Hades, the god of the underworld, is by far the least problematic god. He is portrayed as the bad guy in movies such as, Disney’s “Hercules,” Disney’s “Descendants” and “Percy Jackson & the Olympians.” However, each version of Hades has the same goal – escape the underworld. That is not the case for the actual Hades; he did not try to overthrow his brother or his brother’s throne. After Zeus removed everyone from Cronus’ stomach, the three brothers had an argument regarding who would rule which three kingdoms. So, they decided to pull gems and each would pull one out without looking at it. Zeus got the diamond, which stood for the sky. Poseidon got the sapphire, which stood for the sea, and Hades got the ruby, which stood for the underworld. Hades knew his brothers would have cheated some way, but he was not in the mood to argue so he let it be. According to themedium.com writer, Smera Goel, there are five reasons why Hades is so misunderstood and why his story should be corrected.

• He loves his dog

Just like us, Hades loves his pet. Cerberus, a three-headed dog, guards the underworld exit and prevents anyone from leaving. Did you know some linguists believe the root meaning of Cerberus in Greek is Spot? So, Hades names his dog one of the cutest and most basic names for a lovable dog. Therefore, Hades believes that Cerberus is a cute, lovable dog and his loyal companion.

• He’s incredible at his job

Hades is the god of the underworld, but he is also the god that decides where the souls go. Whether they head to Elysium, heaven, or down to hell. His only rule is that no one shall leave the underworld, which seems extremely fair because souls should not be roaming earth.

• He’s super drama-free

Unlike all other gods, Hades has no will to cause a random war. He mainly just sits in the underworld and does his job with his wife, Persephone, ruling beside him. Unlike his brothers, Hades is entirely faithful to his wife and does not feel the need to start a random plague.

• He’s a total feminist

Unlike his fellow gods and even some goddesses, Hades is a total feminist. He has nothing but respect for women and treats them equally. In fact, he’s such a feminist that he put his wife, Persphone’s throne right beside his, and they are at the same height. Hades treats his wife with respect and as a queen and doesn’t force wifely duties on her.

• He loves and respects his wife

According to a Brave New World article, the true story of Persphone and Hades goes like this.

Demeter, goddess of harvest, had a known affair with her brother Zeus and together they had a beautiful daughter named Persephone. Demeter adored her more than anything in the world. She wanted her daughter to be a virgin forever and remain innocent. One way she did this was by dressing Peresphone as a child, even through her adult years.

As Persphone was picking flowers one day, Hades looked up from the underworld and immediately fell in love with her. Then, Hades went to Olympus to ask Zeus for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Zeus believed this would be a remarkable pairing seeing as Hades was the richest and most powerful god. He gave his blessings to Hades, but Demeter wouldn’t allow it.

Because Demeter would not approve of the marriage, Hades opened the ground and softly picked Persphone up on a chariot led by black horses. He brought her to the underworld, where he did not rape or beat her. He was patient with her and showered her with gifts. He placed her throne beside his and again, unlike other gods he wanted her to rule equally with him. He didn’t treat her as his property, but as someone she could confide in and become friends with.

One day, she suggested that he build a realm where the best mortal souls would go, and he created it for her. This is now called Elysium, heaven for mortals. This caused Persphone to become conflicted because she was falling in love with Hades, but she missed her mother. After being in the underworld for many days, Persephone could no longer take her hunger. She knew that by eating anything in the underworld, she would be stuck there forever. However, she could not handle the hunger any longer so she ate six seeds from the pomegranate that the gardner had offered.

Hermes arrived to inform Persephone that Demeter was mourning her being away, which caused the crops to die along with the humans. Persphone could not allow this to continue, so she let Hermes bring her to Olympus where Zeus and Demeter were arguing. Persephone explained that Hades was kind to her, and that she was fine. However, Demeter demanded that she return home or she would let every human die. With that, Hades came to Olympus and informed them that she had eaten the six seeds.

With that being said, Zeus made it so that six months of the year she would stay with her husband and the rest of the six months with her mother. Persephone was pleased, however, Hades and Demeter were not so pleased. During the six months Persphone spent with her husband, Demeter created winter. When she went home to her mother, Hades remained loyal and patient waiting the six months for his bride.

COD student Kaitlyn Arnold saidher favorite goddess was Persphone growing up.

“Growing up I thought that Persephone was this strong, smart and independent goddess,” Arnold said. “She was also so kind that she wore a flower crown, which is my favorite style.”

Growing up, Arnold said she hated Hades and his two younger brothers. However, now that she is older she doesn’t feel the same way.

“It turns out that Hades is the least problematic,” said Arnold. “He didn’t sleep with everything that moved, you know. He’s much better than most gods. He is by far the best.”

Her feelings for Hades may have changed, however, her feelings for Zeus stayed the same. She said Zeus was 100% the worst god of them all. Growing up and currently, she believed that he was overly and incorrectly promoted.

Arnold said the only mythological figure that may be more misunderstood than Hades is Medusa.

“It was a blessing from Athena,” Arnold said. “The power to turn anyone who looked at her into stone was gifted to her after Medusa was assaulted. In most stories depicted today, Medusa is often written as the villain, and it’s horrible because she’s not a villain. She was hurt and given power. I think people should really relook into her story.”

For more information, please click a link!

www.medium.com/@smera18315/of-all-the-gods-the-most-misunderstood-4236507889ff#:~:text=Hades%20is%20probably%20the%20most,Greek%20God%20of%20all%20time

www.sites.psu.edu/tetirclblog/2015/02/05/greek-mythology-hades-and-persephone/comment-page-1/