Which goddess is the queen of the Underworld in The Odyssey?

Persephone is the queen of the Underworld in The Odyssey. She rules the realm of the dead alongside Hades, her husband, and appears in Odysseus’s account of his journey to the Underworld.

Odysseus travels there to consult the prophet Tiresias, whose shade gives him guidance about the dangers ahead. The Underworld is also populated by famous dead figures, including Agamemnon, Achilles, Ajax, and Heracles. Persephone’s authority is reflected in the way the dead gather and respond within her domain.

Persephone is much more than an underworld figure in Greek mythology. She is also associated with spring, vegetation, and the seasonal cycle. The myth of her abduction by Hades and her partial return to the upper world explains why the earth was imagined as flourishing when she was above and becoming barren when she descended.

Readers sometimes confuse Persephone with Hades because both rule the dead, or with Hecate, who is connected with crossroads, magic, and some versions of Persephone’s rescue. In Homer, however, Persephone is the queenly underworld power beside Hades.