Greek Mythology: Hades

        Greek Mythology: Hades

Introduction

Some of you may have heard about Hades, in Greek mythology he’s the god of the underworld. Due to mainstream media, most people think he’s a bad guy. I bet most people would be surprised to know that, in terms of what he’s done, Hades is actually one of the best Greek gods.  

Family

The Greek family tree is really complicated but essentially Hades has two brothers, Zeus and Poseidon. Poseidon is the god of the oceans, horses, and earthquakes. Zeus is the god of the sky and weather. Hades also has three sisters, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. Hades’ parents are the titans Rhea and Cronus. Cronus ate Hades along with all his brothers and sisters right after birth except for Zeus. Hades and his siblings hate their parents. Hades’ grandfather is Ouranus while his grandmother is Gaea. Hades also has a wife named Persephone. He has many children and his family tree extends far beyond this but as I said, the Greek family tree is super complicated. 

Personality

Hades resents his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, because when they divided the world Hades got the short straw. While Zeus got the air domain and Poseidon got the sea domain, Hades got the underworld. Due to this he is an outcast in the Olympian family. He is cold, merciless, and pitiless. Although, he isn’t completely heartless. An example of this would be in the myth of Orpheus when he gave Orpheus a chance to bring his dead wife back. 

Powers

Hades is pretty powerful. He can summon armies of skeletons and everyone in the underworld are his subjects and are under his control. His specialty is invisibility. Hades is the god of the underworld, that means he has control over all the riches in the earth. Since he can control all of the natural riches and man-made riches in the earth, most of the time Hades is considered the richest god. He also has all the powers that gods usually do, like super strength, immortality, a durable body, etc. 

Symbols

People probably think that Hades will have very dark symbols but the truth may surprise you. One of his symbols that you probably won’t be surprised about is Cerberus. Cerberus is the three headed dog that guards the underworld. Another one of his symbols is a scepter. These last two symbols are probably going to surprise you. The last two symbols are a drinking horn and the cypress tree. I know, it’s shocking that the god of the underworld has a tree as one of his symbols.  

Conclusion 

This is the end of the article! I hope you enjoyed and learned something new about Hades. In the comments you can tell me who you want an article on next. Goodbye! 

Citation List:

“Greek Mythology.” Ducksters, https://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_greece/hades.php. 

“Hades.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hades-Greek-mythology. 

Madeleine. “What Are Hades Powers That Are Really Scary?” THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY – Exploring Mythology in Classical Literature & Art, 3 Dec. 2019, https://www.theoi.com/articles/what-are-hades-powers/. 

“Poseidon.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/Poseidon. 

“Zeus.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zeus.