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the Greeks seemed reluctant to call upon Hades by name and often used a euphem-
ism, Plouton, or, ‘‘The Rich One,’’ probably because the fertility of the earth
provided men with sustenance, and men preferred to think of Hades in this incarna-
tion, a spirit of the earth’s fertility, rather than as a god of the dreaded dead. Hades’
main job as ruler of the underworld was to ensure that the dead and living stayed in
their appropriate places in the world, i.e. that the living did not enter Hades and the
dead did not leave. In the few instances when a living person journeyed to Hades,
Persephone helped Hades carry out his function. For example, when Alcestis willingly
died in place of her husband, Admetus, Persephone sent her back to the living,
believing that she should not have died and did not belong in Hades (Apollodorus,
Library1.9.15). In some myths, however, Persephone also facilitates temporary
contact between the dead and the living, as in theOdyssey, where she sends forth
the wives and daughters of noble lords to drink from the pit of blood and speak to
Odysseus (11.225–9).
If Hades did not cause death, who did? The Greeks had no agent of death, no
major mythological figure equivalent to the Judeo-Christian Angel of Death. The
figure of Death himself was not a major character in underworld mythology. Thanatos,
Death personified, is rarely mentioned in Greek literature, and when he is his twin
brother Hypnos, Sleep, usually accompanies him. Perhaps their most famous appear-
ance is in theIliad, where Zeus orders them to carry the body of his son Sarpedon,
slain in battle, home to Lycia (16.667–83). This Thanatos is not a fearful figure but
rather swift and gentle. Thanatos also appears as a character in Euripides’Alcestisto
claim the queen, but in this version of the story Heracles beats Thanatos in a wrestling
match and brings Alcestis back to the living. Unlike Death in other world mytho-
logies, Death in Greek myth and religion rarely has an active role and does not kill
people or take their souls. Rather, the soul, orpsyche, envisioned as a small winged
creature, departs the body on its own at the moment of death and wings its way to
Hades. Thanatos and Hypnos might accompany the soul to Hades, but more often
Hermes serves this function in his role of psychopomp, ‘‘conductor of souls.’’
Other cthnonic deities helped Hades keep his kingdom in order. Among these was
Hecate, an underworld goddess who, though initially benign (Hesiod,Theogony409–
52) became closely associated with restless souls, such as the spirits of people who had
died violently rather than dying of natural causes. Hecate was believed to control such
souls – to restrain them or let them loose, as circumstances demanded (Johnston
1999a:204–5). Because of this power, Hecate became the patron goddess of magi-
cians and of such sorceresses as Medea, who appealed to her for help with spells.
Hecate appeared late at night, fearful to see, accompanied by monstrous dogs and
carrying torches to light her way. She was associated with crossroads, liminal locations
particularly conducive to magic, and statues and other votive offerings were often left
at such places in her honor. Perhaps even more menacing than Hecate were the
Erinyes. Born from the earth where drops from the blood of Uranus’ castration fell,
they were believed to reside beneath the earth (e.g.,Iliad19.259–60). The Erinyes,
female spirits, punished those who had offended blood kin. The Erinyes most
frequently took revenge on children who had murdered their mothers or had com-
mitted other crimes against their parents. Their best-known appearance in Greek
literature is probably in Aeschylus’Eumenides, where they hound Orestes for the
murder of his mother Clytemnestra until they drive him insane. At least one of the


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