Plutus 82542 206462582 2008-04-18T10:22:52Z FordPrefect42 566149 {{otheruses4|the Greek mythological figure|the Aristophanes play|Plutus (play)}} [[Image:Eirene Ploutos Glyptothek Munich 219 n4.jpg|thumb|right|280px|[[Eirene (Greek goddess)|Eirene]] with the infant Ploutos: Roman copy after [[Cephisodotus the Elder|Kephisodotos]]' votive statue, c. 370BCE, in the Agora, Athens]] In [[Greek mythology]], '''Ploutos''' ("wealth" Πλοῦτος), usually Romanized as '''Plutus''', was equally a son of the pre-Hellenic Cretan [[Demeter]]—<ref>[[Karl Kerenyi]], "We are not surpd to learn that the fruit of her love was Ploutos, "riches". What else could have sprung from the willingness of the grain goddess? (''Eleusis: Archtypal Image of Mothger and Daughter'' (Bollingen) 1967, p 30).</ref> and the demigod [[Iasion]], with whom she lay in a thrice-ploughed field— and, in the mythic context of [[Eleusinian Mysteries|Eleusinian Demeter]], also the divine child, the issue of the ravisher, the child and boy-double of the "wealthy" [[Hades]] (''Plouton''). Plutus was the personification of wealth. He was also thought to have been the child of [[Hades]] and [[Persephone]]. Many vase paintings show him with the king and queen of the Underworld. == Plutus in the arts == In the philosophized mythology of the later Classical period, Plutus is envisaged by [[Aristophanes]]<ref>''[[Plutus (play)|Plutus]]'' (''Wealth'', second version, [[388 BC]])</ref> as blinded by [[Zeus]], so that he would be able to dispense his gifts without prejudice; he is also lame, as he takes his time arriving, and winged, so he leaves faster than he came. When the god's sight is restored, in [[Plutus (play)|Aristophanes' comedy]], he is then able to determine who is deserving of wealth, creating havoc. Among the Eleusinian figures painted on Greek ceramics, Plutus, whether a boy child or a youthful ''[[ephebos|ephebe]]'', is recognized by the [[cornucopia]], or horn of plenty, that he bears. In later, [[allegory|allegorical]] bas-reliefs, Plutus is a boy in the arms of [[Eirene (Greek goddess)|Eirene]], as Prosperity is the gift of "Peace", or in the arms of [[Tyche]], the Fortune of Cities. In [[Lucian of Samosata]]'s satirical dialogue ''Timon'', Ploutus, the very embodiment of worldly goods written up in a parchment will, says to Hermes: :''"it is not Zeus who sends me, but Pluto, who has his own ways of conferring wealth and making presents; Pluto and Plutus are not unconnected, you see. When I am to flit from one house to another, they lay me on parchment, seal me up carefully, make a parcel of me and take me round. The dead man lies in some dark corner, shrouded from the knees upward in an old sheet, with the cats fighting for possession of him, while those who have expectations wait for me in the public place, gaping as wide as young swallows that scream for their mother's return."'' In Canto VII of [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s [[The Divine Comedy|Divine Comedy]], Plutus (''Pluto'' in the original Italian) is a [[wolf]]-like demon of wealth which guards the fourth circle of the [[Inferno]], the Hoarders and the Wasters. Dante almost certainly conflated Plutus with [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]], the Roman god of the Underworld. == Words with the prefix Pluto- (implying wealth) == Like many other figures in Greek and Roman mythology, Plutus' name leads to many modern words. These include: *[[Plutocracy]]: Rule by the wealthiest *[[:wikt:plutonomics|Plutonomics]]: The study of wealth management *[[:wikt:plutocrat|Plutocrat]]: Wealthy ruler *Plutolatry: the "worship" of money *Plutomania: the delusion that one is immensely wealthy == See also == * [[Pluto (mythology)]] {{Commonscat|Plutus}} == Notes == <!--This article uses the Cite.php citation mechanism. If you would like more information on how to add references to this article, please see http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cite/Cite.php --> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;"> <references /> </div> == External links == *[http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Ploutos.html Theoi.com: Plutus] [[Category:Greek gods]] [[Category:Greek mythology]] [[Category:Personifications]] [[ca:Plutos]] [[cs:Plútos]] [[da:Plutos]] [[de:Plutos (Mythologie)]] [[es:Pluto (dios)]] [[fr:Ploutos]] [[it:Pluto (mitologia)]] [[he:פלוטוס]] [[ja:プルトス]] [[lt:Plutas]] [[nl:Ploutos]] [[nn:Plutos]] [[no:Plutos]] [[pl:Plutos]] [[ru:Плутос (мифология)]] [[fi:Plutos]] [[uk:Плутос]]