Hades was the Greek god who ruled the underworld and was the brother of Zeus.
Hades was the eldest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. He and his siblings defeated the Titans in the Titanomachy, a divine war traditionally said to have lasted ten years. Afterward, Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon divided the cosmos: Hades received the underworld, Zeus the heavens, and Poseidon the sea.
His name referred both to the god and, eventually, to the realm of the dead. Hades was also associated with hidden wealth beneath the earth, such as precious metals and fertile soil. His wife was Persephone, whose seasonal story connected the underworld with the cycles of nature.
Modern portrayals often turn Hades into a devil-like torturer, but Greek sources generally present him as stern, distant, and authoritative rather than demonic. Pluto was a Roman name or equivalent associated with him, while Hypnos and Thanatos were separate figures linked to sleep and death.