hades was stern and terrible
Preserved but no longer current.
Legend says that as she was amusing herself in the meadows of Sicily Pluto seized her and carried her off in his chariot to the infernal regions for his bride. In her terror she dropped some of the lilies she had been gathering, and they turned to daf- fodils.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “hades was stern and terrible” mean?
Legend says that as she was amusing herself in the meadows of Sicily Pluto seized her and carried her off in his chariot to the infernal regions for his bride. In her terror she dropped some of the lilies she had been gathering, and they turned to daf- fodils.
Is “hades was stern and terrible” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.