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Many modern depictions of Hades paint him as a cruel and evil deity. Whether this is true will be a question that will always remain up for debate amongst scholars, but I do not think he is. I have studied the myths and stories of Ancient Greece since I was in the third grade, and I have met many others with a similar opinion to mine. In the end, he stayed loyal to his wife, unlike his brothers, as he has only two recorded affairs, only asked or dealt punishment when it was directly interfering with his work and realm, and typically keeps to his kingdom to welcome all souls to their resting place.
Disney’s movie, “Hercules,” is an excellent example of how modern society has mis-portrayed Hades when it comes to actions and personality. He was shown as evil, angry, and with the goal to overthrow his youngest sibling, Zeus, from his throne on Olympus. He was also shown as detesting the dead of his realm in the film. Meanwhile, some records show Hades having the epithet, which is a title or specific aspect of a deity in Ancient Greece, of Plouton, meaning “the wealth-giver” and Polydegmon, meaning “the hospitable” (Oxford Reference). He is not the god of death as many mistake him for, but the King of the Underworld, God of the Dead, and presided over burial rites, equal rights to proper burial, and the vast riches and potential of the Earth. This includes the soil’s fertility, as well as the silver, gold, and other precious metals and gems found within it.
Hades was known for the kidnapping of his wife and queen, Persephone, sometimes known as Proserpine. This version of the story is widely known and he is considered evil for this, but other versions of this story have been told throughout the centuries where she escaped with him to get away from her mother, Demeter, or while being kidnapped still, she chose to willingly stay in the Underworld for half the year to stay with him. Even her father, Zeus, also known as Jove to the Romans, said “such a son-in-law, / If you, Ma’am, but consent, will not disgrace us” (Ovid, 115). Showing his approval of the match, but ultimately caved to his sister, Demeter, and came up with the solution that led to our year having different seasons according to the stories.
When mentioning how he was not needlessly cruel, the stories of Tantalus, Sisyphus, and Asclepius come to mind. Sisyphus, for capturing Thanatos, god of death, thus causing death to stop happening until he was released, lying to Hades, and a few other smaller offenses, was punished to push a boulder up a hill only for it to roll back for eternity to show him that escaping death is pointless and it is futile trying to escape. Tantalus killed his son, Pelops, to then be served as a dinner to the gods and was punished for his offense against them and the murder of his son to be forever hungry and thirsty; the water he is submerged in to drain away to nothing when he goes to drink, and the fruit hanging above him on branch to forever be just out of reach. Asclepius, a son of Apollo, did not do anything inherently wrong, but he learned how to heal so well he could bring back the dead. Seeing as this impacted his realm, “Hades complained to Zeus that his subjects were being stolen from him,” and he had nothing to do with Zeus smiting the poor healer with lightning (Graves, 156).