One of the most interesting aspects of Greek culture, and that also generates more questions, is what is Hades. With this name was known both the world of the dead and the god that governed it. Nevertheless, the Hades of classical culture does not look much like the Beyond that we are used to to see in the Christian tradition or in books and movies. If you want to know what Hades is and go a little deeper into its anecdotes and more curious stories, read on and we'll tell you.
It is possible that right now you are a little confused with the term Hades. Although it is used to refer to the Greek god of the Underworld, it is also used to refer to this place below the surface to which the deceased went. Discover more of this chilling dimension and the definitive answer to what Hades is!
What is Hades | 10 chilling facts of the Greek Underworld
1. The world of the dead or underworld
Hades, also known as the Underworld, was the space in Greek cosmology where the spirits of the dead went . According to the vision of the Greek world, the cosmos was a kind of sphere. Up was the sky, ruled by Zeus and home of the Olympian gods. In between were the earthly world and the ocean, ruled by Poseidon. And finally, below the surface of the earth, there was the Underworld (which literally means the world below) or Hades , which was ruled by the god of the same name and which was the final destination of the dead in the pagan religion .
2. A world with different spaces
However, to understand what Hades is, it is necessary to clarify that, although it constituted a unit by itself, this world was divided into different spaces. In fact, according to the source consulted, you can find more or less extensive regions, as well as some regions that are present in all the stories and others that do not. However, some of the most important were the Elysian Fields , which was the home of the virtuous dead; the Islands of the Blessed , home of the heroes after his death; or the tenebrous Tartar , which was the place where the Titans were chained and that was also related to the place inhabited by the condemned souls.
3. A world described by poets
To understand correctly what Hades is, we have at our disposal numerous texts that refer to this dreaded place. The underworld was described by multiple poets as Homer, Hesiod, Pindar or even his own Virgil already in Roman times.
4. Different entries from the world of the living
Another of the most interesting aspects that exist with respect to Hades is that, being a physical continuation of the earthly world, it could be accessed through the different caves that pierce the geography of the Hellenic world . In fact, it was very common in many cities to say that this or that cave that was on the outskirts was a possible entrance to the Underworld. In this way, temples and sanctuaries of cult to Hades in these entrances were constructed, that ended up being places of religious and tourist attraction for the visitors.
5. Different interpretations: Plato, Pythagorean school, mystery cults ...
To fully understand what Hades is, it is also necessary to keep in mind that his vision was not constant throughout the history of classical Greece and later the period of Roman domination. In fact, the vision described above corresponds to the mythological Hades, the most common in the popular and daily life of many Greeks. Nevertheless, some philosophers like Plato or Pythagoras believed in a completely different world , where the soul rose above matter before returning to reincarnate again. Likewise, the mystery cults that spread throughout the Roman Empire from the first century AD, believed in the resurrection of the soul, so they thought that the underworld was reserved only for those people who did not practice the mystery rituals they performed .
6. Charon the ferryman
However, although the underworld could have many entries, to understand what Hades is, it is necessary to talk about Charon and the Styx lagoon . According to classical mythology, the entrance used by the souls of the deceased to penetrate the depths of the underworld was through the Styx lagoon. This was an underground lagoon that served as a border between the world of the living and that of the dead and that, to cross it, it was necessary to do it in the boat of Charon. Charon was the ferryman of this lagoon of Hades and was in charge of transporting the souls of the dead to the Hereafter. For this, it was necessary to pay him with a silver coin, which he received on behalf of mite and that was equivalent to the sixth part of a drachma.
7. The Can Cerbero
Another characteristic of the underworld and that you must know to understand what Hades is is that this dark world was full of beasts and monsters that guarded it. Among all of them, it is worth highlighting the Can Cerbero . This guard dog was characterized for being a three-headed giant dog who guarded the entrance of Hades so that no living person could reach the regions of the underworld before time.
8. The judgment of the dead
The judgment of the dead is a constant throughout most of the religions of the world and, the Hellenic paganism, was no exception. When the soul of a deceased came to the underworld, he had to face a tribunal formed by the souls of the famous King Minos , father of the minotaur, the soul of King Aeacus , king of Aegina, and the soul of Minos' own brother, Radamantis . According to the verdict of the court, the soul of the deceased would be sent to the Champs Elysees, to the Fields of Asfódelos (a kind of limbo in the Hellenic version), or Tartarus, where he would suffer terrible suffering.
9. Horrible punishments
In fact, to understand what Hades is, it is necessary to understand that it is, in many cases, a place where souls suffered terrible and perpetual torments, which would later serve inspiration in Christianity to imagine hell . Some of the most famous punishments they were the one Sisyphus , condemned to raise a stone to a mountain eternally, or that of Tantalize , who was condemned to eternal thirst and hunger for his offenses to the gods.
10. Protagonist in different myths
Another aspect that we have to take into account, and that has helped us to understand what Hades is, is that it is a region that appears widely mentioned in many of the Greek myths. This place he was banned from most mortals . However, many heroes, such as Orpheus or his own Hercules , came to step on it, beat many of their beasts and even managed, in some cases, to make deals with the god Hades himself, although they always had to pay a high price for it.
We hope that thanks to this article you have been able to have a clearer idea of what Hades is and how the Underworld was organized in the Greek world . As you can see, it is a fascinating place, although, at the same time, dangerous and terrifying.