The Greek Gods

According to the Greek mythology records, Hades (also known as Haides, Aides, or Aidoneus, and Pluton), was the ruler of the Underworld of Earth. Pluton was the Latin word meaning, The Lord of the Riches. He was also known by the Romans as Pluto or Dis. Hades was said to have presided over funerals and defended the rights of the dead to have a burial. He was also considered to be the god or ruler of the hidden wealth inside of the earth. This consists of the fertile soil which nourishes grains, gold, silver, and all other metals and ores within the earth. Others who assisted Hades in the Underworld were, Persephone (his wife and daughter of Demeter), Charon, Erinyes, and Hecate.

The parents of Hades were Cronus and Rhea. His other siblings were, Demeter, Hera, Zeus, Hestia, and Poseidon. Cronus heard the prophesy that one of his sons would overthrow him so in order to prevent this from happening, Cronus swallowed his children as they were born, all but Zeus. Rhea and Gaea (Mother Earth) plotted to hide Zeus after he was born. They hid him in a cave on the island of Crete. Then Rhea went back to Cronus and gave him a rock covered with baby clothes and he swallowed it, thinking it was Zeus. Later Rhea gave Cronus an herb to drink and he regurgitated the rock and the other children, in the reverse order they were born. When the children were grown, they rebelled against their father for what he had done and this was what was known as the war of the Titans. Zeus and his siblings led the war and the Olympians overthrew the Titans and put them in the deep pit of Tartarus, deep within the Earth. This left Zeus as the ruler of all gods and goddesses.

As the story goes, Hades wanted to take a wife so he asked Zeus for permission to marry one of his daughters. Zeus told him he could have the beautiful Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. They knew the daughter would resist so they plotted to abduct her from her mother. While Demeter and her daughter was in a field of flowers, Persephone stopped to smell a certain flower which had many heads and was very colorful. When she smelled it, Hades came up in his golden chariot and abducted her and disappeared back underground. Her mother Demeter was very angry and since she was the goddess over the fields, she caused a drought and all of the plants dried up and turned brown for years. It was not until Zeus made a deal with her to get her Persephone back for 2/3 of each year. The other 1/3 she had to spend underground with Hades. Demeter agreed and this is how it is believed that winter came into being. When Persephone was on earth, everything was fruitful. When she was underground, everything was dead and brown and cold.