Hades
Overview
One of the most dreaded and fearsome deities that Greek mythology had to offerHades was king of the Underworld (also called Hades) and ruler of the dead. He was a shadowy figureboth literally and metaphoricallythanks in part to a helmet of invisibility fashioned for him by Hephaestus. The only child of Cronus and Rhea who did not inhabit Mount OlympusHades lived alone in a dark palace within the Underworlda subterranean region of mist and gloom.
Hades was an unusually solitary figure and seldom took part in the feuds that constantly occupied other Olympian deities. Despite his distance from mythological drama (or perhaps because of it)Hades was universally dreaded by the Greekswho were afraid to even utter his name.
Etymology
The earliest documented version of the name “Hades” was Aïdēs (Ἀΐδης)used in the Homeric epics the Iliad and the Odyssey (eighth century BCE). The name had evolved into its more familiar formHades (Ἅιδης)by the Classical period (ca. 490–323 BCE).
In antiquityHades’ name was generally interpreted as meaning “the unseen” or “the invisible one.” This is a rare case where the originalfolk etymology seems to have been correct: modern scholars have traced the name “Hades” to the Proto-Indo-European word *ṇ-uid-meaning “unseen.”[1]
Pronunciation
English
Greek
Hades Ἅιδης Phonetic
IPA
[HEY-deez] /ˈheɪ diz/
Other Names
The earliest attested form of the nameused in Homeric and Ionic Greekwas Aïdēs. Another common poetic alternative was Aidoneus. By the Classical period (ca. 490–323 BCE)the god’s name had evolved into Hades.
Fearful of speaking the name of the god of deaththe Greeks took to calling Hades by the alternative euphemistic name Ploutonmeaning “wealthy.” This other name presumably reflected the fact that the Greeks’ richessuch as crops and precious metalscame from below the earth. The name Plouton was inherited by the Romanswhose god Pluto possessed the same characteristics as Hades.
Epithets
Hades was known by several epithetsincluding agēsandros and agesilaos (meaning “he who leads people away”)polysēmantōr and polydegmōn (“ruler of many” or “host of many”)klymenos (“the notorious”)and eubuleus (“giver of good advice”).
Attributes
Hades wasfirst and foremostthe god of death: it was he who ruled the Underworldand indeedhis name was synonymous with the Underworld. But Hades was also a god of wealth and fertility since good things like crops and precious metals came to mortals from his underground realm.
Hades was regarded as a darkmerciless god. Perhaps as an extension of his nameusually thought to mean “the unseen one,” Hades was said to possess a helmet of invisibility. In one famous mythhe let the hero Perseus borrow this helmet so that he could sneak up on and kill Medusa.
Hades was often represented riding a chariot driven by pitch-black horses. Among the other attributes of Hades were a scepterthe keys to the Underworlda cornucopiaand Cerberusthe three-headed guard dog of the dead.
Statuette of Pluto (Roman Hades) holding a cornucopia. 1st century CE Roman copy of Greek original.
J. Paul Getty MuseumPublic DomainHades was so terrifying to the Greeks that he was almost never depicted in ancient art. In the artistic representations we do encounterHades appears as either a young man or with a dark beard. He is often seated on a throne with Cerberusthe three-headed dogcrouched menacingly at his side.
Hades could also be symbolized by a number of animalssuch as snakesroostersor screech owlsas well as certain plantssuch as the cypressmintand asphodel.
Family
According to the poet HesiodHades was the first male child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea.[2] Like his first four brothers and sisters—HestiaDemeterHeraand Poseidon—Hades was swallowed shortly after his birth by Cronusthe lord of the universewho had received a prophecy that one of his children would overthrow him. EventuallyHades and his siblings were rescued by Zeusthe youngest child of Cronus and Rheawho forced Cronus to regurgitate the children he had swallowed and took the mantle of “ruler of the universe” for himself.
Hades’ bride and queen was Persephonewhom Hades had kidnappedthough she only lived with him for part of the year. Hades was sometimes said to have fathered several mythical figuresamong them the Erinyes (also called “the Furies”)female spirits of vengeance and punishment;[3] Zagreusa mysterious chthonic deity;[4] Melinoeanother chthonic deity;[5] and Macariaan Underworld deity associated with the fortunate dead.[6]
Parents
Father
Mother
Siblings
Brothers
Sisters
Consorts
Wife
Children
Daughters
Son
- Erinyes (Furies)
- Melinoe
- Macaria
- Zagreus
Mythology
Hades and the Underworld
Led by the mighty ZeusHades and his siblings took part in the Titanomachy—a cataclysmic struggle between the old godsthe Titansand the new godsthe Olympians. According to Homer’s Iliadthe victorious brothers—ZeusPoseidonand Hades—took advantage of their male privilege and distributed power among the gods and goddesses.
They also distributed power among themselvesdrawing lots to determine their domains. Zeus drew the skyPoseidon the seas and all watersand Hades the gloomy Underworld buried deep within the earth.[7] Hades was generally thought to have selected the worst of the domains. While his realm was not necessarily a place of outright suffering or horrorsit was still bleak and lifeless. In the OdysseyAchilles speaks to Odysseus in the Underworldfamously claiming:
Nayseek not to speak soothingly to me of deathglorious Odysseus. I should chooseso I might live on earthto serve as the hireling of anotherof some portionless man whose livelihood was but smallrather than to be lord over all the dead that have perished.[8]
In the UnderworldHades ruled over a minor pantheon of chthonic beings and built a palace called the House of Hades. There he lived with Persephone (for several months of the year) and his “guests,” the countless dead who had successfully made the journey to the Underworld.
Others were not so lucky. Those who failed to pay their toll to the ferryman Charon were left to wail on the far bank of the river Styx. Those who were judged to have lived wickedlyas well as those who had attempted to elude death and deprive Hades of their soulwere consigned to dreadful Tartarusa region below Hades full of misery and torturous punishments.
One famous example of what awaited in Tartarus involved Sisyphusa mortal king who had offended the gods somehow. According to the best-known versionSisyphus had tricked Thanatos (the personification of death) by chaining him up when he came to claim his life.[9] For this deedHades cast Sisyphus into Tartarus and assigned him the impossible task of rolling a boulder to the top of a hill that he could never reach. Every time he had nearly reached the topthe boulder would roll back down.
Sisyphus by Antonio Zanchi (ca. 1660–1665).
MauritshuisPublic DomainOriginallythis was the extent of the Greek Underworld: a drearygray field for the majority of the deadwith special punishments reserved for a handful of sinners in Tartarus. This is the Underworld that Odysseus visits in Book 11 of the Odyssey (one of the earliest examples of Greek literature).
Only in later periods of Greek history was the Underworld divided more clearly into three regions: one for the blessed deadvariously called Elysium or the Isles of the Blessedwhich was reserved for only the greatest heroes and demigods; one for criminals and sinners who had offended the godscalled Tartarus; and one for everybody elseusually called the Fields of Asphodel or simply Hades.
Hades and Persephone
The central myth of Hades involved his abduction of Persephone. Hades was visiting earth (a rare occasion) when he noticed the beautiful Persephonedaughter of Zeus and Demeterpicking flowers and playing with her friends. SmittenHades swooped down on Persephone in his black chariotseized the young goddessand carried her away to the Underworld.
Fragment of a Greek votive relief showing Hades abducting Persephone (ca. 470 BCE).
Metropolitan Museum of ArtPublic DomainDemeterthe goddess of fertility and agriculturesearched far and wide for her missing daughterbut in vain. Her hunt eventually led her to Eleusiswhere she withdrew from the world in a temple built in her honor. Demeter was so stricken with grief that she cursed the ground so that nothing would grow.
Seeing the damage and destruction wrought by Demeter’s griefthe other gods grew restless and appealed to Zeus to intervene. He eventually agreed to send Hermes to the Underworld to command Hades to release Persephone. The second Homeric Hymn captures Hades’ deceptively cooperative reaction:
[Hades]ruler over the deadsmiled grimly and obeyed the behest of Zeus the king. For he straightway urged wise Persephonesaying: “Go nowPersephoneto your dark-robed mothergoand feel kindly in your heart towards me: be not so exceedingly cast down; for I shall be no unfitting husband for you among the deathless godsthat am own brother to father Zeus. And while you are hereyou shall rule all that lives and moves and shall have the greatest rights among the deathless gods: those who defraud you and do not appease your power with offeringsreverently performing rites and paying fit giftsshall be punished for evermore.”[10]
But Hades’ acquiescence came with a minor stipulation. If Persephone had refused all food while she was in the Underworldhe would allow her to go free. If she had eaten somethinghowevershe would be forced to return to him during certain times of the year. During her time in HadesPersephone had eaten a few pomegranate seeds. It was these seeds that would force her to return to the Underworld each year for either a third or half of the year (depending on the version).[11]
According to some interpretationsthe time of Persephone’s absence from Demeter coincided with the most dire and life-threatening seasons—either the hot and dry Mediterranean summerwhen plant life was endangeredor autumn/winterwhen cold temperatures and frosts temporarily halted agricultural growth. The story of Persephone’s abduction became the central element of the Eleusinian Mysteriesthe annual rites performed by followers of the cult of Demeter and Persephone.
Hades and the Heroes
While Hades was seldom a main character in mythological taleshe did appear in stories of heroes who journeyed to the Underworld.
Heracles
Perhaps most famouslyHades appeared in the mythos of Heracles. During his twelfth and final laborHeracles was tasked with capturing Cerberusthe multi-headed hound that guarded the entrance to the Underworld. There were many different versions of this storybut the end result was always a victory for Heracles.
Hades appeared one other time in the mythos of Heracles. This timethe god of the dead went up against the strongman in a battle that took place at the Greek city of Pylos. This did not go well for Hadeswho ended up shot through the shoulder by one of Heracles’ arrows. This obscure myth is known only from one brief mention in Book 5 of Homer’s Iliad.[12]
Theseus and Pirithous
Another story involved the two adventurers Theseus (the greatest Athenian hero and slayer of the Minotaur) and Pirithouswho conspired to kidnap Persephone from the Underworld. According to the most familiar version of the mythas told in Apollodorus’ EpitomeHades learned of the plot and invited the two to a grand banquet. When they sat downthey were instantly fastened to their chairs.[13]
In most traditionsHeracles eventually managed to rescue Theseus while he was passing through the Underworld for his final labor; buttry as he mighthe could not free Pirithouswho was doomed to remain forever trapped because it had been his idea to abduct Persephone.[14]
Orpheus
Hades also played a central and tragic role in the story of Orpheusthe great musician. When Orpheus lost his wife Eurydicehe boldly decided to enter the Underworld to get her back. Armed with nothing but his mesmerizing musicOrpheus penetrated to the very depths of the Underworld. He even managed to melt the icy heart of Hades.
Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1861).
Museum of Fine ArtsHoustonPublic DomainIn factthe god of the dead was so captivated by Orpheus’ music that he allowed him to take Eurydice back with him to the world of the livingon one condition: Orpheus could not look back to make sure she was behind him until he was outside of the Underworld. But Orpheus disobeyedand so lost Eurydice forever.
Worship
Hadesdescribed by Homer as the “most hated by mortals of all gods,”[15] was not generally an object of worship by ancient Greeks. He had few followers or templesthough the Greeks did honor and offer sacrifices to him at funerals. During these ritualsthe blood of the sacrificial beast was allowed to sink into the ground and appease the lord of the Underworld. As Hades was a chthonic god—that isa god of the earth and Underworld—he only received black sacrificial victims.
Priestess Offering to Hades: A Family Offering (after antique reliefs in Villa Mattei) by Lorenzo Roccheggiani (1804).
ThorvaldsenmuseumCC0In Greececult images of Hades appeared in a handful of templesbut he had almost no temples of his own. Perhaps his most important sacred site was the “Oracle of the Dead” in the northern Greek town of Thesprotiasaid to be near one of the entrances to the Underworld. Hereworshippers would gather together to speak with their dead ancestorsseance-.[16] Another important temple of Hades was located in Elis in the Peloponnesebut it was open only once a year.[17]
Hades had a few more temples outside of mainland Greece. He had another “Oracle of the Dead” at Cumae in Italy,[18] as well as sanctuaries in Acharaca[19] and Heriopolis[20] in Asia Minor.
Pop Culture
Though Hades has often appeared in popular culturehe is frequently depicted as conniving and evila portrayal at odds with his ancient persona. Hades is one of the antagonists in the 1981 film Clash of the Titans and its remakes. In Disney’s Hercules (1997)Hades’ charactervoiced by James Woodsattempts to overthrow Zeus and the Olympians due to his resentment at being stuck in the dark Underworld.
Hades makes regular appearances in the book and film series Percy Jackson and the Olympians; he is portrayed in the films by Steve Coogan. Hades was also a fixture of the 1990s TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess.
In video gamesHades appears as a recurring character in the God of War series (the palace of Hades is a featured level in God of War III)as well as in Age of Mythology and Age of Empires.