“ | No soul returns from my kingdom. | „ |
~ Hades in Orpheus. |
Hades is the Greek god of the Underworld and a major figure in Greek Mythology. Although he is feared throughout Ancient Greece and represented in most media as an evil being who only wants to take Zeus' place, in truth he may be the least evil of the gods with Hermes as Hera and Zeus are much more evil and antagonistic than him. Hades was actually one of the more reasonable and benign Gods. He was dedicated to preserving the natural order of life and death as necessary, he didn’t torment mortals for his own amusement, and he was also shown to be one of the few Gods who actually was faithful to his wife.
Biography[]
Description[]
Hades is the god of the Underworld (not to be confused with Thanatos, the god of death). His relatively few temples in Ancient Greece, and the Greek's fear of death led many authors to misrepresent him as an evil being.
Titanomachy[]
Hades was the eldest son of the titans Kronos and Rhea, with his father having usurped his father Uranus (or Ouranos) to become the ruler of the titans. Like the rest of his siblings, he was eaten whole by Kronos, who had feared that his children would overthrow him when they got older. Hades and his siblings were vomited out by their youngest brother, Zeus, who was saved by their mother Rhea. Hades joined his siblings against their father and the titans, declaring war called the Titanomachy.
The Gods defeated the Titans, throwing them into the deepest pits of Tartarus, succeeding in their goals. Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus decided to pick lots on who would rule one of the three kingdoms that Kronos ruled: The sky, the seas, and the underworld. Zeus chose the heavens, as Poseidon was given the seas, and Hades was given the underworld, becoming the king of the dead and god of wealth. Despite ruling the darkest parts of the Greek pantheon, Hades maintained the goal to keep order between life and death, but would become lonely down there.
Depending on which version, where Persephone found a way into the Underworld and wanted to stay or was kidnapped by Hades due to Eros, but regardless both grew to love each other since Hades treated her with respect and compassion, made gardens for her and Persephone became queen of the Underworld. When Demeter and Zeus sent Hermes to collect Persephone from the Underworld and depending on which version, where she was tricked in eating pomegranate seeds or where she knew what they would do, but as a result of eating the seeds, she could only stay a half of the year in the Underworld and other with her mother. Hades and Persephone would continue to have perhaps the happiest and most stable marriage in the Greek Pantheon. Hades treated Persephone as his equal and the two were faithful to each other.
Powers and Abilities[]
Immortality: Hades is immortal and immune to aging.
Shapeshifting: Like all other gods, Hades is able to change his appearance at will.
Nigh-omnipotence: As a member of the three primordial gods, Hades possesses powers equal to those of his brothers Zeus and Poseidon, but nevertheless inferior to those of Ouranos, Gaia, Chaos and Chronos.
- Geokinesis: As the god of the Underworld, Hades has full control over the earth, but at a lower level than Gaïa.
- Necromancy: As the god of the underworld, Hades has full control over the souls of the dead.
Invisibility Helmet: Hades had a helmet that allowed him to become invisible, even to other gods. He sometimes lends it to certain other gods.
Intelligence: Hades is known to be the second most intelligent god after Athena, making a very wise figure and a great manipulator.
Trivia[]
- His name means "The Unseen".
- Symbols that represent him are The Barn Owl, Serpents, Cypress Tree, Cerberus, Mint, Asphodel Plant, and Bident.
- In the Disney animated movie Hercules, Hades is the main antagonist and is portrayed as much more malevolent than he was in the myths.
See also[]
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