Though Hades is the god of the dead, he is not the god of death. The earth was considered common possession of all the gods, unless one of the three brothers intervened. Zeus got the sky and air, Poseidon got the sea, water, and earthquakes, and Hades got the kingdom of the dead, the Underworld. Together with Hades and Poseidon they divided up the world into separate kingdoms. After a huge war that lasted ten years, Zeus won and became the new king of the gods. Zeus and his siblings, including Hades, fought against Cronus and the other Titans ruling with him. In fact, he wouldn’t give up his throne to Zeus without a war, and that war was called the “Titanomachy”, the battle of the Titans. He got his kingdom after the TitanomachyĬronus wouldn’t give up the throne without a fight. You might also like: Popular Greek Mythology Stories. Hades emerged along with his siblings, now fully grown, and joined Zeus in the war against the Titans. With the help of the Titan Metis, the goddess of wisdom, Zeus tricked Cronus into drinking a potion that forced him to vomit out all his children. When Zeus was old enough, he rose against his father. She disguised a big stone as a newborn baby and gave it to Cronus while she hid Zeus away. Tired of giving birth to children but having none to raise, Rhea decided to go against Cronus when Zeus, the youngest, was born. So after Hades, five of his siblings followed down Cronus’ gullet. Overcome with fear that he would lose his power, Cronus set out to eat every single one of his children the moment his wife Rhea gave birth to them. The moment he was born his father, Cronus, swallowed him whole for fear of a prophecy by Gaia, the primordial goddess of the Earth and Cronus’ mom, that one of his children would topple him and steal his throne. You might also like: Family tree of the Olympian Gods. So, Hades is the older brother of Zeus, king of the gods, and Poseidon, king of the seas! In fact, he is the firstborn! After him, his siblings Poseidon, Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Chiron, and Zeus were born. Hades is the son of Cronus and Rhea, the king and queen of the Titans. 1.14 His and Persephone’s names were not mentioned 14 Fun Facts About the Greek God Hades He is the oldest brother