Christianity is quite clear that its God is the only such divine being in existence, underlining time and again that “there is none else beside him”. As such, there’s little opportunity for cool crossover events where, for example, Jesus gets to kick back and party with the likes of Athena, Thor, or Dionysus.
That said, Christianity does indeed have some loose overlap with Greek mythology in the form of Hades. So, is there a charismatic-yet-evil flame-haired villain voiced by James Woods hanging out somewhere in the Bible?
Hades in the Bible
In Greek mythology, Hades was one of the first Olympians and the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. The three gods drew lots to decide which domains they would rule. Zeus got the best pick of the Earth, Poseidon the seas, and Hades came up last and was given the underworld. It’s important to note that Hades is first and foremost the god’s name and only later became applied to the underworld he had dominion over.
Now, over to the Bible and sorry Hercules fans, but the God of the Underworld Hades does not appear, as it would raise some rather awkward theological questions. However, Hades the place is indeed part of Christian theology, as “the place or state of undeparted spirits”. This is distinct from Heaven and Hell and is roughly equivalent to the Jewish underworld Sheol.
The name “Hades” became associated with this concept due to early Greek translations of the Bible, which used the familiar word to represent the underworld of the dead with the language carrying over to contemporary translations.
In Matthew 16:18 Jesus himself mentions Hades when speaking to Peter, saying: “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Jesus also references Hades in Matthew 11:23 when speaking to Capernaum, saying “will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.”
So to summarize, yes Hades is in the Bible, but the word is more a generic stand-in for the underworld rather than having any genuine connection to Greek mythology.
