Gates of hell unearthed by Italian archaeologists is said to be the entry gate to the Underworld; it is linked to the Greco-Roman mythology and tradition. Rivers Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon and Styx were also entrances to the Underworld. The god Hades kidnapped the goddess Persephone from a field in Sicily and led her to the Underworld through a cleft in the earth so he could marry her. Into the medieval period, Mount Etna on Sicily was considered to be an entryway to hell. The gates of hell were commonly depicted as jaws, forming the Hellmouth, which was simultaneously the entrance to hell and
Pluto (mythology) The tree was the 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. A wreath of white poplar leaves was fashioned by Heracles to mark his ascent from the underworld, an "aition" for why it was worn by initiates and by champion athletes participating in funeral games. Like other plants associated with Pluto, white poplar was regarded as a contraceptive in antiquity. The relation of this tree to the white cypress of the mysteries is debated. The "Bibliotheca" of Pseudo-Apollodorus uses the name "Plouton"