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Name

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The origin of Hades' 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 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").[n 1][n 2] The earliest attested form is Aḯdēs (Ἀΐδης), which lacks the proposed digamma. West argues instead for an original meaning of "the one who presides over meeting up" from the universality of death.[6]

Amphora Hades Louvre G209 n2 © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons

In Ionic and epic Greek, he was known as Áïdēs.[7] 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.[8] The name as it came to be known in classical times was Háidēs (Ἅιδης). Later the iota became silent, then a subscript marking (Άͅδης), and finally omitted entirely (Άδης).[9]

Hades, Hierapolis

Perhaps from fear of pronouncing his name, around the 5th century BCE, the Greeks started referring to Hades as Pluto (Πλούτων, Ploútōn), 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).[10] Plouton became came 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.[11] More elaborate names of the same genre were Ploutodótēs (Πλουτοδότης) or Ploutodotḗr (Πλουτοδοτήρ) meaning "giver of wealth".[12] Epithets of Hades include Agesander (Ἀγήσανδρος) and Agesilaos (Ἀγεσίλαος),[13] both from ágō (ἄγω, "lead", "carry" or "fetch") and anḗr (ἀνήρ, "man") or laos (λαός, "men" or "people"), describing Hades as the god who carries away all.[14][15][16][17] Nicander uses the form Hegesilaus (Ἡγεσίλαος).[18] He was also referred to as Zeus Katachthonios (Ζευσ καταχθονιοσ),[19] meaning "the Zeus of the Underworld", by those avoiding his actual name, as he had complete control over the Underworld.[20]


God of the underworld

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Part of a series on the
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In Greek mythology, Hades the god of the underworld, was a son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. He had three sisters, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera, as well as two brothers, Zeus, the youngest of the three, and Poseidon, collectively comprising the original six 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 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 (xv.187–93), Hades and his two brothers, Poseidon and Zeus, drew lots[21] for realms to rule. Zeus received the sky, Poseidon received the seas, and Hades received the underworld,[22] 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. Some myths suggest that Hades was dissatisfied with his turnout, but had no choice and moved to his new realm.[23] The Underworld was Hades' eternal domain, meaning he would spend the majority of his time there .[24]

Hades obtained his wife and queen, Persephone, through trickery and violent abduction. This myth is the most important one Hades takes part in[25]; it also connected the Eleusinian Mysteries with the Olympian pantheon, particularly as represented in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which is the oldest story of the abduction, most likely dating back to the beginning of the 6th Century BCE.[11] Helios told the grieving Demeter that Hades was not unworthy as a consort for Persephone:

"Aidoneus, the Ruler of Many, is no unfitting husband among the deathless gods for your child, being your own brother and born of the same stock: also, for honor, he has that third share which he received when division was made at the first, and is appointed lord of those among whom he dwells."

— Homeric Hymn to Demeter

Despite modern connotations of death as evil, Hades was actually more altruistically inclined in mythology. Hades was often portrayed as passive rather than evil; his role was often maintaining relative balance. He was seen more as a "jailor" than any other role; however he was depicted as cold, stern, and gave all his subjects equal treatment in regards to his laws[25]. Any other individual aspects of his personality are not given, as Greeks refrained from giving him much thought to avoid attracting his attention[20].

Pinax with Persephone and Hades Enthroned, 500-450 BC, Greek, Locri Epizephirii, Mannella district, Sanctuary of Persephone, terracotta - Cleveland Museum of Art - DSC08242

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 the Underworld[26]. He cared little about what happened in the Upperworld, as his primary attention was ensuring none of his subjects ever left[27].

Red figure volute krater with scene of the Underworld, follower of the Baltimore Painter, Hermitage

When he did venture above ground, he generally wore his helmet of invisibility, which he obtained from the cyclops[26]. 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 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".[20] Another myth is about the Roman god Æsculapius was originally a demigod, fathered by Apollo and birthed by Coronis, a Thessalian princess. During his lifetime, he became a famous and talented physician, who eventually was able to bring the dead back to life. Feeling cheated, Plouton persuaded Jupiter to kill him with a thunderbolt. After his death, he was brought to Olympus where he became a god.[28] [n 3] 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 was attempting to defend the city of Plyus[29]. After he was shot, however, he traveled to Olympus to heal. Besides Heracles, the only other living people who ventured to the Underworld were all heroes: Odysseus, Aeneas (accompanied by the Sibyl), Orpheus, who Hades showed uncharacteristic mercy towards at Persephone's persuasion, who was moved by Orpheus' music [30]. Theseus with Pirithous, and, in 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 the perished dead."

— Achilles' soul to Odysseus. Homer, Odyssey' 11.488-491

Artistic representations

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Hades was depicted so infrequently in artwork, as well as mythology, because the Greeks were so afraid of him.[20] 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.[11] He was later presented in the classical arts in the depictions of the Rape of Persephone.[31] Within these illustrations, Hades was often young, yet he was also shown as varying ages in other works.[11] Due to this lack of depictions, there weren't very strict guidelines when representing the deity. [11] On pottery, he has a dark beard and is presented as a stately figure on an "ebony throne."[23] He has a few symbolic icons, such as a "bird-tipped scepter,"[32] and a key, which both represented his control over the underworld and acted as a reminder that the gates of the Underworld were always locked so that souls could not leave.[20] [25] 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.[33] The dog is often portrayed next to the god as a means of easy identification, since no other deity relates to it so directly. Sometimes, artists painted Hades as looking away from the other gods, as he was disliked by them as well as humans.[11]

As Plouton, 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. [11][32]

Getty Villa - Collection (5305218066) by Dave & Margie Hill, originally found on Flickr
  1. ^ Kerenyi, Karl (1951), The Gods of the Greeks, p. 230.
  2. ^ Dixon-Kennedy, Mark (1998), Encyclopedia of Greco-Roman Mythology, p. 143.
  3. ^ Beekes, Robert S.P., Hades and Elysion.
  4. ^ Ivanov, Vyacheslav V. (1998), Mír Curad: Studies in Honor of Calvert Watkins.
  5. ^ Beekes, Robert S.P. (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Leiden: E.J. Brill, p. 34.
  6. ^ West, Martin Litchfield (2007), Indo-European Poetry and Myth, p. 394.
  7. ^ Bailly, Anatole (1963), "Ἅιδης", Dictionnaire Grec–Français [Greek–French Dictionary], 26th ed.. (in French)
  8. ^ Bailly, Anatole; Dictionnaire Grec Français, 26th ed. (1963) (entry: "*Ἄϊς")
  9. ^ See Ancient Greek phonology and modern Greek.
  10. ^ Bailly, Anatole; Dictionnaire Grec Français, 26th ed. (1963) (entry: "Πλούτων")
  11. ^ a b c d e f g "Gale Virtual Reference". Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  12. ^ Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, 806, note. Translated by Smyth, Herbert Weir (1922) in Loeb Classical Library, Volume 145.
  13. ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867). "Agesander (1)". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 68.
  14. ^ Liddell, Henry; Robert Scott (1996). A Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. s.v. ISBN 0-19-864226-1.
  15. ^ Callimachus, Hymn. in Pallad. 130, with Friedrich Spanheim's note
  16. ^ Hesychius of Alexandria s.v.
  17. ^ Aeschyl. ap. Athen. iii. p. 99
  18. ^ Nicander, ap. Athen. xv. p. 684
  19. ^ "Google Translate". translate.google.com. Retrieved 2015-12-09.
  20. ^ a b c d e Tripp, Edward (1970). Crowell’s Handbook of Classical Mythology. Ty Crowell Co. p. 257.
  21. ^ Walter Burkert, in The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age, 1992, (pp 90ff) compares this single reference with the Mesopotamian Atra-Hasis: "the basic structure of both texts is astonishingly similar." The drawing of lots is not the usual account; Hesiod (Theogony, 883) declares that Zeus overthrew his father and was acclaimed king by the other gods. "There is hardly another passage in Homer which comes so close to being a translation of an Akkadian epic," Burkert concludes (p. 91).
  22. ^ Poseidon speaks: "For when we threw the lots I received the grey sea as my abode, Hades drew the murky darkness, Zeus, however, drew the wide sky of brightness and clouds; the earth is common to all, and spacious Olympus." Iliad 15.187
  23. ^ a b "Hades the Greek God of the Underworld, Hades the unseen". www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  24. ^ Grant, Michael; Hazel, John (2002). Who’s Who in Classical Mythology. Oxford University Press. p. 149. ISBN 0415260418.
  25. ^ a b c Grant, Michael; Hazel, John (2002). Who’s Who in Classical Mythology. Oxford University Press. p. 148. ISBN 0415260418.
  26. ^ a b Gayley, Charles Mulles (1939). The classic myths in English literature and in art, based originally on Bulfinch's "Age of fable" (1855). Ginn and Company. p. 47.
  27. ^ Gayley, Charles Mulles (1939). The classic myths in English literature and in art, based originally on Bulfinch's "Age of fable" (1855). Ginn and Company. p. 53.
  28. ^ Gayley, Charles Mulles (1939). The classic myths in English literature and in art, based originally on Bulfinch's "Age of fable" (1855). Ginn and Company. p. 104.
  29. ^ Tripp, Edward (1970). Crowell’s Handbook of Classical Mythology. Ty Crowell Co. p. 256.
  30. ^ Gayley, Charles Mulles (1939). The classic myths in English literature and in art, based originally on Bulfinch's "Age of fable" (1855). Ginn and Company. pp. 165–166.
  31. ^ The Rape of Persephone Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Naples, Italy
  32. ^ a b "HADES : Greek king of the underworld, god of the dead ; mythology ; pictures : HAIDES, PLUTO". www.theoi.com. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  33. ^ Tripp, Edward (1970). Crowell's handbook of classical mythology. Ty Crowell Co. p. 258.


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