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 after the Olympians defeated them. The last level was the Elysian Fields. This realm was the equivalent of Christian heaven.
The Odyssey has its own version of where the underworld resides, declaring that it is beyond the ocean at the world's end. When combining both the Iliad and the Odyssey there is a possibility that they are describing the same location for Hades. Below the Earth' could mean on the other side of the world, where the ocean ends'.
Hades was also viewed as a dark and mysterious version of Zeus, but never malevolent. His mythologies speak of him as a more passive deity, ruling his realm with fairness. However, if someone were to try to cheat their death, or to steal a loved one away from his realm, he would become enraged.
When depicted, Hades is usually described as a grim and implacable deity. Sometimes he is envisioned as sitting on a throne of ebony holding a scepter. Other times, he is described as carrying a two-pronged harpoon and wearing a helmet that had been given to him by the Cyclops' to help the Olympians defeat the titans. A third account is of him holding the horn of plenty, which symbolizes riches. He was also alleged to have ridden in a black chariot drawn by four black horses.
Other than heroes, no living person has ventured into Hades. Still, the heroes were not comfortable with what they saw. Few heroes would travel to the underworld to question the shades or to request the return of a loved one. Though it was rare, Hades would sometimes relent and give up the sought after spirit.
In the case of Hercules, however, Hades did not want the young hero to enter his realm. Hercules was one of the heroes who went to Tartarus, for a quest. For Hercules' final labor, he was charged with capturing the great dog that guarded the realm of the dead. Upon asking permission to take Hades' beast, Hades agreed but on the stipulation that no harm come to the three-headed dog. However, that is just one rendition of that myth, another states that Hades refused and Hercules wounded him with an arrow, or knocked him unconscious with a large boulder.
Another hero, Orpheus, charmed Hades with his music. He had gone to the underworld to be reunited with his wife, Eurydice, who had been killed by a snake. Hades released her soul to Orpheus on the condition that Orpheus could not look back until they were outside the cave. However, fear got the best of Orpheus, and thinking that Hades had lied, he looked back. Another version states that they made it to the surface but had not exited the tunnel. Out of joy, Orpheus turned to look at his wife, having forgotten the provision. He was not allowed to join with his wife until after his own death.
Hades' biggest mistake was probably when he abducted Persephone. Demeter immediately searched the world over for her daughter. During that time, she refused to let the Earth grow any plants. The world quickly became a forbidding place with no sign of green.
Zeus had no choice but to step in to resolve the feud. He ordered the quarrelling gods share equally in Persephone's time. When they agreed, Persephone spent most of the year at Olympus. Then she would return to the underworld and spend four months with Hades. Because of this, she became associated with both rebirth and the changing seasons.
The Grecians came to believe that to utter the name Hades' was to incur the wrath of the death god, and so other names were used to describe him. The List of names includes Pluto (the rich'), Aedoneus, Eubuleus ('well-guessing'), Orcus, Polydegmon (receiver of many guests') and Dis.
Hades became the embodiment of death and quickly grew to be the least favorite of gods. Even though he was viewed as Death, he was not actual death. Instead, the true embodiments of death were the Keres and the Thanatos. The Keres were the epithet of a violent death, while the Thanatos was the epitome of a peaceful death.
Because of his association with death, few people realized that he was truly a just and caring god. He was fair and would return a spirit to the living realm in return for something that he wanted. However, he, like the other Olympians, was not a god to be trifled with.