Pluto essays

Hades/Pluto essays Hades, in Greek mythology is the god of the Underworld and the ruler of the dead. He is also known as Pluto, the god of wealth. He is the brother of Zeus and Poseidon, and therefore considered the first generation of Olympian gods. However, he was not considered an Olympian god. He was considered a Chthonian (from the Greek word chthon, meaning earth). The Chthonian gods inhabited the opposite realm from the Olympians (Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, etc) and were considered to be darker and gloomier characters. According to myth, the three sons of Kronos and Rhea - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - each drew lots to determine which part of the world they would rule. Zeus and Poseidon received the sky and the seas respectively, leaving Hades, who had the worst draw, with the Underworld. Hades was considered to be a greedy and unpitying god, which made him the most feared among man and the gods. He is the King of the dead but, death itself is another god, Thanatos. Hades ruled to realm of the dead alone. That is, until he became enamored with the goddess Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. Hades abducted Persephone from the upper world; Demeter then went about looking for her daughter all over the earth with torches every day and night, and during that time she did not allow the earth to produce any food for the mortals. When Demeter finally found out what happened, she ordered Hades to send back Persephone. However, before she left he gave her a pomegranate to eat. Not foreseeing the consequence, she swallowed it, binding her to the Underworld for all eternity. At Demeters arguments, Hades made a concession that since Persephone ate two pomegranate seeds; she would spend two seasons each in the upper and lower world. Demeters moods at Persephones arrival and departure is said to be why we have the seasons. Hades, although ruling alone, had various helpers in the Underworld. He was assisted by Thanatos, ...