Hades God of the Underworld

The symbols of Hades are the sceptre and cornucopia

The Ruler of the Dead In Greek, the lord of the dead was referred to as Hades or Plouton, which means “ the lord of riches.” He was called Pluto by the Romans. Hades was the third born child of Cronus and Rhea. He was the youngest of the original three brothers in the god hierarchy, in that Zeus was lord of the sky, Poseidon was lord of the sea, and he was lord of the underworld. Hades was given the helmet of invisibility by the Cyclops when he was fighting with the rest of his siblings to overthrow the Titans. Hades was not actually considered one of the twelve main Olympians.

Hades and Persephone

The Personality of Hades Hades was a fierce and selfish ruler who seldom traveled above ground because he was jealous of his brothers and the rights they possessed. (GM 121) He did not allow any of his subjects to escape the underworld, and there were very few individuals who visited Tartarus and returned alive to describe it, which made him the most hated of the gods. (GM 122) He was very a cunning lord, and was able to capture Persephone as his wife while she was picking flowers with nymphs.

The Underworld Hades was the ruler of the dead, and his dominion contained many different sections. The underworld consisted of the equivalent to heaven, which was the Elysian Fields, and hell, which was referred to as Tarturus. There were five different rivers in the underworld, which were known as Acheron (the river of sorrow), Cocytus (lamentation), Phlegethon (fire), Lethe (forgetfulness) and Styx (hate). The far side of the Acheron river was guarded by Cerebrus, the three-headed dog that protected the underworld from living intruders. Beyond Cerebrus, the departed entered the land of the dead to be judged.