f Pluto was the god of dead. Pluto was not the god of the underworld. Pluto is cognate with the greek word Ploutos (wealth, cf. plutocracy), and , under the original name Plutus, was cosidered by the Romans as the giver of gold, silver, and other subterranean substances. Because these “gifts” were mined, Pluto became recognized as the god of the spritual underworld and thus death. This brought about his mythological relationship to the Greek god Hades. Because the mythology of these gods is more known the the actualregligious role of the gods, Pluto is identified as the counterpart to the Greek Hades (wich is only true in mythology). The dwarf Pluto is named after him. Pluto athough related, should not be confused with the Greek god Plutus, the god wealth.
Unlike his freely procreating brothers Zeus and Poseidon, Pluto monogamous, and is rarely said to have children. In Orphic texts, the chthonic nymph Melinoe is the daughter of Persephone by Zeus dissguised as Pluto, and the Eumendies (“The Kindly Ones”) are offspring of Persephone and Zeus Chthonios, often identified as Pluto. The Augustan poet Virgil says the Pluto is the father of Allecto the fury, whom he hates. The lack of a clear distinction between Pluto and “chthonic Zeus” confuses the question of wether in some traditions, now obscure, Persephone bore children to her husband. In the late 4th century, claudian’s epic on the abduction motivates Pluto with a desire fo children. The poem is unfinished, however, and anything Claudian may have known of these traditions is lost.
Like all gods, Pluto has his own special powers. He is responsible for watching over the Underworld and he was responsible for making sure that every Dead one got a fair judgement before the Judges of the Dead. He is able to being someone down to the Underworld when he wants, but his is usally fair and only brings down unwilling sprits and those who’s time had come. One of Pluto’s greatest weakness was his wife. He had tricked her to stay with him for 6 months of the year (fall and winter), while she was with her mother the other six months of the year (spring and summer). Although she was forced down to the Underworld, she and Pluto have a peaceful, sweet romance.