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Allison Keeling

Mrs. Dietrich

Honors English 10

1 March 2017

Research Paper

The god Hades is a very prominent, mythical figure that is seen in many modern works of

literature and movies. An example of this would be the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

written by Rick Riordan, as well as the two movies that have come from these books. In both of

these forms the god Hades is portrayed in the same manner as other more ancient texts like the

Odyssey, Iliad, and other ancient mythical poems. That being said, have you ever wondered why

Hades is the way he is and why he is portrayed in that manner? Hades was put in charge of the

Underworld just out of bad luck, while his brothers were given land and sea. Hades was given

the worst of the three realms leaving him out of important decisions on Olympus, this ultimately

lead to his bitterness, brutality, and dislike by all. These traits along with the way he was treated

and perceived, was what ultimately made him important to Greek myths and Greek life.

The perception of Hades being overlooked, ultimately leading to his bitterness can be

linked to his creation and his birth. Before the Olympians, there were elder gods known as the

Titans who ruled the entire world. The leader of the Titans, Cronus and his wife Rhea were the

parents of all the Olympians. The story of Olympians begins with the birth and the devouring of

them,
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There was delivered to Kronos (Cronus) an oracle regarding the birth of Zeus

which stated that the son who would be born to him would wrest the kingship

from him by force. Consequently Kronos time and again did away with the

children whom he begot; but Rhea, grieved as she was, and yet lacking the power

to change her husbands purpose, when she had given birth to Zeus, concealed

him in Ide. (Siculus qtd. in Atasm. Haides (The Underworld God))

This shows that Zeus was predestined from the beginning to be the leader because he was the

one kept in hiding to overthrow Cronus, which ultimately shows that no other Olympian would

ever have a role as significant as his. Hades did not have a large part in the conquering of the

Titans only that he had aided in defeating them along with Zeus, Poseidon, and other Olympians

that Cronus had devoured.

In order to reestablish the ruling body of gods and the different responsibilities, the three

brothers had decided to draw lots for the three main realms of the world. The outcome of it

would be that, Zeus drew the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the Underworld (Rosenberg.

11). With the domains finally established Zeus had tried to teach the fair treatment of others to

mortal and non-mortal beings. This can be seen at his attempt to maintain equal power between

the most powerful brothers. From these two stories of Cronus devouring him as a baby and the

drawing of lots, Hades was overlooked because Zeus was seen as supreme. A secondary story

proves that his bitterness was due to his lack of responsibility and the allowance to be a leader,

by saying that,

There is also an alternative story provided by Hyginus who claims that Hades was

cast under the earth at birth by Cronus because he feared of being dethroned in the

future so his faith was sealed from the start which would explain his anger,
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relentlessness and having no regard to any rules. (Hades (Aides, Aidoneus, Pluto,

Orcus))

This quote proves the statement made by the thesis because it gives the exact cause to why

Hades might feel this bitterness and anger.

Mortals and even other gods had sensed Hades bitterness, which allowed for superstitions

and opinions of him to form (Cartwright). Many people were afraid of him, and that one day he

would make their lives miserable in the Underworld. Many would not even say the name Hades

in fear that he would hear it from the Underworld, but some would call him by his other name

Pluto (Cartwright). Many people also performed certain acts to appease the god Hades like,

There are also accounts of sacrificial practices made in honour of Hades, carried out at night

and where the blood of victims was left to seep down into the earth to reach the underworld god

(Cartwright).

The main responsibility of Hades was to teach the importance of a proper burial and to

respect the dead, so when mortals did not follow those instructions he would become angry and

his brutality would be shown when those who disobeyed were severely punished. This example

shows his anger, bitterness, and brutality which was caused by the disobedience and disrespect of

the mortals. His personality had led to many people disliking him, for example,

He was considered stubborn, never kind and could not be persuaded by any means and,

just to make things worse for the inhabitants of the underworld, their living conditions

were just dreadful and even Hades himself feared of this chaos being exposed to other

gods and mortals. (Hades (Aides, Aidoneus, Pluto, Orcus))


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Also it is said many times that he was not a welcomed visitor in Mount Olympus or on land

about the mortals nor did he even care to visit very often (Hamiliton). It can be concluded that

Hades no longer feels that he needs to be liked and that he is able to do whatever he wants

because he does not have much contact with Mount Olympus.

Some of Hades actions show his blatant disregard for others, as well as his want for

others to be bitter and angry with him. This is shown in his abduction of Persephone, who was

the daughter of Demeter, goddess of the Harvest. Hades ascend to earth occasionally and see

Persephone in the fields and full of life (Rosenberg). He felt that he must have her as his wife,

which ultimately led to him asking her father Zeus for her hand. Zeus had told him that he would

give Hades permission, but her mother Demeter would never agree to this proposition. So

without the permission of Demeter, Hades had lured Persephone to a distant part of the field

where he would swallow her into the Underworld. Demeter was angry because no one would tell

her where daughter was taken to, which caused her to wreak havoc on earth by failing crops

(Rosenberg). When she was finally aware of her daughters location she was outraged and had

said, How can you make her live in our brothers dark and dismal kingdom, ruling over the dead

when she loves life? And how could you permit her to marry someone who had seized her

against her will? Tell Hades that he must let her go! (Rosenberg) Hermes is then sent down to

the Underworld by Zeus to say that Persephone is only allowed to leave and reunite with her

mother if she has not eaten any fruit of the Underworld. Hades realizing what was happening

gave Persephone a pomegranate seed, bounding her to the Underworld and as his wife. In the end

they had reached an agreement that she would spend part of the year with her mother and part of

the year with Hades (Rosenberg).


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The myth of Persephones abduction by Hades shows how selfish and brutal he is, and

how he feels that he is entitled or that everyone owes him something because of his lesser role in

the decision making of Mount Olympus and the mortals. The decisions that are being made are

by the Gods that reside on Mount Olympus like Zeus, Hera, and others. They make decisions

regarding the mortals on earth, whether they should get involved in their lives or not. Hades is

not a part of those decisions because of where he resides this causes anger because of the feeling

of being left out, causing him to make decisions that go against everyone else. So basically, he

feels that he can do whatever he pleases because from the beginning he had drawn the short

straw, which was the ruling of the Underworld. Another myth that shows his brutality and

inability to let things go, which has the same characteristics as the myth of Persephone, is the

myth of Hades and the hero Orpheus. Orpheus wife had died from poison so, When Orpheus

came to the underworld seeking the return of his dead love Eurydike (Eurydice), Haides and

Persephone were moved by his pleas and agreed to let her return (Pseudo-Apollodorus qtd. in

Atsma. Haides (The Underworld Gods)). Hades could not let him just freely take Eurydike, he

gave Orpheus the condition that he must look back at him and the Underworld on his way out.

Orpheus failed to follow his instructions, ultimately sending his wife back to congregate among

the other souls (Atsma, Haides (The Underworld Gods)).

The god Hades is not directly described in the Odyssey, only the Underworld itself and

some of his practices are described. The Iliad details the importance of a proper burial, which is

what Hades had attempted to teach the mortals. The quote from the Iliad says, The ghosts of the

unburied dead could cross the river and haunt the earth until they received the proper funereal

rites--in this way the ghost of Patroklos (Patroclus) visits Akhilleus (Achilles) in his sleep and

demands burial (23.63 ff) (Homer qtd. in Atsma. Haides (The Mythical Realm)). Even though
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the quote is talking about Achillies, Odyssey had experienced the consequences of an improper

burial in the Odyssey. Odysseus crew member Elpeanor had experienced the inability to cross

over the river into the Underworld because he was not properly buried after he had fallen off of

Circes roof. This causes him to beg Odysseus to go back and bury him so he can be at peace.

In conclusion, Hades the god of the Underworld was truly a an angry, bitter person that

felt like something was always owed to him, this was shown in the way he was perceived by

others and some of his actions that were truly awful. It is also shown that source of these

personality traits are deeply rooted in the fact that he was never the supreme god, and was always

either second or third to Zeus and Poseidon. Even alternative stories of his beginning show that

he was predestined to rule the Underworld, which was seen as least significant compared to the

rule of the air or sea. Hades was doomed to the Underworld from the beginning whether he had

drawn lots for it or was sent there immediately. With that, he had develop to be fueled with anger

because of his situation taking it out on Persephone, Demeter, Orpheus, mortals who

disrespected the dead, the souls of the Underworld, and many other mythical heroes and

creatures. Because of this evidence presented, it can be said that Hades had an excuse for being

the way he was.


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Annotated Bibliography

Atsma, Aaron J. Haides (The Mystical Relam). Theoi Project Greek Mythology. Theoi

Project. 2017. Web. 20 February 2016.

This source gives great, very descriptive examples of the Underworld, also known as
Haides, in many important pieces of mythology literature. There are many examples from the
Iliad, the Odyssey, and Hesiod.
Atsma, Aaron J. Haides (The Underworld Gods). Theoi Project Greek Mythology. Theoi

Project. 2017. Web. 20 February 2016.

This source was used because it gives numerous myths that surround Hades, as well as,
descriptions about his whole family. It also gives excerpts from many different Greek epic poems
like the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as, other important Greek works of Literature.
Cartwright, Mark. Hades. Ancient History Encyclopedia. 19 July 2012. Web. 20 February

2017.

This source was used because it gives details that were not known before, like the
superstitions and symbols of Hades. There was also information about the Underworld and the
myth of Persephone. The visitors of the Underworld were also described.
Hades (Aides, Aidoneus, Pluto, Orcus). Greekgods.org. N.p. Web. 20 February 2017.

This source was used because it had given more information about the way Hades is
depicted, as well as, his character traits. Also, it talked more about the Underworld and the
judgement the souls go through. The source also provided other information regarding different
myths Hades is involved in.
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1942. Print.

This source was chosen because it tells the physical characteristics, as well as, a glimpse
into Hades personality. It also gives the background to how Hades came to be and how he relates
to other important gods. There is also a detailed account of the Underworld.
Rosenberg, Donna. World of Mythology. Lincolnwood: National Textbook Company, 1986. Print.
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This source was used to give in great detail the family tree of the Olympians, and the
battle between the Olympians and the Titans. It also gave the reason behind the battle. The
source was also used to tell the myth of Persephone and Demeter. The myth tells that Hades
action of abducting Persephone as his wife had ultimately caused the seasons.

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