These may be tales of a deity’s actions or they could reflect the actions of politicians or authority figures at the time of the story’s creation. While this is one of the most commonly told myths regarding the King of The Underworld, it’s important to remember that these tales were oral traditions retold over many generations, and many of the details may vary from one version to another or be distorted based on the cultural views of the time period.įor example, we see themes of rape, kidnapping, and sexual assault used as plot devices quite often in Greek mythology. Head to our post on Persephone for more details on how this came to be. Since that is more their story, that’s all the detail we’ll go into here. During this time, Demeter misses her daughter so much that she lets the world wither. In Autumn, Persephone returns to The Underworld to be with her husband (and captor, depending on the source) Hades. During this time, Demeter is overjoyed and allows the flowers to bloom and the world to flourish. In this tale, Persephone, the goddess of Spring, spends the warmer months with her mother Demeter, the goddess of grain and agriculture. Many know the famous tale of Hades’s abduction of Persephone (if not, check out our post on worshiping her here), as it was commonly taught as the source of the changing of the seasons. For Hades, the realm of the dead would have to suffice. After the battle, Zeus was given reign over all of Olympus. Ultimately, Hades’ part in winning this epic battle for supremacy was futile, for he would not be reigning with the gods on Olympus after all. The three fought together to encase the Titans in Tartarus, from where they could never return. To aid in their endeavor against the Titans, the cyclopes crafted three epic items: to Zeus, the power of lightning and thunder (personified by his trusty lightning bolt), Poseidon’s famous Trident, and the Helm of Invisibility to our main man Hades. Zeus and his once-swallowed siblings then came together to slay Chronus and put an end to his tyrannical, child-eating ways. Perhaps that’s why he was later given The Underworld, a gesture that is commonly viewed as Hades getting the short end of the stick. So although Hades was originally the oldest of the siblings, he was the last to be “reborn,” in this sense. When Zeus was of age and properly trained, he returned to Chronus in disguise and tricked his father into vomiting his siblings back up. That is, except for Zeus, who Rhea hid away in a cave somewhere on the island of Crete. If you don’t know, Chronus swallowed all of his children whole based on a prophecy stating that they would overthrow him. Hades is the reigning king of the dead, a position given to him when the universe was divided up after the great war called the Titanomachy.Īlthough he doesn’t reside on Mount Olympus, Hades shares the same parents as Zeus and the other Olympians: the ancient titans Chronus and Rhea. To better understand the nature of Hades as an archetype, let’s take a look at some of the myths surrounding the god who would be crowned king of The Underworld. Let’s take a dive into the depths of Hades and discover the relationship between mythology and modern practice. It’s only recently that pagans are daring to even invoke his name. Since God Hades wasn’t traditionally worshiped in ancient Greece, it can be difficult to find information on working with him in a neopagan aspect. Hades also oversees the domain of money, riches, and all the physical wealth from within the Earth as well. He is the god of the dead, not the god of death – that’s Thanatos, who is considered the very incarnation of death. He is accompanied in this underworld – also called Hades – by his lovely wife Persephone, the goddess of Spring, and his trusty hellhound, the three-headed Cerberus. Hades is well-known as the infamous god of The Underworld.
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