The agreed to split their rule with Zeus becoming god of the skies, Poseidon god of the sea and Hades god of the underworld. Hades and his brothers Zeus and Poseidon defeated their father and the Titans to end their reign, claiming rulership over the cosmos. The name eventually came to also describe the home of the dead as well for Ancient Greeks. Hades, King of the Underworld & God of the Death was the oldest male child of Cronus and Rhea. Delphi: the reopening of the major attractions.The Parthenon Marbles: A bit of background.Ma– the 200-year anniversary of the Greek War of Independence.1822 – Haiti was the first country in the world to recognize Greece as an independent country.How the friend of men was punished – Prometheus.He was a complex god, and one who plays in important role in many of the stories. Hades is known as being the God of the Underworld in Greek mythology. The months spent with her mother became spring and summer, and the time spent with Hades, became autumn and winter. He ruled that Persephone would spend half the year with her mother and the other half with Hades.

Once he kidnapped her to his realm, he tricked her into breaking one the rules of the underworld, eating something while she was there, which forced her to remain there.ĭemeter’s sorrow was so great that Zeus had to intervene as much as he could. He lured her away from her companions with the beauty of an unusual flower. He fell in love with his sister Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, who did not return his affections. One of the few times that Hades came above ground, he so disturbed the balance of nature that it still affects us to this day. Eventually, his name and his realm would become one and the same. He was also known as the grisly god, the Attractor of Man, the Host of Many, and the Other Zeus or the Infernal Zeus, since he reigned supreme below ground as Zeus did above it. Hades is usually portrayed as a sorrowful god with a beard and helmet and the three-headed guardian of the gate to the underworld, Cerebus. He traveled in a golden carriage drawn by four horses. His symbols changed over time and included a fork with two prongs, similar to Poseidon’s trident, a scepter that held the key to the underworld, and a cornucopia that represented his plentiful wealth. Because he rarely left his realm and he presided over the invisible, he was also called The Unseen One. He also became known as the wealth giver, Plouton, since precious gems, metals, and minerals were found underground where he lived.

Hades acquired many nicknames as the god of the underworld, realm of the spirits of the dead. Zeus became ruler of the skies and the heavens, Poseidon ruled the seas and waterways, and Hades became ruler of the underworld. Hades and his two brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, drew lots to determine which realm they would rule. Zeus survived, released his brothers and sisters, and together they defeated their father and his minions, the other Titans. When the seventh child, Zeus, was born, Rhea wrapped a boulder in cloth and presented it to Cronus instead of the child, tricking him into eating the rock instead of his son. His mother Rhea and father Cronus had many children, but because of a prophecy that stated Cronus’ child would be the end of him, Cronus swallowed each of his children as soon as they were born. The dominion of Hades was a world all its own with its own set of rules. The other gods held dominion over everything above ground like love, war, water, and the sky. He was considered a god of Olympus, but was rarely ever there. Hades was known to the ancient Greeks as the God of the Underworld.