HadesAides

The lord of the Dead; the king of the Underworld; the son of the Titans, Kronos (Cronos) and Rheia (Rhea); one of the Olympians and the brother of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Histia (Hestia) and Demeter.

Hades is often portrayed as a “bad” Immortal but he was simply the ruler of one-third of creation; Zeus rules Heaven and Earth, Poseidon rules the Sea and Hades rules the Underworld; his domain was one of darkness and his subjects are the dead but he is not without honor or passion.

The kidnapping of Persephone was one of the most notable events attributed to Hades; with Zeus’ permission, Hades rose to the surface of the earth in his chariot, abducted Persephone, and took her to his home in the Underworld; Persephone’s mother, Demeter, was outraged; she was powerless against Hades because he had acted with the sanction of Zeus, who was not only the “king” of the Immortals but also Persephone’s father.

Demeter withdrew her blessings from the bountiful earth and crops began to fail; Zeus, after many appeals to Demeter, agreed to have Persephone returned to the daylight; he sent Hermes to the House of Hades and demanded that Persephone be released but Hades tricked Persephone into eating a pomegranate seed before she left the Underworld; by eating the seed, Persephone had inadvertently bound herself to Hades and when she was reunited with her mother on Mount Olympos (Olympus) she was compelled to return to the Underworld for a portion of each year.

Very few individuals have ever been to the House of Hades and returned to the surface of the earth; Hermes, as the guide of the dead, was allowed to come and go as need be; Hades also allowed several others to enter his domain and then leave again:

1. Herakles (Heracles), as a condition of his Twelfth Labor, went into the Underworld and brought Hades’ watchdog, Kerberos (Cerberus) into the light of day; Hades only agreed to allow Herakles to take Kerberos if Hermes and Athene (Athena) would accompany the dog to ensure that he would be returned unharmed;
2. Orpheus was distressed at the untimely death of his beloved wife, Eurydike (Eurydice) and went into the Underworld to retrieve her; Orpheus used his wit and talent to charm Hades and was allowed to return Eurydike to the surface of the earth provided that Orpheus lead the way and not look back to see if Eurydike was following him; at the very last moment Orpheus was compelled to look around and, by doing so, Eurydike was returned to the land of the dead and lost to Orpheus until he also died;
3. Protesilaus was the first Greek soldier to be killed at the siege of Troy; his wife, Laodameia, was so grief stricken at the loss of her husband that the Immortals permitted Protesilaus to leave the Underworld and return to her for three hours; when he went back into the Underworld, Laodameia committed suicide so that she could be with him; and
4. Persephone, as Hades’ wife, is allowed to leave the Underworld each year to be with her mother, Demeter; the name of Hades has been corrupted to denote the House of Hades, i.e. a place, instead of a god.

For more detailed information on Hades I suggest that you consult the Immortals section of this site.