Hades: The History, Origins and Evolution of the Greek God

*Includes pictures of historic art depicting Hades and other Greek gods. *Explains the historical origins of the god and the mythological tales about him.. *Includes a Table of Contents. “The gloomy Hades enriches himself with our sighs and our tears!” – Sophocles The Greek god Hades is something of an enigma. On the one hand, people can view him through the lens that was a byproduct of the Christian tradition, as a terrifying lord of death seated upon his ebony throne, an unseen force of power moving through the world. Certainly, many of the Ancient Greeks themselves saw the god in this light, whispering his name and making sacrifices of black sheep on dark nights and allowing the blood to trickle down into the earth to reach the underworld. On the other hand, there is a parallel Greek tradition that depicts Hades as a regal god and more of a dark parallel to his brother Zeus, who bears the same icons of sovereignty and may have some deep link to him in a primordial sense.