"Hm? Mm. Hades was...the god of the dead. Brother of Zeus and Poseidon. He lived alone in the underworld, ushering the souls of the deceased, generally feared and reviled by his kin and their extended lines. While Zeus and Poseidon were much beloved by man and god, no one liked Hades. His peers despised him, humans paid him lip service..." He shifted slightly, propping his head on a pillow and opening his eyes enough to watch Aoba while he spoke.
"He was, by all accounts, a respectable and noble god. He didn't get into the kinds of trouble other gods did. He took care of the dead, ruled over the places where all mortals go. He was called stern, but also just. People didn't like him because of his association with death, not because he wasn't good. He was also lonely."
"There was this goddess, Persephone - she was also called Kore and some other things - daughter of Demeter. Demeter is...sort of an All-Mother figure. Nature and fertility and the harvest. She's essentially Mother Nature, in a lot of respects, and Persephone was flowers and light and beautiful and pure. Everything Hades wasn't. He fell in love with her, watching her while suitors came and went. Some of the most powerful and beautiful of the gods came seeking Persephone's hand in marriage, like the god of war, Ares, and the god of music and prophecy, Apollo. Demeter turned them all away. None were good enough for her daughter, so Hades knew he wouldn't be. In his misery he told Zeus, the god of gods and his brother, of his love. Zeus arranged for them to meet. After that the telling of the story goes a lot of ways depending on the regional interpretation...but..."
"...Persephone went to the underworld, carried away by Hades, who promised her the world. He loved her deeply, and she did not turn him away as others did. Demeter was enraged and cursed the lands to winter until her daughter was returned to her, and Zeus convinced Hades to send Persephone home. Even though everyone disliked Hades a great deal, Zeus tried to help him and Helios, the sun god, told Demeter that Hades would be a good man for Persephone. But she didn't listen, of course. She wanted her daughter to have nothing to do with the loathsome Hades. But Hades gave Persephone food from the underworld. Pomegranate seeds. If anyone eats something from the underworld, they are forever bound to it, having to return there for a portion of the year. So...Persephone ate the seeds. Demeter tried to keep her away from Hades, but because of the seeds, she went back to him. Demeter curses the world with winter so long as Persephone doesn't come home, petulant and cruel and willing to kill mortals if she doesn't get her way. Persephone always eventually returns and Spring comes, but she sometimes spends longer months in the underworld with her husband."
"They may be separated for a time to appease others and to ensure humans don't die for their union, but they always come back together. Every year, for as long as they can."
no subject
"He was, by all accounts, a respectable and noble god. He didn't get into the kinds of trouble other gods did. He took care of the dead, ruled over the places where all mortals go. He was called stern, but also just. People didn't like him because of his association with death, not because he wasn't good. He was also lonely."
"There was this goddess, Persephone - she was also called Kore and some other things - daughter of Demeter. Demeter is...sort of an All-Mother figure. Nature and fertility and the harvest. She's essentially Mother Nature, in a lot of respects, and Persephone was flowers and light and beautiful and pure. Everything Hades wasn't. He fell in love with her, watching her while suitors came and went. Some of the most powerful and beautiful of the gods came seeking Persephone's hand in marriage, like the god of war, Ares, and the god of music and prophecy, Apollo. Demeter turned them all away. None were good enough for her daughter, so Hades knew he wouldn't be. In his misery he told Zeus, the god of gods and his brother, of his love. Zeus arranged for them to meet. After that the telling of the story goes a lot of ways depending on the regional interpretation...but..."
"...Persephone went to the underworld, carried away by Hades, who promised her the world. He loved her deeply, and she did not turn him away as others did. Demeter was enraged and cursed the lands to winter until her daughter was returned to her, and Zeus convinced Hades to send Persephone home. Even though everyone disliked Hades a great deal, Zeus tried to help him and Helios, the sun god, told Demeter that Hades would be a good man for Persephone. But she didn't listen, of course. She wanted her daughter to have nothing to do with the loathsome Hades. But Hades gave Persephone food from the underworld. Pomegranate seeds. If anyone eats something from the underworld, they are forever bound to it, having to return there for a portion of the year. So...Persephone ate the seeds. Demeter tried to keep her away from Hades, but because of the seeds, she went back to him. Demeter curses the world with winter so long as Persephone doesn't come home, petulant and cruel and willing to kill mortals if she doesn't get her way. Persephone always eventually returns and Spring comes, but she sometimes spends longer months in the underworld with her husband."
"They may be separated for a time to appease others and to ensure humans don't die for their union, but they always come back together. Every year, for as long as they can."