Hades

Hades was the god king of the Underworld during the Olympian Age. He was the brother of Zeus and the husband of Persephone.

After Persephone found Deicidia in Tartarus, both she and Hades became her adoptive parents and they raised her in the Underworld. Years later, Hades would be killed by Deicidia in a blind rage after her revenge on Olympus which fulfilled the Prophecy of Thetis.

Birth and Rescue
Hades was the eldest male and the fourth child of Cronus, the Titan King of Mount Othrys, and his sister-wife Rhea, born after his sisters Hestia, Demeter, and Hera. Since he was their firstborn son, Rhea had hoped that Hades would not get swallowed, since she believed that Cronus would enjoy raising a son and heir to his throne. However, since Hades was a god (a member of a more beautiful and powerful race of immortals than the Titans), Cronus feared that Hades would one day overpower him and quickly proceeded to swallow him whole as well. Hades, thus, spent his childhood undigested in his father's stomach along with his sisters, and younger brother Poseidon, who was swallowed shortly thereafter. As a result, Cronus became known as "King Cannibal." Rhea pleaded with Cronus to spare their children but with no success, since even Cronus' great love for Rhea was not enough to overpower his selfish and evil nature. However, Rhea soon gave birth to her final child, Zeus, whom she secretly raised on Crete, far away from Mount Othrys.

After growing up, Zeus successfully infiltrated Cronus' Palace on Mount Othrys as the Titan King's royal cup bearer. Hades was finally released during the final drinking competition that Cronus had with his Titanic brothers and nephews. Zeus poured powerful knockout potions for the other titans and an extremely powerful emetic (made from nectar mixed with mustard) into Cronus' goblet, which caused the Titan King to disgorge all of the contents inside his stomach, in reverse order of swallowing: first the boulder (which Cronus had swallowed instead of Zeus), then Poseidon, followed by Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. All five of them had been growing undigested in Cronus' stomach, being immortal gods.

Zeus quickly introduced himself to his elder siblings, and all of them promptly escaped Mount Othrys, before their Titan uncles and cousins came to their senses. In Zeus' Cave, at the base of Mount Ida, Hades happily reunited with his beloved mother Rhea, who tearfully embraced him. Shortly thereafter, Hades and the other gods accepted Zeus as their leader, and reached an unanimous consensus on declaring war against their tyrannical father. However, since the Titans were well-armed and the gods still had no weapons, Hades agreed to help Zeus release their Elder Cyclops and Hekatonkerie uncles from Tartarus first to help them against the Titans. For some reason, Hades seemed quite happy at the prospect of venturing into the darkest and most horrifying realm of the universe.

Rescuing the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkeries
Hades was very skilled in navigating under the earth, and was able to lead his brothers and sisters straight into Tartarus through a complex network of Underworld tunnels. There, imprisoned in the maximum-security zone, surrounded by huge bronze walls and a lava moat guarded by fierce demons, were the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires. Their guardian, Kampê, was the most ferocious and fearsome monster in all of Tartarus, and even Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon initially shuddered with horror when they saw the infernal monster for the first time. However, the gods overcame their fear and were able to sneak in. Zeus managed to talk to the Cyclopes Brontes and convinced him to forge powerful weapons for him and his siblings behind Kampê's back. The three Elder Cyclopes forged three incredibly powerful weapons: the Master Bolt (for Zeus), the Trident (for Poseidon), and the Helm of Darkness (for Hades). Hades seemed particularly pleased with the Helm's power of generating intense and ineffable terror. Indeed, the Helm's terrifying aura was powerful enough for Hades to scare even Zeus and Poseidon simultaneously, to the point that both of them paled and started to sweat with fear.

With these new weapons, Zeus killed Kampê, and Poseidon shattered the chains of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkeries, releasing them. Afterwards, Hades safely guided his siblings and uncles back out of Tartarus. In return, for their release, all six of Hades' uncles agreed to fight on the gods' side in the upcoming war with the Titans.

First Titanomachy
Shortly after their return from Tartarus, Hades and his siblings officially declared war on Cronus and the other Titans, which resulted in the grueling 11-year-long Titanomachy. The Titans initially had the upper hand in their battles, since they were much more experienced warriors. However, as the years of the War passed, the gods quickly became skilled and experienced warriors as well, and with the help of their new extremely powerful weapons which they mastered the use of, as well as the aid of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkeries, the gods finally prevailed. Hades himself proved to be a very dangerous and ferocious warrior and greatly contributed to the ultimate downfall of Cronus and his allies. He was greatly feared among all of the Titans due to his terrifying Helm.

While preparing for the final battle of the War, Hades and his siblings ascended to Mount Olympus (the tallest mountain in Greece after Mount Othrys). During the final battle, Zeus used his Master Bolt to shear off the top of Mount Othrys, and hurl Cronus from his Black Throne, defeating the Titan King. Shortly thereafter, the gods invaded the ruins of Mount Othrys, and finally overwhelmed the remaining Titans Atlas, Hyperion, Iapetus, Crius, and Coeus.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Elder Cyclopes chained up all of the defeated Titans, while the Hekatonkeries forced them to kneel before Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon. Zeus took his father's Scythe, and sliced Cronus into a thousand pieces, before casting him into Tartarus, along with the rest of his followers (except for General Atlas, who was forced to hold the Sky since the sky would fall and destroy everything if the Titans of the East, West, North and South were).

Gaining the Underworld
The gods chose Mount Olympus, the tallest mountain in Greece after Mount Othrys, as their official residence, and the Elder Cyclopes built magnificent palaces there for them all. As a result, the gods started to call themselves the Olympians. Shortly thereafter, Hades had a private meeting with his younger brothers Poseidon and Zeus, and the three mighty sons of Cronus agreed to divide the world between themselves. Although it was Hades' birthright (as Cronus' firstborn son) to be named his father's successor, he agreed to divide the Titan King's former domain with his brothers. Hades received the Underworld, Poseidon seized the seas and oceans, and Zeus claimed the heavens as his domain. Shortly after this division, the three mighty sons of Cronus came to be known as "The Big Three." However, Zeus' authority was recognized as superior to that of his brothers, and Zeus became the King of Mount Olympus and the Olympians.

Unfortunately for Hades, he was greatly feared by all of his siblings, nephews, and nieces, and hence, he was hardly ever invited to Olympus (except for the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year). However, by gaining the Underworld, Hades also gained divine authority over all of the precious metals and jewels under the earth, becoming far richer than any of the other Olympians. Hades was so feared by mortals and demigods that they rarely even used his name, and instead referred to Hades as either "The Rich One", "The Silent One", and/or "The Hospitable One".

Kidnapping Persephone
Although Hades was distanced from his Olympian family, he was lonely and very much wanted a wife to fill the void. One day, he spotted a young goddess named Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, whose incredible beauty and tender countenance won his admiration. Hades began to fall madly in love with the young goddess. He would carry portraits of her in his pockets, carve her name into his obsidian breakfast table, have long imaginary conversations with her, and even secretly spy on her while wearing his Helm of Darkness. Hades fell so deeply in love with Persephone, that for the first time ever, he became sloppy in his duties as Lord of the Dead. Hades wished to take her as his bride despite his estrangement with her parents (and his siblings), Demeter and Zeus. He knew that Persephone's overprotective mother would refuse to even consider the marriage, so decided to speak with her father instead.

Shortly thereafter, Hades mustered up enough courage to visit Olympus, and begged Zeus, Persephone's father, to allow him to marry her. Zeus happened to be in a good mood at the time and advised his lovesick brother to kidnap Persephone, even going so far as to help him by growing several fields of magnificent flowers. Hence, Hades succeeded in kidnapping his beloved Persephone, but she did not want to stay with him, and wished to be rescued. Over time though, she came to admire Hades' power and wealth, and gradually fell in love with him, relieved to finally be free from her mother Demeter's bossiness, nagging, and smothering for a time. Hades was very kind, patient, and he didn't ever nag, boss, or smother Persephone. He very much wanted her to reciprocate his great love, and tried to buy her affections with many magnificent gifts at first, but then took to spending all of his day with her, desperately trying to make her happy. Hades even hired the most skilled deceased gardeners in the Underworld (lead by Askalaphos) to grow a magnificent garden for Persephone, full of her favorite trees and flowers. Hence, it was Hades' empathy and kindness which eventually won Persephone's heart.

Meanwhile, a distraught and grief-stricken Demeter soon caused the earth to become barren and infertile when she learned of the abduction, and furiously blamed Zeus for allowing Hades to court Persephone behind her back. Pressured by mortal prayers and the other Olympians, Zeus finally demanded that the Lord of the Dead return his daughter, and sent Hermes to deliver the message. Hades was devastated at the prospect of losing his newfound wife, but was forced to submit to the will of Zeus. However, while Hermes delivered the message, Hades' gardener Askalaphos tricked Persephone into eating six pomegranate seeds, so she had to stay with Hades for six months of the year. This came at a cost, as Demeter never could accept that her daughter had married Hades, and left "her poor mother". Demeter's nagging increased with this action, but Persephone got to stay with her husband this way.

Leuke, Minthe, and Adonis
While Hades did very much love his wife Persephone, he was quite lonely during the time she spent with Demeter, which is when he would have affairs, which, however, usually ended badly. For instance, when Hades fell in love with the beautiful Oceanid Leuke, he brought her to the Underworld. However, fearing a jealous Persephone eventually discovering this, Hades decided to turn Leuke into a poplar tree, to keep her with him without his wife knowing.

Later, when a beautiful nymph, Minthe (a naiad of the River Cocytus), bragged about Hades' passionate love for her and claimed to, therefore, be more beautiful than Persephone, the jealous and infuriated goddess instantly appeared before her, and transformed her into the plant mint.

Persephone, on her part remained very loyal to her husband and only cheated on him once, with Adonis, the handsomest mortal man in the world. Adonis would only spent a third of each year with her (spending the rest with Aphrodite), and would have to hide in closets and under her bed every time Hades entered her chambers, since Persephone was desperate to hide her lover from her irascible husband. Shortly thereafter, however, Adonis was stabbed to death by Ares' wild boar, much to Persephone's dismay. This would remain the one and only time that she ever cheated on Hades.

Sisyphus
King Sisyphus of Corinth, not wanting to die, managed to cheat death by immobilizing Thanatos with heavy chains and placing the latter under his royal bed. As a result, with Death itself imprisoned, mortals were unable to die, much to the dismay of Ares, who relished military carnage. As a result, the war god promptly found Thanatos and freed him, after which both gods incinerated Sisyphus. The king's soul was deemed worthy of an audience with Hades himself. Before Sisyphus died, he told his wife, Merope, not to bury him, so when he was brought down to the Underworld, he defended his right to a proper funeral. Hades let him go, so Sisyphus could scold Merope for not giving him a proper funeral. Thus, Sisyphus would become the only mortal man to have ever tricked the Lord of the Dead, since he, of course, had no intention of ever returning to Hades, and instead re-assembled the remains of his body back together, and lived on quietly for several years. Eventually, however, Hades was reminded of the treacherous king, and had him dragged back to the Underworld by Hermes.

Hence, in order to keep Sisyphus too occupied to scheme again, Hades took him to the Fields of Punishment and ordered him to roll a huge boulder up a hill as his punishment, letting Sisyphus know that he would be set free as soon as the boulder reached the summit. Sisyphus tried, but it would imminently fall back when he got close to the top of the hill. He would try again, and again, and again forever, always in vain. This represented the punishment of Sisyphus, with him being doomed to an eternity of frustration.

Asclepius
Asclepius was the favorite demigod son of Apollo, who eventually became the greatest healer in the world. In fact, Asclepius became even more skilled in medicine than his father Apollo, most likely because he devoted all of his time to it. With the help of Gorgon Blood (given to him by Athena), Asclepius could cure any illness, heal any injury, and even make the Physician's Cure that could resurrect the dead. This, upon hearing of the death of her dear friend Hippolytus, the goddess Artemis requested that Asclepius revive him from the dead with the cure, which he was more than happy to do.

This, however, infuriated Hades, so he stormed up to Mount Olympus, demanding that Asclepius pay the price for transgressing and openly mocking the natural laws of life and death. Zeus appeased his furious brother by personally striking down Asclepius with a thunderbolt.

Apollo was angered and devastated by his favorite son's death, and killed one of the younger Cyclopes who forged Zeus' thunderbolts in retaliation and this resulted in Zeus making Apollo mortal and forcing him to serve a king for a whole year. To prevent more feuds, Asclepius was resurrected and made into a god, but Hades forbid him from ever resurrecting the dead again.

Orpheus
The famous demigod musician Orpheus, devastated by the untimely death of his wife Eurydice, creates a new entrance to the Underworld with his beautiful music and singing. He made his way all the way to Hades' palace, with ghosts, Charon, Cerberus, and even the furies themselves being brought to tears by his ineffably lachrymose and beautiful music. Even Hades himself shed a few tears, feeling as though Orpheus had distilled Hades' life, with all its grief and disappointment, all its darkness and solitude, and turned it into music.

Impressed by the man's love, bravery and skill, Hades and Persephone allowed him to take Eurydice back, on the condition that he would walk in front and not look behind him as he led her back to the upper world along the borderland between the living and the dead. However, Orpheus could not resist the temptation the moment he crossed the border, and looked back just before his wife left the Underworld, losing her forever.

The Twelfth Labor of Heracles
For Heracles' last labor, he was ordered by King Eurystheus to bring back Hades' mighty and ferocious pet dog Cerberus as proof of his strength and fearlessness. Heracles eventually found the entrance to the Underworld and entered, but rather than attack Cerberus on sight, Heracles, who had heard many stories of Hades and how the Lord of the Dead treated intruders, ignored the infernal monster (who let him pass) and continued straight onward to Hades’ Palace.

Hera's plan to pit Heracles against a furious Hades backfired, when the hero humbly knelt before the terrifying Lord of the Dead, and asked permission to take Cerberus. Hades was impressed by Heracles, who until then had an infamous reputation for acting without thinking, and while all heroes who had previously entered the Underworld did so to win fame, Heracles was the first to place respect for Hades above his own ambitions. Hades was so impressed with this, that he granted the demigod permission to take Cerberus on a few conditions. The first was that Heracles could not seriously injure Cerberus, and thus, could not use his weapons against him. The second condition was that Heracles had to bring Cerberus back as soon as the labor was completed. The third and final condition was that the hero had to tell Hades who had asked him to bring back Cerberus as a trophy. Heracles promptly agreed to all of the terms, and told Hades, that it was King Eurystheus that had asked the labor of him.

Thus, placing aside his mighty club and deadly Hydra arrows, Heracles returned to Cerberus to wrestle the beast barehanded. Cerberus was tremendously strong and fierce, his three heads biting and snarling rapidly. The combatants seemed evenly matched, and fought so fiercely that earth cracked beneath them and walls shook. In the end, however, Heracles managed to headlock and slowly drag Cerberus out of the Underworld, back to King Eurystheus. The king was terrified when Heracles returned, as he had not expected Heracles to return from what he believed to be a suicide mission, and ordered the hero to get the beast out of his kingdom.

As he had promised Hades, Heracles escorted Cerberus all the way back to the Underworld. In retaliation however, Hades appeared before King Eurystheus while Heracles was dragging Cerberus back. The furious Lord of the Dead demanded to know why King Eurystheus had dared to send someone into his realm to take his beloved pet as a trophy. Eurystheus collapsed in fear and begged Hades to spare him, revealing to Hades that he received orders for all of Heracles' labors from Hera herself who was trying to send Heracles to his death. As a result, Hades paid a visit to Hera, and made it clear to her that there would be direct consequences for her if she would ever send Heracles or another hero on any such errand again.