The myth of Hades, lord of the Underworld

The myth of Hades is the myth of the lord and lord of the Greek Underworld. The Underworld was a place similar to what was later called “hell.” However, Hades was not an evil or perverse being, but only fulfilled the role of retaining the souls of the deceased, preventing them from returning to Earth.

Hades was one of the 12 great gods of Olympus, son of Cronus Time, and Rhea, the Earth. The myth of Hades says that he was swallowed by his father at birth, since he feared that one of his children would become an adult and dethrone him, as he himself had done with his father.

However, another of the sons, Zeus, managed to avoid this practice and became an adult. He then rescued his brothers, among whom was Hades.

The two, along with Poseidon, waged a harsh war against the titans to gain dominion over the world. When they triumphed, they cast lots to share the creation. Zeus received the sky, Poseidon received the seas, and Hades received the Underworld..

The Greek Underworld

According to the myth of Hades, the Underworld was his great kingdom and domain. For the Greeks, This was a place that was located beneath the earth, foggy and gloomy, which served as an abode for the dead.. Once they entered there, they would never be able to leave, much less if they tried any food there.

According to the World History Encyclopedia description, In the Underworld there were several sections. The Champs Elysées, where those who had had a heroic or very virtuous existence went to live. The Fields of Asphodel that served as a dwelling place for ordinary souls.

There was also Tartarus, a deep abyss in which there was great suffering and where the titans, eternal enemies of the gods, and all those who had committed great offenses to the gods ended up.

The underworld was reached by crossing the river Acheron. The boatman in charge of making the crossing was called Charon. and charged a coin for his services. For that reason, the living left a coin in the graves. If the deceased had no one to pay for him, he had to stay on the shore for a century. On the other side of the river was the dog Cerberus, a three-headed dog, guardian of the Underworld.

The myth of Hades

The myth of Hades tells that the Cyclopes, fierce creatures who fought with the gods against the titans, had forged him a helmet and gave it to him. This helmet gave him a unique gift: he could become invisible. That’s also why the Underworld It is invisible to mortals. Hades was a quiet god, who rarely interfered with the lives of men.

However, he once spotted a young maiden from his kingdom. She was the most beautiful he had ever seen and he immediately fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. The young woman’s name was Persephone and she was the daughter of her brothers Zeus and Demeter. One day the girl was cutting flowers and, suddenly, from the same earth the figure of Hades emerged with his marvelous chariot.

Hades kidnapped Persephone and took her with him to the Underworld. The girl’s mother started looking for her. and, since he had no news of her, he took revenge on everyone by creating a permanent winter. Zeus, concerned about her situation, got Hades to agree to be with her for only a few months a year. The rest of the time the young woman would be with her mother.

According to the various representations of Greek myth, the months in which Persephone would be in the Underworld, Demeter caused the most dangerous climatic seasons for life. This has then become an explanation of the seasons.

Hades and the heroes

Although Hades was rarely a central person in mythology, he appeared in the stories of several heroes who were in the Underworld. In this way, he collects a certain notoriety and presence in different stories, alluding to the figure of Hades as a prominent character.

Hercules

This great Greek hero was assigned the mission of capturing Cerberus. Although there are several versions of this event, most culminate in the success of Hercules. Hades also appears in another story in which he confronts Hercules in the city of Pylos. In this fight the god of the underworld was wounded by one of the hero’s arrows.

Theseus and Pirithous

Theseus and Pirithous conspired to kidnap Persephone from the Underworld. However, Hades found out and invited them to a great banquet, where he tied them to their chairs. In several versions of the myth, Hercules managed to rescue Theseus, but he was unable to save Pirithous because he was condemned to remain there, since it was he who came up with the idea of ​​kidnapping Persephone.

Orpheus

When Eurydice, Orpheus’s wife, died, he decided to enter the Underworld to recover her. and thanks to his music he managed to captivate Hades, who allowed him to take her away. But he imposed a condition on the musician: that he not look back to make sure his wife was following him. Orpheus did not obey and lost his wife forever.

The Adventures of Hades

The myth of Hades indicates that this was not a promiscuous god like his brothers, but that he did have some adventures. One of them was a dalliance with the nymph Mente. She lived on the banks of a river and Hades wanted to take her by force.

Persephone and her mother, Demeter, realized the situation and beat the nymph until she disintegrated. Distressed, Hades collected the remains and created a new plant: mint. Another nymph, Leuce, was Hades’ lover for a long time, until she died.. From his corpse, Hades created another plant: the white willow.

As seen, the myth of Hades and the existence of the Underworld inspired the Judeo-Christian idea of ​​hell.. The Greeks introduced into the myth a judgment that took place after death and determined the place where the soul of each deceased should reside. This concept is also the origin of the judgment of the living and the dead that exists in various religions.

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