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Why was Hades usually not counted among the gods living on Mount Olympus?
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Greek mythology
Oil on canvas by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, c. 1760; in the National Gallery, London.
In Greek religion, Hades is not typically counted among the 12 Olympians because he does not reside on Mount Olympus.1
Following the defeat of the Titans, the universe was divided among the three brothers: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. While Zeus took the sky and Poseidon the sea, the underworld fell to Hades by lot. Consequently, he lived a largely solitary and shadowy life within his own realm, which became synonymous with his name. Although he is a brother to the Olympian deities and is frequently associated with them in the broader Greek pantheon, his permanent domain is beneath the earth, far removed from the heights of Mount Olympus.1