Edith Hamilton’s Mythology:The Underworld

English I HonorsMrs. Pilgreen

Hades (Pluto)

• God of the Underworld• King of the Dead, but NOT

Death himself• God of Wealth (precious

minerals found underground)• Helmet of Invisibility• Rarely left Underworld

Persephone (Proserpine)

• Wife & Niece of Hades• Daughter of Demeter• Her absence from earth

causes the seasons to change

Underworld

• Greeks believed it could be entered at various locations in caves and lakes

• 2 sections:– Tartarus– Erebus

• Elysian Fields: where heroes go after they die

Rivers of the Underworld

• Acheron: River of Woe• Styx: River of

Unbreakable Oath• Lethe: River of

Forgetfulness

Cerberus

• 3-headed dog• Guards the gates to the

Underworld• Lets everyone in, but

won’t let anyone out

Charon

• Ferries the souls of the dead

• Money is put on the lips of the dead to pay Charon

The Furies

• Punish evildoers in the Underworld

• Pursued sinners on earth

Tantalus

• In life, he had his son boiled & served to the gods at a banquet

• In death, he is tormented by hunger & thirst that he can’t quench

Sisyphus

• In life, he reported information that led to Zeus being caught with one of his mistresses

• In death, he is forced to push a large boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down once he reaches the top

http://www.maicar.com/GML/Underworldmap.html