The depiction of Hades in myth is fairly unrelenting in its gloom, and this is very
much the most influential version today, as may be seen by the incarnations of Hades in modern movies; here he appears as pallid and miserable, or fiery and vengeful, but is never actually seen as enjoying himself. Hades shares the characteristics of his realm. And Hades’ domicile is seen as dim, dank and generally lacking in those things that give the greatest pleasure to the living – food, drink, sex. The fact that other gods do not enter Hades has not only to do with the antipathy between death and immortality but also emphasizes the absence of things that are under their control: Aphrodite’s love and sex, Dionysos’ wine and good cheer, the food given by Demeter.