Compare and contrast the Greek concept of Hades with the Romans
The Greek concept of Hades
In the Greek mythology, Hades was the god of the underworld, which was also known as his name. He was the son of Cronus (the father of time) and goddess Rhea (goddess of life and harvest). He had two brothers Zeus and Poseidon, and three sisters, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. (Hard, 2004) Myth has it that after the defeat of the titans by the Olympians, and the overthrow of their father, Hades drew lots with his brothers to decide on how to divide the universe amongst them. He received the underworld, which was the world of the dead, surrounded by five rivers, and the place where the dead souls found rest, as his domain. Once Hades took dominion over the underworld, he rarely left the underworld. No one was allowed access to the underworld and leave from the underworld except from a select few like Heracles. He was also known as the god of wealth because of the many precious metals in the earth. He was a pitiless and unruly but not evil.
Hades once saw Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, in a field and fell in love with her that instead of wooing her, he abducted her and took her to the underworld where he raped her and made her his wife. He did this with the help of mother earth and after scheming with his brother, Zeus, since he knew her mother would never allow of this union. The fruit of this union was the child Dionysus, a God of crisis and wild magic, with special relevance for women approaching the Mysteries. (Scott and Shemazi, 2000) Her mother seeing this, she cursed the earth with famine. On seeing this, Zeus and other immortals persuaded Hermes to convince Hades to let Persephone return to her mother since pleas to her mother were pointless. However, being intent on keeping his wife, he tricked Persephone into eating pomegranate seeds, thereby binding her to him forever. This made Hades make a deal with her mother that Persephone would spend a third of her time with her mother, another third with Zeus as his hands maid and the remaining third with her husband. The time Persephone spends with her mother, gives rise to spring since she showers the earth with rains and when Persephone returns to Hades it becomes winter as her mothers heart hardens and she send cold and winds. Deep in the Hades was Tarturus- a place where mortals who had committed worst crimes were punished and titans and other gods were imprisoned. It was guarded by a three-headed dog named Cerberus who separated the living from the dead.
Roman concept of Hades
The Romans regarded the god of the underworld and riches as Pluto or Dis Pater (ruler of the dead) or Orcus (angel of deathSlayer). He was the son of Saturn and Ops and the brother to Neptune and Jupiter. The three brothers conquered the world after their father was defeated in a fight. Pluto ruled the underworld.
Venus, in a bid to find Pluto love, sent her son Amor (cupid) to strike Pluto with one of his arrows. Proserpina, daughter of Jupiter and Ceres, was playing in the fields of Sicily with nymphs and collecting flowers when Pluto emerged from the Etna volcano with four black horses, abducted her, and married her to live with him in Hades. She became the queen of the underworld. On her search for her daughter, Ceres discovered Proserpinas belt floating on a lake of nymph tears, and she soon realized what had happened. She became angry and bestowed famine on Sicily. She refused to go back to the world of gods Olympus and toured the earth making a desert of it with every step and tear. The mortals on seeing this, prayed to Jupiter for help.
Jupiter then sent mercury to Pluto to order him to free Proserpina but by then Proserpina had eaten six pomegranate seeds binding her to him. So he made a deal with Jupiter that since she had eaten the six seeds, she was to remain with him six months of the year, the rest she could spend it above the surface. This gave rise to the four seasons of the calendar where during spring when Ceres receives her daughter, the crops and flowers blossomed and in summer, they flourished. In autumn, the flower changed colors to brown and orange as a gift to her daughter before she left for Hades. When she was with Pluto, there was winter.
Pluto was worshipped by the Romans for his kindness and he was the god of the dead, those wounded in battle and the ill.
Comparison of the Greek concept of Hades with the Romans
Both the Greek and Roman concept of Hades have the same storyline where the three brothers defeat the titans and cast lots to divide the universe amongst them. Both the Roman and Greek concept of the Hades regard this god as the ruler of the dead and the god of riches.
Both the Roman and Greek concepts of Hades give the same explanation as to why the four seasons- autumn, spring, winter and summer, came into being because of the deal made by Hades and his Wifes mother on the ownership of Persephone.
In both the Roman and Greek mythologies, Hades is referred to as the subterranean place where the souls of the dead reside and where the worst sinners and gods were imprisoned. In both no living person was allowed entry, (except for the select few like Heracles and Orpheus) and no damned soul was allowed to depart. In both, the Hades was guarded by a three-headed dog called Cerberus.
Both the Roman and Greek concepts view the union of Persephone and Hades as an act of balance in the underworld. Hades represented the dark gloomy side of the underworld and his union to Persephone struck a balance that allowed the underworld to have some brightness- she was the right soul of Hades.
Contrast of the Greek concept of Hades with the Romans
The major difference between the Greek and the Roman concept of Hades is the name of the deities involved. In the Greek mythology, the god of the underworld was known as Hades, his parents were Cronus and Rhea, brothers Zeus and Poseidon and his wife Persephone. In roman mythology, the god of the underworld was known as Pluto, his parents Saturn and Ops, his brothers Neptune and Jupiter and his wife Proserpina.
The Greek Hades was considered as harsh and merciless, deaf to and sacrifice to him were useless the only thing that prevailed upon him was Orpheus music In his bid to restore his dead wife Eurydice. He was hated by humankind for his fierceness and anyone offering sacrifices to him had to turn his face away from him. The Roman Pluto on the other hand was regarded as a kind deity, he was worshipped by the people, and even sacrifices were made to him. He was milder than Hades and was worshipped as the god of wealth for his mild nature.
The Greek Hades was feared by men and deities alike, his name was feared and could not be uttered in daily life or on occasions. He was a life-hating god. Persephone was the one who changed his character to a beneficent and loving god who restored grains in the depths of the earth. It is said that after his radical change in character, his name was later changed to Pluto and this is the god whom Romans worship as the god of the underworld. Plutos name was not feared as such since he was a kind god.
In Greek mythology, Hades refers to the god of the underworld, the abode of this god also known as the house of Hades and the subterranean region in which the souls of the dead reside. In roman mythology, Pluto, the equivalent of Hades in Greek, referred to the god himself. The underworld was still known as Hades, and there is no mention of the name of his abode.
The Greek concept of Hades acknowledges Hades as the only ruler of the underworld alongside his queen Persephone, but the Roman mythology of Hades had three different gods of the underworld Pluto the god of riches, Dis Pater the ruler of the dead and Orcus the angel of deaththe actual slayer.
In the Greek mythology of Hades, Hades fell in love with Persephone and abducted her, taking her to the underworld to make her his queen with the help of mother earth Gaea and after scheming with his brother Zeus. In the Roman mythology, Pluto had help falling in love after he was struck by one of Cupids arrows thereby making him fall in love with Proserpina, and arranging with his brother Jupiter to have her abducted to conceal his involvement from Ceres.
The Roman mythology of Hades borrowed aspects of the Greek mythology to have its own. The Romans adapted the Greek Gods and mythologies as their own, only changing a few aspects after conquering the Hellenistic world. Pluto is said to have been worshipped by the Romans after Persephone changed Hades to a kinder being than before. Romans also use the planetary names like Neptune, Jupiter and Mercury as names of deities symbolizing that they worshipped the planetary system. The planetary system was looked at as deities by the Romans. The Greek on the other hand had separate deities from the planetary.
It is not entirely known how many pomegranate seeds Persephone took, or whether she took it on her own accord or she was tricked by Hades. In the Greek mythology, Persephone took one pomegranate seed thereby binding her to Hades, but a deal was met and it was agreed that she would spend a third of her time with her mother, another third with Zeus as his hands maid and the remaining third with her husband. In the roman mythology, she took six pomegranate seeds, though knowing eating food from the underworld would bind her there forever. A deal was worked out and time was divided between her mother and her husband.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Hades was the name referred by the Greek as the god of the underworld, his abode and the underworld itself. He was a very much disliked and hated god because of his pitilessness and harshness. People never mentioned his name for the fear they would arouse his anger. He ruled over the underworld and rarely left thereafter, he led an isolated existence, having little to do with his fellow gods or the world of the living. The roman god Pluto on the other hand was the god of wealth, owing to his name. He was kind unlike his counterpart Hades and people used to worship him and pray to him for help and success.
The Greek and roman mythologies of Hades have very many similarities since the latter borrowed the concepts of Hades from the Greek, only changing the names of the deities to the planetary systems we know of today, and certain aspects to make the roman god a kinder god as opposed to his counterpart.
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