When Zeus won the great Titanomachy, he made all of his siblings rule on top of Mount Olympus as part of the 12 Olympians, all but Hades. Everyone did their part for the long war and was rewarded to sit among Zeus’ Pantheon, but why was his brother banished into the underworld instead?
Contrary to popular belief, Hades was never banished from Mount Olympus. He willingly went to the underworld after the brothers drew lots to see who would rule what. Zeus drew the lot to rule the skies, Poseidon drew the lot to rule to seas, and Hades drew the lot to rule the underworld.
Many seem to believe that Hades was banished into the underworld as he is the personification of evil. This is far from the truth as the God was simply given the underworld to rule when drawing lots with his brothers.
Why Did Hades Go to The Underworld?
When the great Titanomachy ended after 10 years of war, the Olympian Gods emerged victorious over their Titan predecessors and decided to rule from Mount Olympus. The problem here was the fact that the three brothers had to decide between ruling each realm.
For the sake of fairness, the three Olympian brothers, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades drew lots instead of comparing their strength as Zeus far outclassed them both combined. The result was that Zeus would rule the sky, while Poseidon and Hades would rule the sea and the underworld respectively.
Since the underworld resided in a realm that was far from Mount Olympus, Hades couldn’t rule from the Olympian base and had to reside in the underworld. The underworld was eventually named Hades, as a tribute to its patron God.
As ruler and a resident of Hades, Hades himself had little time nor opportunity to visit Olympus at all as it was believed that the underworld was far below the earth and even more so from Mount Olympus.
Since his duties as the Lord of the Dead require him to attend to the matter below the earth and rarely ever above it, Hades was almost never seen in Greek Mythology as well.
Was Hades Banished Into Tartarus?
Unlike his father, Cronus, Hades was never banished into Tartarus and never resided in Tartarus either though many confuse the underworld and Tartarus to be the same. Truth is, Tartarus was sort of a special hell for monsters and godly beings.
Tartarus was once a Primordial God but later on, was described as a whole different realm that was far beyond the land of the dead. It was common to believe Tartarus and the underworld to be the same as both were places where the damned were banished for their sins.
In reality, Tartarus was far lower than the depths of the underworld, a place believed to be so deep into the earth that it equaled the distance between the earth and the heavens. There was a saying that if you dropped an anvil from the earth, it would take 9 days to reach Tartarus.
Hades was only the ruler of the underworld, Hades, and rarely ever had any affairs in Tartarus. The few times where he even stepped into that realm was to free the Cyclops from their imprisonment and to imprison his father and the Titans there for eternity.
Did Zeus Hate Hades?
Many portrayals of the God of the Underworld and the King of the Gods show a certain level of hostility between the two Gods as if it were God vs the Devil. In truth, neither Zeus nor Hades harbored any ill intents towards one another and respected each other very much as brothers.
There have been many stories of Hades being on the same page with Zeus on numerous occasions. Once, when the God of the Underworld was looking to marry Persephone, one of Zeus’ many children, it was Zeus himself that granted permission for Hades to do so.
Not only did he approve of his brother’s marriage to his daughter, but he also suggested that he kidnap her as their other brother, Demeter, would never approve such a joining.
Another time, when Asclepius was about to unleash the world of the dead to end the world, Hades was the one that asked Zeus to stop his grandson. Zeus respected Hades enough to not only stop the incoming disaster but to smite his grandson into nothing but ashes.
The misconception that Zeus had a bad relationship with his brother, Hades, was a result of the Christian faith trying to convert the Greeks and Romans to abandon their faith. The wobbly relationship between two major Gods would make them convert and it did work to an extent.
Conclusion
Hades, the God of the Underworld, was never banished into the underworld, instead, he was chosen to rule the underworld when the three brothers split ruling the realm by drawing lots. Zeus was given the sky, Poseidon was given the sea, and Hades was given the underworld.
Many believe that Hades ruled Tartarus as well and some even believed that Hades and Tartarus were one and the same. Truth is, Tartarus was like a hell for divine beings and monsters while Hades was only reserved for humans who are deceased.
Zeus and Hades had a respectable relationship as brothers even though the media often portray them on opposite sides of the war. The God of the Underworld would never think of overthrowing his brother either due to the lack of power to do so or due to his respect for him.
Not all Kings have to rule everything all at once. Zeus was benevolent enough to share his rule of the realms with his brothers, though he was still King of the Gods regardless.
