Hey everyone, Lydia here! I want to introduce you to my new monthly series about Greek Mythology! Every month I shall introduce you to a new profile from Greek Mythology, such as Gods/Goddesses or prominent figures. If the series is successful, I may branch out into other areas such as Roman and Norse too!
I hope you all enjoy this and feel free to request profiles you'd like to see next!
I'd like to thank Krystle for the incredible layout!
- All pictures + art below belong to their respective owners!
For my first profile, I want to introduce you guys to my favourite Greek God of all-time: The God of the Underworld, Hades! To many, Hades is perceived as the bad guy. God of the Underworld, black, darkness, DEATH. He has the basics of being the baddie down! Except, Hades is probably the most lovable God of all and through this series, I'm here to tell you why and to clear up all your misconceptions.
Hades is the oldest child of Titans, Cronus, and Gaia. He is the older brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Chiron and Hera. He is married to Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld, Springtime, Flowers, and Vegetation (ironic, huh?). He, along with brother's Zeus and Poseidon, defeated their father and ended the age of the Titans, claiming rulership over the cosmos. Originally, Cronus possessed control of death, sky, and water. Gaia controlled the earth. When the Titans were overthrown, the sons drew lots to decide who would receive what. Hades received death - becoming God of the Underworld (Zeus: Sky - God of Thunder. Poseidon: Water - God of the Sea - all three of the brother's shared Earth).
The domain of Hades, the Underworld, is the unseen realm that harbours souls of the dead when they leave the Earth, as well as any and all things hidden beneath the Earth. Of all the things hidden is Tartarus - the prison of the Gods, of all things evil. Here is where the Titans, among others, are imprisoned. Some myths have said that Hades was upset upon receiving the domain but had no choice but to move to the Underworld. He became ruler of death but not the personification for that was Thanatos.
As I mentioned earlier, Hades has typically been connoted in the modern day as being evil due to him being ruler of the dead. However, in the myths, he is actually very selfless and often shown to be passive.
He was often the one to maintain balance in the world. Though his personality was said to be cold, stern and gave all of his subjects the same treatment, especially in terms of laws. Not much else can be noted of his individualities as the Greek people avoided giving him much thought for fear of attracting his attention. It's so sad. I really feel for him. It's also worse when you think about how in Roman Mythology his name is Pluto - a planet that is often neglected.
He did, however, strictly forbid his subjects to leave his domain and would become quite enraged when anyone tried to leave or if someone tried to steal the souls from his realm. His wrath was equally terrible for anyone who tried to cheat death or otherwise crossed him. Typically, if Hades showed mercy to these types of people, it would be down to the persuasion of Persephone.
One of my favourite things about Hades is his three-headed guard dog, Cerberus, and their relationship. Now let me just tell you why Cerberus is so amazing. Upon being translated from the word that the name Cerberus comes from Kerberos. Kerberos means spotted. Hades, Lord of the Underworld, named his hellhound dog - Spot. Like you can just imagine that away from the cameras and eyes, Cerberus probably looks like a puppy and that Hades is like *grossly sweet voice* "Who's a good puppy? You're a good puppy!".
Another reason why I love the idea of Hades and Cerberus is from a myth including Heracles, who wanted to rid himself of his guilt for killing the centaurs, being tasked to capture Cerberus as his final labour. Heracles entered the Underworld alive, with the help of Athena and Hermes, and asked Hades for permission to borrow his dog. Like, dude's got balls, no? Asking the Lord of the Underworld - in his own realm - to borrow his dog. You know what Hades did?
He agreed as long as he promised not to hurt Cerberus.
Of all the things.
This is why when looking into the myths of Hades you see why the interpretations of him are hilarious. When you look into it, Hades is nothing but a misunderstood, dog lover. He is a man who whispers to his flowers to get them to grow, for there is no sun in the Underworld. Despite disliking being the lord of the Underworld, he never leaves. In comparison to Zeus, his punishments for people were fair and he only ever punished those who were in the wrong.
Except for Persephone. She is punished to live a third of the year in the Underworld - but that's another myth for another time! Plus, she once got so jealous of a nymph's relationship with Hades that she turned the nymph into a mint plant so, seems staying with Hades isn't that big of a punishment for her.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this casual introduction to the Greek God of Death, Hades!
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