![]() ![]() They had no choice but to make a deal: Persephone would spend six months in the underworld (one for each seed she ate), and six months with her mother. Persephone told her mother about the pomegranate seeds. Anyone who consumes something in the Underworld must return there. When Persephone returned to her mother, Demeter asked her if she had eaten anything in the underworld. The young girl hastily rose to return to her mother, but Hades gave her six pomegranate seeds in secret. He let Persephone go but promised her that if she stayed with him, she would rule over everything and be very powerful. He gave him Zeus’ orders and explain what Demeter was threatening to do. ![]() When he learned of this, Zeus sent Hermes to talk to Hades. She stayed on Eleusis, and she threatened to bring famine to the humans. She pledged never to set foot on Olympus again unless her daughter returned to her. Despite his attempts to reassure her, she was livid with Zeus. They both went to meet the Sun, who replied that it is Zeus’ fault, who let Hades take his daughter without her will. On the tenth day, she encountered Hecate, who told her what had happened. Hades and Persephone – Change of Seasonsĭemeter had been frantically searching for her daughter for nine days and nights, without eating or drinking. After that, Persephone unwillingly became the Queen of the Underworld. Only Hecate, the goddess of the moon, and the Sun himself heard the young girl. No one could hear her cries, not even Zeus. When Persephone reached to touch the flower, the ground split apart beneath her feet, and Hades abducted her on his golden chariot. It had a hundred little blooms, and its fragrance made the Heavens fill with joy. Hades tricked the young girl by creating the most beautiful flower ever to exist. She was in the company of Athena, Artemis, and the Oceanids. Upon seeing her, Hades fell instantly in love with her and wanted to wed her.Īccording to the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Persephone was gathering flowers at the Nysian Plains. She was described as a fair-skinned young lady, with dark hair and deep dark eyes. Persephone was the only daughter of Demeter and Zeus and as such, Poseidon’s niece. Hades and Persephone – The Abductionĭosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Apart from two Nymphs that were said to have a short affair with the God, his heart was set on Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. Hades’ love life was simple and well-known. Zeus presided over the sky, Poseidon over the oceans and every liquid element, and Hades over the Underworld, the invisible realm to which the dead travel when they perish. The Olympian Gods won the battle and imprisoned the Titans in Tartarus, the deepest part of the Underworld.įollowing their triumph, Hades and his two younger siblings, Poseidon and Zeus, drew lots to decide whose kingdoms they would govern. Hades got his infamous helmet, which turned anyone who wore it invisible. Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon each got their weapons from the Cyclops. This led to Titanomachy, the ten-year battle between the Olympians and the Titans. In an act of revenge, the six siblings with some allies tried to overthrow the Titans and take their place in the Heavens. In this way, Zeus saved Hades together with Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. The escaped Zeus returned and made his father cough up his siblings. Rhea managed at the last moment to save Zeus from his father, by giving Cronus to eat a swaddled rock. Fearful that his children would do the same to him, he swallowed them all. Cronus dethroned his father, Ouranos, and he reigned in the Heavens. Hades was the son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. To avoid calling him by his name, many Greeks also called him Underworld Zeus / Zeus Katacthonios. From then on, the name “Hades” would be used only to mean the underworld. The Romans used this name directly for God, turning it into Pluto. Plouton derives from « πλούτων», which means the wealth-giver and refers to the riches of the soil. This argument, however, seems to be highly improbable.Īn interesting fact is that, during the Classic Age in Greece, people did not call him Hades, but Plouton. Plato also confirmed this etymology in his “Republic”, saying that the soul in the underworld understands (= eidenai) the divine. There has also been an extensive argument in Plato’s “Cratylus”, where Socrates says that the name comes from the word ειδέναι (eidenai), meaning “ to know, to understand”, because he knows all the virtuous things. Museo nazionale romano di palazzo Altemps, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons ![]()
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