Pluto (mythology) says that among the Turdetani, it is "Pluto, and not Hades, who inhabits the region down below." In the discourse "On Mourning" by the Greek author Lucian (2nd century AD), Pluto's "wealth" is the dead he rules over in the abyss "(chasma)"; the name "Hades" is reserved for the underworld itself. In Greek religious practice, Pluto is sometimes seen as the "chthonic Zeus" ("Zeus Chthonios" or "Zeus Catachthonios"), or at least as having functions or significance equivalent to those of Zeus but pertaining to the earth or underworld. In ancient Roman and Hellenistic religion, Pluto was identified with a number
Pluto (mythology) 1597), a ceiling mural based on alchemical allegory, it is Neptune who holds the bident. The name "Plouton" is first used in Greek literature by Athenian playwrights. In Aristophanes' comedy "The Frogs" ("Batrachoi", 405 BC), in which "the Eleusinian colouring is in fact so pervasive," the ruler of the underworld is one of the characters, under the name of "Plouton". The play depicts a mock descent to the underworld by the god Dionysus to bring back one of the dead tragic playwrights in the hope of restoring Athenian theater to its former glory. Pluto is a silent presence onstage for