by Chrystina Trulove-Reyes

Created on: November 19, 2008   Last Updated: April 07, 2009

Hades is a character who stems from Greek mythology. Not just any character, either. He was a deity. Though he is most famous for his association with the dead and the underworld, a realm commonly called by the same name, he is also known as the god of riches. In reality, he is probably one of the most misunderstood deities the world has ever known.

In Greek mythology, the world was originally watched over by creatures called the Titans. Of the titans, Cronos, the Titan King, and his wife, Rhea, were the parents of the first Olympians. Their children were Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. A war broke out to free the first Olympians from the Titans, and soon, Zeus, with the help of the other Olympians, was able to overthrow the rule of the Titans. The titans defeated, the three brothers divided the realms amongst themselves. Zeus guarded the heavens, Poseidon investigated the oceans, and Hades ruled the underworld. The Earth was to be governed equally between the three.

With the help of demons and another god, Hades put his realm to order. This order was set into place to prevent the living from joining the dead, or vice versa. To gain entrance to the underworld, a spirit would first have to be guided by Hermes (the messenger God) to the ferryman, Charon. The ferryman would charge the spirit a toll for passage across the river Styx (which has been called both the river of hate and the river of oaths) and then ferry them to the other side where the gate stood. The spirit would then have to pass the guardian dog, Cerberus, and through the gate to enter the shadow realm.

In the Iliad, the underworld is described as being below the Earth'. It is thought that because of this description there is a connection between the underworld of Greek Mythology and the Hell of Christianity. Both are viewed as below the earth, or under the earth's crust. Both Hell and the underworld are viewed as a shadow realm.

However, some differences remain between the two netherworlds. Whereas the Christianity's Hell is where peoples' souls are punished for misdeeds while living, the Greek underworld seems to accept all spirits, showing no discrimination. Another difference is that Hades is broken into several "levels".

The first level was called Erebus. This area was seen as a vast empty plain that had nothing but shadows. The lower realm was known as Tartarus. This was perceived to be the "hell" area of the underworld. Tartarus was also referred to as the prison for the Titans

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