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Hades would get very angry at anyone who tried to cheat death. They sometimes called him Plouton, which means "the lord of riches." The Greeks did not like to say the name of Hades. Interesting Facts About the Greek God Hades These months are represented by winter, when nothing grows. Eventually, the gods came to an agreement and Persephone would live with Hades for four months of the year. Demeter, Persephone's mother and goddess of crops, became sad and neglected the harvest and the world suffered famine. Hades then kidnapped Persephone and forced her to come to the underworld. However, Persephone did not want to marry Hades and live in the Underworld. Zeus said he could marry his daughter Persephone. Hades became very lonely in the Underworld and wanted a wife. The dead had to pay a coin to Charon to cross or they would have to wander the shores for one hundred years. He would take the dead on a boat across the rivers Styx and Acheron from the world of the living to the Underworld. He kept the living from entering and the dead from escaping.Īnother helper for Hades was Charon. Cerberus guarded the entrance to the Underworld. In order to guard his realm, Hades had a giant three-headed dog named Cerberus. Hades wasn't very happy about getting the Underworld at first, but when Zeus explained to him that all the people of the world would eventually be his subjects, Hades decided it was okay. The Underworld is where dead people go in Greek Mythology. Zeus drew the sky, Poseidon drew the sea, and Hades drew the Underworld. Hades was eventually saved by his younger brother Zeus.Īfter the Olympians defeated the Titans, Hades and his brothers drew lots to divide up the world. After being born, Hades was swallowed by his father Cronus to prevent a prophecy that a son would someday overthrow him. Hades was the son of Cronus and Rhea, the king and queen of the Titans. He once loaned his helmet out to the hero Perseus to help him defeat the monster Medusa. He wore helmet called the Helm of Darkness that allowed him to become invisible. Besides being an immortal god, one of his special powers was invisibility. Hades had complete control of the underworld and all its subjects. When traveling he rides a chariot pulled by black horses. Often his three headed dog, Cerberus, is with him. Hades is usually pictured with a beard, a helmet or crown, and holding a two-pronged pitchfork or a staff. He is one of the three most powerful Greek gods (along with his brothers Zeus and Poseidon).
Hades is a god in Greek mythology who rules the land of the dead called the Underworld. Symbols: Scepter, Cerberus, drinking horn, and the cypress tree
History > Ancient Greece > Greek Mythology God of: The Underworld, death, and riches