Hades
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Template:Alternateuses Image:Hades (Greek Mythology).jpg
Hades (From Template:Polytonic, Hadēs, or Template:Polytonic, Háidēs, Greek for "unseen"Template:Ref) refers to both the ancient Greek abode of the dead and the god of that underworld. The word originally referred to just the god; haidou, its genitive, was short for "the house of Hades". Eventually, the nominative, too, came to designate the abode of the dead.
Hades was also known as Pluto (from Greek Πλούτων, Plouton), and was known by this name, as well as Dis Pater and Orcus, in Roman mythology; the corresponding Etruscan god was Aita. "Hades" is sometimes employed by Christians as a classicizing euphemism for Hell, which otherwise has few of the original attributes of Hades.
There were several sections of Hades, including the Elysian Fields (contrast the Christian Paradise or Heaven), and Tartarus, (compare the Christian Hell). Greek mythographers were not perfectly consistent about the geography of the afterlife.
A contrasting myth of the Afterlife concerns the Garden of the Hesperides, often identified with the Isles of the Blessed.
In Roman mythology, an entrance to the underworld located at Avernus, a crater near Cumae, was the route Aeneas used to descend to the Underworld. By synecdoche, "Avernus" could be substituted for the underworld as a whole. The Inferi Dii were the Roman gods of the underworld.
The deceased entered the underworld by crossing the river Acheron, ferried across by Charon (kair'-on), who charged an obolus, a small coin for passage, placed under the tongue of the deceased by pious relatives. Paupers and the friendless gathered forever on the near shore. The far side of the river was guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed dog defeated by Heracles (Roman Hercules). Beyond Cerberus, the shades of the departed entered Tartarus, the land of the dead.
The five rivers of Hades are Acheron, Cocytus, Phlegethon, Lethe and Styx. See also Eridanos.
The first region of Hades comprises the Fields of Asphodel, described in Odyssey xi, where the shades of heroes wander despondently among lesser spirits, who twitter around them like bats. Only libations of blood offered to them in the world of the living can reawaken in them for a time the sensations of humanity (compare vampires).
Beyond lay Erebus, which could be taken for a euphonym of Hades, whose own name was dread. There were two pools, that of Lethe, where the common souls flocked to erase all memory, and the pool of Mnemosyne ("memory"), where the initiates of the Mysteries drank instead. In the forecourt of the baleful palace of Hades and Persephone sit the three judges of the Underworld: Minos, Rhadamanthys and Aeacus. There at the trivium sacred to Hecate, where three roads meets, souls are judged, returned to the Fields of Asphodel if they are neither virtuous nor evil, sent by the road to Tartarus if they are impious or evil, or sent to Elysium with the heroic or blessed.
In Greek mythology, Hades (the "unseen"), the god of the underworld, was a son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. He had three older sisters, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, as well as two younger brothers, Poseidon and Zeus: together they accounted for half of the Olympian gods.
Upon reaching adulthood Zeus managed to force his father to disgorge his siblings. After their release the six younger gods, along with allies they managed to gather, challenged their parents and uncles for power in Titanomachy, a divine war. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades received weapons from the three Cyclops to help in the war. Zeus the thunderbolt; Hades the helmet of invisibility; and Poseidon the trident. During the night before the first battle Hades put on his helmet and, being invisible, stole over to the Titans' camp and destroyed their weapons. The war lasted for ten years and ended with the victory of the younger gods. Following their victory Hades and his two younger brothers, Poseidon and Zeus, drew lots for realms to rule. Zeus got the sky, Poseidon got the seas, and Hades received the underworld, the unseen realm to which the dead go upon leaving the world.
Hades obtained his eventual consort, Persephone, through trickery, a story that connected the ancient Eleusinian Mysteries with the Olympian pantheon.
Hades ruled the dead, assisted by demons over whom he had complete authority. 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 his prey from him.
Besides Heracles, the only other living persons who ventured to the Underworld were all heroes: Odysseus, Aeneas (accompanied by the Sibyl), Orpheus, and Theseus. None of them was especially pleased with what they witnessed in the realm of the dead. In particular, the Greek war hero Achilles, whom Odysseus met in Hades (although some believe that Achilles dwells in the Isles of the Blest), said:
- "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."
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Worship
Image:Amphora Hades Louvre G209.jpg
Hades, god of the dead, was a fearsome figure to those still living; in no hurry to meet him, they were reticent to swear oaths in his name. To many, simply to say the word "Hades" was frightening. So, a euphemism was 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 was referred to as Πλούτων (Plouton, related to the word for "wealth"), hence the Roman name Pluto. Sophocles explained referring to Hades as "the rich one" with these words: "the gloomy Hades enriches himself with our sighs and our tears." In addition, he was called Clymenus ("notorious"), Eubuleus ("well-guessing"), and Polydegmon ("who receives many").
Although he was an Olympian, 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.
Because of his dark and morbid personality he was not especially liked by either the gods nor the mortals. His character is described as "fierce and inexorable", and of all the gods he was by far most hated by mortals. He was not, however, an evil god, for although he was stern, cruel, and unpitying, he was still just. Hades ruled the Underworld and therefore most often associated with death and was feared by men, but he was not Death itself — the actual embodiment of Death was Thanatos.
When the Greeks worshipped Hades, they banged their hands on the ground to be sure he would hear them. Black animals, such as sheep, were sacrificed to him, and it is believed that at one time even human sacrifices were offered. The blood from sacrifices to Hades dripped into a pit so it could reach him. The person who offered the sacrifice had to turn away his face. Every hundred years festivals were held in his honor, called the Secular Games.
Hades' weapon was a two-pronged fork, which he used to shatter anything that was in his way or not to his liking, much as Poseidon did with his trident. This ensign of his power was a staff with which he drove the shades of the dead into the lower world.
His identifying possessions included a famed helmet, given to him by the Cyclopes, which made anyone who wore it invisible. Hades was known to sometimes loan his helmet of invisibility to both gods and men (such as Perseus). His dark chariot, drawn by four coal-black horses, always made for a fearsome and impressive sight. His other ordinary attributes were the Narcissus and Cypress plants, the Key of Hades and Cerberus, the many-headed dog. He sat on an ebony throne.
Artistic representations
Hades is rarely represented in classical arts, save in depictions of the Rape of Persephone. Hades is also mentioned in The Odyssey, when Odysseus visits the underworld as part of his journey. Though it is Hades the place not the person.
Persephone
The consort of Hades, and the archaic queen of the Underworld in her own right, before the Hellene Olympians were established, was Persephone, represented by the Greeks as daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Persephone did not submit to Hades willingly, but was abducted by him while picking flowers with her friends. Hades loved Persphone so deeply that he did not free her from the underworld. Persephone's mother missed her and without her daughter by her side she cast a curse on the land and there was a great famine. Hades tricked Persephone into eating six pomegranate seeds, which meant that she would be unable to leave the underworld even with the help of Zeus. Persephone knew of her mother's depression and asked Hades to return her to the land of the living, on the condition that she would stay with him for one-third of the year. Every year Hades fights his way back to the land of the living with Persephone in his chariot. Famine (winter and fall) occurs during the months that Persephone is gone and Demeter grieves in her absence. It is believed that the last half of the word Persephone comes from a word meaning 'to show' and evokes an idea of light. Whether the first half derives from a word meaning 'to destroy' - in which case Persephone would be 'she who destroys the light'.
Orpheus and Eurydice
Hades showed mercy only once: Because the music of Orpheus was so hauntingly good, he allowed Orpheus to bring his wife, Eurydice, back to the land of the living as long as she walked behind him and he never tried to look at her face until they got to the surface. Orpheus agreed but, yielding to the temptation to glance backwards, failed and lost Eurydice again, to be reunited with her only after his death.
Minthe and Leuce
According to Ovid, Hades pursued and would have won the nymph Minthe, associated with the river Cocytus, had not Persephone turned Minthe into the plant called mint. Similarly the nymph Leuce, who was also ravished by him, was metamorphosed by Hades into a white poplar tree after her death.
Theseus and Pirithous
Hades imprisoned Theseus and Pirithous, who had pledged to 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' mother, Aethra and traveled to the underworld. Hades 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.
Heracles
Heracles' 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 the underworld alive. He found the entrance to the underworld at Tanaerum. Athena and Hermes helped him through and back from Hades. Heracles asked Hades for permission to take Cerberus. Hades agreed as long as Heracles didn't harm him, though in some versions, Heracles shot Hades with an arrow. When Heracles dragged the dog out of Hades, he passed through the cavern Acherusia.
==Other names== + *Άιδης + *Aides + *Aiidoneus + *Haides + *Pluton + *Plouton + *The Rich One + *The Unseen One + In Roman Mythology + *Pluto + *Pluton + *Dis + *Dis Pater + *Orcus
Biblical use
The Greek New Testament uses hades several times, with various connotations of bodily decay and the power of death, none of them applicable to the Hades of Greek mythology, with a possible exception in the Luke verse 16:23.
16:23 (King James Version) - "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
In popular culture
The religion of the ancient Greeks did not seperate gods into categories of good or evil, but most people today tend to think in terms of "God" and "Devil" archetypes. Because of this, Hades (as the ruler of the underworld) is usually portrayed as a Satanic figure in popular culture.
In the action video game God of War, Hades is one of the Gods that helps Kratos fight Ares. He gives him the ability to summon souls of the dead. In the game he has a very demonic appearance- horns, sharp teeth, and a flaming mouth. The game's manual sates he is a greedy god, always hungering for new souls to populate his realm.
In Dungeons & Dragons, Hades is one of the seven lower planes of existence. More commonly referred to as the Gray Wastes, the plane is a place of disease and corruption, with apathy and despair emanating from the very land. While the plane and its inhabitants are dangerous and evil enough by themselves, Hades is especially hazardous because it's the main battlefield in the Blood War.
In Saint Seiya, (Both the Manga and the Anime) Hades is the King of the Underworld. He has an army of 108 Spectres, Seiya and his friends must fight all the Spectres to rescue Athena.
Hades is cast as the villain in Disney's 1997 animated retelling Hercules with inauthentic improvisations for comic effect; he is voiced by James Woods. This version of Hades also appeared in Squaresoft and Disney Interactive's Kingdom Hearts series as one of the Disney villains working with Maleficent. James Woods voices him in the English version.
In Marvel Comics, Hades is sometimes credited as Pluto. He is viewed as one of the most powerful villains in Marvel and a bane to Marvel's heroes like the X-Men, Avengers, etc. He even has an alias as Mr. Hellman to where he fools Hercules into signing a contract. He has always been one of the evil characters who wants to rule the Universe in his own brand of evil. He is an enemy of many Marvel heroes such as Thor, Hercules, Miss Marvel, Hulk, Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer, Scarlet Witch, Jean Grey, Rogue, etc.
In Justice League, Hades appeared as a lover to Queen Hippolytpe but none of the myths support this idea. He appears in the Island of Themiscryra when Faust released him from the gates of Tartarus in exchange for the ultimate knowledge. He later reappeared in another episode where Faust tries to take over his kingdom. He is a devious villain with a monster form.
In the popular video game, Final Fantasy IX, Hades is one of the optional bosses you can face. Located in the water portion of the Crystal World, behind a coagulation of rocks, Hades dishes out heavy attacks and malady-causing spells. Once defeated, he becomes an item synthesizer for you. Here you can purchase the other Pumice Piece and have them fused to create the eidolion Ark.
Also in the video game Final Fantasy VII, Hades is a hidden summon found in the crashed underwater Shinra plane.
In Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Hades first appears as a villain who kidnaps Persephone but becomes friends with his nephew Hercules when the deal between him and Demeter is met. So far this is the only version where Hades' being just is being portrayed. Ares takes the role of "Satan" in this series instead of him who appeared evil in many incarnates like Marvel Comics.
In Neopaganism
Many neopagans today, particularly Hellenistic neopagans in the United States, have what many would consider new-age views of Hades. Hades, the afterlife, is seen as a place of Limbo, containing domains for those who are good, but not good enough for entry into Elysium (in many ways heaven) and domains for those who are evil, but not so evil to be cast into Tartarus (in many ways hell).
Many neopagans believe that the domain of Hades is where all souls go to be judged by the deity Hades, who is thought to hold the Book of Life which records all mortal deeds, good or ill. The god Hades is thought to be unconcerned with any form of worship and sacrifice, and totally devoid of compassion or emotion for mortals. Modern neopagans sometimes believe that the deity Hades consults Themis and Hyperion when deciding a mortal's fate. Should a mortal be observed by Hyperion to be evil, but unworthy of eternal torture, the souls are cast into the lower bowels of Hades, to a drab and unpleasant existence in which they may or may not be issued punishment. Should a mortal be observed by Hyperion to be virtuous, but not worthy of entry into Elysium, Hades allows the mortal to wander free in the upper levels of Hades, believed to be much like life on Earth. Themis, after the observations are made, consults Hades, who passes Judgment.
Whether a soul is allowed entry into Elysium or cast into Tartarus is believed by many Pagans to depend on whether Hyperion's observations of one's earthly ills and virtues carries disproportionate weight. For example, some believe that a set of scales (carried by Themis) will tilt with each observation, and how far the scales are from being balanced determines whether one is rewarded or punished, and the subsequent severity of punishment or greatness of one's reward.
Notes
- Template:Note A related Hebrew word for the abode of the dead, She'Ol, also literally meant "unseen".
External links
- Maps of the Underworld (Greek mythology)
| Greek deities series |
|---|
| Primordial deities | Titans | Aquatic deities | Chthonic deities |
| Twelve Olympians |
| Zeus | Hera | Poseidon | Hades | Hestia | Demeter | Aphrodite Athena | Apollo | Artemis | Ares | Hephaestus | Hermes | Dionysus |
| Chthonic deities |
| Hades | Persephone | Gaia | Demeter | Hecate | Iacchus | Trophonius | Triptolemus | Erinyes |
ca:Hades cs:Hádés da:Hades de:Hades el:Άδης es:Hades eo:Hadeso eu:Hades fr:Hadès hi:हेडीस id:Hades it:Ade he:האדס ka:ჰადესი lv:Aīds lt:Hadas nl:Hades ja:ハデス no:Hades pl:Hades pt:Hades ro:Hades ru:Аид sh:Had simple:Hades sk:Hádes sl:Had sr:Хад fi:Haades sv:Hades uk:Аїд zh:哈底斯