AWKWARD ZOMBIE

I realize a good part of religion is understanding why bad things happen with little reason, but god daisies...

...was it really THAT BAD in ancient greece to warrant all of that ridiculousness?

Its more a matter of values dissonance than anything else, like most religious tales, the Greek ones serve as moralistic stories meant for the time period they were created in. Women didnt have much of a standing in Athens for example, which is why theyre generally treated like disposable baby machines in the stories.

was hades cool
or was he like everyone else

He's gotten a bad rap, but he was kind of a dick in that he essentially forced Persephone to marry him and tricked her into being stuck in Hades half of the year. Compared to the other gods, he was a virtual saint though, he just controlled the Underworld, he had no hand in any punishment some of the souls got, that was Zeus.

Some people probably tended to blame Hades for their deaths because he rules the underworld but he doesn't have much control over who dies or not, that's the Fates' job.

Also, many despised him because he let none escape the underworld, no matter how touching their story was.
The closest was Orpheus who moved Hades with his music but even then, Hades put him through a difficult challenge which he ultimately failed.

Hades was respected but not mentioned much (and when he was brought up, they wouldn't call him Hades unless they were a part of the Cult of Hades, they'd usually call him Plouton after the fact that he controlled the wealth of gems, ores, and precious metals that could be found underground). There was almost always a shrine to him in each town, especially if any caves were nearby, as many places in Greece claimed to have the entrance to the Underworld right in their area.

Most of the myths involving Hades shows him as being shrewd but fair. He occasionally lets mortals go back (the number could probably be counted on one hand), but only if they're good people and if they follow his wishes. He does, however, hate humans that try to defy him. He punished Tantalus for daring to feed the gods his own child, and killed a doctor for bringing a man back to life after he had died.

However, he did offer to let Orpheus take his wife back to the mortal realm, but since Orpheus looked back to make sure she was there before they got to the surface, he broke his vow to trust Hades and his wife was forced to return to the underworld.

And while he stole Persephone away from her mother, she did love him and enjoyed her time at his side, though she'd never tell Demeter this.

Also, despite what movies make it out to be, Hades was the least upset with being ruler of the Underworld. Poseidon wanted the sky, but Hades had no desire for that, nor did he care about the "adoration" Zeus got. All he cared about was the loneliness, and with Persephone by his side, that was quelled.

Funnily enough, they had one of the most stable relationships in greek mythology. Hades didn't go out and bone anyone despite his obvious clout.

Which probably says something about the Greek when their lord of the dead was the most likeable person in their pantheon.

So he was super, super-good at his job and the whole Persephone thing was his only major transgression. On the mythological scale, being responsible for killing off all the plants and trees and super-cold weather for six whole months just because you got lonely is pretty big, even if he did have a good marriage.

Well, that's all because Demeter refuses to do her job every year because she's depressed that her grown booty daughter isn't with her. It almost makes you think that she's incapable of doing her job unless Persephone is there to help her do the work.

So it's more about Demeter being a little prat about the whole thing. The first few years, I could see her being depressed, but they're all fucking immortal.

Thats what happens when you ascribe nature cycles to divine domestic issues. What, they didnt have winter before Persephone got bride jacked?

hades is the cool god of the group
which is rad
he plays by all the rules

Huh, I need to read up on some canon Hades lore, I've forgotten quite a lot.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA46ZNjrzeY[/youtube]

Why it won't work I have no idea.