When he carried off Persephone from the upper world, he rode in a golden chariot drawn by four black immortal horses. The ensign of his power was a staff, with which, like Hermes, he drove the shades into the lower world, 13 where he had his palace and shared his throne with his consort Persephone. When mortals invoked him, they struck the earth with their hands, 11 and the sacrifices which were offered to him and Persephone consisted of black male and female sheep, and the person who offered the sacrifice had to turn away his face. 9 He kept the gates of the lower world closed (whence he is called Πυλάρτης, Pylartes 10), that no shade might be able to escape or return to the region of light. His character is described as fierce and inexorable, whence of all the gods he was most hated by mortals.
7 Ancient story mentions both gods and men who were honored by Hades with the temporary use of this helmet. He possessed a helmet which rendered the wearer invisible, 6 and later traditions stated that this helmet was given him as a present by the Cyclopes after their delivery from Tartarus. 4 But when Hades was in his own kingdom, he was quite unaware of what was going on either on earth or in Olympus, 5 and it was only the oaths and curses of men that reached his ears, as they reached those of the Erinyes. 3 As, however, the earth and Olympus belonged to the three brothers in common, he might ascend Olympus, as he did at the time when he was wounded by Heracles. 2 Hence he is called the infernal Zeus ( Ζεὺς καταχθόνιος, Zeus katachthonios), or the king of the shades ( ἂναε ἐνέρων, anae enerōn). In the division of the world among the three brothers, Hades obtained "the darkness of night," the abode of the shades, over which he rules.
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