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Hades and the Underworld A section of a fan page comparing Erik to figures of ancient Greek mythology would be incomplete without Hades, god of the Underworld. In the deck of Tarot cards I had researched, Hades is, of course, the image of none other than the Death card. For various reasons, Hades seems to get confused by some as a demonic figure of some sort. Hades is not anything at all like Satan, Beezelbub, etc. Hades was simply the ruler of the Underworld in ancient Greece, which means he ruled over all of the spirits of the dead - whether they be good or evil. His realm was separated from the world of the living by the river Styx, which no living soul dared cross uninvited lest he or she be made an eternal inhabitant of the Underworld as well! His realm could be reached only by boat, which was operated by Charon. With a few extremely rare exceptions, no one was allowed to leave the Underworld once they entered. Hades, like the other gods of ancient Greece, had an all-too-human weakness. He got lonely. Overcome by his loneliness, he kidnapped the young Persephone and took him to his lair for his bride. Persephone was one of the very few who - eventually - was allowed to travel back and forth freely from the Underworld and the world of the living. Likewise Erik felt trapped in his own dark Underworld beneath the Opera House. His Lair, the House on the Lake, could only be reached by boat. Like Hades, he got lonely. He arose out of his domain and brought back the woman he loved, in hope that she would grow to love him. Like Persephone, Christine was one of the few who had the freedom to come and go from his secret Lair quite freely. With time, according to Leroux, Kay, Siciliano, and Forsyth, Erik's hope was fulfilled although he was not as "lucky" with Christine as Hades was with Persephone. Poor Erik was often mistaken for the Grim Reaper himself because of his physical appearance. Erik had been known to play this role from time to time, sometimes in fun as the Red Death at the Opera Masquerade Ball and sometimes in the literal sense of the word. The older Viscount Phillipe discovered the hard way that Erik's "Lake Avernus" was not to be crossed uninvited. Another important factor to point out: this card means a major change is about to occur in your life. Anyone and everyone who has had the pleasure or displeasure of knowing Erik will testify to the major changes he made in their lives. This is especially true for Christine, the lost orphaned country girl which grew into a diva within three months thanks to the handiwork of OG. |