Why is hades famous

Nobody knew what had happened to her. Eventually, Helios the god of the sun who sees everything told her what had happened. Demeter was so devastated that she stopped seeing to her duties.

Winter came to the land, and everything died under heavy snow. Zeus then sent Hermes down to the underworld to tell Hades of the problem. Hades agreed to allow Persephone to return to see her mother. By then he and Persephone had already married, and he once again promised to be a good husband to her. Before Persephone returned, afraid that Demeter would never let her return to his kingdom, he offered Persephone pomegranate seeds, which Persephone ate.

When Demeter got Persephone back, her joy and happiness made spring come again. For a good while, mother and daughter were reunited. But then, Demeter realized that Persephone had eaten the pomegranate seeds, which bound her to the underworld because it was food from the underworld.

Scared that the earth may die again, Zeus struck a deal with her. Persephone would spend a third of the year in the underworld, a third with her mother, and a third she would do as she pleased.

Other myths say half of the year was with Hades and another half with Demeter. This arrangement explains the seasons, as winter comes when Persephone is in the underworld and Demeter is sad again.

Often she is the one who takes initiative in myths rather than Hades. They are generally portrayed as a loving couple that stays loyal to each other, a rarity among the Greek gods.

There was only one time that Hades was tempted with another woman, Minthe, and Persephone turned her into the mint plant. Some myths also mention a second one, Leuke, whom Persephone turned into a poplar tree, but only after she lived out her life, in honor of Hades.

Another myth wants her to have fallen in love with Adonis whom she raised in the underworld, but Hades never takes issue with this just like Persephone with Leuke. It is not hell nor a place of punishment. It is merely where mortals go when they die. The underworld was split into three major areas: the Asphodel Fields, the Elysian Fields, and Tartarus.

The Asphodel Fields were where most people went. They became shades, spirit versions of the persons they were in life, and wandered around there. The Elysian Fields were where especially heroic, good, or virtuous people went. They were bright places full of beauty, music, merriment, and cheer. The dead who could enter here had lives of bliss and happy activity. This is the closest to the Christian heaven. View all animal worksheets. View all Addition Worksheets. View all Numbers Worksheets.

View all Money Worksheets. Hades may both mean the ruler of the underworld or the realm itself. Ancient Greeks believed in Hades, the Underworld and the home of the dead. It was the original idea of the ancient Greeks for the afterlife. If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source. KidsKonnect is a growing library of high-quality, printable worksheets for teachers and homeschoolers. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Skip to footer.

The Asphodel Fields [Meadows] was the place most dead people would go to. Here, the dead would become Shades, shadowy versions of the personalities they were when still alive. The Elysian Fields was the part of the Underworld reserved for those who led heroically or exceptionally good lives while on earth. The place was described as a restful, peaceful and blissful abode for souls. Tartarus was the place in Hades reserved for evil people, a place filled with punishments and suffering.

It was here that Greek god Zeus imprisoned Cronus and the other titans after defeating them with the help of his brothers Hades and Poseidon. There are times, though, that the dead were sent back to the world to live another life. These instances were, however, rare. Five rivers bordered the Underworld. These rivers were visible in the realm and in the world of the living as well. Still, some accounts said that the dead were ferried to the realm through the river Styx, the river of hatred named after the goddess Styx and the most prominent of the five rivers, or both.

The river Lethe was the river of forgetfulness and named after the goddess of oblivion and forgetfulness, Lethe. Cocytus was the river of wailing. Finally, the river Phlegethon was, according to Greek philosopher Plato, the river of fire that led the way to the depths of Tartarus. A sixth river, the Oceanus, encircled the world and marked the east edge of the underworld as Erebus was to its west.

Greek mythology had three minor deities [demi-gods] serving as the judges of the dead in the underworld — Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus. Minos was the judge who made the final vote. So, by Ancient Greek standards, Hades had the right to take Persephone to be his wife in the Underworld.

Not so fair on the woman, but that was Ancient Greek culture. Also, in most versions of the myth, Persephone voluntarily chose to eat the pomegranates that bound her to the Underworld forever. Hades was not obligated to do this, but he did so. This paints the god Hades not as a covetous kidnapper but as a man who followed Greek customs and even compromised to satisfy his mother-in-law. A struggle indeed! The Greek god Hades is comparatively a better husband than his peer gods.

Leuce was an Ocean nymph with whom Hades fell in love and took to the Underworld. When her life came to its end, Hades changed her into a poplar tree in Elysium. The poplar tree also became a sacred symbol to Hades, which shows how Hades honored his relationship with her. Minthe appears to be a past lover of the god Hades. The sources are unclear about the timeline, but it appears that when Hades married Persephone, Minthe became jealous.

Hades appears in the myth not to respond to her claims. Persephone, however, retaliates by turning Minthe into a mint plant. As much as Hollywood portrayals like to suggest, Hades is never the villain in any Greek myth.

On the contrary, Hades assists heroes when they come to him for aid. In the case of Perseus, the hero who defeated the gorgon Medusa , the god Hades loaned him his Helm of Darkness. Perseus was able to use this helmet to turn invisible and easily slaughter the monsters on his quest. This is a stark contrast to Clash of the Titans which pits Hades against Perseus! On his way through the Underworld, Orpheus sang a sorrowful melody, accompanied by his lyre.

After hearing the mournful tune, Hades was moved to pity for Orpheus and cried an iron tear. He allowed Orpheus to take his wife back to the land of the living.

Hades even warned Orpheus not to look back at his wife until he had stepped out of the Underworld or her soul would be lost forever. He rewards heroes with Elysium , the final resting place for those who lived good, honorable lives. The depiction of the Greek god Hades in modern western culture, especially in film, is often attributed to the influence of Christianity.

In Christianity, the lower world is often associated with Hell and the Devil. Since Hades also lives in an underworld space, he is often equated with the Devil. Western culture is heavily influenced by Christian values in its culture, so often the portrayal of Hades is influenced by a Christian perspective.