.

### Tantalus

Hades has a brief appearance; he makes the water in the pool Tantalus is in uncomfortably cold as a comeuppance for Agamemnon (Tantalus’ great-grandson) sacrificing his daughter Iphigenia.

### Dionysus

In some versions of Zagreus’ story, he is the son of Hades, rather than Zeus (the Orphic version). Zagreus’ non-Orphic role is obscure and mostly unknown, but he is heavily associated with the Underworld and often conflated with Hades himself.

## Legends Summarized

### Underworld Myths

In this early video, a brief account of his abduction of Persephone is presented; Hades is lonely, he kidnaps Persephone, Demeter objects and causes winter, Persephone is made to alternate between the land of the living and that of the dead.

In the other Greek Underworld story, Orpheus arrives in the Underworld to claim his dead bride Eurydice. His music is so beautiful even Hades is touched and allows Orpheus to take his love under the condition that as they ascent from the Underworld, he won’t look back. Orpheus is rejoiced, but he fails at the task.

## Physical Appearance

Hades’ skin is light blue-coloured, while his hair is white (sometimes bluish white). His eyes are likewise blue. He wears a black armor, and sometimes a black helmet as well. He is one of the few gods with eye pupils, and one of the two (the other being his wife Persephone) with three different colours for skin, hair and outfit, instead of one. In more recent videos however he too doesn’t have pupils, like the rest of the gods.

## Appearances

Underworld Myths

Theseus and Pirithous

Sisyphus Captures Death

Heracles

Dionysus

The Theogony

Aphrodite (cameo)

Tantalus

Hades and Persephone

The Wrath Of Demeter

## Notes

1. ↑ Red’s account of that passage is misleading; Hades and Persephone are not described as sitting on thrones, as she illustrated, but rather as sitting on a bed, heavily implying sexual intercourse having taken place. Furthermore, Persephone isn’t described as simply “bummed out” but as *unwilling*. This, in combination with the bed, and the fact that Persephone is know described as a ‘bed-mate’, as opposed to ‘maiden’ (*kore*), is why this story is interpreted as rape, in the common sense of the word, instead of simply kidnapping (*τέτμε δὲ τόν γε ἄνακτα δόμων ἔντοσθεν ἐόντα, ἥμενον ἐν λεχέεσσι σὺν αἰδοίῃ παρακοίτι πόλλ᾽ ἀεκαζομένῃ μητρὸς πόθῳ* – "there he found the lord in his palace sitting on a bed with his bashful bedmate, very much unwilling, longing for her mother"). Red says that "this part of the text is a bit garbled" and while it's true the text is lacunose, the actual lacuna is in a sentence that talks about *Demeter*, not Hades and Persephone; the text that describes them is perfectly preserved and reliable.
2. ↑ Not quite; both the Hymn and Hesiod’s *Theogony* use similar wording for this event ("ἣν Ἀιδωνεὺς ἥρπαξεν" for both texts), and both first inform us that Hades took her, and *then* that it was Zeus’ idea. The phrase "Hades snatched" is actually repeated many times.
3. ↑ That’s not really true; the hymn doesn’t try to absolve Hades at all. Only Helios seems to blame Zeus (as he explains who gave the authorization for the kidnapping) while none of the others blame Zeus more than Hades; Hecate doesn’t even voice an opinion, whereas Demeter blames everyone. What the hymn actually goes out of its way to emphasize is that Persephone is unwilling, non-consenting and distressed.