10 Facts To Know About The Greek God Hades

10 Facts To Know About The Greek God Hades

In the ancient Greek religion and myths, Hades is seen as the god of the dead. He is also the king of the underworld which is synonymous with his name. His parents were Cronus and Rhea and he was the eldest son.

The myth also states that he was the last son of Cronus to be regurgitated. Together with his brothers Zeus and Poseidon, they defeated the generations of their father’s gods, the Titans. They claimed the realm of the Titans, the cosmos.

In the division of the cosmos, Hades was given the underworld, Zeus got the sky, and Poseidon got the sea. The solid earth, the province of Gaia belonged to all of them concurrently. Hades is depicted in art as holding a bident and wearing his helm with Cerberus. His three-headed guard dog always stands by his side.

Aita, the Etruscan god, Dis Pater and Orcus, the Roman gods were regarded as equivalents to Hades. They were merged into Pluto, also known as Plouton in Latin. The title, Plouton, was also given to Hades after the merging of the gods.

Here are the 10 Facts To Know About The Greek God Hades:

1. Hades was the First-born Son of Titans Cronus and Rhea

Carole Raddato from Frankfurt, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Greek mythology goes ahead and explains who Hades was. He was the first-born son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, rulers of the cosmos. Hades had three older sisters namely Hestia, Demeter, and Her.

He also had a younger brother known as Poseidon. All the children of Cronus and Rhea were swallowed by their father, Cronus. However, Rhea tricked Cronus who never swallowed Zeus. Later, Zeus assisted his siblings by making Cronus regurgitate all of them.

Read the top 10 facts about the Greek Goddess Demeter.

2. He Helped his Siblings to Overthrow his Father & the Other Titans from the Cosmos

After Zeus succeeded to make Cronus regurgitate his siblings, they hatched a plan to overthrow him and the Titans. The six younger gods along with their allies gathered and challenged Cronus and the elder gods in a divine war that is known as the Titanomachy.

The Titanomachy lasted for ten years with the war being fiery. Hades and the other younger gods emerged victorious in this war where the Titans were overthrown.

3. Hades was Given the Underworld Realm to Rule

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After overthrowing their father and the elder gods, it was time for the young gods to divide the realms among themselves. Hades, Zeus and Poseidon handed themselves lots of realms to rule over the other gods.

Hades was given the underworld to rule over and came to be known as the god of the dead. The underworld was also known as the unseen where the souls of the dead went after they died. Zeus got the sky, and Poseidon received the seas.

4. Greeks Referred Hades to as Plouton Meaning Wealthy

Being known as the god of the underworld and dead, Greeks feared pronouncing the name of Hades. Around the 5^th century BC, the Greeks started referring Hades to as Plouton which means wealthy.

They believed that wealth and riches like fertile crops, metals, and many more came from Hades. Plouton evolved into the Roman god who controlled the underworld and dispersed wealth from there. This god was a hybrid of the Eleusinian image Ploutos and the Greek god Hades, and he also derived a priestess from this, which was not previously performed in Greece.

5. Hades Got His Wife Through Abduction & Command from Zeus

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In ancient Greek mythology, Hades is not a god who is spoken about lightly because of his rule of the underworld. When it came to his marriage, he had to get his wife and queen through abduction.

Hades got his wife and queen, Persephone through abduction and after a command from Zeus. Helios had told Demeter that Hades was not an unworthy groom and son-in-law after Persephone was abducted and taken for wife by Hades.

Also, read 20 Interesting Facts about Poseidon in Greek Mythology.

6. He Really Left His Realm that had ‘Multiple Guests’

Hades governed the afterlife with the assistance of other assistants under his total control. The House of Hades was said to be full of “guests,” despite the fact that he hardly ever emerged from the underworld. He was more interested in making sure none of his subjects ever left his domain than in what was happening in the world above.

7. Hades Got Enraged by His Subjects Leaving His Realm or Stole Souls

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Hades treasured his underground realm in that he had strict rules for his subjects. He had forbidden his subjects of not leaving the underground realm where they were bound to.

Hades could get enraged by any of his subjects trying to leave the realm and he could punish them. The other thing he never wanted is someone trying to steal the souls from his realm. He was also made furious by anyone trying to cheat death or tried to cross him.

8. Hades Allowed the Wife of Orpheus to go to the World of the Living after Being Pleased

Once, the hero Orpheus entered the underworld in quest of his late wife Eurydice, who had been bitten by a serpent and passed away. He played so beautiful music that it even enchanted Hades (as well as his wife Persephone). Hades agreed to let him carry Eurydice to the world of the living as long as he did not turn around to look at her.

9. He had Several Nymphs as His Lovers & Mistress

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Like the other gods in ancient Greek mythology, Hades had mistresses and lovers. Leuce, the most beautiful of the nymphs and daughter of Oceanus was a lover of Hades. He abducted her after falling in love with her, took her to the underworld where she lived out her lifespan and died.

Minthe was another nymph who was a mistress of Hades. However, Persephone trampled her after finding out about her relationship with Hades. Another girl, Theophile claimed to be the perfect woman for Hades.

10. His Realm was Misty & Gloomy where No Mortals Could Leave

With the fear about Hades, his realm was even terrifying to many people. The older Greek myths describe the realm of Hades as being misty and gloomy. This is where all the mortals who die go.

In Hades’ realm, no mortals could leave once they got in and no immortals dared descend. Heracles and Theseus are the exceptions who made it out of the underworld. Some of the immortals called the names of the departed spirits rather than go to the underworld and face Hades.

Hades is depicted to be an evil god by ancient Greek mythology, however, he is not what he was thought to be. His image and three-headed guard dog frightened many making him more feared.

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