“Hades, God of the Underworld,” is a well-known name; however, there is more to know than what is shown in modern media. Hades is the third child of both Chronos and Rhea, the first son out of three. With his siblings, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon, with an exception to Zeus, were swallowed by his father; due to his father wish to stay in power. His youngest sibling, Zeus, was able to escape and freed all his siblings from his father’s stomach.
From that point forward, Hades grew and came to rule a domain of his own, along with gaining followers. He ruled over the underworld, along with being the god of wealth (Hades Lincoln Library). His most known name, Hades, means “the unseen one,” and as well as “the wealth giver” or Pluton, considering that the wealth of minerals and precious metals were found underground (GreekMythology.com). Additionally, he was often depicted with a beard, usually holding his keys to the underworld or a cornucopia, the horn of plenty; along with his pet, Cerberus the three-headed dog (GreekMythology.com). As a result, the Greeks declared these his symbols, and used them to please him.
Another important part of his story is the myth of “Hades and Persephone.” To begin with, Persephone is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, though she was much closer to her mother. She spent her time on earth, mostly in a garden, with flowers, greenery, and nymphs. One day, when she “was picking flowers on the plain around Mount Etna” Hades had come from the ground, entranced by her beauty, and picked her up, bringing her to the depths of the underworld (InterInterestingLiter.com). Soon after, Persephone’s mother, Demeter, realized her daughter’s absence, and started to mourn, refusing to do her duties until she gets her daughter back (Interesting Literature). “When Zeus saw what Persephone’s abduction had caused, he decided that Hades should return Persephone.” (InterestingLiterature.com).
Meanwhile, in the underworld, Persephone had been on a hunger strike, due to the custom that if you eat from the fruit of your captor, you must stay; however, she ate a few of the seeds of a pomegranate that Hades gave her, thinking that it would not count as his fruit (Interesting Literature). However, it was not an exception, with that knowledge, along with the fact that the pomegranate being the fruit of the underworld, her fate was completely sealed (Interesting Literature). When Demeter was informed of this, she became completely adamant, so Zeus came to a compromise (InteInterestingLitera.com). Persephone ate six seeds in total, so she will spend six months with Hades, the other six with her mother.
With all these things considered, it is obvious that Hades did have his faults, he was seen as a good deity to most Greeks, unlike most would think. He was the god of death, and took that role with pride, taking the utmost care of the dead; and of course, for the living, he gave them wealth with the rich minerals and precious stones he protected.
