12 questions · Mythology
Hades is the Greek god of the underworld and lord of the dead. In his gloomy subterranean realm, which also bears his name, he rules over the shades of the deceased. Despite his grim reputation he is not a god of evil, but a stern, just ruler who insists on order. As the brother of Zeus he received the underworld when the world was divided. Because he also commanded the earth's mineral wealth, he was seen as a god of riches: hence his epithet Pluton. His best-known myth is the abduction of Persephone, whom he made his queen and which explains the origin of the seasons. In Roman mythology he corresponds to Pluto, after whom the dwarf planet is named. The underworld fell to Hades by lot in the division of the world. At its gates watches the hellhound Cerberus, and the river Styx divides the living from the dead: the boundary the singer Orpheus once crossed to reclaim his wife. Good to know: Hades rules the realm of the dead, which also bears his name, and guards the treasures of the earth.
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the underworld
Hades rules the realm of the dead, which also bears his name, and guards the treasures of the earth.
💡 Did you know? His name was so feared that people preferred to call him „Pluton“ (the rich one), so as not to provoke him.
by lot in the division of the world
After the fall of Kronos, Hades drew lots with his brothers and received the realm of the dead.
💡 Did you know? Unlike Zeus and Poseidon, Hades did not live on Olympus but always in his gloomy realm.
a helmet of invisibility
The Cyclopes forged Hades a helmet that makes its wearer invisible.
💡 Did you know? He lent this helm to heroes too: Perseus used it to behead Medusa.
Cerberus
The three-headed hellhound Cerberus lets the dead in, but no one out again.
💡 Did you know? Heracles's hardest labour was to bring Cerberus up alive from the underworld.
Persephone
Hades carried off the young Persephone to the underworld; in grief her mother Demeter let the earth wither.
💡 Did you know? Because Persephone ate pomegranate seeds, she must spend a third of the year with Hades and so the seasons arose.
the Styx
The ferryman Charon carries the dead across the river Styx, for a coin placed with them.
💡 Did you know? Even the gods swore their most sacred, unbreakable oaths by the Styx.
Orpheus
Orpheus moved Hades with his song, so that he was allowed to bring back his dead wife Eurydice.
💡 Did you know? The condition: he must not look back: yet just before the exit he did, and lost her forever.
Pluto
The Romans called the lord of the underworld Pluto and likewise linked him with the earth's wealth.
💡 Did you know? The distant dwarf planet Pluto is named after him: dark at the edge of the solar system.
because of the earth's riches
Gold, silver and the seed come from the depths.
💡 Did you know? From this came the Roman name Pluto.
almost never
The abduction of Persephone was the great exception.
💡 Did you know? He had no throne on Olympus.
mint
Jealous Persephone transformed the nymph.
💡 Did you know? Mint remained a plant of funeral rites.
Theseus and Pirithous
They stuck fast to the chair of forgetfulness.
💡 Did you know? Only Theseus was later freed by Heracles.
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