Related Directory Categories
- Pluto and Charon (30)
- Mythology (28)
- Adventures of Pluto Nash, The (25)
- Mythology and Religion (23)
- Greek and Roman (20)
- Age of Mythology (20)
- Comparative Mythology (17)
- Planet Controversy (15)
- Mythologies (15)
- Sailor Pluto (15)
Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Pluto (mythology)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Plutus. (Discuss) |
Pluto is an alternative name for the Greek god Hades, but was more often used in Roman mythology in their presentation of the god of the underworld. He abducted Proserpina (Gr. Persephone), and her mother Ceres (Gr. Demeter) who then caused winter in her grief. Although he is often envisioned today as evil (for his similarities to the Christian Satan) the Romans did not view him as such.
Pluto was originally not the god of the underworld. Pluto is cognate with the Greek word "Ploutos" (wealth, cf. plutocracy), and, under the original name Plutus, was considered by the Romans as the giver of gold, silver, and other subterranean substances. Because these "gifts" were mined, Pluto became recognized as the god of the physical underworld, which in turn helped him become recognized as the god of the spiritual underworld and thus death. This brought about his mythological relationship to the Greek god Hades. Because the mythology of these gods is more known than the actual religious roles of the gods, Pluto is identified as the counterpart to the Greek Hades (which is only wholly true in mythology).
The dwarf planet Pluto is named after him.
Pluto (Greek: Πλούτων), although related, should not be confused with the Greek god Plutus (Πλοῦτος), the god of wealth.
"Plutonic Theory", the idea that the earth was formed due to intense heat in the earth, stems from Pluto, the opposing theory of which is the Neptunian Theory which states that the formation of the earth was caused by the agency of water.
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Major deities | Apollo · Ceres · Diana · Divus Augustus · Fortuna · Divus Julius · Juno · Jupiter · Lares · Mars · Mercury · Minerva · Neptune · Pluto · Quirinus · Sol · Venus · Vesta · Vulcan |