Who is Hades (Pluto)?

The lord of the dead and ruler of the nether world was known as Hades by the Greeks and Pluto by the Romans. He is the son of Cronus (Saturn) and Rhea (Cybele/Ops), who were two of the twelve Titans. When Hades (Pluto) and his brothers, Zeus (Jupiter) and Poseidon (Neptune), decided to divide the world amongst each other after the fall of the Titans, Hades (Pluto) was given the underworld. The Underworld, sometimes called simply Hades (in reference to its ruler), was the place where the souls of the dead came to rest. Hades (Pluto) ruled the dead with the aid of various demonic helpers such as Thanatos (Mors), Hypnos (Somnus), the ferryman Charon, and the three-headed hound Cerberus. It is said that Hades (Pluto) possesses the riches of the earth and is known as "the Rich One." Sophocles also wrote, "the gloomy Hades enriches himself with our sighs and our tears." The least liked of all the gods, people avoided speaking his name so that they would not gain his unwanted attention. Even his fellow gods had an aversion of him, and his name means "unseen." The narcissus and the cypress were sacred to him.

[source: "Hades." Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online. http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hades.html> (Accessed May 19, 2004).]

Who is Persephone (Proserpine)?

To the Greeks her name was Persephone, sometimes Kore (meaning 'daughter'), while the Romans called her Proserpine or Proserpina. She was the beautiful daughter of Zeus (Jupiter), king of the gods, and Demeter (Ceres), goddess of the harvest and fetility of the Earth. Her almost constant companions were the Oceanids, the nymphs of the great ocean, daughters of Oceanus and Tethys. She was a beautiful and well-loved goddess, but when jealous she could be as cruel as any other god. Once she turned Menthe, a nymph loved by Hades, into a plant. Her name means something like "she who destroys the light."

[source: "Persephone." Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online. http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/persephone.html> (Accessed May 19, 2004).]

What is their story?

There are, as with any of the ancient myths, several variations of the tale. The most popular version is found in "The Age of Fable" by Thomas Bulfinch. I've tried summarizing this version of the tale several times, but I've found it pales in comparison to the wonderful job done by Bob Fisher here.

To read other variations of the tale, please visit the links page.

The Differences and Variations

As stated above, the Bulfinch version is just one variation. Several key points tend to change in the different tellings of the tale.

-- Sometimes, Hades (Pluto) asks Zeus (Jupiter) for permission to marry Persephone (Proserpine) first, and Zeus (Jupiter) refuses to either consent or deny. Zeus (Jupiter) feels it would be a good match, but knows his sister Demeter (Ceres) will not like it. On the other hand, he does not want to offend his brother by refusing his consent, so he gives no ruling on the matter. Alternately, in some tellings Zeus (Jupiter) actually gives Hades (Pluto) the idea to kidnap Persephone (Proserpine) while she is picking flowers.

-- Those with her while she is gathering flowers are usually some or all of the Oceanids, but some say she was also accompanied by the goddesses Aphrodite (Venus), Artemis (Diana) and Athena (Minerva).

-- Another thing that often changes is the person to see Persephone's (Proserpine's) kidnapping. The Bulfinch version relates that a river nymph of the River Cyane saw Hades (Pluto) strike the banks of the river to allow he and Persephone (Proserpine) passage to his kingdom. Also that the fountain Arethusa in fleeing underground from the god of a stream, saw Persephone (Proserpine) sad but unalarmed, the powerful queen of the monarch to the realms of the dead. In other tellings the only witness is Zeus, who refuses to tell anyone, in some it is Triptolemus (the young boy who Demeter later tried to make immortal in the Bulfinch version), and yet in others it is the sun god Helios (Sol).

-- The number of seeds Persephone (Proserpine) ate out of the pomegranate, and thus the time she spends with Hades (Pluto), often changes; while it is usually four, other variations have said six or seven.

-- Finally, the one to negotiate the compromise between Hades (Pluto) and Demeter (Ceres) often changes, though it is usually Zeus (Jupiter), Hermes (Mercury) or Heracles/Herakles (Hercules).