Hades Comics
And what major deity wouldn’t have a play place for himself to unwind in? I’ll tell you: A very stressed out and unpleasant one.
Hades, Greek god of the underworld, is a confusing figure to many of us nowadays. Not only is there a problem with much of Greek mythology being muddy and inconsistent due to the many writers all expressing dissimilar thoughts on hundreds of mythological topics, there is also the issue of pop culture (a recurring theme here) getting in the way. To many of us living in the largely Christian nations of the west, the ruler of the underworld should have many traits in common with the Christian devil, but this is not the case. The classic concept of good and evil, evil residing below and heaven above, evil being connected with the dead and good with life, are tragically off base when dealing with much of the pre-Christian world.
You see, the while death has long been considered a rather terrifying prospect by the living for thousands of years, there was something else attached to those seen as ruling over it in Greece, Egypt, and other ancient super powers: respect. Hades, though it is unlikely he was worshipped in the same capacity as other, less spooky deities, was never viewed as directly evil. Instead, he was a ruler in the same way as Zeus or Poseidon, a god to be respected and feared for his power, not necessarily for his particular place. Hades was, surprisingly enough, a rather dashing figure that was known to seduce young ladies, much like his younger brother, Zeus.
Unfortunately, thanks to Disney and the black and white notions of good and evil that came from Zoroastrianism and later from Christianity, Hades has been seen as something a bit more scary and villainous than originally intended. The animated film Hercules comes to mind, depicting Hades as a monster and a real bastard out to destroy the son of his brother for ridiculous reasons. Of all the films that give mythology a bad name, I’d have to say Hercules is one of the worst. I know it’s meant to be simple entertainment but it simply doesn’t do the source text any justice.
Where ancient mythologies often offer many shades of gray (even great heroes have their flaws, as shown by figures like Hercules), modern pop culture tends to give us sugar coated nonsense filled with the stark contrast of light and dark. It doesn’t do storytelling any justice and it certainly doesn’t reflect the complicated nature of humanity.
Hades, for example, the god of the dead, ruler of the underworld, is a frightening character. Yet, in most myths that feature him, he is one of the more level-headed and respectful gods with regards to humans. He allows Hercules the chance to redeem himself after the psychotic murder of his own family by giving him the opportunity to capture Cerberus as his final task of purification. He even gives Orpheus the chance to reclaim his wife after she is cruelly killed after their marriage, though Orpheus fails to keep his eyes ahead and not look back to see if she is there, causing her to be taken back to the realm of the dead until he joins her there for eternity.
Thus Hades rules over his realm, justly and not cruelly. He is a figure deserving of respect and interest in mythology and the study of religion in general, becoming the basis for more modern rulers of the dead.
Despite the dreary surroundings, I can’t help but imagine he must have had some fun to keep him going. Hanging out in the ball pit in his play area, enjoying a good round of the Game of Life, and maybe reading a good book, though spoilers may ruin them from time to time. Nothing is outside the realm of possibility for the Lord of the Dead.
I wish to inform you that i greatly enjoyed your depiction of Hades, and that i giggled like a little girl at all three of the strips. Oh how i love mythology…
I like the double “of” hidden in the text. NIce touch 😀
haha Damn it! I bet you think you’re such a smarty pants!
(thanks, it is now fixed) 🙂
This set ROCKED so hard dude~! I love the 3rd strip. I seriously laughed out loud which was quiet embarrassing while sitting at your desk “working.” 🙂
Really prefer Hades over someone like, say, Nergal.
But then, Hades… kidnapped Persephone.
Much stories I’ve read of Nergal involved him being wild and violent. The moment when he sees this noble before him, he started screaming and started trying to bash the guy’s head in with a club, and I was like, “What gives?” O_o
Heh, so I’ve been popping in to check the comic strip while at work since my home net is down and today I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Now, I am the token odd ball here at work, so it didn’t seem out of the ordinary to any of the other office women, but I peeked around like a sneaky child and took to giggling again.
It was cute all the way around.
If only more people saw it the way you did.
Try explaining why you think Poisiedon (sp) was a man whore to people who don’t even know who he was (other than from Xena). It sucks.
Also… Heh?!?
Where the hell did that icon pic come from? *ish lost*.
That was me 5 years ago. When I looked like a dude.
Wow.
xxxxxx
It comes from gravatar, you must have put it up a while ago for some other site! you can change it here if you remember your login info: http://en.gravatar.com/
🙂
I love the reference to Persephone and Demeter.
haha youre comics always brighten up my day and aaalways make me want to go read *something*. usually my mythology book or foreign fairy tail books.
Disney’s Hercules may not be accurate, but it introduced me into mythology and for that i thank it. its probably my favorite disney movie- i can look past the silliness. it is disney afterall.
When you think about all the stuff his brothers got up to (I’m looking at you too, Poseidon), one single kidnapping resulting in a nearly monogamous relationship (and a lot of the cheating was on Persephone’s side, really) is practically chivalrous. And like this guy – http://bettermyths.blogspot.com/2010/04/being-asshole-works.html – says, it seems like Persephone was always hanging out in Hades instead of flouncing about on Earth, so she was probably cool about the whole thing. You ladies out there know what moms are like, right? All sentencing the earth to an eternity of frozen starvation because you eloped with that one hot older guy? Moms.
I thought Persephone had to stay with Hades 3/4 of the year because she ate the fruits of the underworld, thereby binding her fate to the dead.
I really like your depiction of Hades as a natural dude just doing his job. It’s creative and a great new perspective on things. Well done!
Hades is a very interesting figure and even the story of Persephone being kidnapped by him I would not say is totally accurate. I mean yes he did in a way take her by force but ultimately the choice was hers to make on whether she chose to stay or leave. But that’s my take on it. Nicely done and amusing as always.
Honestly great strips.
I wish I had a personal play-park.
Completely agree 🙂
I wanted to let you know how thoroughly I enjoyed these comics, but especially your discussion on Hades. I’ve always thought he got too much flak from the Devil-fearing world, and he’s always been one of my favorite Greek gods. Everyone deserves a ball pit!
It’s amazing how you can write a wall of text with every comic you post o.o
Is that black crown something you made up for the character design, or is it an “authentic” part of Hades’ mythology? (I ask because it seems more Medieval than Greek).
Anyway, great comics: I love it when ya’ give us a batch like this. So much more to appreciate. >_<
Hi,
I found this today and thought you might like it.
http://www.endicott-studio.com/jMA03Summer/theMermaid.html
I found Disney’s reversal of the mermaid myth in The Little Mermaid really interesting. It’s similar to their treatment of Hades.
Hee hee, love the last strip. I haven’t even read the book yet.