Thanatos: Daemon of Death

 

          Thanatos was the daemon (Not to be confused with ‘demon’) of death. He was often confused with Hades only because of the fact that Hades was often believed to be death itself.

"And there the children of dark Night have their dwellings, Sleep and Death, awful gods. The glowing Sun never looks upon them with his beams, neither as he goes up into heaven, nor as he comes down from heaven. And the former of them roams peacefully over the earth and the sea's broad back and is kindly to men; but the other has a heart of iron, and his spirit within him is pitiless as bronze: whomsoever of men he has once seized he holds fast: and he is hateful even to the deathless gods."

                                                                             Greek Poet Hesiod: Theogony

 

          Thanatos wasn’t the only family member who had a negative connotation. It seemed to be a family trait among his siblings. A few of his siblings were Geras (Old Age), Moros (Doom) Oizys (Suffering), Apate (Deception), Momus (Blame), Eris (Strife), Nemesis (Retribution) and even Charon (Boatman of the Underworld). Thanatos is described as being quite merciless. He was loathed by, and very hateful toward any mortals and the immortal gods.

 

"To Thanatos, Fumigation from Manna.

 Hear me, O Death, whose empire unconfin'd

 extends to mortal tribes of ev'ry kind.

 On thee, the portion of our time depends,

 whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends.

 

 Thy sleep perpetual bursts the vivid folds

 by which the soul, attracting body holds :

 common to all, of ev'ry sex and age,

 for nought escapes thy all-destructive rage.

 

 Not youth itself thy clemency can gain,

 vigorous and strong, by thee untimely slain.

 In thee the end of nature’s works is known,

 in thee all judgment is absolved alone.

 No suppliant arts thy dreadful rage control,

 no vows revoke the purpose of thy soul.

 O blessed power, regard my ardent prayer,

 

and human life to age abundant spare.

Orphic Hymn

 

Given the cruel and sort of sadistic nature that usually characterizes Thanatos, I can definitely see where the negative connotations towards Hades derived. Thanatos is not typically a physical embodiment in most Greek mythology, he is most commonly just mentioned on various occasions. As he is not a usual physical figure, it is understandable why most people haven’t heard of him. If people haven’t heard of him, it would explain why so many people see Hades as death as opposed to its coordinated Daemon.