re is famous Greek story in which Zeus sends Hermes to the underworld to try and retrieve Persephone. HEL -- HADESHELHel is the daughter of Loki and the giant, Angurboda. She is the sister of Fenrir (Fenris-wolf) and Jormungand (Midgard Serpent). She is the goddess of the underworld. Her realm was Niflheim which was often referred to as Hel and her hall was called Elvidnir [Misery]. In her hall her table was called Hunger and her bed Disease. She was described as half white and half black. HADESHades is the brother of Zeus. After the overthrow of their father, Cronus, he drew lots with Zeus and Poseidon, another brother, for shares of the world. He won the worst draw and was made lord of the underworld, ruling over the dead. He is a greedy god who is greatly concerned with increasing the number of his subjects. Those whose calling in life increase the number of dead (such as warriors) are seen favorably. He is exceedingly disinclined to allow any of his subjects to leave his domain. He is also the god of wealth, due to the precious metals mined from the earth. He has a helmet that makes him invisible. He rarely leaves the underworld. He is unpitying and terrible, but not capricious. His wife is Persephone whom Hades abducted. He is the king of the dead but death itself is another god, Thanatos. .DIRECT COMPARISONThe obvious congruence is that both were rulers of the underworld. In Norse mythology, Hel was female while Hades is a male figure. Typically, as a female she is not featured prominently in Norse myths.One major difference between them is that Hades ruled over all who died while Niflheim, Hel's kingdom, was the destination of only those who died of old age or disease; those who died in battle travelled to another place after death.Hades is a more important figure in Greek mythology than Hel in the Norse as he won lordship over one third of the "universe," although he is not featured too much either. APOLLO -- BALDERAPOLLOApollo ...
