More often than not, ancient Greek mythology (religion) served to explain a series of legends. Different from modern religions such as Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, ancient Greek religion was an anthropomorphic polytheism, meaning that ancient Greeks believed in a multitude of individual divine figures that took on human forms and emotions.1 Furthermore, ancient Greek mythology lacked much of the asceticism and mystical enthusiasm that is more commonly seen in modern religions. Most of the highly developed anthropomorphic and comparative rationalism of the ancient Greek religious thought can be accredited to Homer with the aid of his Iliad and Odyssey.2
The people of the ancient Greek civilization were often in a state of weakness under the power of nature; therefore, they relied heavily on the divine individuals of Olympus. Why? They believed that the forces of nature were under the control of their gods. In short, the relationship between humans and divine beings was that of a retribution justice.3 If humans did anything to offend the gods, then those gods would strike back in some sort of fashion to restore justice.4 Therefore, humans were constantly looking to please the gods in fear of their wrath.
Out of the ancient Greek mythology came the god of the dead and the underworld, Hades. Hades had five other siblings: Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia, and they were all children of Cronus and Rhea.5 After defeating their parents (the Titans), Hades drew lots with Zeus and Poseidon to gain their respective domains. Hades was commonly thought to be a cold god, but he was never considered to be an evil divine figure. Furthermore, it is important to note that his realm, the underworld, should not be associated with the hell of Christianity.6 However, Hades was for the most part feared by all. Another name for the ancient Greek god was Ploutos and later adopted by the Romans as Pluto.7
The god of the underworld was the husband of Persephone (Zeus’s and Demeter’s daughter). Although she was Hades’ wife, she only lived with him during the winter time.8 Persephone was the divine goddess of agriculture and fertility. Therefore, the ancient Greeks accredited the change in nature (winter) to Persephone moving to the underworld. Persephone was unable to stay with Hades at all times due to interference from her mother Demeter. Zeus, however, was okay with the marriage of Hades and Persephone. Therefore, in order to set up the marriage, Zeus had to trick Persephone, so she could be abducted by Hades.9 However, Demeter interfered, and that is why Persephone spends half of the year with Demeter and the other half with Hades.
Furthermore, it is important to note the Greek perspective of the afterlife. Perspectives about the afterlife varied from each other based on their region in Greece as well as their time period in Greek history. The consensus was that the underworld was neither heaven nor hell.10 The sense that exists within Christianity, for example, was not present during the time of the ancient Greeks. Although Tartarus was present as a location within the underworld, the Greeks would not compare it to the equivalent of Christian hell. The way the Greeks saw it, the underworld was a place that everyone ended up after death.11 However, there were a few, including the philosopher Epicurus, that believed that the underworld did not exist at all. He believed that when the body died, the soul died with the body as well.12 A good portion of Greeks refused to believe such a pessimistic perspective of the afterlife. However, even the Greek traditional perspective of the underworld was not as popular despite many Greeks believing in it.
- Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2016 s.v., “Greek Religion and Mythology.” ↵
- Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2016 s.v., “Greek Religion and Mythology.” ↵
- Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2016 s.v., “Greek Religion and Mythology.” ↵
- Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2016 s.v., “Greek Religion and Mythology.” ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, January, 2015, “Hades (deity),” by Joseph, Michael, DMin. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, January, 2015, “Hades (deity),” by Joseph, Michael, DMin. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, January, 2015, “Hades (deity),” by Joseph, Michael, DMin. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, January, 2015, “Hades (deity),” by Joseph, Michael, DMin. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, January, 2015, “Hades (deity),” by Joseph, Michael, DMin. ↵
- The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece, 2007, s.v. “Underworld,” by Robert B. Kebric. ↵
- The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece, 2007, s.v. “Underworld,” by Robert B. Kebric. ↵
- The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece, 2007, s.v. “Underworld,” by Robert B. Kebric. ↵
186 comments
Amanda Quiroz
I won’t deny the fact that it is frightening to think of Hades but I guess it could be from a perspective that I was raised with. I was young when I read about the story of him taking Persephone and it kind of scared me. Greek mythology has interesting ways and fascinating stories. It did say towards the end that most Greeks weren’t pessimists when it came to the topic of afterlife.
Vanessa Quetzeri
I remember learning about Greek mythology in the 7th grade, but I was always confused about the family tree. This article cleared that up for me: Hades has five brothers, one of them being Zeus, and is married to Persephone; Persephone is Zeus daughter. I was also confused over the concept of the underworld, but now I’ve learned that it is not to be confused with what Christians believe is hell.
Cynthia Perez
Personally I was always getting confused distinguishing the differences between hell and the underworld, I mean they both share that overall perception of eternal pain and suffering. The part explaining Persephone’s story of how she is the goddess of agriculture and fertility is very interesting. As to why she spends one half of the year with her love, Hades, and the other with her mother due to how the relationship between them affects the changes within and relating to nature is such a powerful symbol in ancient Greek mythology.
John Estrada
I was familiar with most of this but the article does a great job at expanding on ideas and concepts. For Instance, I knew Persephone was Hades wife, but it’s entertaining to read that she would only be present in the underworld during winter. Even more interesting, the greeks would use the coming of winter as a sign that Persophone had returned to the underworld. The most eye-opening part of this article was the clearing of the concept of the underworld. Until now I had believed it was a place of torture and misery, like the Christian hell. I had believed it was this way because media portrays it as hell; so I appreciate being informed the fact that this conception is wrong.
Emmanuel Ewuzie
This article cleared a misconception I had that the underworld was Hell. I didn’t know they were actually 2 separate entities. I’m familiar with Hades thanks to the Percy Jackson series. I loved how this article touched on a particular use of religion as the article talked about how people hated the gloomy idea of no afterlife and how Greek mythology filled that void for them. Religion, since ancient times, has given people a sense of relief because of the idea of an afterlife.
Nicole Ortiz
I grew up reading a lot of Greek Mythology and books such as the Percy Jackson series, The Lost Hero, etc. and it always fascinated me getting to read all about the myths and gods associated with it. I had previously never liked Hades because I had always interpreted him as being really menacing and evil but after reading your article, I think that Hades might have actually been one of the Greek Gods that tried to stay to himself and interfere with the other gods as little as possible. It was also nice how in your article, you explained that Hades is completely different from the Devil and that the Underworld is different from Hell since people tend to associate him with that most of the time so it was nice that you cleared up that misconception.
Mariah Cavanaugh
Within your article you explained ancient Greek mythology while making sure to remind the audience to not compare it to modern religions. I think that was a fantastic way to write. Often, we look at the past through a 20th century lense and not in the historical context. Prior to reading your article I did not know that Hades was considered neither heave nor hell. It is portrayed as being the Greek equivalent of hell.
Rebeca Escobar
This article is awesome in that it offers more insight and perspective on shades. The most I knew about Greek mythology was through the Percy Jackson books, and most of the time and he was given a cold demeanor. Now I know that he was just a god who minded his own business and kept to himself. A lot of people would associate Haded with the Devil and hell, but he was actually a god who never contributed to chaos.
Sharriah Martinez
This article was interesting but hard to follow along. some things did not make sense. The topic is of course interesting . I did not know that Hades was different from the devil. I thought as well that with him being associated with the underworld he would be associated with hell. I have always been interested in Greek Mythology but at the same time I find it hard to follow along. Thank you for the Article!
Hali Garcia
This is a well written and informative article. Greek Mythology has always been interesting to me because it made me want to learn more about other cultures. In stories I have read Hades and the Underworld had a bit of a negative connotation but that was not the case. Hades kept to himself and did not cause any problems. One misconception that I am glad you addressed in your article was the Underworld. The Underworld itself is not hell but just a place for the after life that also multiple parts to it. Overall, great article.