Hades, the King of the Underworld, is commonly depicted as the personification of Evil and modern media usually introduces him as a primary antagonist. It’s not hard to see why as it’s common to associate him with the likes of Satan. Was Hades truly evil, or was he misunderstood?
According to Greek mythology, Hades was never considered or depicted as an evil God by anyone. It was a misconception that came from Christians who wanted to make the Greeks and Romans abandon their faith in the Greek pantheon and convert to Christianity.
In every religion, there has always been a good side and a bad side to the conflict but the Greek Pantheon didn’t work that way. Many believed that Zeus was the embodiment of good simply because he was the King of the Gods but titles can be very deceiving.
Was Hades Evil?
The King of the Underworld, Hades, was not an evil God by any account. He was a more humble and benevolent God than most of the other Gods of the Greek Pantheon. Even his brother, Zeus, who was King of the Gods respected him.
Hades was a God that took his responsibilities very seriously, even more so than his brother who most people considered to be the paragon of good. The real reason why Zeus was so worshipped was simply due to his might, not his benevolence.
Most of the other Gods only cared for their own well-being, but Hades cared about the world of the living. His job was to make sure that the souls of the damned never overwhelmed the world of the living, preventing a disaster.
The other Gods were already bitter and angry for their own reasons, but Hades knew that he had a lot to carry on his shoulders. The God was a just one as well, easily more reasonable than his brother, Zeus, or any other God.
He gave a chance to those who he thought were deserving but enacted justice where his rule stood. He once gave a chance to the couple, Orpheus and Eurydice, to leave the land of the dead after Eurydice’s death.
Orpheus was allowed to bring Eurydice back into the world of the living but he must fulfill one condition from Hades. He is not allowed to look back until he and Eurydice are both out of the Underworld or else she would be stuck forever.
Unfortunately for the couple, Orpheus failed to fulfill the condition and Eurydice was sent back into the Underworld. With that said, it was nice of Hades to even consider giving them a chance as he had to keep the dead in his realm.
Why Was Hades Depicted As Evil?
The reason why Hades was depicted as evil in most of his modern portrayals was all due to the misconception created by the Christians long ago. They believed that Lucifer, or Satan, was the equivalent of Hades, therefore they mislead most to think that Hades was evil.
Not only that, but many of the Greeks and Romans during that time worshipped Hades as one of their main Gods. Associating their God with evil would suggest that they are praying to an evil thus it was more likely that they would give up on their faith.
Hades’ depiction as evil has something to do with his association with the dead as well. It was commonly thought that death was something bad and thus Hades was automatically seen as an evil God.
People also started to misunderstand Hades’ role as the governor of the damned which contributed to his depictions. Hades was thought to have brought death upon the living but in truth, he only took care of what was already dead and never wanted to cause any harm.
Some people thought Hades was evil due to the kidnapping of his wife, Persephone. Truth be told, he wasn’t the only God that has done terrible things and even his worst deeds don’t really compare to the deed of others.
Ares, his nephew who was the God of War, knew nothing but bloodshed. He would cause anyone that prayed to him to go on a rampage while losing their sanity. Not to mention the fact that he killed a mortal, Adonis because he was jealous of him and his sister, Aphrodite.
Even the King of the Gods himself was questionable when it came to morals as he was an avid adulterer and never kept his faith with his wife, Hera. It was well known that Zeus was a serial rapist as well which makes you question why he was worshipped. If anything, Hades was one of the least evil Gods in the Greek pantheon.
Conclusion
Hades as an evil God was a misconception created by others due to the assumption that he was the Greek equivalent of Lucifer or Satan. Hades was never actually evil and was actually relatively benevolent when compared to the other Gods.
Gods such as Ares have done much more questionable things that harmed the mortal world. Even Zeus, the King of the Gods, was a serial rapist who never showed an ounce of loyalty to his wife, Hera.
The King of the Underworld was one of the rare Gods that actually took care of the living world by ensuring that the souls of the damned never overwhelmed the world. Without a doubt, Hades was one of the most misunderstood beings out there.
