If you are looking to speak to the dead while visiting Greece, turn to the legend of Hades. The ancient God of the Underworld is associated with the Nekromanteion, the Oracle of the Dead, which visitors can still visit today, though only ruins remain. In ancient Greece, people visited the temple for ceremonies to communicate with the dead.
The characteristics of Hades
Like Zeus, Hades is generally depicted as a vigorous bearded man. Its symbols are the scepter and the horn of plenty. He is also often depicted with the three-headed dog, Cerberus. Hades’s strengths include his wealth from the land, especially precious metals; persistence; and determination. His weaknesses include his passion for Persephone (also known as Kore), the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, and his own niece. (He kidnaps her to be his wife.) Hades is also impulsive and deceitful.
Family
The most common origin story is that Hades was born to the Great Mother goddess Rhea and Kronos (Father Time) on the island of Crete, along with his brothers Zeus and Poseidon. Hades is married to Persephone, who must stay with him in the Underworld part of each year, and returns to the world of the living for the other part. His pets include Cerberus, a three-headed dog (in the “Harry Potter” movies, this beast was renamed “Fluffy”); black horses black animals in general; and several other hounds.
Temples and volcanoes of Hades
The temple of Hades is the spooky Nekromanteion on the River Styx along the west coast of mainland Greece near Parga, which can still be visited today. Hades was also associated with volcanic areas where there are steam vents and sulfurous vapors.
Background story
With the permission of his brother Zeus, Hades left the earth and captured Zeus’s daughter, Persephone, dragging her to be his queen in the Underworld. Persophone’s mother Demeter, unaware of Zeus’s agreement with Hades, searched the earth for her daughter and stopped all food from growing until she returned. Eventually, an agreement was reached in which Persephone would spend a third of the year with Hades, a third of the year serving as Zeus’ servant on Mount Olympus, and a third with her mother.
Other stories skip the Zeus portion and divide Persephone’s time only between Hades and her mother.
Although he is an important god, Hades is the Lord of the underworld and is not considered one of the most heavenly and brightest Olympian gods, even though his brother Zeus is king over them all. All of his brothers are Olympians, but he is not. Interestingly, the concept of Hades could have had roots as the dark side of Zeus, related to the king’s duties in the Underworld, but he was eventually considered a completely separate deity. He is sometimes called Zeus of the Dead. His name is loosely translated as “invisible” or “invisible”, since the dead leave and are no longer seen.
Hades counterparts
In Roman mythology, Hades’ counterpart is Pluto, whose name comes from the Greek word plouton, which refers to the riches of the earth. As the Lord of the underworld, it was believed that he knew where all the gems and precious metals were hidden on earth. That is why it can sometimes be depicted with the Horn of Plenty.
Hades can also be combined with Serapis (also spelled Sarapis), a Greco-Egyptian deity who was worshiped alongside Isis at many temple sites in Greece. A statue of Serapis-as-Hades with Cerberus by his side was found in a temple in the ancient city of Gortyn on Crete and is in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion.
