The Gloomy God of Death

In Greek mythology, Hades ruled over the underworld realm of the dead. He was one of the three powerful brothers, along with Zeus and Poseidon, who defeated the Titans to gain control of the cosmos. While Zeus became king of the gods and Poseidon ruled the seas, Hades’ domain encompassed the sunless regions beneath the earth where souls went after death.

His name is thought to mean “the unseen one,” reflecting his dark and shadowy kingdom. Though not inherently evil, Hades was a terrifying figure to the living, inspiring dread with his piercing glare and forbidding nature. He strictly forbade any of the dead in his realm from ever leaving. Those who tried to cheat death or escape the underworld, such as the heroes Sisyphus and Pirithous, met with Hades’ wrathful punishment.

The Abduction of Persephone

The most famous myth involving Hades tells the story of how he brought Persephone, daughter of Demeter, to the underworld through trickery and force. In one version, the beautiful young goddess was gathering flowers when Hades burst through a chasm in the earth, seized her, and dragged her away despite her cries for help.

Devastated by her daughter’s disappearance, Demeter abandoned her duties and caused all life on earth to wither and die. Finally, Zeus intervened and arranged for Persephone to spend part of each year in the underworld and part above ground, explaining the cycle of seasons. When she returns to Hades’ somber realm each year, winter settles over the world in an “aspect of sadness and mourning.”

Ruler of the Underworld Dead

Though Hades did not actively seek to increase the number of souls under his grim oversight, he demanded absolute control and obedience from those already in his domain. Only a few living heroes like Odysseus, Orpheus, and Heracles ever entered the dank, mist-filled realm of the dead and returned to the upper world.

Hades himself seldom left the underworld, remaining apart on his ebony throne. When souls did disobey him by trying to escape, they risked being tortured for eternity like the unfortunate Sisyphus, forever rolling a boulder up a hill in Tartarus, the lowest and most horrific region of Hades’ subterranean kingdom.

His Artistic Depictions

Depictions of Hades in Greek pottery and art are relatively rare, likely reflecting the culture’s fear and unease concerning the underworld’s terrifying lord. He is sometimes portrayed as dark-bearded and enthroned, grasping a bident or scepter along with a key that represents his control over who may enter or exit his realm. In some representations, he wears a helmet and is accompanied by multi-headed Cerberus, the monstrous hound who guards the gates to the afterlife.

Though fearsome, Hades upheld the laws and balance of the universe as an impartial, if merciless, force of nature. As lord of the dead, he treated all souls equally and was rarely moved by beautiful tributes or tragic pleas. The Greeks propitiated him through rituals and sacrifices, but avoided speaking his name out of superstition. To modern audiences, their myths have preserved the primordial dread of death personified as implacable Hades.