HELL EXPOSED: GREEK MYTH. INFO

HELL EXPOSED!

GREEK MYTHOLOGY INFO:

BY: HADLEY G LAYMAN

hadley.layman@gmail.com

www.fathersheartbeat.blogspot.com

I have decided to add this section which I got off the internet because it's very informative and therefore refreshingly useful in gaining more understanding on Greek Mythology. As I have mention in an earlier installment; the New Testament is written in Greek, we must therefore NEVER assume that our arch-enemy won't take advantage of the 'occult' of the day as it were! Remember that the English word 'hell' was translated from the Greek words Hades and Tartarus. As you read, ask God to open your spiritual eyes and see the wicked web of deception which satan spun around the church concerning 'hell.'

HADES:

He was made lord of the underworld, ruling over the dead. He is a greedy god who is greatly concerned with increasing his subjects. Those whose calling increase the number of dead were seen favorably by him. He was also the god of wealth, due to the precious metals mined from the earth. His wife was Persephone whom Hades abducted.
The underworld itself was often called Hades. It was divided into two regions: Erebus, where the dead pass as soon as they die, and Tartarus, the deeper region, where the Titans had been imprisoned. It was a dim and unhappy place, inhabited by vague forms and shadows and guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed, dragon-tailed dog. Sinister rivers separated the underworld from the world above, and the aged boatman Charon ferried the souls of the dead across these waters.

Hades, son of Cronus and Rhea, received the Underworld for his realm, when his brother gods, Zeus and Poseidon, received dominion of the sky and sea. Hades is the enemy of all life, gods, and men. Since nothing will sway him, he is rarely worshiped.

Appearance: Like Zeus, he is usually represented as a vigorous bearded man.

Symbol or Attribute: Scepter or horn of plenty.

Strengths: Rich with the wealth of the earth, especially precious metals. Persistent and determined.

Weaknesses: Passionate over Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, whom Zeus promised to Hades as his bride. (Unfortunately, Zeus apparently neglected to mention it to either Demeter or Persephone.) Impulsive, favoring sudden, decisive actions. Can also be deceptive.

Birthplace: The most common story is that Hades was born to the Great Mother goddess Rhea and Kronos (Father Time) on the island of Crete, along with his brothers Zeus and Poseidon.

Spouse: Persephone, who must stay with him part of each year because she ate a few pomegranate seeds in the Underworld.

Pets: Cerberus, a three-headed dog (In "Harry Potter", this beast has been recently renamed "Fluffy" black horses; various other hounds.

Some Major Temple Sites: The spooky Nekromanteion on the River Styx along the west coast of mainland Greece, still visitable today.

Basic Story: Hades springs out of the earth and captures Persephone, dragging her off to be his queen in the Underworld. Her mother Demeter searches for her and stops all foods from growing until Persephone is returned. Finally, a deal is worked out where Persephone stays one-third of the year with Hades, one-third of the year serving as a handmaiden to Zeus at Mount Olympus, and one-third with her mother.

Interesting Fact: Hades originally may have been all of the dark and underworld aspects of Zeus, eventually considered to be a separate deity. He is sometimes called "Zeus of the Departed". His name originally probably meant "invisible" or "unseen", as the dead go away and are seen no more.

HADES AND HERALES:

As one of his labors for King Eurystheus, Heracles had to bring Hades' watchdog Cerberus back from the Underworld. Heracles had divine help -- probably from Athena. Since the dog was only being borrowed, Hades was sometimes portrayed as willing to lend Cerberus -- so long as Heracles used no weapon to capture the fearsome beast. Elsewhere Hades was portrayed as injured or threatened by a club and bow-wielding Heracles

Theseus Attempts to Abduct Persephone

After seducing a young Helen of Troy, Theseus decided to go with Perithous to take the wife of Hades -- Persephone.

While the girl Persephone was playing, Hades and his chariot emerged briefly from a crack in the earth to seize her. While in the Underworld, Hades tried to win Persephone's affections. Eventually Hades tricked her into staying with him by offering her a tempting pomegranate to eat. Hades tricked the two mortals into taking seats of forgetfulness from which they could not get up until Heracles came to rescue them.

The god Hades, son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, received the Underworld for his realm, when his brother gods, Zeus and Poseidon, received dominion of the sky and sea.
The Cyclops gave Hades the helmet of invisibility to help in the gods' battle with the Titans – the titanomachy. Thus, the name Hades means "The Invisible." The realm he rules over is also called Hades.
Hades is the enemy of all life, gods, and men. Since nothing will sway him, he is rarely worshiped.
Sometimes a milder form of Hades, Pluto, is worshiped as the god of wealth, since the wealth of the earth comes from what lies below.
The attributes of Hades include his watchdog Cerberus, the key to the Underworld, and sometimes a cornucopia or a two-pronged pick-axe. The cypress and narcissus are plants sacred to him. Sometimes black sheep were offered to him in sacrifice.
The most familiar myth about Hades is the story of the abduction of Persephone by Hades.

TARTARUS:

The lowest region of the underworld. Hesiod claimed that a brazen anvil would take none days and nights to fall from heaven to earth, and nine days and nights to fall from earth to Tartarus. Tartarus rose out of Chaos and was the destination of wicked souls. Uranus banished his children the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires to Tartarus, as Zeus also did to the Titans. Other famous inhabitants of Tartarus include Sisyphus, Ixion, Tantalus, Salmoneus, Tityus, Ophion, and the daughters of Danaus.

Tartarus was the area where the Zeus and the Olympians had confined Cronus and the other male Titans.

Originally Uranus (Ouranos) had confined the Hundred-Handed and the Cyclopes in Tartarus, but Zeus had freed them, during the war against the Titans. They were instrumental to Zeus' victory. With the Titans confined in Tartarus, the Hundred-Handed guarded the prison as warders. It was described that Tartarus was surrounded by bronze fence with iron gates.