LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Hades: Greek Underworld
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The " house of Hades " was a dreadful abode deep down in the earth, and the god was invoked by rapping on the ground. But according to another view, the realm of Hades was beyond the ocean in the far west, which to the Greeks was always the region of darkness and death, as the east of light and life. This is the view of Hades presented in the Odyssey. Besides this gloomy region, we find in another passage of the Odyssey a picture of Elysium, a happy land at the ends of the earth, where rain and snow fall not, but the cool west wind blows and men live at ease. After Homer this happy land, the abode of the good after death, was known as the Isles of the Blest. But in the oldest Greek mythology the" house of Hades" was simply the home of the dead, good and bad alike, who led a dim and shadowy reflection of life on earth.
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The Greek word "Hades" was translated into Latin as "infernus" and passed into English as "hell", as in the King James Version of the above-cited New Testament passages. The word continued to be used to refer generically to the abode or situation of the dead, whether just or unjust, as in the Apostles' Creed, where "he descended into hell" is said of Christ.. But, except in Greek, this generic usage of the word "Hades", "infernus", "hell" has become archaic and unusual. In Greek, the word
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While generally seen as an evil or horrifying god, Hades was really more of a way for ancient Greeks to come to terms with their ideas of death and afterlife. Hades ruled over the Elysian Fields (analogous to Heaven) as well as Tartarus (Hell), so he was not really as similar to the Christian devil as some would make his figure out to be. Instead, he represented a continuation of the soul after the body died.
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Hades (Underworld) could ... refer to the Hades' residential palace, which was called the House of Hades, where he lived with Persephone. His palace seemed to be separate from other parts of his realm.
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Hades was ... called Pluto, the God of Wealth, because of the precious metals hidden in the earth. However, his name here was often translated into Dis, the Latin word for rich. He had a far-famed helmet that made whoever wore it invisible. He was only the King of the Dead, not Death itself (which the Greeks called Thanatos and the Romans, Orcus/Mors).
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Hades was ... called Plouto (from Greek Ploutōn), and by this name known as "the unseen one", or "the rich one". In Roman mythology, Hades/Pluto was called Dis Pater and Orcus. The corresponding Etruscan god was Aita. The symbols associated with him are sceptre, cornucopia, and the three headed dog, Cerberus.
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Greek Underworld