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AIDES
KYANOCHAITES |
Hades of the Dark Hair
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This is the description
given him in the "Homeric Hymn to Demeter". Actually "chaite" means
"long flowing or curling hair", and one cannot ignore the fact that "kyano"
means "blue"... (see Disney. Gotta love it)
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ADIAULOS
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With no way back
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Simply a reference to his
kingdom's power
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AMEILICHOS
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He who is relentless
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To show people's fear of
death
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ADAMASTOS |
The Inflexible One
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Same as above
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DAMAZO |
The Overpowering One; He who
tames; to bring under the yoke; to make (or to be made) subject to
another; the Seducer; the Subduer; to conquer; to strike dead
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A very potent
name, full of many meanings, it comes from the center of the name "Adamastos"
above. It represented people's fear of death, but later came to
mistakenly represent his role as Abductor
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DIS PATER |
Divine / the Divine Father
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This title
shared with Zeus comes from "dios" meaning "godly" and "pater" meaning
"father", many people think this is a Latin name but it is totally Greek
in origin
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ENNYCHOS |
He who dwells in the realm
of night and the dead
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Unknown
origins
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ENERTERA
THEOS |
God of the Netherworld
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Unknown
origins
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EUKLES |
Famous One; Glorious One; of
good repute
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One of those
names that mean "if I speak nicely of him, maybe he won't send me to
Tartaros. A "suck-up" name, literally a "euphemism", which is Greek for
pretty much the same thing.
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EUTHYNOS |
The Corrector; the
Chastiser; He who judges
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Possibly
Homeric
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HESPEROS
THEOS
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God of Darkness and Death
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Unknown
origins
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ZEUS
CHTHONIA /
ZEUS KATACHTHONIA |
The Zeus of the Underworld
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Meant to show
that Hades was equal in power to Zeus, at least within his own kingdom.
Many people confused this title with the actual Zeus, leading to a story
of Persephone hiding from "the great dragon or snake" who then
impregnated her with a horned child. This was meant to be Hades, as
snakes are a symbol of the Underworld and secret knowledge.
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KLYMENOS |
The Renowned; the Noble; the
Splendid
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Another
euphemistic name
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KYAMITES |
He of the bean
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Based on a
story that says when Demeter caused the earth to become infertile, one
plant insisted upon still growing -- the bean -- which angered her, and
she compared it to Hades
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MELAMPHAES |
One whose light is blackness
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Unknown
origins
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MELANOPTEROS |
The Black Winged
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A title given
to Thanatos, but which the writer Euripides gave to Hades himself, thus
saying that Hades and Death are one and the same entity
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OUDAIOS /
OUDAS
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The Infernal One; of the
earth; beneath the earth
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Another mistaken ideal… most
people think of "fiery" when they think of "inferno", all thanks to
Dante who also called Hell by Hades' name
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PHILOXENOS
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He who is hospitable to
strangers
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A Homeric title, mostly used
as a euphemism
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PLOUTON /
PLOUTOS |
The Wealthy One
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This is the origin of the
name Pluto, another name people assume is Latin, but which is actually
wholly Greek
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PLOUTONIOS ZEUS |
The Zeus of wealth
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Meant as a
comparison to the power and influence of his brother, and yet another
example of the confusion between them in certain myths
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POLYDEKTES / POLYDEGMON |
The All-Receiving
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Another
Homeric euphemism
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PYLARTES
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The Closer of the Gate
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Probably
connected to his cult in Pylos (gates), as well as his function as a
death god.
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