Hades is the Greek god of the underworld. He is the son of Cronus, the god of time or father time, and Rhea, the Mother Earth. This is why Hades is often depicted by the horn of plenty, and perhaps why he was so drawn to Persephone. Hades is the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. Because they defeated the Titans, they were able to divide the earth into three parts amongst themselves. Therefore, Zeus got the heavens, Poseidon ruled over the seas, and Hades took control over the underworld. Hades’s name means “the unseen one” because he rules over the abode of the dead, and usually when people die they are not seen anymore. Thus, it is rare that Hades ever associates with the gods and goddesses who stay up on Mount Olympus. In older Greek mythology, Hades is the name of the actual underworld. Hades was divided into sections, including a special one for fallen heroes.

Perhaps the most famous myth in which Hades is included is the story of Persephone. He was stricken by the beautiful young maiden when her mother, Demeter, was not around. And, of course, since Persephone was the child of the goddess of agriculture and harvest, Hades had to have her. He waited until she was very hungry and unfortunately, Persephone did not know that if she ate anything in the underworld, she was bound to that realm forever. So, she ate a pomegranate and was instantly married to Hades. When her mother came looking for her and found out from other gods that Hades had taken Persephone, Hades tells her mother that he had done nothing wrong. So they struck a deal because the earth was suffering from bad crops and starvation, and Demeter was able to keep Persephone for a third of the year (spring) and Hades the rest of the year in which the earth was “grieving” (winter).

In illustrations, Hades is often depicted as “the rich one,” because of his affiliation with precious metals. He may be carrying a horn of plenty over his shoulders. He is also called “Pluto” or “Pluton,” which also means “the wealthy one.”

Thanks to Hades, however, Zeus was able to get his name as the greatest of the gods. Perhaps without Hades, Zeus would never have gotten that far. With the help of Hades and Poseidon, the three were able to defeat the older Titans in the Titanomachy, a ten-year long war which involved the younger Titans trying to take control from the older ones.

Although Hades is considered the god of the underworld, it seems that his powers are also somewhat opposites. He is also the god of plenty (or richness), which, when compared to his power of the dead, seems very counterintuitive. However, like all of the Olympian gods, Hades’s powers are not one-dimensional to say the least.