He’s the son of Cronus and Rhea. When the family fortune was divvied up, he got the Underworld share while his brothers Zeus and Poseidon were given the Sky and Sea. There’s nothing wrong with nepotism as long as you keep it in the family. They even named the place after him.

Unlike many Underworld Gods, Hades is quite affable provided you treat him with respect. And although a dingy and dull place, Hades itself seems to be a very popular joint — Greek heroes are always nipping down there to rescue their mates or consult the dead.

But Hades doesn’t really approve of these shady goings-on. The Land of the Dead is supposed to be for the dead, alright? Even if you get past Charon and Styx, there’s a whole team of demonic officials to fend off enquiries, including Thanatos, Charon and Hypnos. Watch out for their bureaucratic dead tape. And don’t eat any pomegranates or you’ll be trapped there like his wife Persephone.

Hades, known to the Romans as Pluto, has an enormous guard dog named Cerberus keeping watch on the entrance to the Underworld. The sign on Hell’s Gate does not read ‘Beware of the Dog’. It reads: ‘Beware of the Three-Headed Serpent-Maned Monster Hound with Slavering Jaws and Deadly Halitosis’. Very few people have ever tried to reason with it.

Article last revised on September 05, 2018 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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