PLUTO, ploo't6, in Greek mythology, the giver of wealth, or Hades, the god of the lower world. The former name gradually superseded the latter, which was more commonly used by the poets. He was the third son of Cronus (Saturn) and Rhea, a brother of Zeus (Jupiter) and Poseidon (Neptune), and to him, on the partition of the world, fell the kingdom of the shades. But •there was another view of his character. He became a benevolent being, who held in his hand the keys of the earth, and blessed the year with fruits; for from the depth of the earth proceed the grains and the plenty which attends -them. He fought with his brothers against the Titans, and received from the Cyclops, whom he had released, the helmet that makes its wearer invisible, which he lent to Hermes in the war of the giants, and to Perseus in his expedition against the Gorgons, and which afterward came into the possession of Meriones. He judges every open and secret deed, and to him are subordinate the three judges 2Eacus, Minos and Rhadamanthus.
The cypress, the box, the narcissus and the plant adiantum (maiden-hair) were sacred to him; oxen and goats were sacrificed to him in the shades of night, and his priests were crowned with cypress. He is represented in gloomy majesty, his forehead shaded by his hair, and with a thick beard. His head is sometimes covered with a veil. He frequently also wears his helmet, or a crown of ebony, or a wreath of adiantum or narcissus. In his hand he holds a two-forked sceptre, a staff or a key; by his side is Cerberus. He is either seated on a throne of ebony or in a chariot. Since he did not heed sacrifice or prayer, he was worshipped only on rare occasions. The Romans identified him partly with Orcus, partly with Dis. Consult Gayley, C. M.,