Dis Pater | |
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God of soil fertility and mineral wealth, later associated with the Underworld | |
![]() Votive pillar reading Diti Patri et Proserpin[ae] sacrum, "Dedicated to Dis Pater and Proserpina" | |
Other names | Dis |
Abode | Hades |
Parents | Saturn and Ops |
Consort | Proserpina |
Equivalents | |
Greek equivalent | Hades |
Etruscan equivalent | Soranus |
Dis Pater (/ˌdɪs ˈpeɪtər/; Latin: [diːs patɛr]; genitive Ditis Patris), otherwise known as Rex Infernus or Pluto, is a Roman god of the underworld. Dis was originally associated with fertile agricultural land and mineral wealth, and since those minerals came from underground, he was later equated with the chthonic deities Pluto (Hades) and Orcus.
Dis Pater's name was commonly shortened to Dis, and this name has since become an alternative name for the underworld or a part of the underworld, such as the City of Dis of Dante's The Divine Comedy, which comprises Lower Hell.