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119-604: The name "Erebus" is also used to refer either to the darkness of the Underworld , the Underworld itself, or the region through which souls pass to reach Hades , and can sometimes be used as a synonym for Tartarus or Hades. The meaning of the word Érebos ( Ἔρεβος ) is "darkness" or "gloom", referring to that of the Underworld . It derives from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁regʷ-os- ("darkness"), and

238-424: A Latinisation of Plouton ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Πλούτων , translit.   Ploútōn ), itself a euphemistic title (meaning "the rich one") often given to Hades. The origin of Hades's name is uncertain but has generally been seen as meaning "the unseen one" since antiquity . An extensive section of Plato 's dialogue Cratylus is devoted to the etymology of the god's name, in which Socrates

357-459: A subscript marking ( ᾍδης ), and finally omitted entirely ( Άδης ). Perhaps from fear of pronouncing his name, around the 5th century BC, the Greeks started referring to Hades as Plouton ( Πλούτων , Ploútōn , [ˈpluː.tɔːn] ), with a root meaning "wealthy", considering that from the abode below (i.e., the soil) come riches (e.g., fertile crops, metals and so on). Plouton became

476-493: A "cover name" for the underworld Dionysus. He suggests that this dual identity may have been familiar to those who came into contact with the Mysteries . Dionysus also shared several epithets with Hades such as Chthonios ("the subterranean"), Eubouleus ("Good Counselor"), and Euclius ("glorious" or "renowned") . Evidence for a cult connection is quite extensive, particularly in southern Italy, especially when considering

595-485: A boulder up a hill in the underworld; but every time he reached the top, the boulder would roll down again and again. In another version, it is Persephone who lets him out. Heracles 's final labour was to capture Cerberus. First, Heracles went to Eleusis to be initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries . He did this to absolve himself of guilt for killing the centaurs and to learn how to enter and exit

714-407: A compromise, to which all parties had agreed: of the year, Persephone would spend one third with her husband. It is during this time, when Persephone is down in the underworld with her husband, that winter falls upon the earth, "an aspect of sadness and mourning." The hero Orpheus once descended into the underworld in search of his late wife Eurydice , who died when a snake bit her. So lovely

833-479: A daughter of Oceanus . Hades fell in love with her and abducted her to the underworld. She lived out the span of her life in his realm, and when she died, the god sought consolation by creating a suitable memorial of their love: in the Elysian Fields where the pious spend their afterlife, he brought a white tree into existence. It was this tree with which Heracles crowned himself to celebrate his return from

952-533: A divine tripartite deity with Zeus. The Orphics in particular believed that Zeus and Hades were the same deity and portrayed them as such. This nature and aspect of Hades and Zeus displayed in the Orphic stories is the explanation for why both Hades and Zeus are considered to be the father of Orphic Dionysus-Zagreus. Orphics also described Zagreus as the son of Hades, while also regarding Zagreus as an aspect of Dionysus. The role of unifying Hades, Zeus and Dionysus as

1071-476: A dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans , Tartarus was also considered to be a primordial deity. Styx is the goddess of the river with the same name . Not much is known about her, but she is an ally of Zeus and lives in the underworld. Eurynomos is one of the daemons of the underworld, who eats off all the flesh of the corpses, leaving only their bones. Zagreus

1190-538: A fundamental part of the topography of the underworld and are found in the earliest source materials: In Homer's Iliad , the "ghost" of Patroclus makes specific mention of gates and a river (unnamed) in Hades; in Homer's Odyssey , the "ghost" of Odysseus's mother, Anticlea , describes there being many "great rivers and appalling streams", and reference is made to at least four specific rivers. H. A. Guerber assumed that

1309-533: A geographical location on Earth, would become known as a place of reward in the underworld for those who were judged exceptionally pure. Hades (Aides, Aidoneus, or Haidês), the eldest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea ; brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia, is the Greek god of the underworld. When the three brothers divided the world between themselves, Zeus received the heavens, Poseidon

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1428-404: A late romance, Psyche . None of them were pleased with what they witnessed in the realm of the dead. In particular, the Greek war hero Achilles , whom Odysseus conjured with a blood libation , said: O shining Odysseus, never try to console me for dying. I would rather follow the plow as thrall to another man, one with no land allotted to him and not much to live on, than be a king over all

1547-462: A name that was unsafe to pronounce, which evolved into epithets . He spent most of the time in his dark realm. Formidable in battle, he proved his ferocity in the famous Titanomachy , the battle of the Olympians versus the Titans , which established the rule of Zeus. Feared and loathed, Hades embodied the inexorable finality of death: "Why do we loathe Hades more than any god, if not because he

1666-420: A shadowy post-existence; however, in later mythology (e.g., Platonic philosophy ) elements of post-mortem judgment began to emerge with good and bad people being separated (both spatially and with regards to treatment). The underworld itself—commonly referred to as Hades, after its patron god , but also known by various metonyms—is described as being located at the periphery of the earth, either associated with

1785-469: A single tripartite god was used to represent the birth, death and resurrection of a deity and to unify the 'shining' realm of Zeus and the dark realm of Hades that lay beneath the Earth. Among the other appellations under which Hades or Pluto is generally known, are the following: In Greek: In Latin or Etruscan: In Egypt: Hades was depicted infrequently in artwork, as well as mythology, because

1904-525: A temple Hearing nothing at all, Receiving the sacrifices of Supplicating men. Persephone herself is considered a fitting other half to Hades because of the meaning of her name which bears the Greek root for "killing" and the - phone in her name means "putting to death". Hecate was variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, dogs, light, the Moon , magic , witchcraft , knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, necromancy , and sorcery. Hecate

2023-459: A wonder for gods and mortal men. And now tell me how he rapt you away to the realm of darkness and gloom, and by what trick did the strong Host of Many beguile you? Persephone does admit that she ate the food of the dead, as she tells Demeter that Hades gave her a pomegranate seed and forced her to eat it. Persephone's eating the pomegranate seed binds her to Hades and the underworld, much to the dismay of Demeter. Zeus, however, had previously proposed

2142-696: Is a paradise that heroes could attain. Eventually, as concepts of the afterlife broadened and became more "democratic", the generally righteous could be sent to the Elysian Fields after being judged by the underworld judges, Rhadamanthus and Minos . By Hesiod's time, the Elysium would also be known as the Fortunate Isles or the Isles of the Blessed . The isles, which were sometimes treated as

2261-576: Is arguing for a folk etymology not from "unseen" but from "his knowledge ( eidenai ) of all noble things". Modern linguists have proposed the Proto-Greek form * Awides ("unseen"). The earliest attested form is Aḯdēs ( Ἀΐδης ), which lacks the proposed digamma . Martin Litchfield West argues instead for an original meaning of "the one who presides over meeting up" from the universality of death. In Homeric and Ionic Greek , he

2380-617: Is cognate with the Sanskrit rájas ("dark (lower) air, dust"), the Armenian erek ("evening"), the Gothic riqis , and the Old Norse røkkr ("dark, dust"). In a number of Greek cosmogonies, Erebus is described as one of the first beings to exist. In Hesiod 's Theogony (late 8th century BC), which the Greeks considered the "standard" account of the origin of the gods, he

2499-593: Is considered the master of the goddesses of Fate , not his brother Zeus and the god who designates the end and origin of all things and orders the alternation of birth and destruction, the arbiter of life and death. This relationship is very clear in Roman epics like Statius 's Thebaid , where they are mentioned taking souls to be judged by Hades and inflicting severe punishments or in Claudian 's De raptu Proserpinae where they appear begging their master not to release

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2618-569: Is in Statius 's Thebaid , when Hades orders Tisiphone to punish humans for having invaded the underworld . He is said to hate Alecto , even though she is one of his children. In contrast to many of his other classical representations the satirical author Lucian of Samosata presents Hades in a more positive and even comic way. In his Dialogues of the Dead , he is represented trying to solve problems of some famous mythological figures and one of

2737-646: Is no direct evidence of such a turn. The blood from all chthonic sacrifices including those to propitiate Hades dripped into a pit or cleft in the ground. The person who offered the sacrifice had to avert his face. One ancient source says that he possessed the Cap of invisibility . His chariot, drawn by four black horses, made for a fearsome and impressive sight. These beasts were variously named as, according to Claudian : Orphnaeus , Aethon , Nycteus and Alastor while other authors listed also: Nonius, Ametheus, Abastor, Abetor and Metheus. His other ordinary attributes were

2856-609: Is often shown as a tripartite goddess, which allows her to look in multiple directions at once. This emphasizes her role as a protector of the in betweens. The Erinyes (also known as the Furies) were the three goddesses associated with the souls of the dead and the avenged crimes against the natural order of the world. They consist of Alecto , Megaera , and Tisiphone . They were particularly concerned with crimes done by children against their parents such as matricide , patricide , and unfilial conduct. They would inflict madness upon

2975-428: Is promised that he will go there instead of dying (and so distinguishing it from the afterlife proper): it is described as being located at the edges of the earth (the peirata ) and is where life is "easiest for men". However, Menelaus does not achieve this fate due to anything he has done during his lifetime but rather because he is Zeus' son-in-law (being married to Helen ). In Hesiod's Work and Days , however, this

3094-495: Is so adamantine and unyielding?" The rhetorical question is Agamemnon 's. Hades was not, however, an evil god, for although he was stern, cruel, and unpitying, he was still just. Hades ruled the underworld and was therefore most often associated with death and feared by men, but he was not Death itself — it is Thanatos , son of Nyx and Erebus , who is the actual personification of death, although Euripides's play " Alkestis " states fairly clearly that Thanatos and Hades were one and

3213-494: Is the offspring of Chaos , alongside Nyx (Night). In the first instance of sexual intercourse, he mates with Nyx, producing Aether and Hemera (Day), the pair of which represent the personified opposites of their parents. The Neoplatonist Damascius attributes to Acusilaus (6th century BC) a cosmogony in which Chaos is the first principle, after which comes Erebus and Night, and from this pair are then born Aether, Eros , and Metis . The philosopher Philodemus records that in

3332-533: Is the offspring of Chaos and Caligo (Mist), alongside Dies (Day), Erebus (Darkness), and Aether. By Nox, he becomes the father of Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Letum (Destruction), Continentia (Strife), Somnus (Sleep), the Somnia (Dreams), Lysimeles (Thoughtfulness), Epiphron (Hedymeles), Porphyrion, Epaphus, Discordia (Discord), Miseria (Misery), Petulantia (Petulance), Nemesis, Euphrosyne (Cheerfulness), Amicitia (Friendship), Misericordia (Pity), Styx ,

3451-458: Is the personification of death. Specifically, he represented non-violent death as contrasted with his sisters the Keres , the spirits of diseases and slaughter. Hypnos is the personification of sleep and twin brother of Thanatos. His cave was described as impenetrable by the light of sun and moon alike; it was surrounded by poppies and other soporific plants. The river Lethe also flowed through

3570-405: Is understood both in relation to the permanent state of darkness but also a potential etymological link with Hades as the 'unseen place'. The underworld is made solely for the dead and so mortals do not enter it – with only a few heroic exceptions (who undertook a mythical catabasis : Heracles , Theseus , Orpheus , possibly also Odysseus , and in later Roman depictions Aeneas ). Rivers are

3689-528: Is where the wicked received divine punishment. Tartarus is also considered to be a primordial force or deity alongside entities such as the Earth , Night , and Time . The Asphodel Meadows is the location in the underworld where the majority of the deceased dwell. The name appears as far back as Homer's Odyssey (11.359), where it features in Odysseus' survey of the underworld (technically referred to here as

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3808-487: The Homeric Hymn to Demeter , which is the oldest story of the abduction, most likely dating back to the beginning of the 6th century BC. Helios told the grieving Demeter that Hades was not an unworthy groom or son-in-law given his status among the gods, as her own brother and king on his own right: But, Goddess, give up your strong grief; let go of your infinite anger. Hades isn't an unsuitable son-in-law among

3927-523: The Archangel Michael . Nevertheless, Charon was considered a terrifying being since his duty was to bring these souls to the underworld and no one would persuade him to do otherwise. Cerberus (Kerberos), or the "Hell-Hound", is Hades' massive multi-headed (usually three-headed) dog with some descriptions stating that it also has a snake-headed tail and snake heads on its back and as its mane. Born from Echidna and Typhon , Cerberus guards

4046-495: The Greek underworld , or Hades , is a distinct realm (one of the three realms that make up the cosmos ) where an individual goes after death. The earliest idea of afterlife in Greek myth is that, at the moment of death, an individual's essence ( psyche ) is separated from the corpse and transported to the underworld. In early mythology (e.g., Homer 's Iliad and Odyssey ) the dead were indiscriminately grouped together and led

4165-537: The Hecatoncheires . In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter , Erebus is used to refer to Hades, the location in which the god Hades and his wife Persephone reside, while in Euripides ' play Orestes , it is where the goddess Nyx lives. Later, in Roman literature, Ovid calls Proserpina the "queen of Erebus", and other authors use Erebus as a name for Hades. Greek underworld In Greek mythology ,

4284-511: The Hieronyman Theogony (2nd century BC?), Erebus, alongside Aether and Chaos, is the offspring of Chronos (Time), who has the form of a serpent. The name "Erebus" is often used by ancient authors to refer either to the darkness of the Underworld, to the Underworld itself, or to the subterranean region through which souls of the dead travel to reach Hades, and it is sometimes used synonymously with Tartarus or Hades . Homer uses

4403-661: The Titans and saying everything they do is for him, after Hades threatens Zeus to release the Titans against him if he does not give him a wife. Hades is considered the father of the Furies in some versions, but the mother's identity varies. in Virgil 's Aeneid their mother is the night goddess Nyx and in the Orphic Hymns their mother is Persephone by Hades. One of the rare occasions when he appears interacting with them

4522-484: The hubris directed toward her daughter, Demeter trampled Minthe and turned her into mint. Theophile was a girl who claimed that Hades loved her and that she was better than Persephone. Once, when a plague hit Aonia , a region in Boeotia , the people consulted an oracle, and the god replied to them that they needed to make an appeal to the gods of the Underworld and sacrifice two willing young maidens to appease

4641-405: The "gate fastener" (πυλάρτης: Hom. Il. 8.367, 13.415, Od. 11.277). In some Greek sources Tartarus is another name for the underworld (serving as a metonym for Hades), while in others it is a completely distinct realm separate from the underworld. Hesiod most famously describes Tartarus as being as far beneath the underworld as the earth is beneath the sky. Like Hades, it too is so dark that

4760-452: The "night is poured around it in three rows like a collar round the neck, while above it grows the roots of the earth and of the unharvested sea." The most famous inhabitants of Tartarus are the Titans; Zeus cast the Titans along with his father Cronus into Tartarus after defeating them. Homer wrote that Cronus then became the king of Tartarus. According to Plato 's Gorgias ( c. 400 BC), souls are judged after death and Tartarus

4879-535: The 2nd or 3rd century AD, are liturgical texts for the mystery religion known as Orphism . In the hymn , Melinoë has characteristics that seem similar to Hecate and the Erinyes , and the name is sometimes thought to be an epithet of Hecate. The terms in which Melinoë is described are typical of moon goddesses in Greek poetry. Nyx is the goddess of the Night and the daughter of Chaos . A deep abyss used as

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4998-516: The Greeks were so afraid of him. His artistic representations, which are generally found in Archaic pottery, are not even concretely thought of as the deity; however at this point in time it is heavily believed that the figures illustrated are indeed Hades. He was later presented in the classical arts in the depictions of the Rape of Persephone . Within these illustrations, Hades was often young, yet he

5117-582: The Narcissus, Grown by Gaia to entice the girl As a favor to Hades, the gloomy one. This was the flower that Left all amazed, Whose hundred buds made The sky itself smile. When the maiden reached out To pluck such beauty, The earth opened up And out burst Hades ... The son of Kronos, Who took her by force On his chariot of gold, To the place where so many Long not to go. Persephone screamed, She called to her father, All-powerful and high, ... But Zeus had allowed this. He sat in

5236-665: The Parcae (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos), and the Hesperides (Aegle, Hesperia, and Erythea). In a cosmogony given by Aristophanes in his play The Birds (414 BC), which is often believed to be a parody of an Orphic theogony, Erebus is one of the first deities to exist, alongside Chaos, Night, and Tartarus . At the beginning of creation, Night lays a "wind-egg" in the "boundless bosom of Erebus", from which springs golden-winged Eros. In an Orphic theogony recorded by Damascius in his work De principiis ( On First Principles ), known as

5355-860: The Roman god who both rules the underworld and distributed riches from below. This deity was a mixture of the Greek god Hades and the Eleusinian icon Ploutos, and from this he also received a priestess, which was not previously practiced in Greece. More elaborate names of the same genre were Ploutodótēs ( Πλουτοδότης , [pluː.toˈdo.tεːs] ) or Ploutodotḗr ( Πλουτοδοτήρ , [pluː.to.doˈtεːr] ), meaning "giver of wealth". Epithets of Hades include Agesander ( Ἀγήσανδρος , [aˈgεː.san.dros] ) and Agesilaos ( Ἀγεσίλαος , [a.geˈsi.la.os] ), both from ágō ( ἄγω , "lead", "carry" or "fetch") and anḗr ( ἀνήρ , "man") or laos ( λαός , "men" or "people"), describing Hades as

5474-411: The afterlife as meaningless. In the underworld, the identity of a dead person still existed, but it had no strength or true influence. Rather, the continuation of the existence of the soul in the underworld was considered a remembrance of the fact that the dead person had existed, yet while the soul still existed, it was inactive. However, the price of death was considered a great one. Homer believed that

5593-417: The anger of Hades and Persephone. The girls that were chosen were Menippe and Metioche , the daughters of Orion , who solemnly offered their lives in order to save their countrymen. After invoking the chthonic deities three times, they took their own lives with the shuttles of their looms. Hades and Persephone then took pity in both of them, and transformed their corpses into comets . In some versions Hades

5712-409: The best possible existence for humans was to never be born at all, or die soon after birth, because the greatness of life could never balance the price of death. However, it was considered very important to the Greeks to honor the dead and was seen as a type of piety. Those who did not respect the dead opened themselves to the punishment of the gods – for example, Odysseus ensured Ajax's burial, or

5831-411: The cave, and here its murmuring would induce drowsiness. Melinoe is a chthonic nymph , daughter of Persephone, invoked in one of the Orphic Hymns and propitiated as a bringer of nightmares and madness. She may also be the figure named in a few inscriptions from Anatolia , and she appears on a bronze tablet in association with Persephone . The hymns, of uncertain date but probably composed in

5950-451: The dark-clouded son of Cronos and be honored by all the deathless gods; but if you have tasted food, you must go back again beneath the secret places of the earth, there to dwell a third part of the seasons every year: yet for the two parts you shall be with me and the other deathless gods. But when the earth shall bloom with the fragrant flowers of spring in every kind, then from the realm of darkness and gloom thou shalt come up once more to be

6069-461: The dead by fighting and defeating Hades. In other versions, like Euripides 's play Alcestis , Heracles fought Thanatos instead. At another time, Heracles sieged the town of Pylos and during the fight he wounded Hades, who had sided with the Pylians. In great pain, Hades went to Olympus to be healed by the physician of the gods, Paean . Leuce was the most beautiful of the nymphs and

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6188-417: The dead could still have sexual intimacy with another, although no children were produced. The Greeks also showed belief in the possibility of marriage in the underworld, which in a sense implies the Greek underworld was little different from the world of the living. Lucian described the people of the underworld as simple skeletons. They are indistinguishable from each other, and it is impossible to tell who

6307-484: The dead. Mostly, blood offerings were given, because they needed the essence of life to become communicative and conscious again. This is shown in Homer's Odyssey , where Odysseus had to offer blood of sheep in order for the souls to interact with him. While in the underworld, the dead passed the time through simple pastimes such as playing games, as shown from objects found in tombs such as dice and game-boards. Grave gifts such as clothing, jewelry, and food were left by

6426-580: The death symbolism included in Dionysian worship; statues of Dionysus found in the Ploutonion at Eleusis gives further evidence as the statue bears a striking resemblance to the statue of Eubouleus also known as the youthful depiction of the Lord of the underworld. The statue of Eubouleus is described as being radiant but disclosing a strange inner darkness. Both Hades and Dionysus were associated with

6545-485: The earth above them. Their lives in the underworld were very neutral, so all social statuses and political positions were eliminated and no one was able to use their previous lives to their advantage in the underworld. The idea of progress did not exist in the Greek underworld – at the moment of death, the psyche was frozen, in experience and appearance. The souls in the underworld did not age or really change in any sense. They did not lead any sort of active life in

6664-511: The famine to stop. Hermes obeys and goes down to Hades's realm, wherein he finds Hades seated upon a couch, Persephone seated next to him. Hermes relays Zeus's message, and Hades complies, saying, Go now, Persephone, to your dark-robed mother, go, and 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 gods, that am own brother to father Zeus. And while you are here, you shall rule all that lives and moves and shall have

6783-552: The field of asphodel: ἀσφοδελὸς λειμών). It is unclear exactly what the ancients understood this "field" to be, with scholars divided between either associating it with the flower asphodel (genus, Asphodelus L.) or with a field of ash (basing this on the etymological construction of σφοδελὸς > σποδός, "ash"). The Elysium (also referred to as the Elysian Fields ) was a utopian , paradisiacal afterlife reserved for specially distinguished individuals. The Elysian Fields are first referenced in Homer's Odyssey Book 4 where Menelaus

6902-519: The gate that serves as the entrance of the underworld. Cerberus' duty is to prevent dead people from leaving the underworld. Heracles once borrowed Cerberus as the final part of the Labours of Heracles . Orpheus once soothed it to sleep with his music. According to the Suda , the ancient Greeks placed a honeycake ( μελιτοῦττα ) with the dead in order for the dead to give it to Cerberus. Thanatos

7021-465: The god who carries away all. Nicander uses the form Hegesilaus ( Ἡγεσίλαος , [hεː.geˈsi.la.os] ). He was also referred to as Zeus katachthonios (Ζεὺς καταχθόνιος, [zdeu̯s ka.taˈkʰtʰo.ni.os] ), meaning "the Zeus of the underworld", by those avoiding his actual name, as he had complete control over the underworld. In Greek mythology , Hades, the god of the Greek underworld,

7140-491: The goddess has been waiting. Demeter and Persephone run towards each other and embrace one another, happy that they are reunited. Demeter, however, suspects that Persephone may have eaten food while down in the underworld , and so she questions Persephone, saying: My child, tell me, surely you have not tasted any food while you were below? Speak out and hide nothing, but let us both know. For if you have not, you shall come back from loathly Hades and live with me and your father ,

7259-427: The gods would be angered. Orpheus , a poet and musician that had almost supernatural abilities to move anyone to his music, descended to the underworld as a living mortal to retrieve his dead wife Eurydice after she was bitten by a poisonous snake on their wedding day. With his lyre-playing skills, he was able to put a spell on the guardians of the underworld and move them with his music. With his beautiful voice he

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7378-501: The gods: Lord of the Many Dead, your own brother from the same seed. As for honor, he won the third share back when the division was made and now lives among those whom he was allotted to rule." Despite modern connotations of death as evil, Hades was actually more altruistically inclined in mythology. Hades was portrayed as passive and never portrayed negatively; his role was often maintaining relative balance. That said, he

7497-451: The greatest rights among the deathless gods: those who defraud you and do not appease your power with offerings, reverently performing rites and paying fit gifts, shall be punished for evermore. Afterwards, Hades readies his chariot, but not before he secretly gives Persephone a pomegranate seed to eat; Hermes takes the reins, and he and Persephone make their way to the Earth above, coming to a halt in front of Demeter's temple at Eleusis, where

7616-400: The hero. The only way for humans to communicate with the dead was to suspend time and their normal life to reach Hades, the place beyond immediate perception and human time. The Greeks had a definite belief that there was a journey to the afterlife or another world. They believed that death was not a complete end to life or human existence. The Greeks hypothesized a soul after death, but saw

7735-405: The king of the underworld , with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea , although this also made him the last son to be regurgitated by his father . He and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon , defeated their father's generation of gods, the Titans , and claimed joint rulership over the cosmos . Hades received the underworld, Zeus the sky, and Poseidon

7854-497: The land and there was a great famine; though, one by one, the gods came to request she lift it, lest mankind perish and cause the gods to be deprived of their receiving gifts and sacrifices, Demeter asserted that the earth would remain barren until she saw her daughter again. Zeus then sends for his son, Hermes , and instructs him to go down to the underworld in hopes that he may be able to convince Hades to allow Persephone to return to Earth, so that Demeter might see Persephone and cause

7973-409: The living for use in the underworld as well, since many viewed these gifts to carry over into the underworld. There was not a general consensus as to whether the dead were able to consume food or not. Homer depicted the dead as unable to eat or drink unless they had been summoned; however, some reliefs portray the underworld as having many elaborate feasts. While not completely clear, it is implied that

8092-509: The living murderer, or if a nation was harboring such a criminal, the Erinyes would cause starvation and disease to the nation. The Erinyes were dreaded by the living since they embodied the vengeance of the person who was wronged against the wrongdoer. Often the Greeks made "soothing libations " to the Erinyes to appease them so as to not invoke their wrath, and overall the Erinyes received many more libations and sacrifices than other gods of

8211-455: The lower world"). Those who received punishment in Tartarus were assigned by the other gods seeking vengeance. In Greek society, many viewed Hades as the least liked god and many gods even had an aversion towards him, and when people would sacrifice to Hades, it would be if they wanted revenge on an enemy or something terrible to happen to them. Hades was sometimes referred to as Pluton and

8330-444: The men of Europe. Rhadamanthus was Lord of Elysium and judge of the men of Asia. Minos was the judge of the final vote. Charon is the ferryman who, after receiving a soul from Hermes, would guide them across the rivers Styx and/or Acheron to the underworld. At funerals, the deceased traditionally had an obol placed over their eye or under their tongue, so they could pay Charon to take them across. If not, they were said to fly at

8449-626: The monstrous Typhon attacked the Olympian gods, Hades is said to have trembled in fear in the underworld while Zeus fought Typhon above. In one of Plato 's dialogues, Socrates talks about Hades as a figure capable of making everyone fall by his enchantments and that is why no one ever leaves the underworld, including the sirens. Hades, as the god of the dead, was a fearsome figure to those still living; in no hurry to meet him, they were reluctant to swear oaths in his name, and averted their faces when sacrificing to him. Since to many, simply to say

8568-404: The most common depiction is that of the ferryman Charon to take them across the river. This was a particularly common motif on Athenian white ground lekythoi (funerary vases) of fifth century BCE and it is difficult to date this figure much earlier than the 6th century BCE (perhaps the latest of Hades' inhabitants to 'appear'). While Charon doesn't feature in the earliest mythical sources, there

8687-506: The most outstanding dialogues is with Protesilaus , one of the Greek heroes killed in the Trojan War . In this conversation Protesilaus asks him to be reunited with his (still living) lover, and brings up as example that Hades did the same for Admetus and Alcestis , Orpheus and Eurydice , and that he himself also knows what being in love is like. Hades is skeptical, but Persephone manages to persuade him. According to Hesiod , when

8806-575: The name 'Zeus', Zeus Olympios, the great king of the gods, noticeably differs from the Zeus Meilichios, a decidedly chthonian character, often portrayed as a snake, and as seen beforehand, they cannot be different manifestations of the same god, in fact whenever 'another Zeus' is mentioned, this always refers to Hades. Zeus Meilichios and Zeus Eubouleus are often referred to as being alternate names for Hades. The philosopher Heraclitus , unifying opposites, declared that Hades and Dionysus ,

8925-467: The narcissus and cypress plants, the Key of Hades and Cerberus, the three-headed dog. In certain portraits, snakes also appeared to be attributed to Hades as he was occasionally portrayed to be either holding them or accompanied by them. This is believed to hold significance as in certain classical sources Hades ravished Kore in the guise of a snake, who went on to give birth to Zagreus-Dionysus. While bearing

9044-447: The notion of referring to Hades as Plouton with these words: "the gloomy Hades enriches himself with our sighs and our tears." In addition, he was called Clymenus ( Κλύμενος , Klýmenos , ' infamous', [ˈkly.me.nos] ), Polydegmon ( Πολυδέγμων , Polydégmon , 'host of many', [po.lyˈdeg.mɔːn] ), and perhaps Eubuleus ( Εὐβουλεύς , Eubouleús , 'good counsel', [eu̯.buːˈleu̯s] ), all of them euphemisms for

9163-556: The other gods, as he was disliked by them as well as humans. As Pluto , he was regarded in a more positive light. He holds a cornucopia , representing the gifts he bestows upon people as well as fertility, which he becomes connected to. In older Greek myths, the realm of Hades is the misty and gloomy abode of the dead (also called Erebus ) where all mortals go when they die. Very few mortals could leave Hades once they entered. The exceptions, Heracles and Theseus , are heroic. Even Odysseus in his Nekyia ( Odyssey , xi) calls up

9282-448: The outer limits of the ocean (i.e., Oceanus , again also a god) or beneath the earth. Darkness and a lack of sunlight are common features associated with the underworld and, in this way, provide a direct contrast to both the 'normality' of the land of the living (where the sun shines) and also with the brightness associated with Mount Olympus (the realm of the gods). The underworld is also considered to be an invisible realm, which

9401-541: The parents of Aether and Dies (Day), as well as Amor (Love), Dolus (Guile), Metus (Fear), Labor (Toil), Invidentia (Envy), Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Tenebrae (Darkness), Miseria (Misery), Querella (Lamentation), Gratia (Favour), Fraus (Fraud), Pertinacia (Obstinacy), the Parcae, the Hesperides , and the Somnia (Dreams). In the Fabulae by the Roman mythographer Hyginus (1st century BC/AD), Erebus

9520-461: The perished dead. The consort of Hades was Persephone , daughter of Zeus and Demeter . Persephone did not submit to Hades willingly, but was abducted by him while picking flowers in the fields of Nysa (her father, Zeus, had previously given Persephone to Hades, to be his wife, as is stated in the first lines of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter ). In protest of his act, Demeter cast a curse on

9639-477: The rivers where Charon sailed mirrored the sky in Greco-Roman thought. In the wider mythological tradition, however, there are multiple bodies of water that are associated with the underworld (varying in number and combination depending on the source), the names of which can be understood to reflect specific associations with death. The deceased could enter the underworld through various routes, but perhaps

9758-501: The same deity, and gives an interesting description of Hades as being dark-cloaked and winged; moreover, Hades was also referred to as Hesperos Theos ("god of death & darkness"). When the Greeks propitiated Hades, they banged their hands on the ground to be sure he would hear them. Black animals, such as sheep, were sacrificed to him. While some suggest the very vehemence of the rejection of human sacrifice expressed in myth might imply an unspoken memory of some distant past, there

9877-443: The sea, and Hades the underworld; the earth itself was divided between the three. Therefore, while Hades' responsibility was in the underworld, he was allowed to have power on earth as well. However, Hades himself is rarely seen outside his domain, and to those on earth his intentions and personality are a mystery. In art and literature Hades is depicted as stern and dignified, but not as a fierce torturer or devil-like. However, Hades

9996-563: The sea, with the solid earth (long the province of Gaia ) available to all three concurrently. In artistic depictions, Hades is typically portrayed holding a bident and wearing his helm with Cerberus , the three-headed guard-dog of the underworld, standing at his side. Roman-era mythographers eventually equated the Etruscan god Aita and the Roman gods Dis Pater and Orcus with Hades and merged all these figures into Pluto ,

10115-473: The shores for one hundred years, until they were allowed to cross the river. To the Etruscans , Charon was considered a fearsome being – he wielded a hammer and was hook-nosed, bearded, and had animalistic ears with teeth. In other early Greek depictions, Charon was considered merely an ugly bearded man with a conical hat and tunic. Later on, in more modern Greek folklore, he was considered more angelic, like

10234-516: The six younger gods, along with allies they managed to gather, challenged the elder gods for power in the Titanomachy , a divine war. The war lasted for ten years and ended with the victory of the younger gods. Following their victory, according to a single famous passage in the Iliad ( Book XV , ln.187–93), Hades and his two brothers, Poseidon and Zeus, drew lots for realms to rule. Zeus received

10353-450: The sky, Poseidon received the seas, and Hades received the underworld, the unseen realm to which the souls of the dead go upon leaving the world as well as any and all things beneath the earth. Hades obtained his wife and queen, Persephone , through abduction at the behest of Zeus. This myth is the most important one Hades takes part in; it also connected the Eleusinian Mysteries with the Olympian pantheon, particularly as represented in

10472-473: The spirits of the departed, rather than descend to them. Later Greek philosophy introduced the idea that all mortals are judged after death and are either rewarded or cursed. There were several sections of the realm of Hades, including Elysium , the Asphodel Meadows , and Tartarus . The mythographer Apollodorus , describes Tartarus as "a gloomy place in Hades as far distant from Earth, as Earth

10591-759: The term to refer to the Underworld: in the Odyssey , souls of the dead are described as "gather[ing] from out of Erebus", on the shore of Oceanus at the edge of the Earth, while in the Iliad Erebus is the location in which the Erinyes live, and from which Heracles must fetch Cerberus . In the Theogony , it is the subterraneous place to which Zeus casts the Titan Menoetius (here meaning either Tartarus or Hades), and from which he later brings up

10710-476: The underworld – they were exactly the same as they were in life. Therefore, those who had died in battle were eternally blood-spattered in the underworld and those who had died peacefully were able to remain that way. Overall, the Greek dead were considered to be irritable and unpleasant, but not dangerous or malevolent. They grew angry if they felt a hostile presence near their graves and drink offerings were given in order to appease them so as not to anger

10829-590: The underworld . Minthe was a nymph of the river Cocytus who became Hades's mistress. A jealous Persephone trampled the nymph under her foot, transforming her into garden mint in the process. According to a scholiast on Nicander , Hades turned his dead lover into the mint herb after Persephone tore her into pieces for sleeping with him. In another version, Hades had kept Minthe as his mistress before he married Persephone, and set her aside afterwards. Minthe boasted of being more beautiful than Persephone, and that Hades would soon take her back. In anger over

10948-492: The underworld alive. He found the entrance to the underworld at Taenarum . Athena and Hermes helped him through and back from Hades. Heracles asked Hades for permission to take Cerberus. Hades agreed as long as Heracles did not harm Cerberus. When Heracles dragged the dog out of Hades, he passed through the cavern Acherusia . In the myth of Admetus and Alcestis , after Alcestis chose to die in place of her husband Admetus in order to save him, Heracles brought her back from

11067-506: The underworld and acts as a reminder that the gates of the underworld were always locked so that souls could not leave. Even if the doors were open, Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the underworld, ensured that, while all souls were allowed to enter into the underworld freely, none could ever escape. Cerberus is a very integral symbol of Hades so much so that when Cerberus is depicted, the depiction very rarely portrays him without Hades. Sometimes, artists painted Hades as looking away from

11186-504: The underworld and was thus eternally tied to the underworld, since the pomegranate seed was sacred there. Persephone could then only leave the underworld when the earth was blooming, or every season except the winter. The Homeric Hymns describes the abduction of Persephone by Hades: I sing now of the great Demeter Of the beautiful hair, And of her daughter Persephone Of the lovely feet, Whom Zeus let Hades tear away From her mother's harvests And friends and flowers— Especially

11305-494: The underworld as a favor to Hades), and when she picked it the earth suddenly opened up. Hades, appearing in a golden chariot, seduced and carried Persephone into the underworld. When Demeter found out that Zeus had given Hades permission to abduct Persephone and take her as a wife, Demeter became enraged at Zeus and stopped growing harvests for the earth. To soothe her, Zeus sent Hermes to the underworld to return Persephone to her mother. However, she had eaten six pomegranate seeds in

11424-521: The underworld. He cared little about what happened in the world above, as his primary attention was ensuring none of his subjects ever left his domain. He strictly forbade 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, as Sisyphus and Pirithous found out to their sorrow. While usually indifferent to his subjects, Hades

11543-422: The underworld. The Erinyes were depicted as ugly and winged women with their bodies intertwined with serpents. While Hermes did not primarily reside in the underworld and is not usually associated with the underworld, he was the one who led the souls of the dead to the underworld. In this sense, he was known as Hermes Psychopompos and with his fair golden wand he was able to lead the dead to their new home. He

11662-420: The underworld. Hades knew of their plan to capture his wife, so he pretended to offer them hospitality and set a feast; as soon as the pair sat down, snakes coiled around their feet and held them there. Theseus was eventually rescued by Heracles but Pirithous was either trapped as punishment for daring to seek the wife of a god for his own or killed by Cerberus, depending on the version of the story. Sisyphus

11781-582: The very essence of indestructible life ( zoë ) , are the same god. Among other evidence, Karl Kerényi notes in his book that the Homeric Hymn To Demeter, votive marble images and epithets all link Hades to being Dionysus. He also notes that the grieving goddess Demeter refused to drink wine, as she states that it would be against themis for her to drink wine, which is the gift of Dionysus, after Persephone's abduction, because of this association; indicating that Hades may in fact have been

11900-575: The word "Hades" was frightening, euphemisms were pressed into use. Since precious minerals come from under the earth (i.e., the "underworld" ruled by Hades), he was considered to have control of these as well, and as such the Greeks referred to him as Πλούτων (Greek Plouton ; Latin PLVTO, Pluto , "the rich one"). This title is derived from the word Ploutos ( Ancient Greek : Πλοῦτος , romanized :  Ploútos , lit.   'wealth, riches', [ˈpluː.tos] ). Sophocles explained

12019-507: The work On the Gods by one "Satyros", Erebus is the first of five rulers of the gods, and is succeeded as sovereign by Chaos (though others have suggested this figure may be Eros). According to a hymn by the poet Antagoras (3rd century BC), one of the possible parentages of Eros is Erebus and Night. Erebus also features in genealogies given by Roman authors. According to Cicero (1st century BC), Erebus and Nox (the Roman equivalent of Nyx) are

12138-589: Was a mortal king from Corinth who was punished in Tartarus for revealing to the river god Asopus the whereabouts of his daughter Aegina after Zeus abducted her, and for trying to cheat death as well. Zeus, angry at Sisyphus for revealing the secret, sent Thanatos to Sisyphus, but he cleverly cast Death into his own bonds, and as a result no one could die until Ares freed Thanatos and delivered Sisyphus to him. But still, Sisyphus ordered his wife Merope not to perform any funeral rites for him and what else

12257-411: Was able to bring the dead back to life. Feeling cheated, Hades persuaded Zeus to kill him with a thunderbolt. After his death, Asclepius was brought to Olympus where he became a god. Hades was only depicted outside of the underworld once in myth, and even that is believed to have been an instance where he had just left the gates of the underworld , which was when Heracles shot him with an arrow as Hades

12376-404: Was able to convince Hades and Persephone to allow him and his wife to return to the living. The rulers of the underworld agreed, but under one condition – Eurydice would have to follow behind Orpheus and he could not turn around to look at her. Once Orpheus reached the entrance, he turned around, longing to look at his beautiful wife, only to watch as his wife faded back into the underworld. He

12495-445: Was accustomed as tribute to the underworld gods before he was brought to Hades. After some time that Merope had not offered proper honours, Hades learnt of this, and allowed Sisyphus to return to the world of the living so that he could punish his wife, with the understanding that he would return afterwards. Sisyphus, however, never returned as promised until years later, when he died of old age. Hades punished Sisyphus by making him roll

12614-459: Was also called upon by the dying to assist in their death – some called upon him to have painless deaths or be able to die when and where they believed they were meant to die. Minos , Rhadamanthus , and Aeacus are the judges of the dead. They judged the deeds of the deceased and created the laws that governed the underworld. Aeacus was the guardian of the Keys of the underworld and the judge of

12733-406: Was also depicted as cold and stern, and he held all of his subjects equally accountable to his laws. Any other individual aspects of his personality are not given, as Greeks refrained from giving him much thought to avoid attracting his attention. Hades ruled the dead, assisted by others over whom he had complete authority. The House of Hades was described as full of "guests," though he rarely left

12852-426: Was also shown as varying ages in other works. Due to this lack of depictions, there were not very strict guidelines when representing the deity. On pottery, he has a dark beard and is presented as a stately figure on an "ebony throne." His attributes in art include a bident (less commonly, a scepter), a helm, cornucopias, roosters, and a key. They key plays a doubly symbolic role in that it represents his control over

12971-456: Was attempting to defend the city of Pylos. After he was shot, however, he traveled to Olympus to heal. Besides Heracles , the only other living people who ventured to the underworld were also heroes : Odysseus , Aeneas (accompanied by the Sibyl ), Orpheus , to whom Hades showed uncharacteristic mercy at Persephone's urging, who was moved by Orpheus's music, Theseus with Pirithous , and, in

13090-473: Was considered by some ancient authors as an underworld god. In the Greek underworld, the souls of the dead still existed, but they are insubstantial, and flitted around the underworld with no sense of purpose. The dead within the Homeric underworld lack menos , or strength, and therefore they cannot influence those on earth. They also lack phrenes , or wit, and are heedless of what goes on around them and on

13209-404: Was considered the enemy to all life and was hated by both the gods and men; sacrifices and prayers did not appease him so mortals rarely tried. He was also not a tormenter of the dead, and sometimes considered the "Zeus of the dead" because he was hospitable to them. Due to his role as lord of the underworld and ruler of the dead, he was also known as Zeus Khthonios ("the infernal Zeus" or "Zeus of

13328-407: Was forbidden to return to the underworld a second time and he spent his life playing his music to the birds and the mountains. Hades Hades ( / ˈ h eɪ d iː z / ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : ᾍδης , translit.   Hā́idēs , Attic Greek : [háːi̯dεːs] , later [háːdεːs] ), in the ancient Greek religion and mythology , is the god of the dead and

13447-405: Was known as Áïdēs . Other poetic variations of the name include Aïdōneús ( Ἀϊδωνεύς ) and the inflected forms Áïdos ( Ἄϊδος , gen .), Áïdi ( Ἄϊδι , dat. ), and Áïda ( Ἄϊδα , acc. ), whose reconstructed nominative case * Áïs ( * Ἄϊς ) is, however, not attested. The name as it came to be known in classical times was Háidēs ( Ἅιδης ). Later the iota became silent, then

13566-431: Was represented in a lighter way – here, he was considered the giver of wealth, since the crops and the blessing of the harvest come from below the earth. Persephone (also known as Kore) was the daughter of Demeter , the goddess of the harvest, and Zeus. Persephone was abducted by Hades, who desired a wife. When Persephone was gathering flowers, she was entranced by a narcissus flower planted by Gaia (to lure her to

13685-560: Was still a superstition that the unburied couldn't cross over until they receive a proper burial (the most famous examples being Patroclus and Hector in the Iliad ). Alternatively, Hermes Psychopompos could also be relied upon to lead the deceased to the underworld and appears first in Homer's Odyssey book 24 (also a common motif on white ground lekythoi). Hades was well known for its gates (the πύλαι Ἀίδαο: Hom. Il. 5.646, 9.312, 23.71, Od. 14.156), with one of Hades's (the god) epithets being

13804-539: Was the first-born son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea . He had three older sisters, Hestia , Demeter , and Hera , as well as a younger brother, Poseidon , all of whom had been swallowed whole by their father as soon as they were born. Zeus was the youngest child and through the machinations of their mother, Rhea, he was the only one that had escaped this fate. Upon reaching adulthood, Zeus managed to force his father to disgorge his siblings. After their release,

13923-509: Was the music he played that it charmed even Hades (as well as his wife Persephone), who allowed him to take Eurydice to the land of the living, as long as he did not look back at her on his way out. In another story, Theseus and Pirithous pledged to kidnap and marry daughters of Zeus . Theseus chose Helen and together they kidnapped her and decided to hold onto her until she was old enough to marry. Pirithous chose Persephone . They left Helen with Theseus's mother, Aethra , and traveled to

14042-432: Was very focused on the punishment of these two people; particularly Pirithous , as he entered the underworld in an attempt to steal Persephone for himself, and consequently was forced onto the "Chair of Forgetfulness". Another myth is about the Greek god Asclepius who was originally a demigod, son of Apollo and Coronis , a Thessalian princess. During his lifetime, he became a famous and talented physician, who eventually

14161-399: Was wealthy or important in the living world. However, this view of the underworld was not universal – Homer depicts the dead keeping their familiar faces. Hades itself was free from the concept of time. The dead are aware of both the past and the future, and in poems describing Greek heroes, the dead helped move the plot of the story by prophesying and telling truths unknown to

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