Hel+vs+Hades



Hel is the Norse Goddess of death. As opposed to Hades, whom is more so just the guardian of souls, Hel is a vile woman. Born from Loki and the frost giantess Angrboda, she was so hideous that Odin banished her to the underworld for which she is named. She had the upper body of a hag, and the lower body of a decomposing corpse. Hel rules the underworld and with that, the realm of death. All the souls that died from illness, old age, or criminal activities were under her court. There, the souls would be forever tormented with constant hunger and mind-wracking pain until Ragnarök (Casselman).

Hel controls her domain so tightly, that even when Balder, Odin's son, was killed accidentally, Hel refused to return him to the land of the living, showing how she controls death so strongly that not even gods can bring back the living.

As opposed to Hades, the god of the underworld and death in Greek mythology, Hel is a much more hateful deity. The dead souls held by Hades suffered much less punishment, but that was because it was a mixture of all souls, good and bad (Lindemans). In Norse myth, the strong ones that died fighting were welcomed to Valhalla, while the weak ones whom died of sickness were tortured under Hel's domain. In Greek mythology, even though only a few heroes made it into the underworld and back, it was still possible. In Norse mythology, if you fell into Hel's domain, there was no getting out, which may have led to the stronger urge to die in combat instead of risking getting old and falling under Hel's jurisdiction.

Hades was given the underworld not by choice, but by drawing straws. The three brothers, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus all drew straws. Zeus drew the longest and choose to rule the sky. Poseidon drew the second longest and chose to rule the sea. Hades, having the smallest straw, was forced to rule the underworld ("Haides”). Prior to Hel, there was no ruler of the Norse underworld. She was cast down to there because she was too hideous to live with the Norse Gods.

Hades and Hel have similar jobs in their Parthenon’s, but each specifically relates back to their own cultures. The Norse were more warlike, and with that, the goddess of death was a cruel abomination of a woman. For the Greeks, death was feared, but it wasn't painful. A person in Greece could die by accident or by old age, and they would still go to the same place in the end. In Norse mythology, if you didn't die in combat, or you died by committing crime, Hel had domain over your soul until the end of days.

References:

Casselman, Linda. "The Norse Realm of Hel." //Suite101//. Suite101, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. "Haides." //Hades: Greek King of the Underworld//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. Lindemans, Micha. "Hades." //Encyclopedia Mythica//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2010.