Hades
The ruler of the Underworld who received the dead, guarded by Cerberus and feared so deeply that Greeks avoided speaking his name.
The Myth of Hades
Hades received the Underworld as his kingdom when the three sons of Kronos divided the cosmos. Unlike the malevolent devil of later traditions, Hades was stern but just — he simply enforced the natural order that all mortals must eventually die and come to his realm. He was the wealthiest of the gods, for all the precious metals and gems buried in the earth belonged to him — hence his common epithet Plouton (wealthy one), which became the Roman Pluto. The Greeks feared him so deeply they avoided saying his name, using euphemisms instead. He rarely left the Underworld, his most famous departure being the abduction of Persephone — whom he seized through a crack in the earth while she gathered flowers in the meadow of Nysa. Demeter's grief caused universal famine until Zeus brokered a compromise: Persephone would spend part of the year below and part above, creating the seasons. Hades owned the Cap of Invisibility, which he lent to Perseus and Athena during their separate quests.
Fun Fact
Plutonium was named after Pluto (Hades) because it follows uranium and neptunium on the periodic table — Underworld after sea and sky.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Hades
⚡ godGod of the dead and lord of the underworld
Hades was the lord of the underworld who received the dead — feared but not evil, wealthy from earth's minerals, and far more just than his brothers.
Pluto
⚡ godUnderworld, death, riches
Roman god of the underworld and mineral wealth, derived from the Greek Plouton, a euphemistic title of Hades
Hades
⚡ godKing of the underworld, god of the dead and riches
Ruler of the underworld and lord of the dead. Despite his fearsome reputation, Hades was not evil — he was stern, just, and rarely left his dark kingdom.
Persephone
⚡ godQueen of the Underworld
The daughter of Demeter who became queen of the dead — the goddess who bridges the living world and the realm of the departed.
Apollo
⚡ godGod of light, music, prophecy, and plague
Apollo was the most complex Olympian — god of light, music, poetry, prophecy, healing, plague, and rational thought, the divine embodiment of Greek civilisation.
Asclepius
⚡ godGod of medicine who could raise the dead
The divine physician whose healing art grew so powerful that he could resurrect the dead — forcing Zeus to strike him down to preserve cosmic order.
Zeus
⚡ godKing of gods and men
Zeus was the king of the Olympian gods, ruler of the sky, wielder of the thunderbolt — the supreme deity whose authority held the divine and mortal orders together.
Aidoneus
⚡ godKing of the underworld
An extended poetic form of the name Hades, used in epic poetry and sometimes treated as a distinct aspect of the lord of the dead
Mors
⚡ godDeath, mortality, the final passage
Roman personification of death, equivalent to the Greek Thanatos
Zeus
⚡ godKing of the gods, sky, thunder, lightning, law, order
Supreme ruler of the Olympian gods and lord of the sky. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos and divided the world among his brothers.
Aeacus
🗡 heroJudge of the dead, grandfather of Achilles
Aeacus was the most pious mortal of his age, whose prayers could end drought and whose justice earned him the role of judge of the dead.
Charon
⚡ goddeath
Ferryman of the dead who transported souls across the river Styx in exchange for a coin placed under the tongue of the deceased.