Miscellaneous Myths: Theseus and Pirithous

REUPLOAD from earlier this morning, now with copyright claim removed and more of my fantabulous voice.

We all know who Theseus is? Awesome! And Hades? Cool!
What about Pirithous? No? Any takers?
See, that's not too surprising, because when you're only famous for the dumbest moment of your life you have a way of falling out of the history books unless you manage to produce some appropriately spectacular collateral damage.

MERCH LINKS:

[sharlin]

Hades is basically a beauracrat who does his job as best he can whilst the rest of the Greek Gods were a soap opera :p

[avatarofaiyel]

y'all can d'aww over Hades and Persephone's relationship as much as you like.

For myself, as someone with severe seasonal allergies, I think the Greeks had it dead on accurate when they decided that the goddess of spring was also the queen of hell.

[thacc]

All the other gods: *doing literally whatever and being as dramatic as possible*

Hades: professionals have standards.

[TheImpureOne]

I headcanon that when Asclepius met with Hades, Hades said “If you wonder why you died, I asked Zeus to make you stop stealing my subjects. I thought that he’ll just talk to you, but he just set you on fire. I’m so sorry about that.”

[magiv]

Hades and Persephone are the original Gomez and Morticia Addams. The OG goth powercouple. Mark my words.

[phastinemoon]

Who else is rewatching this after the Hades and Persephone video went up, and thinks it’s probably a good thing Pirithous met Hades INSTEAD of “Dread Persephone”.

[ceruleanwalker]

Ever get the feeling that Hades just looks at his nephew's running around causing havoc and his family being as disfunctional as a sack full of cats in a windtunnel and thinks "not my monkey's, not my circus." I think he dodged a bullet when he got the underworld. Also Persephone and Hades reading together is so wholesome I might die.

[jamdeluxe]

“hey let’s steal hades wife
*what could possibly go wrong* “

[stewartgames]

There's also the story of how the "big three" - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - decided to divide the realms of the world. After the Titanomachy, the three worry that a new war will erupt between them as they fight over who will rule the Heavens. It was Hades, the oldest and wisest brother, who suggests that they instead draw lots and accept the outcome, and when he got the worst choice and was put in charge of the Underworld instead of the Heavens or the Seas Hades accepted his role with grace. A few interpretations of the myth hint that Hades chose the Underworld on purpose because he took pity on the dead and wished for them to have a place of their own rather than wandering the world as lost spirits forever. In most later depictions Hades is often praised as being a kind deity that stores all the seeds of the world in a great underground vault during winter so that they do not die in the cold, and releases them and gives them fertility in the spring when his wife Persephone returns to the surface. He does this because he felt guilty that his abduction of Persephone had plunged the world into an eternal winter, and feels he should take responsibility for the consequences of his actions. And speaking of Persephone, he treats her as best he can - allowing her to return to the living for several months every year despite her having eaten the foods of the underworld, and showering her with precious jewels and gems (his domain being deep beneath the earth and an enormous cavern, he is also the god of gemstones and precious metals).The only real complaint folks have towards him in the myths is that Hades is basically a stickler for bureaucracy, a bit boring and extremely methodical - he hardly ever budges on the rules of the underworld, takes his task of keeping the dead separate from the living extremely seriously, and avoids attending the parties and feasts that all the other gods go to.

[lauv]

I have no idea why, but I really love the way Hades and Persephone are drawn in these videos. Maybe it's the black outfits and the white hair? I don't know. Anyway, agreed, Hades deserves more credit for NOT being a jerk.

[michaelbarney]

I'm sorry, but I will never be able to take Cerberus seriously ever again now that I know his name translates to "Spot".

[BigTuk]

There was a reason hades was generally so chill. It's because of his position as king of the underworld. Baring divine intervention from Zeus... sooner or later your mortal-doomed-to-die self would wind up on his doorstep and Hades had a good memory. and many imaginative punishments. Remember, Zeus and other gods could only really torment or kill you. Hade got yo ass for eternity.

[emoon]

The moment when Hades and Persephone are reading books while Persephone is resting her legs on his almost made me cry.

[virgoboi]

You forgot the best part! When Heracles rescues Theseus, he tries to pull him as he is stuck/fused to the chair. Heracles pulls so hard that his ass rips off. Theseus is free but his buttcheeks as well as Prithious remained in the underworld. He He would be jokingly known as Theseus the Assless for the rest of his life.

[Silverwind]

"So Theseus, I've heard you kidnapped a child to make her your wife. Why don't you have a seat over there? FOREVER."

[allison.m_]

Greek problems:
5 percent : actual problems like natural disasters
5 percent: someone picked a fight with a god
10 percent : someone was prettier than Aphrodite
80 percent :
Zeus couldn’t keep it in his pants

[Thememester]

Also the Latin version of Cerberus, which is the same thing but in Latin, is used go describe clouds. So he either named him spot or fluffy. And now you know why the massive three headed dog beast in Harry potter is named fluffy.

[Great_Olaf]

EDIT/NOTE: While the following version of events might not be entirely unprecedented from the ancient sources, I was underinformed on the subject when I initially made this comment, I recommend to anyone reading this that they go watch OSP's other video Hades and Persephone, as it has more research behind it and covers what I said here years ago.

There's one interesting thing about Persephone's kidnapping... the successful one that is. In some of the older versions Hades tried courting her in a more traditional manner, but Demeter stops him at every turn, so he goes, again the legit route at the time, to her father, Zeus, for help. Together they come up with the kidnapping plan, in some versions Zeus even took input from his daughter. Overall, the point remains, Hades is the one god in the Greek myths who didn't habitually act like a dick or a three year old.

[Igarappappa]

From what I recall when reading this myth, when Heracles tried to free Pirithous the ENTIRE UNDERWORLD started shaking. Heracles took that as a sign to not push his luck and continue onward.

[StormSage]

I was in a mythology class and when we got to Hades, my classmate called out, singled him out as "the evil god" I impulsively corrected him saying:
1) Hades, as the oldest got cheated out of the Skies by Zeus.
2) You try being sunshine and rainbows when your commute is filled with dead souls that don't wanna be there
3) He's the King of the Underworld! If he let souls and mortals come and go as they please, people would lose respect for the gods. He kept balance and order.
4) Philosophically speaking, the Greeks didn't have good & evil as we see it today. Just purpose and the lack thereof. There was no "evil" god.