"Do you know how many souls cry per second?" Hades replied to her tears.
Persephone nodded, refusing to speak.
"Then why do you believe yours are the only tears that matter?" Hades said softly, sounding as if he was trying to comfort her and as if he felt sorry for her. Hades tisked-tisked. "You should know better."
* * *
Hades is the underworld ruler. Hades, or Aidoneus, was the son of Kronos and Rhea and the brother of Zeus, the God of heaven, Poseidon, the God of water, and Hera. When the division of the world gave Zeus authority over the earth and the heavens and Poseidon authority over the waters, the underworld was given to Hades. Hades was an object of fear and death to mortals, and sacrifices to him and his wife, Persephone, consisted of Black sheep with face averted (the black sheep of the family perhaps).
Hades saw to the fulfillment of oaths into the punishment of perjury. He governed the kingdom of the dead. Hades lived beneath the earth and was seen as the giver of all riches derived from the earth. For this reason, people called him Pluto, the giver of wealth.
Hades was a sympathetic character, who knew what he wanted. He was in love with a woman, therefore, he stole Persephone from her mother. However, he shared her with her family. Hades probably did not have to do that, but he felt, in some way, sorry for what he had done. In some people's perception, Hades is a character capable of love, who just received a bad deal.
Hades' symbols include sceptre, symbol of this power is king; Horn of plenty, symbol of him that the giver of wealth; and a helmet, which rendered its wearer invisible. He's allowed others to wear the helmet at times. He is conceived as the unseen god, restricted to his kingdom.
Hades can also be perceived as a place of torment. It is also known as Orcus, Erebus and sometimes confused with Tartarus. Entrances to Hades were said to be at Lake Avernus in Italy and at Taenarum, a promontory of the Peloponnesus. Sometimes the Cimmerians was thought to be a border-land.
Several rivers flowed through Hades, the most famous being the River Styx. The four other rivers located in Hades include Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe and Phlegethon. River Acheron, also known as the River of Sorrow or the River of Woe, was believed to have formed the border of Hades. Acheron is located in the Epirus region of northwest Greece and was believed to be a branch of Hades on Earth. River Lethe, also known as the River of Oblivion, is a river that the dead had to drink from to forget about their lives on Earth. River Cocytus, also known as the River of Wailing, flowed into the River Acheron. Those who could not pay the wage for the ferry ride to Hades were condemned to wander the banks of the River Cocytus for 100 years. River Phlegethon is known as the Lake of Fire. It flowed with fire that burned but did not consume fuel. River Phlegethon runs parallel to the River Styx.