The underworld is believed to be hidden deep beneath the earth and was considered to be surrounded by five rivers, Acheron, the river of woe Cocytus, the river of lamentation the Phlegethon, river of fire Styx, the river of unbreakable oath and Lethe, the river of forgetfulness. The domain that belongs to Hades is now what we’ve come to refer to as the underworld, but it was also commonly referred to as ‘Hades’ in the name of its ruler. Hades was the oldest of the three male Olympians, and he was the fourth born of the original six Olympians. We know that the Titan Cronus was Hades’ father, and his mother was a Titan Rhea. It is the ruler of the underworld, Hades, that we’ll be focusing on today. Hades and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, decided that they would divide their new kingdom’s control amongst each other, with Zeus ruling the sky, Poseidon the ocean, and Hades having the rule of the underworld. Shortly after the Olympians defeated their father, Cronus, the reign of the Titans came to an end ushering the new rule of the Olympians. Watch out for the king that lay underground.” “The collector of souls surrounded by screams, Cerberus, the three-headed dog, guarded the entrance to the underworld and prevented anyone from returning to the world of the living. The ghosts of the dead were escorted by HERMES, the messenger god, to the boatman Charon who ferried across the Styx, an underground river, on those ghosts who could pay the fare. Another name for Hades was Polydegmon (“receiver of many guests”) on account of the multitudes who had died and come to his kingdom. He forcibly married Persephone, Demeter’s daughter.Īt the division of the universe after the overthrow of their father, Zeus took the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld the earth was shared among them. He was the son of CRONUS and RHEA and the brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. HADES (whose name means “the unseen”) was the Greek god of the underworld, the realm of the dead. Conclusion Who is Hades in Greek Mythology?.

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