Hades-God of the Underworld

Brian Panther
3rd Period
 Overview
• Hades is the god of the underworld.
• Born on the island of Crete, along with Poseidon and
Zeus, and is the oldest of the three.
• Known as king of the dead.
• May have originally have been all of the dark and
underworld aspects of Zeus, considered to be a
separate deity.
• Sometimes referred to as “Zeus of the Departed”
• Rich with the wealth of the Earth, especially precious
metals.
 Overview Cont.
• Hades main mythological story tells of how he made Persephone
his wife.
• One day while Persephone was picking flowers in a meadow, the
earth opened up. Hades grabbed her and took her to the underworld
to become his queen. Demeter (Persephone’s Mother) (God of
agriculture and fertility) was heartbroken and searched the earth for
her. Demeter soon became angry with the other gods for allowing
her daughter to be abducted and reacted by refusing to let any crops
grow. In order to return fertility to the earth, Zeus asked Hades to
return Persephone to her mother. Unfortunately though, while
Persephone had been in the Underworld, she had eaten some seeds
of the pomegranate, which was the fruit that symbolized marriage.
• (The World Book Encyclopedia, pg. 261)
 Overview Cont.
• Because Persephone had eaten the seeds, she had entered a
marriage with Hades that couldn’t be ended.
• Zeus arranged for a compromise to be made between Demeter
and Hades. Persephone would spend 2/3 of each year with her
mother, and the remaining third with Hades.
• While Persephone was with Hades, the earth would become cold
and barren reflecting Demeter’s unhappiness. While Persephone
lived with Demeter though, crops flourished.
• Greeks and Romans used this myth to explain the changes in the
seasons.

• (The World Book Encyclopedia, pg. 261)

 Family Tree

Gaea Uranus

Cronus Rhea

Hades
Zeus Demeter

Married
Persephone
 Works Cited

“Persephone.” The World Book Encyclopedia. Ed.

Van Johnson. 1980. Print.

“Hades.” The World Book Encyclopedia. Ed.

C. Scott Littleton. 1980. Print.

“Hades.” wikipedia.org. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 2 May 2010.

Regula. about.com. About, n.d. Web. 2 May 2010.