Hades

Hades (from Greek Άιδης, Hadēs, originally ᾋδης, Haidēs or Άΐδης, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen'[1]) refers to both the ancient Greek underworld and the god of the dead. The word originally (as in Homer) referred to just the god; Άδού, Haidou its genitive, was an elision of "the house of Hades". Eventually, the nominative, too, came to designate the abode of the dead.

In Greek mythology, Hades and his brothers Zeus and Poseidon defeated the Titans and claimed rulership over the universe ruling the underworld, sky, and sea, respectively. Because of his association with the underworld, Hades is often interpreted as a grim figure.

Hades was also called Pluto (from Greek Ploutōn), and by this name known as "the unseen one", or "the rich one". In Roman mythology, Hades was called Dis Pater and Orcus. The corresponding Etruscan god was Aita. The symbols associated with him are sceptre, cornucopia, and the three headed dog, Cerberus.

In Christian theology, the term hades refers to the abode of the dead, where the dead await Judgement Day either at peace or in torment.

Notes

D' Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths 1 Vyacheslav V. Ivanov, "Old Novgorodian Nevide, Russian nevidal’: Greek ἀίδηλος", citing Robert S.P. Beekes, "Hades and Elysion" in J. Jasanoff, et al., eds., Mír Curad: Studies in Honor of Calvert Watkins, 1998. Beekes shows that Thieme’s derivation from *som wid- is semantically untenable. Analogously, the Hebrew word for the abode of the dead, Sheol, also literally means "unseen". Plato's Cratylus discusses the etymology extensively, with the character of Socrates asserting that the god's name is not from aiedes (unseen) as commonly thought, but rather from "his knowledge (eidenai) of all noble things".

External Link

For the Wikipedia entry see here.