Pluto
Overview
The foremost of the Roman chthonic (“subterranean”) deitiesPluto was god of the dead and lord of the underworld. A figure of enormous dread and terrible mightPluto dispensed luck and controlled the fates of all mortals. As commander of the subterranean realmshe was the master of oresmetalsand the precious stones found within them. For this reasonhe was celebrated by many as the bringer of wealth. Pluto was the Roman counterpart to Hadesthe Greek deity who ruled the underworld of the same name.
A wizened Pluto leans on his staff as his three-headed hound Cerberus keeps watch in this statue from the second century CE. Heraklion Archaeological MuseumCreteGreece.
Carole RaddatoCC BY-SA 2.0The crystallization of Pluto’s identity as the Roman god of the deadthe underworldand wealth reflected a complex historical development. Pluto’s identity was largely comprised of elements taken from two distinct entities: Hadesa Greek deityand Ploutonthe lord of wealth. The latter was a Dīs Patera deity worshipped by early Romans for his power over the underworld and mineral wealth. In some mythographic and historiographic traditionsthe name Dīs Pater was used in lieu of the name Pluto; evidence suggests that the Romans used these identifiers interchangeably.
Etymology
The name “Pluto,” rendered as Plūtō in the Latinwas derived from the Greek name Ploutonmeaning “the wealthy one.” This name was an aspect of the deity Hadesone that highlighted his control over subterranean sources of mineral wealth. The name was also rooted in the ancient Greek noun ploutosmeaning “wealth” or “riches.”
Dīs Pateranother of Pluto’s names used widely by early Romanswas ultimately derived from the Proto Indo-European words meaning “god” and “father." In Latinthe words were deus (god) and pater (father). Extremely similar names (Diespiter and Dispiter) were given to Jupiterthe greatest of the Roman gods; the similarity of these titles suggested that Dīs Pater (i.e. Pluto) was originally an aspect of Jupiter. In timethis aspect became independent of Jupiter and eventually merged with the Hellenic god Hades.
Attributes
Pluto was the lord of the subterranean underworldwhich in Roman mythology served as the resting place of departed souls. He lived underground in a gloomy palaceand seemed to have little interest in the world of men. LikewisePluto seldom involved himself in godly affairs. He rode a chariotcarried a staffand was often depicted wearing a warrior’s helm. Pluto was often accompanied by Cerberusa three-headed hound that served both as his pet and guardian of the underworld.
In this 18th century Dutch engravingPluto reclines in a chariot pulled by Cerberus.
RijksmuseumPublic DomainFamily
Pluto’s parents were Opsgoddess of the earthand Saturnruler of the cosmos. His brother Jupiter—the mightiest of all gods—freed Pluto and his siblings from their father’s wrath. These siblings included Neptunelord of all waters, Junothe matron goddess, Vestaguardian of hearth and homeand Ceresa fertility goddess associated with agriculture.
Though Pluto lived alone in the gloomy places beneath the earth for much of his lifehe eventually came to share his realm with another—Proserpinathe daughter of Ceres and Jupiter. While Greek and Roman traditions insisted that Pluto had childrenthere was little consensus about who they might have been. Among the most popular candidates were the goddesses known as the Eumenides (or Furies)—deities of vengeance who lived in the chthonic darkness.
Family Tree
Mythology
Pluto and the Rape of Proserpina
One of Pluto’s most famous myths centered on his abduction of Proserpina and the grief it unleashed upon her motherCeres. Pluto was a lonely deity who lived in the gloomy underworld and seldom encountered others. Taking pity on him, Venus told her son Cupid to fire one of his love arrows at Pluto so that he might become smitten with the next woman he saw. That woman was Proserpinawho was frolicking in fields of Nysa. Seized with irrepressible desirePluto flew forth upon his chariotabducted Proserpinaand carried her awayleaving naught behind but a bow the girl had used as a belt. The scene—one of the most famous in ancient literature—was rendered beautifully by the poet Ovid in his masterwork the Metamorphoses:
Herewhile young Proserpinaamong the maids, Diverts herself in these delicious shades; While like a child with busy speed and care She gathers lillies hereand vi’lets there; While first to fill her little lap she strives, Hell’s grizly monarch at the shade arrives; Sees her thus sporting on the flow’ry green, And loves the blooming maidas soon as seen. His urgent flame impatient of delay, Swift as his thought he seiz’d the beauteous prey, And bore her in his sooty carr away. The frighted Goddess to her mother cries, But all in vainfor now far off she flies... O’er hillsthe ravisherand vallies speeds, By name encouraging his foamy steeds; He rattles o’er their necks the rusty reins, And ruffles with the stroke their shaggy manes. O’er lakes he whirls his flying wheelsand comes To the Palici breathing sulph’rous fumes.[1]
Following Proserpina’s abductionCeres searched high and low for her missing daughter. Her search was in vainhoweverfor she did not know that Proserpina had been taken to Pluto’s “realms of night.”[2] There she became the unwilling bride to Plutowho contentedly refused to acknowledge the kidnapping.
As she continued her searchCeres began to waste away. In her sorrowshe neglected her oversight of the growth of crops and the fertility of domestic animals. As the world became barrenthe other gods decided that they must intervene. The messenger god Mercurywho could travel freely between the worlds of the living and the deadspied Proserpina in Pluto’s possession and quickly informed Jupiter. The king of the gods approached his brother and ordered him to release Proserpina at oncelest he suffer the wrath of Jupiter.
The Abduction of Proserpine (1570) by Alessandro Alloria Florentine artist influenced by Michelangelo. The scene was a common subject in Renaissance and Early Modern art.
The J. Paul Getty MuseumPublic DomainSeeing that he had no choicePluto consented to return the girlso long as she had refused all sustenance in the underworld. When it was discovered that Proserpina had consumed a few pomegranate seedsPluto demanded that Proserpina remain with him for some time each year. Jupiter agreedordering that the girl would spend half her time with Ceres on the surface and half with Pluto in the underworld. Her absences from Ceres correspond to the annual seasons—when Proserpina departs at the beginning of autumnCeres mourns and living things cease to grow; when she returns at the beginning of springCeres beams and the world blooms. As Ovid put it:
Jove some amends for Ceres lost to make, Yet willing Pluto shou’d the joy partake, Gives ’em of Proserpina an equal share, Whoclaim’d by bothwith both divides the year. The Goddess now in either empire sways, Six moons in Helland six with Ceres stays. Her peevish temper’s chang’d; that sullen mind, Which made ev’n Hell uneasynow is kind, Her voice refinesher mein more sweet appears, Her forehead free from frownsher eyes from tears, As whenwith golden lightthe conqu’ring day Thro’ dusky exhalations clears a way. Ceres her daughter’s rape no longer mourn’d, But back to Arethusa’s spring return’d; And sitting on the marginbid her tell From whence she cameand why a sacred well.[3]
Pluto and Orpheus
Another prominent tale in Pluto’s mythos involved the figure of Orpheusa musician and mystic known in the Greek world for founding a cult known as the Orphic Mysteries. In most traditionsOrpheus was the mortal son of Apollo (a deity the Romans shared with the Greeks). As a musician of great renownOrpheus could both seduce and persuade others with the power of his music. He was often portrayed as a master of the lyrewhich he would use to put listeners into trance-like states.
One dayOrpheus’ lover Eurydice stepped on a viper and died. In his despairOrpheus played music that was so beautiful it made the gods weep. Inspired by this turn of eventsOrpheus resolved to win Eurydice back by playing his music for Pluto and Proserpina in the underworld.
Orpheus and Eurydice (c. 1709) by French artist Jean Raoux. The tableau depicts Orpheus leading Eurydice from the underworld as Pluto and Proserpina look on from the upper left-hand corner.
The Paul J. Getty MuseumPublic DomainHe thus journeyed to Pluto’s “realms of night” and sought an audience with the king and queen of darkness. Pluto and Proserpina were so moved by Orpheus’s music that they consented to return Eurydice to him—on one condition. As he left the underworld with Eurydicehe was to walk in front of hernever turning around to view his lover until they had made their way to the surface. Just as they were about to cross the thresholdhoweverOrpheus was seized with the fear that Pluto had deceived him and turned around to confirm Eurydice’s presence. In turning to see her faceOrpheus broke his contract with Pluto and doomed his lover to the gloom of the underworld for all eternity.
By virtue of his centrality to the myth of OrpheusPluto became enshrined in the Orphic Mysteries. He was celebrated in the Orphic Hymns (written anonymously in the first and second centuries CE)where he was presented as a leading deitythe “terrestrial Jove”—that isthe Jupiter of the earth—whose bounty and generosity nourished mankind:
PLUTOmagnanimouswhose realms profound Are fix’d beneath the firm and solid ground, In the Tartarian plains remote from fight, And wrapt forever in the depths of night; Terrestrial Jovethy sacred ear incline, Andpleas’daccept thy mystic’s hymn divine. Earth’s keys to theeillustrious king belong, Its secret gates unlockingdeep and strong. ’Tis thineabundant annual fruits to bear, For needy mortals are thy constant care.[4]
Pluto and Roman Religion
Due to his mysterious nature and association with deathPluto was not a central figure of worship in the Roman state religion. No state festivals were held in his honor. Though this seems a strange omissionit may have represented a concession to the mystery religionssuch as the Orphic Mysteries discussed abovewhich placed the god in high esteem.
Pop Culture
The name of the Roman god of the underworld resonates today in the name of the planetary objectPlutoformerly the ninth and final planet in the solar system (now demoted to the status of dwarf planet). Discovered in 1930 by the American astronomer Clyde TombaughPluto resides in the Kuiper Belt at the edge of the solar system beyond Neptune. The name “Pluto” was suggested Venetia Burneyan eleven-year-old Roman mythology. The board members of the Lowell Observatory then selected it from a list of names that also included Minerva and Cronus.
The name was later used by the animator Walt Disneywho gave it to Mickey Mouse’s pet dog Pluto.