Greek Mythology · deity

Hades

ᾍδης
also: Pluto (Roman)
deitythe deadwealth (underground)the underworld

God and ruler of the underworld, lord of the dead and of the wealth of the earth; he seized Persephone to be his queen.

Hades and Persephone (Kore) — Terracotta Fragment of a Votive Relief: Hades and Persephone
Terracotta Fragment of a Votive Relief: Hades and Persephone · Unknown (Attic Greek) · ca. 470–460 BCE · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public domain (Met Open Access)
The account

Who they are

Hades (the Roman Pluto) is the god and king of the underworld, the realm of the dead [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗. One of the first-born sons of Cronus and Rhea, he was swallowed at birth and later disgorged by Zeus [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗. When the world was divided, Hades received the third of it: the underworld [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗. His most defining act is the seizure of Persephone (daughter of Demeter) to be his queen, which set in motion the myth of the seasons [S4]S4 · Homeric Hymnsc. 700–300 BCEtext[S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text. Though often conflated with his realm, Hades is a distinct deity: a stern, just, and not especially evil ruler of the dead, who rarely leaves his domain [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text. The name 'Hades' came to mean the place itself (the underworld) as well as its god — a shift the sources make clear [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
Worth knowing
  • The 'Hades' as a place vs. Hades the god are distinct — a common modern confusion [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
  • He rarely leaves the underworld; when he does, it is for Persephone [S4]S4 · Homeric Hymnsc. 700–300 BCEtext[S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.
  • The Cornucopia (horn of plenty) is a symbol of his wealth of the earth [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.
Uncertainties & variants
  • Hades is not 'the god of evil' — that is a later conflation with the Christian Satan; in Greek myth he is a stern but just ruler of the dead [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.
Relationships (7)

Connections

4 rows · 7 recorded edges — identical notes are grouped

Family & kinship

SIBLING_OFZeus · Hera · Poseidon · Demeter — First-born children of Cronus and Rhea.[S1]

Partners

PARTNER_OFPersephone — Hades took Persephone as his queen.[S4] [S5]

Conflict & enmity

ENEMY_OFDemeter — Hades's abduction of Persephone caused Demeter's wrath (the seasons).[S4] [S5]

Artifacts

OWNSHelmet of Hades — The Helmet of Invisibility is the emblem of the underworld.[[S1]]
Local graph

Their corner of the divine world

View
hierarchical — generations top → bottom, partners side by side
Overlays
FocusHadesGreek
GREEK · 41variantvariant♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥AegisHelmet of HadesCaduceus of Her…Trident of Pose…Thunderbolt of …Alcmenamortalthe mortal mother of Heracles1 relationsAndromedamortalthe rescued princess2 relationsAphroditedeitylove7 relationsAtlasdeitythe sky (bore)1 relationsChaosprimordialorigin2 relationsDanaemortalthe mortal mother of Perseus1 relationsDemeterdeityharvest6 relationsEchidnamonsterthe monster-mother2 relationsGaiadeityearth6 relationsHadesdeitythe dead7 relationsHeradeitymarriage8 relationsHestiadeityhearth1 relationsLetodeitymotherhood (as mother of Apollo/Artemis)2 relationsMedusamonsterthe Gorgon3 relationsMetisdeitycounsel2 relationsOceanusdeitythe great world-river1 relationsOdysseusherocunning2 relationsPenelopemortalthe faithful wife of Odysseus2 relationsPoseidondeitythe sea6 relationsRheadeitymotherhood2 relationsSemelemortalthe mortal mother of Dionysus1 relationsTethysdeitythe primordial sea1 relationsTyphonmonsterthe great monster7 relationsCerberusmonsterthe guardian of the underworld3 relationsErosdeitylove2 relationsHebedeityyouth2 relationsHephaestusdeityfire6 relationsMaiadeitythe nymph2 relationsUranusprimordialsky6 relationsPersephonedeitythe underworld2 relationsTelemachusmortalthe son of Odysseus2 relationsCronusdeitytime (later association)9 relationsZeusdeitysky29 relationsApollodeitysun (later)4 relationsAresdeitywar (violence, bloodshed)3 relationsArtemisdeitythe hunt3 relationsAthenadeitywisdom4 relationsDionysusdeitywine3 relationsHeraclesherostrength7 relationsHermesdeitymessengers5 relationsPerseusheroheroism8 relations
zoom 2.89× · close
  • parentage
  • marriage ♥

far = primordials · medium = all · close = detail — scroll/pan, click a deity to focus

Myths featuring Hades

1 story

The Abduction of Persephone and the Seasons

Hades abducted Persephone to be his queen. Demeter's grief withheld the earth's fertility until a compromise: Persephone spends part of the year on earth (spring/summer) and part in the underworld (autumn/winter), because she ate pomegranate seeds below [S4]S4 · Homeric Hymnsc. 700–300 BCEtext[S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.

READ THE STORY →

Artifacts of Hades

Objects they wielded, forged, or were bound to

INTERPRETIVE CLASSIFICATION · FULL PROFILE IN THE DIVINE VAULT

Helmet of Hades
Helmet of Hades
A · LegendaryWielded by Hades
Artworks

Depictions

Hades and Persephone (Kore) — Terracotta Fragment of a Votive Relief: Hades and Persephone
Terracotta Fragment of a Votive Relief: Hades and Persephone · Unknown (Attic Greek) · ca. 470–460 BCE · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public domain (Met Open Access)
Terracotta Fragment of a Votive Relief: Hades and Persephone · ca. 470–460 BCE
← Greek MythologyAll galleries