Why Did Hades Get The Underworld?

Why Did Hades Get The Underworld?

The Underworld was the realm of the God, Hades, but it was widely known as the most despised realm of them all. Hades was the eldest of the original Olympians so it only seems fair if he ruled the skies. Why did Hades get the Underworld as his reward for winning the war?

Hades wasn’t forced to take the Underworld as the brothers decided on a fair method to decide who rule which realm. Unfortunately for Hades, he drew the short stick and got the Underworld to rule but he always took his responsibility very seriously.

Many people believed that the Underworld is not a desirable realm because it is the land of the dead. To a God like Hades, it matters not as he is only there to rule over it and govern over the damned. How exactly did Hades end up getting the Underworld anyway?

How Did Hades End Up With The Underworld?

After the Great Titanomachy, the three brothers, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus, decided that the world was too huge for one God to rule. Not to mention the fact that the Underworld was very far below the earth, therefore they decided to split the earth into three.

To decide which sibling would rule which part of the earth, the brothers decided on the fairest way possible. They drew lots to see who would gain authority over which realm. Zeus ended up with the skies, Poseidon ended up with the sea, while Hades got the Underworld.

To all, it seems unfortunate for Hades as he was the eldest of the three brothers. To further insult him, his younger brother, Zeus, was the one that ended up with the most power while he drew the short stick. This makes you wonder if he was ever bitter about his situation…

Was Hades Bitter About Getting The Underworld?

Hades never felt bad that he ended up ruling the Underworld. For one, it was a realm that was completely under his jurisdiction. No one other than his brother, Zeus, held more power than him when it came to the Underworld.

Also, Hades took his responsibilities as a God very seriously. He wasn’t just the King of the Underworld but its primary caretaker as well. He governed the damned and made sure that the dead never flooded into the living.

It would be catastrophic for the living world to be overwhelmed with the dead considering that there were much more dead than living. Once, he even asked Zeus to smite his grandchild, Asclepius, because he could bring the dead back to life which would have doomed the earth.

No one took their responsibility more seriously than Hades did even though he is usually portrayed as the villain of the story. He was so serious about his job, that he rarely ever left the Underworld at all…

Does Hades Like The Underworld?

The Underworld was a terrible place to be in no matter if you were a God or a mortal. Even Hades himself didn’t like the Underworld much as the constant wailing and screaming of the dead fill the entirety of the Underworld.

Many Gods disliked it as it was far away from the surface and it contained all the souls of the dead which continually adds up as time progresses. Overall it was a very agonizing and dark place to be in, thus no one would ever like being there.

With that said, Hades valued his responsibility as a God over his self-interests. Though he hated being in the Underworld, he never tried to rebel against his brother, Zeus, for supremacy of the skies.

He was very accepting of his position as he knew the importance of governing over the dead. Without him, the dead would be allowed to roam around in the world of the living, eventually flooding it with souls.

Getting the Underworld as a realm to rule was a short stick in the eyes of everyone but Hades was content with the result. It was given to him by chance so everything was fair and he never felt cheated.

Ruling over the dead doesn’t sound appealing but it’s still better than ruling over nothing at all. Hades liked his position in the Underworld and it shows as he rarely ever stepped out of it according to Greek mythology.

Even when he did, he did not stay out for long and returned to his duties as governor of the dead soon after. Overall, it’s safe to assume that the King of the Underworld was very satisfied with his rule over the land of the dead, however bad everyone seems to treat him for it.

Did Hades Ever Leave The Underworld?

In the entirety of Greek mythology, Hades has rarely ever left the Underworld for any occasion. He has only ventured out three times after he was appointed King of the Underworld according to the records.

The Abduction of Persephone, Hades’ Wife to Be

He once left the Underworld to abduct Persephone, the Goddess of Harvest, and his sister Demeter’s daughter, so that he could marry her. It was against his sister’s wishes but he schemed with his brother, Zeus, for it to happen.

This entire event was caused by the son of Aphrodite, Eros, who wanted to prove that he could make anyone fall in love. He shot Hades with an arrow while the God coincidentally was looking at the Goddess, Persephone.

Persephone was gathering flowers with her maidens in the Nysian meadows just as she would any other day. Suddenly, the Goddess was separated from her maidens as a narcissus flower caught her eye.

It was bait set up by the King of the Underworld, Hades, and he immediately emerged from the earth in his chariot to whisk the Goddess away. This broke Demeter’s heart as she became depressed and ignored her duties as the Goddess of Harvest, a title she shared with Persephone.

The crops of the earth started to die and people were famished, slowly killing off most of the earth’s inhabitants. Zeus couldn’t just stand by and ordered Hermes, the messenger of the Gods, to retrieve Persephone from the Underworld.

Hermes successfully did so but not before Hades had tricked Persephone into eating a pomegranate seed. Since the seed was part of the Underworld, the Goddess was bound to it according to the laws of the Ancient Gods.

But Hades was a reasonable man and proposed a compromise from Demeter. Persephone would spend two-thirds of the year in the arms of her mother but the remaining days of the year in the Underworld with Hades. Both parties agreed to the proposal and thus, the story of how the seasons change came into fruition.

The Battle of Pylos

Another very rare occurrence of the King of the Underworld leaving his domain was when the demi-god, Hercules, decided to lead an expedition against the city of Pylos. This city was one of the cities that worshipped Hades so it made sense that he would come to its defense.

Hercules had the help of the Goddess of Wisdom and War, Athena, while Hades recruited the help of his sister, Hera. Hades summoned an army of the damned to help his city in their defense but it wasn’t enough to stop the heroic demi-god.

Hercules would eventually come out victorious as he shot both Gods with an arrow. Hades ended up with a wound from a swift arrow as Hercules managed to snipe him through all the dead that the God had summoned. Unfortunately for Hades, he couldn’t protect his city though he had tried his best.

The Execution of Asclepius, The God of Medicine

The last time Hades was ever recorded to leave the Underworld was when he went to Zeus to complain about the actions of Asclepius, the Gods of Medicine. Asclepius was threatening the safety of the world and Hades couldn’t just sit idly.

Asclepius was the son of Apollo, the God of the Sun, and the Triccaean princess, Coronis. He was cut out from his mother’s womb by Apollo as his mother had unfortunately passed away during labor.

The child would then be brought in by the centaur, Chiron, who taught him everything he knew about medicine. He was so good at his craft, that he could even bring back the dead which was a crime against the natural law of things.

Hades realized this and feared that the dead would start to overwhelm the living. He went to Zeus to complain about the diminishing number of the dead in the Underworld as Asclepius was bring them back to life.

Zeus had no choice but to smite his own grandchild into ashes, despite his amazing talents. Asclepius would then be placed among the stars as the constellation, Ophiuchus. This occurred as he was apotheosized into godhood, making him the God of Medicine.

Conclusion

During a lot of draws that the three brothers, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus, decided to use to see who would rule where Hades ended up with the short stick and ruled over the Underworld. This was never a problem for Hades as he took upon his responsibilities as a God very seriously.

The King of the Underworld was so serious about his job to govern the damned, that he rarely ever left his position for other matters in the other realms. He was only ever recorded to leave the Underworld for three occasions.

The first was when he wanted to kidnap his bride-to-be, Persephone so that he could wed her. Another instance was when he came to the city of Pylos’ defense as it was one of the only cities that worship him.

Lastly, he went to Mount Olympus to complain to his brother, Zeus, about the doings of the God of Medicine, Asclepius, which ended with the God’s demise. Many thought that Hades’ claim to the Underworld was a shortcoming, but he himself never did.

Marlin Davis

My name is Marlin Davis and I am passionate about history of all sorts. During my free time, I love reading and researching history. I aim to share everything I know about history on this blog, hope you enjoy reading too!

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