Hades, the Greek god of the dead, is often associated with the grim and evil aspects of the world merely because he is the King of the Underworld and people associate that title with the Devil, the embodiment of evil and wrongdoings. Hades is portrayed as the villain in most movies, trying to usurp the Gods, trying to kill the protagonist or enacting some other evil plan.
While it is true that Hades is not innocent, and he did some pretty messed up things which I’ll point out later in the article, he is not as bad as the other gods, for example Zeus is known for having forced himself on multiple women, whilst Poseidon sought revenge through malicious plots like the creation of the Minotaur.
As an example of how Hades is portrayed in movies, I present: Disney’s Hercules. Hades is planning to overthrow the Gods and become ruler of Olympus, but a prophecy regarding Hercules is stopping him from completing his goals, therefore he makes several attempts to kill him so that he may go along with his mischievous plans.
Or in Clash of the Titans, where he wishes to punish the humans for their insolence while also usurping his brother and becoming the ruler of Olympus and, as the cherry on top, killing Perseus, the son of the man he hates most, his brother, Zeus.
Hades is greatly misrepresented not only in movies but also other types of media, so in this article I’d like to show you the actual Hades. He was the son of Kronos, the King of the Titans and his wife, Rhea. He was swallowed by his father along with all of his siblings, but he was later thrown up due to Zeus’ plot to overthrow his father. Hades and his two brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, led the war against the Titans, which they eventually won and imprisoned the Titans in Tartarus.
After this victory, the three brothers drew lots to divide the world. Zeus got the sky (and also became King of the Gods), Poseidon got the Seas and Oceans, and Hades got the Underworld (which would go on to be named after him). Hades, alongside being the God of the Dead and King of the Underworld, was also the God of Hidden Riches, so he was thought of as being extremely wealthy.
And now we get the infamous kidnapping of Persephone; Hades was looking for a bride so he went to his brother Zeus, who offered him Persephone. Hades accepted but Persephone’s mother, Demeter (Goddess of the Harvest), was not so keen on giving away her daughter to live in the underworld. Consequently, Zeus and Hades devised a plan to kidnap her (in Ancient Greek culture, Hades had all rights to take Persephone because he had Zeus’ approval, which is kind of messed up to be honest). Whilst Persephone was picking flowers, Hades appeared from the ground in his chariot and snatched her, disappearing immediately. He took her to the underworld and gave her pomegranate seeds to eat, which binded her to the underworld. Naturally Demeter was quite angry at this act and so she brought an end to all harvests, creating a famine and killing a good part of humanity until her daughter was brought back. Seeing this, Zeus sends Hermes to make a deal with Hades: Persephone would stay in the underworld for six months and for the other six she would be with her mother. Hades accepted and that was it.
Hades was known as a fair, just and impartial God. Yes, he was kind of cold-hearted, but his job required him to be so — I mean, he manages dead people who are aching for home and their loved ones, who are crying and begging him to let them return. But he knows he’s not allowed to let them go back.
Silivestru “Sile” Andrei
15.02.2023
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