Is the Greek God Hades Evil???
I know that now a days he is usually depicted as being unkind to those who go to his domain (Hades the place) which is generally an undesirable afterlife.
But everything that I have read about Hades (the place) has shown me that it is pretty bad o_O lol
Well anyway, I was wondering, is Hades really as bad as he is depicted in modern times? Such as in the Hercules movies (The Disney cartoon included) where he is typically shown as being a "devil" figure.
The Halls of Hades are actually not a bad place and the god Hades is not evil. Hades would not have been referred to as the "Hospitable One" if he were feared or thought of as evil.
The common perception of the domain of Hades has been confused with a place of punishment — which in Greek Mythology is more properly Tartarus.
Edith Hamilton is not a reliable source although her book is still used as a beginners resource (her research about some of the Gods she considers to be of lesser importance is incredibly shoddy) I would recommend Carl Kerenyi’s "Gods of the Greeks" as a FAR better resource
Try looking up Hades on http://www.theoi.com
October 28th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
I don’t think so. People just put a bad stigma against death. That’s why they have to create a place called Heaven to help themselves sleep at night.
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October 28th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
No he was the friendly gay god with nice hair
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October 28th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Hes the ruler of the underground, the ruler of hell.
Which you should remember IS NOT REAL!!
That’s a greek myth which was used to describe hell which ALSO DOES NOT EXIST!
None of the greek gods existed, Mythology is just based on their beliefs not the existance of the gods.
Hope this helped.
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October 28th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
Yes
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October 29th, 2009 at 12:39 am
hades is not evil, he’s the god of the underworld and in myth the underworld is neither heaven nor hell, its the afterlife you live in… he just is the god of it.
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October 29th, 2009 at 1:28 am
Answer all your questions by reading…
Mythology by Edith Hamilton
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October 29th, 2009 at 2:11 am
no. Hades has his faults like all the other gods and goddesses in Greek mythology. Nothing like that is clearly defined. There were no "good" and "bad" gods. They existed and acted like humans, with emotions and vices and everything.
Never get your historical information from Disney movies.
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October 29th, 2009 at 2:58 am
There are parts of Hades that is bad, where people are punished for wrong doings in life. Those that have earned it get a restful eternity. Hades is somewhat like a prison warden, watching over those that have earned their way into his keeping. He, himself is somewhat enigmatic.
No, modern Disney seldom gets mythology correct since Walt died, especially Hercules.
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October 29th, 2009 at 3:03 am
Hades isn’t evil. I view him as a dark lover.
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October 29th, 2009 at 3:37 am
In original Greek mythology, he is simply the keeper of the underworld and the dead. He didn’t try to recruit he just took care of you once you got there. And I don’t think there was a distinction between heaven and hell, so he didn’t rule over some sort of eternal punishment.
In Christianity Satan is considered evil, a deceiver and trying to take as many with him as he can, since he fell from grace himself. His domain is hell, a torturous place where people can never be in fellowship with God again.
In the Disney movie, it was a Christian interpretation of the character, and a handy villian.
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October 29th, 2009 at 4:23 am
No, but I can see how would get the reputation for being so. People or most of them anyway fear death so its not hard to see why he would be seen as a kind of dark figure.
The Bard~
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October 29th, 2009 at 5:01 am
Hades is the god of the underworld, and people don’t like to die, so they associate death with evil, when Hades really isn’t an evil character in Greek mythology. Disney movies sometimes get their facts wrong **cough Hercules cough**. He’s also portrayed as evil because of his relationship with the other gods, mainly because of Persephone.
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October 29th, 2009 at 5:22 am
He wasn’t anymore of a dick than the other Greek gods. But apparently, he didn’t have a nice personality either.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hades#Hades.2C_the_lord_of_the_Underworld
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October 29th, 2009 at 5:43 am
The Halls of Hades are actually not a bad place and the god Hades is not evil. Hades would not have been referred to as the "Hospitable One" if he were feared or thought of as evil.
The common perception of the domain of Hades has been confused with a place of punishment — which in Greek Mythology is more properly Tartarus.
Edith Hamilton is not a reliable source although her book is still used as a beginners resource (her research about some of the Gods she considers to be of lesser importance is incredibly shoddy) I would recommend Carl Kerenyi’s "Gods of the Greeks" as a FAR better resource
Try looking up Hades on http://www.theoi.com
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Hellenic Polytheist
October 29th, 2009 at 6:20 am
He’s just Zeus’ emo brother.
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October 29th, 2009 at 6:42 am
Well, his other siblings Zeus, and Posiden took control of the sky and sea, leaving Hades with the underworld. He’s seen as evil mostly based on the fact that he has power over the dead….he did take Demeter’s daughter Persephone to be his wife. So i’d say if he wasn’t evil before, then his "occupation" and acts made him so…….;)
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October 29th, 2009 at 7:16 am
No,he was the ruler of the dead and the underworld,but has nothing absolutely to do with the christain devil or evil.He was never depicted as far as I know as a violent or evil figure,even with the kidnap of Persephone,he still agreed to let her go for part of the year.One of those really mysterious unknown feared figures,but nothing as evil or bloodthirsty as other gods in greek mythology.Dreaded,feared,but respected just the same for his role was an important one,a necessity.
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October 29th, 2009 at 7:44 am
He was kinda wimpy. When he kidnapped Kore he gave into the pressure to return her, but sneakily tricked her so she had to come back four months a year.
Read the Homeric Hymn to Demeter for details
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October 29th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Hades was the Greek’s god of the after-life, neither good nor evil. Those who led virtuous lives were granted a drink of Nepenthe, that would erase all the unhappiness from their memories, and then led to the beautiful Elysium Fields where they would continue their existence in total bliss. Those who lived evilly would be sentenced to an eternity of pain and torment. Eventually, the name was associated more with the realm that the god and his name was changed to Pluto before it was adopted by the Romans.
Do not rely on Disney for any accurate depictions, after all, in the original Little Mermaid, Ariel dies. Hercules was the Roman equivalent of the Greek Herakles, and had nothing to do with Pegasus (that was Perseus). Disney movies are never accurate concerning mythology.
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October 29th, 2009 at 8:34 am
no he just gets the worst poseidon and zeus get better places
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