Inferides

Inferides is a term encountered primarily as a variant spelling or transliteration of inferi, the Latin plural referring to the gods and spirits of the Roman underworld. In classical Latin usage, inferi (from inferus, lower) is employed to designate either the deities of the lower world or the shades of the dead. The form inferides is not standard in classical sources and is generally considered a misspelling or a late, nonstandard variant rather than a distinct term.

In Roman religion, the Inferi (often rendered as Di Inferi when emphasized as a collective deity group) are chthonic figures associated with the realm beneath the earth. They are typically distinguished from the Olympian gods and from the living world, though they interact with mortals in myths and rituals. The underworld is also associated with Dis Pater (Pluto in Greek tradition), and various attributes and cult practices concerning the dead and the subterranean realm appear in ancient Latin literature and inscriptions.

Literary and scholarly usage tends to treat inferi as the general reference to underworld powers and the dead, rather than as a separate, independent pantheon. In works discussing Roman religion, the phrase Diī Inferī is found to denote the underworld gods collectively, while individual deities such as Dis Pater or Proserpina may be mentioned separately in related contexts.

See also: Dii Inferi, Dis Pater, Hades, Pluto, Manes.