… yeah. Not for me.
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I never read this book so I don't really know. However I might give you somewhat of a reason why some people like it. The reason is probably the same as why in movies like Lucifer devil is portrayed as somewhat of a positive character. because many religions expected its followers to act with accordance with this religion while the representatives of this religions who were supposed to serve as an example for followers did not live in accordance with religion that they preached. that created resentment among people and they started to look at the devil as more positive or at least not completely negative figure. in this book Hades serves similar role. as far as this not being in accordance to the original myth of Hades and Persephone the myths themselves are most likely just stories not based on real people but rather metaphors. i don't know exactly what is in this book because like I said I haven't read it however while the devil still has negative connotation Hades is considered by most completely mythical and if they make it into a good guy or at least not a monster many people will simply not care if it is not in accordance with actual myth assuming the book is presented as pure fiction.
Is it me or the image is distorted
I guess people want Hades as the misunderstood bad boy (ruling hell and all) that's all tameable underneath. That's my best guess. I'd rather see Hades as a no-mercy badass flinging flames and ash at people.
I do not know about the book… but I have always loved Hades – the reason is because he is the tortured bad boy – it's like "Joe" from the You series, or Damon from Vampire Diaries, or Joker and Harley Quinn… it's the bad boy/ good girl. Is it an old super edgy, slightly cringey at this point sort of story… yes. Do I still love it… also, yes.
In short, much like Bart Angel wrote, a lot of (popular) mythic gods have sO many myths that it can be hard to rectify (for some) their love for a character and their discomfort from said character (ie. Zeus hurting people etc). Hades is almost* a blank slate with how little there is in popularity that it lets ppl turn him into what they want out of Greek myth. ALSO I think it’s just twilight all over again lol
Moan, the fact that Hades HAS so little mythology about him is precisely the reason why he is so popular. He's basically a blank slate and we are free to interpret him however we want. What little we DO have of him is one of the main reasons why we interpret him as the "good guy" of the Big Three, because out of all of them, he appears to be the only one that actually takes his duties seriously and was generally very fair in his rulings and judgments.
As for Hades and Persephone, I think the main reason why that couple/pairing is so popular is because, whatever story you believe and/or follow about how they got together, you cannot deny that after they became an "item", they became one of the VERY few power couples in Greek mythology that actually remain faithful to each other and have a truly functional relationship (the only other couple I can think of that is like this is Perseus and Andromeda). I think one of the best portrayals of how functional their relationship is that I've seen was actually done in a video by Overly Sarcastic Productions. I don't remember which video of theirs it was, but I remember the images it showed perfectly. First it showed an image of Zeus and Hera, where Zeus was trying to flirt with another mortal woman and Hera was dragging him away by his ear. Next, it showed an image of Poseidon and Amphitrite, where Poseidon was throwing one of his famous temper tantrums and Amphitrite was holding her forehead going "Oh no, not AGAIN!". Then it showed an image of Hades and Persephone, and it showed them having literally a "Netflix and chill" moment, but with books.
I also agree with the commenters down below. As a classicist you may know that the Greeks feared hades so much that they wouldn't say his name. And since they wouldn't say his name or write anything down, he is essentially a blank slate to put whatever personality on.
The most common ones I see are the "tortured bad boy with a heart of gold", or (my favorite) the "depressed and workaholic but ultimately respectful guy whose world turns to color when persephone enters". There are also almost no sources of him being disloyal or tyrannical. That's is a later Christian interpretation that equates him to Satan. And i think that helps his case, cause if he has no myths of him being a complete asshat, like some other olympians, ( cough zeus), then we all just automatically assume he's unproblamatic.
I would recommend the video by Overly Sarcasric Productions (someone has already done that in your comments) and the web comic "Lore Olympus". They are amazing retellings.
I guess we are all tired of the drama and just wants a guy who lays low, does his job, loves you to death and has a dog.
Hey!
Have you read The Rose by Tiffany Reisz? Very mythology centred!
It just resembles so much the Beauty and the Beast story, doesn’t it? She was forced to stay with him to save her dad, turns out he’s a good guy, they fall in love, she ends up staying with him… like if love could redeem ant awful man!