Editing Pluto (mythology) (section)

== Iconography and attributes ==
[[File:Persephone Hades BM Vase E82.jpg|thumb|Hades and Persephone: tondo of an Attic red-figured [[kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]], ca. 440–430&nbsp;BC]]

=== In Eleusinian scenes ===
Kevin Clinton attempted to distinguish the iconography of Hades, Plouton, Ploutos, and the Eleusinian ''Theos'' in 5th-century [[Pottery of ancient Greece|vase painting]] that depicts scenes from or relating to the mysteries. In Clinton's schema, Plouton is a mature man, sometimes even white-haired; Hades is also usually bearded and mature, but his darkness is emphasized in literary descriptions, represented in art by dark hair. Plouton's most common attribute is a [[sceptre]], but he also often holds a full or overflowing cornucopia; Hades sometimes holds a horn, but it is depicted with no contents and should be understood as a [[drinking horn]]. Unlike Plouton, Hades never holds agrarian attributes such as stalks of grain. His chest is usually bare or only partly covered, whereas Plouton is fully robed (exceptions, however, are admitted by the author). Plouton stands, often in the company of both Demeter and Kore, or sometimes one of the goddesses, but Hades almost always sits or reclines, usually with Persephone facing him.<ref>Kevin Clinton, ''Myth and Cult: The Iconography of the Eleusinian Mysteries'' (Stockholm, 1992), pp. 105. As Clinton notes (p. 107), the ''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae]]'' does not distinguish between Hades and Plouton, and combines evidence for either in a single entry. The only vase to label the Eleusinian ''Theos'' with an inscription is a red-figured footed ''[[dinos]]'' in the collections of the [[J. Paul Getty Museum]], attributed to the [[Syleus Painter]]. The main scene is the departure of [[Triptolemos]], with Demeter on the left and Persephone as ''Pherephata'' ([Φε]ρ[ε]φάτα) on the right. ''Theos'' wears a [[himation]] over a spangled tunic with decorated hem (Clinton, p. 106).</ref> "Confusion and disagreement" about the interpretation of these images remain.<ref>Catherine M. Keesling, "Endoios's Painting from the Themistoklean Wall: A Reconstruction," ''Hesperia'' 68.4 (1999), p. 544, note 160.</ref>

=== The keys of Pluto ===

Attributes of Pluto mentioned in the ''Orphic Hymn to Pluto'' are his [[scepter]], keys, throne, and horses. In the hymn, the keys are connected to his capacity for giving wealth to humanity, specifically the agricultural wealth of "the year's fruits."

[[File:Agostino Carracci 01.jpg|thumb|''Pluto'' (1592) by [[Agostino Carracci]], probably influenced by the description in [[Vincenzo Cartari]]'s mythography,<ref>Clare Robertson ''et al.'', ''Drawings by the Carracci from British Collections'' (Ashmolean Museum, 1996), p. 35.</ref> with the god holding his scepter and key, [[Cerberus]] at his side]]
[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] explains the significance of Pluto's key in describing a wondrously carved cedar chest at the Temple of [[Hera]] in Elis. Numerous deities are depicted, with one panel grouping Dionysus, Persephone, the [[nymph]]s and Pluto. Pluto holds a key because "they say that what is called Hades has been locked up by Pluto, and that nobody will return back again therefrom."<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] 5.20.</ref> [[Natale Conti]] cites Pausanias in noting that keys are an attribute of Pluto as the scepter is of [[Jove]] (Greek Zeus) and the [[trident]] of [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]] (Poseidon).<ref>Natale Conti, ''Mythologiae'' 2.9, edition of 1651, pp. 173–174.</ref>

A golden key ''(chrusea klês)'' was laid on the tongue of initiates by priests at Eleusis<ref>[[Sophocles]], ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'' 1051 ("Rites they to none betray, / Ere on his lips is laid / Secrecy's golden key / By their own acolytes, / Priestly [[Eumolpidae]]," in the 1912 translation of F. Storr), as cited by [[Jane Ellen Harrison]], introduction to ''Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Athens'', a translation of [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] by Margaret de G. Verrall (London, 1890), pp. liv–lv. It is unclear whether a literal key is meant, or a [[Charon's obol#'Ghost' coins and crosses|golden ''lamella'']] ([[Totenpass]]).</ref> and was a symbol of the revelation they were obligated to keep secret.<ref>Robert Turcan, ''Les religions de l'Asie dans la vallée du Rhône'' (Brill, 1972), p. 26.</ref> A key is among the attributes of other infernal deities such as [[Hecate]], [[Anubis]], and Persephone, and those who act as guardians or timekeepers, such as [[Janus]] and [[Aeon|Aion]].<ref>Turcan, ''Les religions de l'Asie'', pp. 23–26. Both Persephone (as Persephassa and "Kore out of Tartaros") and Anubis are key-holders throughout the ''[[Greek Magical Papyri]]''. [[Jesus]] Christ, as the conqueror of death and Hades, holds keys in the [[Book of Revelation]] 1:18; see Walter A. Elwell and Philip W. Comfort, ''Tyndale Bible Dictionary'' (Tyndale, 2001), p. 561.</ref> [[Aeacus]] ''(Aiakos)'', one of the three mortal kings who became [[Divine judgment#Greco-Roman beliefs|judges in the afterlife]], is also a ''kleidouchos'' (κλειδοῦχος), "holder of the keys," and a priestly doorkeeper in the court of Pluto and Persephone.<ref>For extensive notes on Aiakos, see Radcliffe Guest Edmonds, ''Myths of the Underworld Journey: Plato, Aristophanes, and the 'Orphic' Gold Tablets'' (Cambridge University Press, 2004), p. 148, note 116. As a possessor of keys, he appears in Apollodorus 3.12.6, ''[[Greek Magical Papyri|PGM]]'' IV.1264, and inscriptions.</ref>

=== Vegetation and color ===
According to the [[Stoicism|Stoic]] philosopher [[Lucius Annaeus Cornutus|Cornutus]] (1st century AD), Pluto wore a wreath of ''phasganion'', more often called ''xiphion'',<ref>Ancient sources on ''phasganion'', ''xiphion'' and ''gladiolus'', generally called "corn-flag" by [[History of botany|historical botanists]], include [[Theophrastus]], ''[[Historia Plantarum (Theophrastus)|Historia Plantarum]]'' 7.12.3; [[Dioscorides]], [[De Materia Medica (Dioscorides)|''De Materia Medica'']] ''E'' 2.101; [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], ''Natural History'' 21.107–115; [[Pseudo-Apuleius]], ''Herbarius'' 79, as cited by Andrew Dalby, ''Food in the Ancient World from A to Z'' (Routledge, 2003), p. 105, characterizing Pliny's entry on the plant as "confused." The correspondence of ancient plant names to modern species is always uncertain. Both the Greek ''xiphion'' and the Latin word ''gladiolus'' ("little sword") come from a word meaning "sword."</ref> traditionally identified as a type of [[gladiolus]].<ref>''Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle'' (Paris, 1819), pp. 315–316; Julius Billerbeck, ''Flora classica'' (Leipzig, 1824), p. 13; "L'origine dei maccheroni," ''Archivo per lo studio delle tradizioni popolari'' 17 (1898), vol. 36, p. 428.</ref> [[Dioscorides]] recorded medical uses for the plant. For extracting [[stinger|stings]] and [[thorn (botany)|thorns]], ''xiphion'' was mixed with wine and [[frankincense]] to make a [[cataplasm]]. The plant was also used as an [[aphrodisiac]]<ref>Francis Adams, ''The Seven Books of [[Paulus Aegineta]]'' (London, 1847), p. 270; Dalby, ''Food in the Ancient World'', p. 105; ''Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle'', p. 315.</ref> and [[Birth control#Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome|contraceptive]].<ref>[[John M. Riddle]], ''Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance'' (Harvard University Press, 1992), p. 42; ''Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle'', p. 315.</ref> It grew in humid places. In an obscure passage, Cornutus seems to connect Pluto's wearing of ''phasganion'' to an etymology for [[Avernus]], which he derives from the word for "air," perhaps through some association with the color ''glaukos'', "bluish grey," "greenish" or "sea-colored," which might describe the plant's leaves. Because the color could describe the sky, Cornutus regularly gives it divine connotations.<ref>P.G. Maxwell-Stuart, ''Studies in Greek Colour Terminology: ΓΛΑΥΚΟΣ'' (Brill, 1981), vol. 1, pp. 40, 42, citing Cornutus, ''Theologiae Graecae Compendium'' 9, 20, 35. The word γλαυκότης ''(glaukotēs)'', however, is a [[textual criticism|textual crux]] in the passage pertaining to Pluto.</ref> Pluto's twin sister was named [[#Euhemerism and Latinization|Glauca]].

Ambiguity of color is characteristic of Pluto. Although both he and his realm are regularly described as dark, black, or gloomy, the god himself is sometimes seen as pale or having a pallor. [[Martianus Capella]] (5th century) describes him as both "growing pale in shadow, a fugitive from light" and actively "shedding darkness in the gloom of [[Tartarus|Tartarean]] night," crowned with a wreath made of [[ebony]] as suitable for the kingdom he governs.<ref>''Lucifuga inumbratione pallescens'' and ''Tartareae noctis obscuritate furvescens'', [[Martianus Capella]], ''De nuptiis'' 1.79–80; Danuta Shanzer, ''A Philosophical and Literary Commentary on Martianus Capella's'' De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' Book 1'' (University of California Press, 1986), p. 171.</ref> The horses of Pluto are usually black, but Ovid describes them as "sky-colored" (''caeruleus'', from ''[[Caelus|caelum]]'', "sky"), which might be blue, greenish-blue, or dark blue.<ref>Ovid, ''[[Fasti (Ovid)|Fasti]]'' 4.446, as cited John G. Fitch, ''Seneca's ''Hercules furens'': A Critical Text with Introduction and Commentary'' (Cornell University Press, 1987), p. 166, note to Seneca's identical description of the horses of the Sun (line 132). Ovid describes the horses as black ''(ater)'' in his version of the abduction myth in the ''Metamorphoses'', 5.310. On the color ''caeruleus,'' see also Hendrik Wagenvoort, "Caerimonia," in ''Studies,'' pp. 98–101.</ref>

[[File:Spring in London (7116603849).jpg|thumb|The [[Narcissus (plant)|narcissus]], frequently linked to the myth of Persephone, who was snatched into the Underworld by the god Hades while picking the flowers]]

The [[Renaissance]] mythographer [[Natale Conti]] says wreaths of [[Narcissus (plant)|narcissus]], [[Adiantum|maidenhair fern ''(adianthus)'']]<!--adianthus is the form used by Conti, not adiantum-->, and [[cupressus sempervirens|cypress]] were given to Pluto.<ref>Natale Conti, ''Mythologiae'' 2.9. Conti's sources on this point are unclear, and he thoroughly conflates traditions pertaining to the various classical rulers of the underworld.</ref> In the ''Homeric Hymn to Demeter'', [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]] (Earth) produced the narcissus at Zeus's request as a snare for Persephone; when she grasps it, a chasm opens up and the "Host to Many" (Hades) seizes her.<ref>''Homeric Hymn to Demeter'', lines 7–9, as cited by Radford, ''Lost Girls'', p. 145; Clayton Zimmerman, ''The Pastoral Narcissus: A Study of the First Idyll of Theocritus'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 1994), p. 2.</ref> Narcissus wreaths were used in early times to crown Demeter and Persephone, as well as the Furies ([[Erinyes|Eumenides]]).<ref>Sophocles, ''Oedipus at Colonus'' 681, and [[scholion]], on Demeter and Persephone (the two "Great Goddesses"); [[Euphorion of Chalcis|Euphorion]], fragment 94, on the Eumenides; Zimmerman, ''The Pastoral Narcissus'', p. 2; Jan Coenradd Kamerbeek, ''The Plays of Sophocles, Commentaries: The Oedipus Colonus'' (Brill, 1984), vol. 7, p. 106, noting that garlands of flowers were expressly forbidden at the [[Thesmophoria]]; James C. Hogan, ''A Commentary on the Plays of Sophocles'' (Southern Illinois University Press, 1991), p. 99.</ref> The flower was associated with narcotic drugginess (''narkê'', "torpor"),<ref>"Death and Greek Myths," in ''Greek and Egyptian Mythologies'', edited by Yves Bonnefoy (University of Chicago Press, 1991, 1992), p. 110.</ref> [[fascinus|erotic fascination]],<ref>Zimmerman, ''The Pastoral Narcissus'', p. 2; Carlin A. Barton, ''The Sorrows of the Ancient Romans: The Gladiator and the Monster'' (Princeton University Press, 1993), p. 92. The [[phallus]] as a magic charm was the remedy for ''[[invidia]]'' or the evil eye, a self-induced form of which was the ruin of [[Narcissus (mythology)|the mythological figure Narcissus]].</ref> and imminent death;<ref>On the difficulty of identifying precisely which flower the ancients meant by "narcissus," see [[Richard Claverhouse Jebb|R.C. Jebb]], ''Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments'' (Cambridge University Press, 1900, 3rd edition), p. 115.</ref> to dream of crowning oneself with narcissus was a bad sign.<ref>[[Artemidorus]], ''[[Oneirocritica]]'' 1.77, as noted by Jebb, ''Sophocles'', p. 115.</ref> In the [[Narcissus (mythology)|myth of Narcissus]], the flower is created when a beautiful, self-absorbed youth rejects sexuality and is condemned to perpetual self-love along the [[Styx]].<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 3.505; Zimmerman, ''The Pastoral Narcissus'', p. 48. The Styx here is a pool.</ref>

Conti's inclusion of ''adianthus'' (''[[Adiantum]]'' in modern nomenclature) is less straightforward. The name, meaning "unmoistened" (Greek ''adianton''), was taken in antiquity to refer to the fern's ability to repel water. The plant, which grew in wet places, was also called ''[[Adiantum capillus-veneris|capillus veneris]]'', "hair of Venus," divinely dry when she emerged from the sea.<ref>Theophrastus, ''Historia plantarum'' 7.13–14; [[Nicander]], ''[[Theriaca (poem)|Theriaca]]'' 846; [[Rabelais]], ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]]'' 4.24; Adams, ''The Seven Books of Paulus Aegineta'', pp. 22–23; Richard Hunter, ''Theocritus: A Selection'' (Cambridge University Press, 1999), p. 277, noting that "the association of lush vegetation ... with female 'otherness' and sexuality has a long history."</ref> [[History of medicine|Historian of medicine]] [[John M. Riddle]] has suggested that the ''adianthus'' was one of the ferns Dioscorides called ''[[asplenium|asplenon]]'' and prescribed as a contraceptive ''(atokios)''.<ref>Riddle, ''Contraception and Abortion'', pp. 31, 82, 180 (note 5).</ref> The associations of Proserpine (Persephone) and the maidenhair are alluded to by [[Samuel Beckett]] in a 1946 poem, in which the [[self]] is a [[Allegory of the Cave|Platonic cave]] with ''[[:fr:capillaire|capillaires]]'',<!-- this link is a dab page on wikipédia.fr; please do not change, as the ambiguity of meaning is deliberate and an accurate representation of the intentions of the source text--> in French both "maidenhair fern" and "[[blood vessel]]s".<ref>[[Samuel Beckett]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=DFUc5K_J6JQC&dq=%22Jusque+dans+la+caverne+ciel+et+sol%22&pg=PA51 "Jusque dans la caverne ciel et sol"], the last of twelve poems in the cycle ''Poèmes 38–39'' (1946); C.J. Ackerley and S.E. Gontarski, ''The Grove Companion to Samuel Beckett'' (Grove Press, 2004), pp. 293, 443, 599.</ref>

[[File:25270- Dionysos temple pediment.jpg|thumb|270px|Pediment of an ancient Greek temple with a symposium scene of Dionysus and Pluto, 500s BC, [[Archaeological Museum of Corfu]].]]

The cypress (Greek ''cyparissus'', Latin ''cupressus'') has traditional associations with mourning.<ref>Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, ''Instructions for the Netherworld'', p. 25.</ref> In ancient [[Attica]], households in mourning were garlanded with cypress,<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], note to ''[[Aeneid]]'' 3.680.</ref> and it was used to fumigate the air during [[cremation]]s.<ref>[[Isidore of Seville]], ''[[Etymologiae]]'' 17.7.34.</ref> In the myth of [[Cyparissus]], a youth was transformed into a cypress, consumed by grief over the accidental death of a pet [[Red Deer|stag]].<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 10.106ff.; Servius, note to Vergil's ''[[Georgics]]'' 1.20.</ref> A "white cypress" is part of the topography of the underworld that recurs in the [[Totenpass|Orphic gold tablets]] as a kind of beacon near the entrance, perhaps to be compared with the [[Tree of Life]] in various world mythologies. The description of the cypress as "white" (Greek ''leukē''), since the botanical tree is dark, is symbolic, evoking the white garments worn by initiates or the clothing of a corpse, or the pallor of the dead. In Orphic funeral rites, it was forbidden to make coffins of cypress.<ref>Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, ''Instructions for the Netherworld'', pp. 25–28.</ref>

The tradition of the mystery religions favors Pluton/Hades as a loving and faithful partner to Persephone, but one ancient myth that preserves a lover for him parallels the abduction and also has a vegetative aspect.<ref>The nymph [[Minthe|Minthē]], a rival for the attentions of ''Hades'' (not named as Pluto), was transformed by Persephone into the mint plant, a major ingredient in the ritual drink of the mysteries ([[Strabo]] 8.3.14).</ref> A Roman source says that Pluto fell in love with [[Leuce (mythology)|Leuca]] (Greek ''Leukē'', "White"), the most beautiful of the nymphs, and abducted her to live with him in his realm. After the long span of her life came to its end, he memorialized their love by creating a white tree in the [[Elysium|Elysian Fields]]. The tree was the [[Populus alba|white poplar]] (Greek ''leukē''), the leaves of which are white on one side and dark on the other, representing the duality of upper and underworld.<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], note to [[Vergil]]'s ''[[Eclogues|Eclogue]]'' 7.61. Persephone is not mentioned.</ref> A wreath of white poplar leaves was fashioned by Heracles to mark his [[descent to the underworld|ascent from the underworld]], an ''[[aition]]'' for why it was worn by initiates<ref>Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, ''Instructions for the Netherworld'', pp. 93 and 124–125, citing [[Harpocration]].</ref> and by champion athletes participating in [[Funeral games (antiquity)|funeral games]].<ref>Arthur Calvert, ''P. Vergili Maronis. Aeneidos Liber V'' (Cambridge University Press, 1879), p. 48. This was a particular custom of the [[Rhodians]]; the heroine [[Tlepolemus#Polyxo|Polyxo]] awarded white poplar wreaths to child athletes at the games she presented in honor of her husband; Pierre Grimal, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'' (Blackwell, 1986, 1996), p. 385.</ref> Like other plants associated with Pluto, white poplar was regarded as a contraceptive in antiquity.<ref>Riddle, ''Contraception and Abortion'', p. 33.</ref> The relation of this tree to the white cypress of the mysteries is debated.<ref>[[Arthur Bernard Cook]], ''Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion'' (Cambridge University Press, 1925), pp. 420–422; Bernabé and Jiménez San Cristóbal, ''Instructions for the Netherworld'', pp. 25–26; W.K.C. Guthrie, ''Orpheus and Greek Religion'' (Princeton University Press, 1952, 1993), p. 182.</ref>

=== The helmet of invisibility ===
The ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus uses the name ''Plouton'' instead of ''Hades'' in relating the tripartite division of sovereignty, the abduction of Persephone, and the visit of Orpheus to the underworld. This version of the theogony for the most part follows Hesiod (see [[#Hesiod's Theogony|above]]), but adds that the three brothers were each given a gift by the [[Cyclopes]] to use in [[Titanomachy|their battle against]] the [[Titan (mythology)|Titans]]: Zeus thunder and lightning; Poseidon a [[trident]]; and Pluto a helmet ''(kyneê)''.<ref>Pseudo-[[Apollodorus of Athens|Apollodorus]], ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' 1.1–2, 1911 [[Loeb Classical Library]] edition, translation and notes by [[J.G. Frazer]].</ref>

The helmet Pluto receives is presumably the magical [[Cap of invisibility|Cap of Invisibility]] ''(aidos kyneê)'', but the ''Bibliotheca'' is the only ancient source that explicitly says it belonged to Pluto.<ref>Hansen, ''Classical Mythology'', p. 182. Apparent references to the "helmet of Pluto" in other authors, such as [[Irenaeus]] ([https://books.google.com/books?id=fyUMAAAAIAAJ&q=%22helmet+of+Pluto%22 ''Against Heresies'']), are misleading; "Pluto" is substituted by the English translator for "Hades."</ref> The verbal play of ''aidos'', "invisible," and ''Hades'' is thought to account for this attribution of the helmet to the ruler of the underworld, since no ancient narratives record his use or possession of it. Later authors such as [[Rabelais]] (16th century) do attribute the helmet to Pluto.<ref>[[Rabelais]], ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]]'' Book 5, Chapter 8.</ref> [[Erasmus]] calls it the "helmet of Orcus"<ref>[[Erasmus]], ''[[Adagia]]'' 2.10.74 ''(Orci galea)''.</ref> and gives it as a [[figure of speech]] referring to those who conceal their true nature by a cunning device. [[Francis Bacon]] notes the proverbial usage: "the helmet of Pluto, which maketh the politic man go invisible, is secrecy in the counsel, and [[wikt:celerity|celerity]] in the execution."<ref>[[Francis Bacon]], ''Essays Civil and Moral'' 21, "Of Delays."</ref>

=== Bident ===
[[File:Hendrick Goltzius 003.jpg|thumb|upright|''Pluto'' (1588–89) with bident, [[chiaroscuro]] [[woodcut]] from a series on gods and goddesses by [[Hendrik Goltzius]]]]
No ancient image of the ruler of the underworld can be said with certainty to show him with a [[bident]],<ref>A.L. Millin, "Mythologie," in ''Magasin Encyclopédique'' (Paris, 1808), p. 283; G.T. Villenave, ''Les métamorphoses d'Ovide'' (Paris, 1806), p. 307; [[Arthur Bernard Cook]], ''Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion'' (Oxford University Press, 1924), vol. 2, p. 798 ff.; John G. Fitch, ''Seneca's ''Hercules Furens'': A Critical Text With Introduction and Commentary'' (Cornell University Press, 1987), p.</ref> though the ornamented tip of his scepter may have been misunderstood at times as a bident.<ref>Cook, ''Zeus'', vol. 2, p. 801.</ref> In the Roman world, the bident (from ''bi-'', "two" + ''dent-'', "teeth") was an agricultural implement. It may also represent one of the [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#manubia|three types of lightning]] wielded by [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], the Roman counterpart of Zeus, and the Etruscan [[Tinia]]. The later notion that the ruler of the underworld wielded a trident or bident can perhaps be traced to a line in [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]]'s ''[[Hercules (Seneca)|Hercules Furens]]'' ("Hercules Enraged"), in which Father Dis, the Roman counterpart of Pluto, uses a three-pronged spear to drive off [[Hercules in ancient Rome|Hercules]] as he attempts to invade Pylos. Seneca calls Dis the "Infernal Jove"<ref>''Inferni Iovis'' ([[genitive]] case), ''Hercules Furens'' line 47, in the prologue spoken by [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]].</ref> or the "dire Jove"<ref>''Diro Iovi'', line 608 of ''Hercules Furens''; compare Vergil, ''[[Aeneid]]'' 4.638, ''Iove Stygio'', the "Jove of the [[Styx]]". Fitch, ''Seneca's Hercules Furens'', p. 156.</ref> (the Jove who gives dire or ill omens, ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#dirae|dirae]])'', just as in the Greek tradition, ''Plouton'' is sometimes identified as a "chthonic Zeus." That the trident and bident might be somewhat interchangeable is suggested by a Byzantine [[scholiast]], who mentions Poseidon being armed with a bident.<ref>Codex Augustanus, note to [[Euripides]]' ''[[Phoenician Women]]'', line 188, as cited by Cook, ''Zeus'', vol. 2, p. 806, note 6.</ref>

In the Middle Ages, classical underworld figures began to be depicted with a pitchfork.<ref>Cook, ''Zeus'', vol. 2, p. 803.</ref> [[Early Christian]] writers had identified the classical underworld with Hell, and its denizens as demons or devils.<ref>[[Friedrich Solmsen]], "The Powers of Darkness in Prudentius' ''Contra Symmachum'': A Study of His Poetic Imagination," ''Vigiliae Christianae'' 19.4 (1965), pp. 238, 240–248 ''et passim''.</ref> In the Renaissance, the bident became a conventional attribute of Pluto. In an influential ceiling mural depicting the [[Cupid and Psyche#The Wedding of Cupid and Psyche|wedding of Cupid and Psyche]], painted by [[Raphael]]'s workshop for the [[Villa Farnesina]] in 1517, Pluto is shown holding the bident, with [[Cerberus]] at his side, while Neptune holds the trident.<ref>Richard Stemp, ''The Secret Language of the Renaissance: Decoding the Hidden Symbolism of Italian Art'' (Duncan Baird, 2006), p. 114; Clare Robertson et al., ''Drawings by the Carracci from British Collections'' (Ashmolean Museum, 1996), p. 78.</ref> Perhaps influenced by this work, [[Agostino Carracci]] originally depicted Pluto with a bident in a preparatory drawing for [[#Euhemerism and Latinization|his painting ''Pluto'']] (1592), in which the god ended up holding his characteristic key.<ref>Robertson et al., ''Drawings by the Carracci from British Collections'', pp. 78–79.</ref> In [[Caravaggio]]'s ''[[#Orphic and philosophical systems|Giove, Nettuno e Plutone]]'' (ca. 1597), a ceiling mural based on [[alchemy|alchemical]] allegory, it is Neptune who holds the bident.<ref name="Gilbert-p124-125">Creighton Gilbert, ''Caravaggio and His Two Cardinals'' (Penn State University Press, 1995), pp. 124–125.</ref>