God of the Underworld
Son of Cronus and Rhea
Brother of Zeus
Owner of the Trident
Owner of the Invisibility Helmet
Husband of Persephone
Lord of the Dead
Lord of the Demons
Hades was the God of the Underworld. Brother of Zeus, and son of Cronus and Rhea. He was known for his unloving and malicious personality. For this reason, neither gods or mortals were very fond of him. He spent most of his time in his castle in Hell, and was rarely seen on Earth. Hades was the most hated god among mortals for one reason—death. Although he was not the god of death, (which is actually Thanatos), he is usually associated with it. There are no oracles or temples devoted to the god of the underworld, and only a few statues.
Although he was feared, Hades was always just, though quite unmerciful. He was always pictured as a dark, unyielding, bearded man with tightly closed lips and a crown atop his head. Only dark animals, such as the black sheep, were sacrificed on his behalf. Festivals were held in his name once every one hundred years, called the Secular Games.
Hades was in charge of the dead. His subjects, the demons, helped him manage the entire underworld. He had full authority over the prisoners and demons and became furious when anybody tried to escape, even though no one ever succeeded. Rarely anybody alive was ever able to visit the underworld and leave again. There are a few exceptions though, like that of Er, Achilles, Odysseus, Aeneas, Theseus, and Hercules.
Persephone
The Queen of the underworld was Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Zeus. Although Persephone never married Hades willingly; she was abducted out of a field on day when picking flowers. Demeter was distraught and begged Zeus to get her back. Even Zeus didn’t have the power to free her. Finally, an agreement was made between Demeter and Hades via Hermes, messenger god. The agreement said that Persephone would live in the underworld for six monthsand on earth with her mother for six months every year. The myth tells us that Demeter is so depressed while Persephone is with Hades that she, the goddess of harvest, doesn’t grow anything. This is how we get out winter season. And in the spring, Persephone comes up to her mother on earth and Demeter is overwhelmed with joy, which gives us our summer.
Hades favorite weapon was a two-pronged fork, which could shatter anything in his way. This is how is also got to and from the Underworld. He also had a famous helmet, which made him invisible every time he wore it. It was made by the Cyclops’, during the Titan war.
Just like his other brothers, Hades wasn’t a loyal husband. He was in love with a nymph name Mintho but Persephone turned her into a plant, the mint plant.
King Sisyphus
The famous tale of the man who pushes up the boulder on a hill in the underworld all started with Zeus. One day, a man asked King Sisyphus where his daughter was. He replied that she was away with her lover, Zeus. Zeus was enraged at this tattling and asked Hades to punish him. Hades took the man on his chariot on their way to the underworld. On the way there, the king asked Hades what he had in his bag. Hades told him he had handcuffs, crafted by the god of fire. The King sneakily asked him what handcuffs were and if he would kindly demonstrate. Before Hades knew it, he was cuffed and kept prisoner! For one month, King Sisyphus tormented and made fun of Hades. The God of War, Ares, was getting frustrated because nobody was dying in any of his wars. He went in search of Hades and when he found him, demanded the king to remove his handcuffs.
The King was eventually taken to the underworld and punished. His punishment was to roll a boulder up a hill. Every time he got to the top, the boulder would simply roll back down. He was sentenced to do this for the rest of time.
"Do not speak soothingly to me of death, glorious Odysseus. I should choose to serve as the hireling of another, rather than to be lord over the dead that have perished."
(Achilles' soul to Odysseus. Homer, Odyssey 11.488)
**Ares**
**Hera**
**Poseidon**
**Zeus**
**Athena**
**Apollo**
**Artemis**
**Dionysus**
**Aphrodite**
**Hephaestus**
**Hermes**
**Demeter**
**Hestia**
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