TIME FOR YOUR GREEK MYTH LESSON
CHILDREN!!!
HADES, in Greek mythology, is the god of the dead. He was the son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea and the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. When the three brothers divided up the universe after they had deposed their father, Cronus, Hades was awarded the underworld. There, with his queen, Persephone, whom he had abducted from the world above, he ruled the kingdom of the dead. Although he was a grim and pitiless god, unappeased by either prayer or sacrifice, he was not evil. In fact, he was known as lord of riches, because both crops and precious metals were believed to come from his kingdom below ground.
The underworld itself was often called Hades. It was divided into two regions: Erebus, where the dead pass as soon as they die, and Tartarus, the deeper region, where the Titans had been imprisoned. It was a dim and unhappy place, inhabited by vague forms and shadows and guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed, dragon-tailed dog. Sinister rivers separated the underworld from the world above, and the aged boatman Charon ferried the souls of the dead across these waters.
Somewhere in the darkness of the underworld Hades' palace was located. It was represented as a many-gated, dark and gloomy place, thronged with guests, and set in the midst of shadowy fields and an apparition-haunted landscape. In later legends the underworld is described as the place where the good are rewarded and the wicked punished.
Hades is Greek for "Unseen". In some stories, the Underwolrd was described as a place filled with shadows and Hades was most likey hardly seen by anyone, dead or alive. Hades abducted the maiden Persephone, tricked the heroes Theseus and Peirithous and managed to get himself handcuffed by Sisyphus.
The god Hades was a dread figure to the living, who were quite careful how they swore oaths in his name. To many people, simply to utter the word "Hades" was a frightening proposition. So they made up a euphemism, a word that meant the same thing but with a more pleasant sound.
Since all precious minerals came from under the earth (the dwelling place of Hades) and since the god was wealthy indeed when it came to the number of subjects in his kingdom of the dead, he was referred to as "Ploutos", wealth. This accounts for the name given him by the Romans, who called Zeus Jupiter, Ares Mars, Hermes Mercury and Hades Pluto.
Realm of the dead, either underground or in the far West of the world known to the early Greeks - or both. Named for the god Hades, its ruler.
As is not surprising, the ancient Greeks did not know what to expect after death. Notions of the afterlife were various and conflicting. Some thought that great heroes lucked out by traveling to the Elysian Fields, where they could hunt and feast and socialize in pleasant company for eternity, while commoners were consigned to a lifeless and boring abode in the Fields of Asphodel. First they'd drink the waters of Lethe, which caused them to lose all memory of their former lives and thus lack anything to talk about.
In its earlier depictions, the underworld kingdom of Hades was such a dank and dark and moldering place that were it laid open to the heavens, the gods themselves would turn away in disgust.
SEE! Now wasn't that educational? NO!?! OH YEA.... I'M SURE ALL OF YA KNEW ALL OF THAT HUH? Shea right......;)
