Classical Studies
Classical Mythology
Intermediate 1 and 2
3818
August 1998
HIGHER STILL
Classical Studies
Classical Mythology
Intermediate 1 and 2
Support Materials
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CONTENTS
Introduction
In the beginning . . .
The Underworld
Quick reference list
Classical Studies Support Materials: Classical Mythology (Intermediate 1 & 2)
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Classical Studies Support Materials: Classical Mythology (Intermediate 1 & 2)
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INTRODUCTION
These support materials for Classical Studies were developed as part of the Higher
Still Development Programme in response to needs identified at needs analysis
meetings and national seminars.
Advice on learning and teaching may be found in Achievement for All, (SOEID 1996)
and in the Classical Studies Subject Guide.
This support package provides student material to support the Intermediate 1 and 2
Classical Mythology unit. There are two main sections in the package, namely, In the
Beginning and The Underworld. Between them these provide coverage of the myths
detailed in the Arrangements document under Creation, The Afterlife and Visitors to
Hades. Finally, there is a ‘Quick Reference List’ of the names included in the
package.
The material is designed so that students should be able to use it in a supported selfstudy mode, if required. In each section, there is a general introductory overview of
the topic followed by a number of relevant sources which students are expected to
study. Interspersed with the sources are questions and research assignments etc.,
targeted at Intermediate 1 or Intermediate 2 or all students as appropriate. Some
questions are straightforward and can be answered from the text of the sources. Other
questions demand more synthesis and evaluation; these questions contribute to the
development by students of the core skill component, Critical Thinking. While
students will tackle these questions individually for the most part, there may be
opportunities for some collaborative working and staff will wish to discuss points
raised with individuals, groups and the whole class.
The exact way in which this material is used is, of course, at the discretion of the
individual teacher or lecturer.
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IN THE BEGINNING
...
Remember that there is no ‘official’ version of Greek mythology. The Greeks and
Romans had no sacred book of knowledge like the Bible or the Koran. You may find
differences in the details of a myth, as told by different authors. As time passed, and
people’s perceptions of the world changed, the way of telling the story changed.
Compare, for instance, Hesiod’s description of the Creation with Ovid’s. Ovid lived
perhaps 700 years after Hesiod. It is not surprising that his story sounds to us
somehow more convincing than Hesiod’s.
The following is a summary of Greek Creation Myth, gathered from different sources:
Chaos was there first, a yawning gap, a nothingness out of which something, the Earth
(in Greek ‘Gaia’ or ‘Ge’) emerged.
Other beings formed from Chaos were Tartarus (the Darkness below the Earth),
Erebus (Darkness), Nyx (Night) and Eros (the Creative Force).
Gaia produced the Sky (‘Ouranos’ or ‘Uranus’) from herself, and then between them
they produced the 12 Titans, three one-eyed Cyclopes and three Hundred-Handed
Giants (the ‘Hecatoncheires’).
Two of the Titans, Iapetus and Clymene, produced other Titans, namely Atlas,
Prometheus and Epimetheus, all of whom were important later on in the story.
There is also a hint in Greek mythology that Oceanos and Tethys, two of the 12
Titans, may have been the original creators.
Cronus and Rhea
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However, Ouranos did not like his children and refused to let them leave his mother’s
body. This caused Gaia great pain and she persuaded Cronus, one of the Titans, to
castrate his father. From the blood of the wounded Sky came giants, nymphs, the
Furies and Aphrodite.
Cronus released his brothers and sisters, although he soon imprisoned the Cyclopes
and the Hecatoncheires once again. He produced six children with Rhea his sister.
These children were the Olympian gods Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia and
Demeter. Worried that he would be overthrown in turn, he swallowed his children,
but Rhea saved Zeus and he was reared secretly in a cave on the island of Crete. Rhea
substituted a stone for the baby and so tricked Cronus, who swallowed the stone.
Zeus was fed by the sacred goat Amaltheia and the bees brought him wild honey.
Friendly local gods, the Curetes, clashed their weapons to drown out young Zeus’
cries.
Zeus forced Cronus to set free his brothers and sisters. Zeus then released the
Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires. The Cyclopes gave Zeus his thunderbolt, Poseidon his
trident and Hades his cap of invisibility. These helped the gods defeat the Titans in a
great war. After the war some of the Titans were thrown down into Tartarus, while
Atlas was condemned to hold the sky on his shoulders.
Gaia then produced a terrible monster called Typhoeus, or Typhon, who was able to
hamstring and imprison Zeus, but eventually Zeus was rescued and Typhon was
imprisoned under the volcano, Mount Etna, on the island of Sicily.
There were not yet any human beings. The Titan Prometheus, according to some
writers, created them from clay. Zeus refused to allow them the use of fire, perhaps
because Prometheus had cheated him by offering him the worst bits of a sacrifice.
When Prometheus stole fire and returned it to men, Zeus punished Prometheus by
chaining him and sending an eagle to chew his immortal liver. He also punished
humans by sending to Epimetheus (Prometheus’ brother) the first woman, Pandora,
who was to bring disaster to the world.
Atlas and Prometheus
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The human race came in for further trouble later, when Zeus decided to drown the
whole lot in a flood. However, on Prometheus’ advice, Deucalion and Pyrrha
survived by building a boat, and when the water went down again, repopulated the
earth by throwing stones over their shoulders.
Some writers talk of a series of Ages, named after metals, which traces the gradual
downfall of human beings. They disagree on the number of these Ages: Hesiod
counts five, while Ovid describes four. They all agree, however, that the Age they
live in is the worst.
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Source 1 - The Creation
Hesiod, Theogony, lines 116-141, 147-156
Indeed, the very first was yawning Chaos, and then broad-breasted Gaia (Earth),
forever a secure seat for all the immortals who possess the peaks of snowy Olympus,
and dark Tartarus in the recesses of the broad-pathed Earth, and Eros, Love, who is
the most beautiful of all the immortal gods, bringing relaxation to the limbs,
overcoming reason and wise decisions, in the hearts of all the gods and all mortals.
And out of Chaos came Erebus (Darkness) and black Night, and from Night were born
Aether (Bright Air) and Day, whom she bore, uniting in love with Erebus.
And Gaia first bore starry Ouranos (Sky), equal to herself, to cover her completely,
and to be a secure seat forever for the immortal gods.
And she bore the long mountains, the lovely haunts of the graceful Nymphs, who live
in the mountain glens.
And she brought forth the everlasting Pontus (the Deep), with its furious waves,
without the sweetness of love. And then bedding down with Ouranos, she brought
forth deep-eddying Oceanos, and Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, and
Theia and Rhea and Themis and Mnemosyne and golden-crowned Phoebe and lovely
Tethys, and after them, last-born, was the wily Cronus, the most terrible of children.
And he hated his fertile father.
And then she bore the proud-hearted Cyclopes, Brontes and Steropes and strongspirited Arges, who gave Zeus thunder and crafted the lightning bolt.
Another three children were born to Gaia and Ouranos, huge and mighty, unspeakable,
Cottus and Briareus and Gyges, overbearing children. One hundred hands sprang
from their shoulders, unimaginable, fifty heads grew on their shoulders, and their
power and strength were boundless, as befitted their great form. These
were . . .
Source 2 - the Creation
Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 1, 5-9, 20-23, 32-37, 43-44, 69-83
Before the sea and the lands existed, and the sky which covers everything, the face of
Nature lacked any definite feature throughout its entirety. People have called this
‘Chaos’, a raw and unorganised mass, nothing except unworked bulk, the conflicting
seeds of the elements not properly joined, heaped together in the same place.
A god, in other words, a better Nature, settled this dispute. He separated the lands
from the sky, and the water from the land, and also parted the clear heavens from the
thick lower atmosphere . . .
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When the god - whichever one of them it was - had divided the mass in this way and
organised into its separate parts, he firstly moulded the land into the shape of a huge
ball, so as to be perfectly balanced. Then he ordered the seas to spread themselves
out, and to swell up under the rushing winds, and to surround the shores of the
encircled earth.
He ordered the rolling countryside to stretch out, valleys to sink down, woods to be
covered in foliage and the stony mountains to rise.
He had hardly fenced off everything within strict limits when the stars, which had for
long lain hidden under the mass, began to blaze out throughout the heavens. To
prevent any region being deprived of its own lifeforms, the heavenly ground was
occupied by stars and divine forms, the waters became home to shining fish, the earth
held the wild beasts and the restless air received the birds.
Up to this point there was still no nobler living thing, nothing capable of deep thought,
which could rule over the rest. Then Man was born. Either that great Craftsman, the
source of the improved universe, made him from divine seed, or the newly formed
earth, recently separated from the heavenly aether, retained the seeds of its heavenly
relation, and Prometheus mixed this with rainwater and moulded it into the likeness of
the all-controlling gods.
Source 3 - Typhoeus
Hesiod, Theogony, lines 820-35, 847-60, 867-70
When Zeus drove the Titans from the sky, huge Earth gave birth to her last-born child,
Typhoeus, from the lover of Tartarus, through golden Aphrodite. The powerful god’s
hands were strong and well able to fulfil his tasks and his feet were untiring.
From his shoulders grew one hundred snaky heads, those of a terrible serpent, with
dusky, licking tongues. Fire flashed from the hooded eyes in these awesome heads.
There were voices which issued from all those dreadful heads, which emitted all
manner of sounds, quite undescribable. Sometimes they produced sounds which the
gods could understand, but at other times the bellow of a bull, proud and untamed, or
the roar of a lion, which has no pity in its heart. Or it would be the sound of a pack of
dogs, or a hissing which echoed through the high mountains.
(Zeus realised what was happening and thundered).
The whole earth quivered, and the sea and sky too. Under the immortals’ attack,
rolling waves seethed round and about the shorelines and there were tremours which
could not be stopped. Hades, Lord of the Dead, below, trembled at the dreadful noise
of the conflict, and so too did the Titans, Cronus and his fellows, who are underneath
Tartarus.
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Zeus’ anger had now reached its peak. He seized his weapons, the thunder and
lightning and the glowing thunderbolt. He leapt from Olympus and struck. He
scorched all the unspeakable heads of the dread monster and when he had lashed him
and defeated him with his blows, he flung him down wounded and the broad earth
groaned. Flames from the thunder-blasted lord poured from the dark, rocky crevices
of the mountain where he was hit … The earth melted and Zeus, with heartfelt anger,
threw him into Tartarus.
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QUESTIONS
Use Sources 1 and 3 (Hesiod) and 2 (Ovid)
Intermediate 1
1. According to Hesiod, which two regions are said to be the home of the gods?
2. What name is usually given to the twelve children of Gaia and Ouranos?
3. What gift did the Cyclopes give to Zeus?
4. In what way does Hesiod suggest that Cottus and his brothers were monsters?
5. Which son of Ouranos was the most dangerous?
6. Who was Gaia’s last born son?
7. What did Zeus possess which helped him to defeat this monster?
8. How does Ovid explain the creation of the earth and the sky?
9. Ovid mentions two different ways in which humans may have been formed. What
were these two ways?
Intermediate 2
1. Is there any difference between Chaos, as described by Hesiod, and Chaos, as
described by Ovid?
2. Do both writers believe that there was a divine plan working to create the world?
3. Why is Love such an important force in Hesiod’s account?
4. How are details in Hesiod’s description intended to portray the creature as a
terrifying enemy for Zeus?
5. How does Ovid explain the appearance of the stars?
6. What are the main differences in Hesiod’s and Ovid’s account of the Creation?
Research
Try to find out:
1. what Cronus did to his father, and why.
2. whether Hesiod’s or Ovid’s account of the Creation is closer to the story in the
Bible.
3. when and where Hesiod and Ovid lived.
4. which creatures appeared after Cronus attacked and mutilated his father.
5. how Greek artists usually portrayed Eros.
6. how some other cultures have explained the appearance of human beings on earth.
7. the latest scientific theories about the creation of the universe.
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Source 4 - Pandora
Hesiod, Works and Days, lines 42-44, 47-68, 80-98
The gods kept hidden from mankind the means of making a living, or else you could
do enough work in a single day to allow you a full year’s leisure . . . Zeus in his anger
hid it, because crafty Prometheus tricked him, and for that reason he planned bitter
sorrows for men. And he hid fire, but the good son of Iapetus stole it again for men
from Zeus the Counsellor, in a hollow fennel stalk, deceiving Zeus the Thunderer.
Greatly angered, Zeus the Cloud-Gatherer said to him: ‘Son of Iapetus, you know
more tricks than anyone, and you are pleased that you have stolen fire and outsmarted
me, but this will be disastrous for you personally, and for future generations of men.
For, in return for stealing fire, I shall give them an evil thing, which they will enjoy to
their hearts’ content while embracing their own destruction.’
So he spoke and the father of gods and men laughed.
He ordered the famous Hephaestus to mix earth with water as quickly as possible, and
to give it human strength and voice, creating the beautiful form of a maiden, as lovely
as the immortal goddesses. He ordered Athene to teach her the skill of weaving, and
golden Aphrodite to pour grace upon her head, and yearning which brings pain, and
the cares which exhaust the limbs. He ordered Hermes to plant within her a doglike
mind and a deceitful nature.
He called this woman Pandora (All-Gift), because all those who dwell on Olympus
gave her as a gift, a plague to men who eat bread.
And when he had accomplished this irresistible trap, this act of sheer treachery, the
Father sent Hermes, swift messenger of the gods, to Epimetheus, bringing her as a
gift. Epimetheus took no thought that Prometheus had told him never to accept a gift
from Olympian Zeus, but to send it back in case it was something evil for mortals.
Instead he accepted it, and when he possessed the evil thing, he understood.
Before this happened, the tribes of men lived on earth free from evil and hard work
and harmful diseases … But the woman with her own hands drew aside the great lid
of the jar and scattered them, bringing bitter sorrows to men. Only Hope remained
there, in an unbreakable home, under the lip of the jar, and did not fly out the door.
Source 5 - The Punishment of Prometheus
Hesiod, Theogony, lines 507-534
Iapetus married a maiden daughter of Oceanos, the exquisite Clymene. She bore him
a child, stout-hearted Atlas. She bore also the famous Menoitius, clever Prometheus
with his nimble wits, and foolish Epimetheus, who was a disaster for mortal men,
right from the start. For it was he who first accepted a woman, Zeus’ creation.
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Far-seeing Zeus struck down the arrogant Menoitius with his smoky thunderbolt,
sending him down to Erebus because of his recklessness and overbearing pride. At
the edge of the world, in front of the clear-voiced Hesperides, Atlas was forced to
carry the broad sky on his shoulders, with hands which never tire. This is the fate
which Zeus in his wisdom has allotted to him.
As for Prometheus with his clever ideas, Zeus bound him with cruel chains, fetters
impossible to break, and drove a pillar midway through his body. He set upon him a
long-winged eagle. It devoured his immortal liver, and all that the bird had eaten
during the day was replaced at night.
The brave son of beautiful Alcimene, Heracles, killed it, rescuing the son of Iapetus
from this cruel affliction, freeing him from his pains. He did this with full permission
of Olympian Zeus who rules on high, so that on earth the glory of Heracles the
Theban-born, might be even greater than before. Zeus did this out of respect for his
famous son, and although he was angry, he suppressed the rage he had felt before,
because Prometheus had matched his wits against the almighty son of Cronus.
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QUESTIONS
Use Sources 4 and 5 (Hesiod)
Intermediate 1
1. Explain why Epimetheus is described by Hesiod as ‘foolish’.
2. The three other sons of Iapetus and Clymene were punished by Zeus. Who were
they and what happened to each of them?
3. Why did Zeus punish Prometheus?
4. Why was Heracles allowed to free Prometheus?
5. Explain what was inside Pandora’s jar.
Intermediate 2
1. If Prometheus tricked Zeus, why did the god punish men instead of Prometheus?
2. Do you think Hesiod is being fair to Pandora in the way he tells his story? Explain
your opinion.
3. Can you discover any similarities between the Greek story of Pandora and the story
of Adam and Eve told in the Bible (Genesis, Chapters 2 and 3)?
4. What happens to Hope in Hesiod’s story? Would the story have had a better
ending if Hope had managed to escape as well?
Research
Try to find out:
1. why Zeus took fire away from men in the first place.
2. how other mythologies explain the creation of man and woman.
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Source 6 - The Ages of the World
People still often say that things were better in the past. This belief is sometimes
found in mythology. The ancient Greeks and Romans looked back to the days when it
was not necessary for people to work: in the Golden Age everything was beautiful.
Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 1, lines 89-102, 113-143, 143-150
First to be created was the Age of Gold, which kept good faith and did what was right
of its own accord, without the need for law or compulsion.
There was no fear of punishment, no threatening words fixed on bronze plaques and
no cowering mass of people, terrified of the expression on the judge’s face. Everyone
was safe without a judge.
The pine tree had not yet made its way down from its home in the mountains to the
ocean, so that it might visit foreign parts. People knew no shores other than their own.
Deep ditches did not yet surround towns. There were no military horns or trumpets,
no helmets or swords. Folk led an easy life, free from worry, without resort to
warfare.
The earth herself, unworked, untouched by the hoe, unwounded by the plough, gave
everything of her own free will . . . Spring was eternal.
After Saturn had been sent to gloomy Tartarus and the world was under the rule of
Jupiter, the race of silver arrived, worse than gold, but worth more than gleaming
bronze. Jupiter shortened the period of the old-time spring and reorganised the year
into four seasons, by means of winters, summers, variable autumns and a short spring.
Then for the first time people sheltered in houses; their homes were caves, dense
woodland and branches tied together with bark.
Then for the first time the seeds of Ceres were buried in long furrows and labouring
oxen groaned under the yoke.
A third race - of Bronze - succeeded that one, more savage by nature, and quicker to
horrid warfare, but nevertheless not wicked.
The last race is made of hard iron. At once every evil burst forth into this age of baser
material. Shame and truth and good faith fled. In their place came treachery, deceit
and lies, along with violence and a wicked love of gain. They spread their sails to the
winds, which up till then the sailor knew very little about, and the ships’ hulls, which
had previously stood in the high mountains, now danced over unknown waters.
The surveyor now carefully marked out with a long boundary line the ground which
had previously been common property, like the sunlight or the breezes.
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Not only was the rich soil invoiced for the crops and the nourishment it owed, but also
journeys were made into the bowels of the earth, and the riches which she had
carefully hidden away in the Stygian shadows were dug out - incentives to
wickedness.
Now harmful iron appeared, and gold, which is more harmful than iron. War, which
fights using both, came along, shaking clattering weapons in a bloodstained hand …
Decency lay overwhelmed and young Astraea, the Goddess of Justice, was the last of
the heavenly ones to abandon the earth.
Source 7 - After the Flood
In Metamorphoses, Book 1, Ovid describes how mankind had grown so wicked that
Jupiter decided to destroy all human life by flooding the earth. Two people only were
allowed to survive, because they were righteous; the son of Prometheus, Deucalion,
and the daughter of Epimetheus, Pyrrha. They rode out the storms in a boat, and when
the waters subsided, they consulted the oracle at Delphi.
Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 1, lines 381-415 (abridged)
The goddess replied ‘Go down from the temple, veil your heads and loosen your
knotted garments. Throw the bones of your mother behind you.’
Then the son of Prometheus soothed Epimetheus’ daughter with gentle words ‘. . . our
great parent is the Earth. I think that the stones in the body of the earth are being
described as her bones. It is these we are ordered to throw behind our backs . . .’
They went down. They veiled their heads and loosened their tunics. As ordered, they
threw the stones behind their own footprints. The rocks began to loosen their
hardness and stiffness. (Who would believe it, if the story were not a time-honoured
tradition?) After a while the stones became soft , and once softened, to take on … a
sort of human shape, not distinct, but like marble statues in the first stage of carving
which have not been properly rounded off. The crude part of them that was damp and
moist and earthy was changed, to serve as flesh. What was solid and unbending was
changed into bone. What had recently been a ‘vein’ in the rock remained under the
same name. In a short space of time, by the power of the gods, the rocks launched by
the man’s hands took on the appearance of men, and woman was made from those
thrown by the woman. For that reason we are a hard race, familiar with hardship, and
we give proof of our origin.
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QUESTIONS
Use Sources 6 and 7 (Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 1)
Intermediate 1
1. Which god ruled the earth during the Age of Gold? Who replaced him? What are
the Greek equivalent names of these two gods?
2. During which Age did the seasons appear? What was the situation before they
arrived?
3. Why was there no need of agriculture during the Age of Gold?
4. After the Flood, why was Pyrrha upset at first by the Oracle’s words and needed to
be soothed by Deucalion?
Intermediate 2
1. Why were there no laws or judges in the Age of Gold?
2. Why does Ovid regard the arrival of sea-faring as an evil thing, suitable for the Age
of Iron?
3. Explain why iron is ‘harmful’ and gold is ‘more harmful than iron’.
4. If Ovid does not believe that the human race was created from rocks, or expect the
reader to believer it, why do you think he tells the story?
5. Suggest a suitable name for the Age we live in today.
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THE UNDERWORLD
The mythological Underworld is a picturesque place, which poets often described in
detail. It is a matter of doubt as to how many people actually believed in the existence
of such a place.
Hades’ kingdom (described as the ‘House of Hades’, or simply ‘Hades’) was thought
to be under the earth, and access was gained through tunnels. One such entrance was
at Taenarum, in the south Peloponnese, where a cave entrance can still be seen. The
Romans pointed to Lake Avernus, beside the Bay of Naples. There were other
entrances.
The Underworld was circled by the River Styx (‘Hatred’), but there was a complicated
system of additional rivers, which fed the Styx. These rivers had rather grim names:
the Acheron, the Coctys (‘Weeping and Wailing’), the Lethe (‘Forgetfulness’) and the
Pyriphlegethon (‘Burning Fire’). In the 5th century BC we first hear of Charon, the
ferryman, and coins are found in some burials, apparently the fee for crossing the
Styx. For Charon, see especially Sources 3 and 6b and 6c.
The guardian dog, Cerberus, is well-known today, but in ancient mythology he
appeared mainly in the story of Heracles’ last labour, when the hero was ordered to
steal the dog from the Underworld. Cerberus is normally shown as three-headed
today, but he often appeared with only two heads on Athenian vases, and Hesiod
mentions fifty. Cerberus was often portrayed with manes of snakes sprouting from his
necks, and a snaky tail. For Cerberus, see Source 6c.
Cerberus
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The geography of the Underworld is rather vague. We hear of the Islands of the
Blessed, and Elysium, a pleasant suburb, where the sun shone and the climate was
pleasant. In the ‘Odyssey’ (Book 4) the hero Menelaus is told that the gods will send
him there because he is Zeus’ son-in-law, but in Book 11 we see his brother
Agamemnon and other heroes in the normal Underworld. Virgil puts Roman heroes
in Elysium. Normally, however, the Underworld is described as an unpleasant,
mouldy place, where the feeble ghosts of the dead lead a shadowy existence, fluttering
and squeaking like bats in a cave. Tartarus, on the other hand, the place for
punishment, was far below the Underworld. Virgil imagines it as a fortress, protected
by high walls and a moat of fire, guarded by the Furies and other monsters (see Source
6d).
There are various names used for the Underworld: Erebus (‘Darkness’), Orcus and Dis
appear, and ‘Pluto’ is used to mean the god Hades.
Hades himself was an unattractive character, who hid away from the daylight. He
once appeared on the surface, to steal the goddess Persephone, or Kore ( the
‘Maiden’), whom he wished to marry. This was said to have happened on the island
of Sicily, at a place called Henna. Persephone’s mother, the goddess Demeter, was
heartbroken, and wandered the earth in search of her daughter. The crops failed, and
eventually Persephone was restored to her, but only for part of the year, because she
had eaten pomegranate seeds in Hades’ house.
At first there was little belief in punishment after death. The only ones to suffer in
Hades were a small group of ‘super-villains’ who had offended the gods. The names
often mentioned are Tantalus, Sisyphus, Ixion, Tityus and the daughters of Danaus.
These characters suffered their own personal torments. The so-called ‘Judges of the
Dead’ (Minos, Aeacus and Rhadamanthys) continued to settle disputes in Hades much
as they had done in life. The ordinary dead wandered through the asphodel fields,
suffering little more than boredom and a longing for the life they had lost. However,
the idea of punishment for major crimes on earth gained ground (see Sources 2, 3 and
6d). Plato developed the idea of punishment, using the familiar images of the
Underworld (see Source 5).
Because the Underworld was an actual place, it was possible for the living to visit.
Few people, however, succeeded, even in legend, and some of those found the way
back even more difficult. Orpheus tried unsuccessfully to recover his dead wife,
Eurydice (Source 7), and Theseus and his friend Peirithous were tricked by Hades.
Helped by Theseus, Peirithous had attempted to steal Persephone, but Hades
persuaded them to sit on special chairs, which trapped them.
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Heracles and Theseus
Later, Heracles, on his mission to fetch Cerberus, freed Theseus, but Peirithous stayed
in the Underworld. Heracles, then, was the only hero in Greek mythology to succeed
in his visit to the Underworld. His capture of Cerberus may suggest a victory over
death itself, and some legends describe his adoption by the gods on Mount Olympus.
Another legend describes how he wrestled with Death in order to save his friend
Admetus’ wife, Alcestis, who had recently died.
In Roman literature, Virgil imitates Homer’s account of Odysseus’ visit to the Land of
the Dead. The hero Aeneas visits the Underworld to seek advice from his dead father,
Anchises (see Source 6).
Odysseus in the Land of the Dead
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However, some individuals clearly believed none of this. A Roman inscription on a
tombstone states explicitly: ‘There is no ferry-boat in Hades, no ferryman Charon, no
caretaker Aeacus, no dog Cerberus. We who are dead have become nothing more
than bones and ashes.’ The poet Juvenal said that not even a child believed in the
black frogs of the Stygian river, and thousands of souls crammed into a single boat.
The philosopher poet Lucretius produced his own explanation of the sinners’
punishments in Hades (see Source 5). However, the powerful imagery of the
traditional Underworld could still be used to great effect by a poet such as Virgil.
Perhaps then, as now, many ordinary people approached death with the vague
suspicion that some sort of journey to another place awaited them. Certainly many
were initiated into the Mysteries of Eleusis in the hope of gaining a reward in the next
world, and there was a widespread belief in the existence of ghosts. Elaborate funeral
customs and regular Festivals of the Dead also point to a belief in some sort of
afterlife. Only a small percentage of burials contain a coin for Charon.
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Source 1 - Circe’s instructions to Odysseus
Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey, which describes the adventures of Odysseus after
Troy, may have been composed some time in the 7th century BC. It is therefore one of
the earliest Greek poems we possess.
In Book 11, Homer describes a journey to the Underworld. It is worthwhile reading
the whole of Book 11: here is a translation of the instructions given to Odysseus by
the witch Circe at the end of Book 10.
Homer, Odyssey 10, lines 501-530.
(Odysseus asked Circe) ‘Who will guide me on my way? Nobody has gone to Hades
before in a black ship.’
So he spoke, and the goddess answered ‘Godlike son of Laertes, quick-witted
Odysseus, don’t let the lack of a guide keep you from setting sail. Set up the mast and
stretch out the white sails, then sit back. The breath of the North wind will carry the
ship. Whenever you pass over the Ocean in your ship you will find there is a rugged
coast and the groves of Persephone, with tall poplar trees, and willows which shed
their fruit. Beach your ship beside the deep-swirling Ocean and make your way to the
mouldy House of Hades.’
‘There the Pyriphlegethon (Burning Fire) and Cocytus flow into the Acheron, which is
an offshoot of the water of Styx. A rock marks the meeting of the two roaring rivers.
Once you reach there, my hero, draw near, as I order you, and dig a pit a cubit long,
this way and that, and around it pour an offering to all the dead. First, honey mixed
with milk, then sweet wine, then thirdly water. Then scatter wine barley and pray to
the empty shells of the dead, promising that, once you reach Ithaca, you will sacrifice
a heifer that has not calved, the best you possess, and you will heap treasures upon the
pyre. To Teiresias alone you will sacrifice a sheep, totally black, the most outstanding
among your flocks. Once you have appeased the famed tribes of the dead by your
prayers, then kill a ram and black ewe, turning them towards Erebus, while turning
away yourself, as if longing for the waters of the river. Then the souls of the dead will
come, and they will be many.’
A visit to the land of the dead
Based on Homer, ‘Odyssey’, Book 11
Scene: A gloomy stretch of beach, under a dark, cloudy sky. Odysseus and his crew
have just landed. They leave the ship and stand on the shore, looking around.
Sailor
I don’t like this place, Odysseus.
Odysseus
I don’t either, but I have my orders. I must visit the mouldy House of
Hades and speak with the ghost of the prophet Teiresias. He will give
me the advice I needed to get home again safely.
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Sailor
This is a weird place: those strange trees and cliffs frighten me.
Odysseus
We are at the world’s end here. We have crossed the River of Ocean.
But cheer up. It could be worse: some people have to live here all the
time.
Sailor
You mean that this place is actually inhabited?
Odysseus
Yes. They are called the Cimmerians. They live wrapped in mist and
fog, and they never see the sun.
Sailor
Poor folk. But tell me, Odysseus, how can you talk to the prophet
Teiresias, if, as you say, he is dead and in the House of Hades?
Odysseus
I have my instructions. A rock marks the place where the Rivers of
the Underworld meet, and there we shall sacrifice the sheep we have
brought with us. The ghost of Teiresias will smell the blood.
Sailor
But, Odysseus …
Odysseus
What’s wrong?
Sailor
How can you be sure that the right ghost will appear? What if …
something else comes?
Odysseus
That’s a risk we have to take. Come on, we’ve arrived at the right
spot. Perimedes and Eurylochus, hold on to the victims, while I dig a
trench in the earth.
Odysseus dug a shallow trench, the length and breadth of a man’s forearm. Into the
hole he poured offerings: milk and honey, sweet wine and, finally, water. Then he
sprinkled white barley and said a prayer to the souls of the dead, promising further
offerings on his return to Ithaca. Finally he killed the sheep, letting their blood soak
into the earth.
Sailor
Look! Something is happening! Mist - or steam - rising from the
ground.
Odysseus
The ghosts of the dead!
Sailor
There must be hundreds of them, Odysseus. And they are unhappy:
they are crying.
Odysseus
They are hungry, my friend. Look, there are young girls, newly
married, and boys who never reached manhood. There are old men
who have suffered so much, and warriors, killed in battle, with their
wounds gaping open and their armour blood-stained. They are empty
and hollow, and so hungry.
Skin the sheep and burn them quickly, men, and I shall frighten the
ghosts off until Teiresias arrives.
Sailor
I recognise that ghost! Why, it’s Elpenor, my friend. But he’s not
even buried yet. What’s he doing here?
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Elpenor
My lord Odysseus! Some unfriendly god, and the wine I drank,
caused my death. I was sleeping on the roof of Circe’s palace, and
when I awoke I forgot to use the ladder and came down the quick
way! I broke my neck and my ghost came here, to Hades.
Odysseus
How can I help you, Elpenor?
Elpenor
When you return to Circe’s palace, please give me a proper funeral.
Burn my body, together with the weapons I used to carry, and raise a
mound for me on the beach. Mark the spot with the oar I used to pull
when I was alive, and sitting on the rowing benches with my friends.
Odysseus
It shall be done, poor Elpenor. I shall not forget.
Odysseus then spotted the ghost of Anticleia, his mother. She had still been alive when
he had sailed to Troy, all those years before, and he was very upset when he saw her.
However, he would not allow her to come near until he had spoken to Teiresias, who
now came up to him, carrying a golden sceptre.
Teiresias
What has brought you to this terrible place, Odysseus? Step back and
let me taste the blood. Then I may tell you about your future.
Odysseus sheathed his sword and Teiresias drank the dark blood. Then he spoke.
Teiresias
Many troubles lie in front of you, my lord Odysseus. The gods will
make your journey hard. Poseidon hates you, because you blinded his
son.
Odysseus
Shall I get home safely?
Teiresias
Only if you control yourself and your men. One day you will reach
the Island of the Sungod, where his cattle and fat sheep graze. If you
do not touch them, you will all reach Ithaca safely - eventually. But if
you hurt them, you will lose your ship and your crew. You will reach
home late, in misery, on someone else’s ship. And you will find
trouble in your house.
Odysseus
What sort of trouble?
Teiresias
Ruffians who want to marry your wife. They will be eating your food
and drinking your wine. You will have to kill then, but it will not be
easy.
Odysseus
Shall I find peace then?
Teiresias
Not even then. You will set out on your travels again. Your journey
will last until you come to a land where the sea is totally unknown.
The people there will not use salt to flavour their food. You will be
carrying an oar, and when a traveller meets you who does not know
what it is used for, then you will know that your journey is over.
Sacrifice to Lord Poseidon and go home. You will die far from the
sea, and your death will be peaceful.
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Odysseus
Thank you, Teiresias. Now tell me this: I see the ghost of my dear
mother over there, but she does not seem to recognise me. How can I
persuade her to talk to me?
Teiresias
Let her taste the blood. Then she will talk.
Teiresias’ ghost melted back into the shadows. Odysseus allowed his mother’s ghost
to drink the blood. She recognised him immediately.
Anticleia
My dear son, how did you come to these parts? This is no place for a
living man to visit. Have you come straight from Troy? Have you
been to Ithaca?
Odysseus
Mother, I haven’t been home since we sacked the mighty city of Troy.
I had to come here to consult the prophet Teiresias. Now, tell me
what happened to you. How did you die? Was it a slow death, or
quick and painless? What about my father and the son I left behind?
And my wife, Penelope, is she well? Is she looking after my
kingdom, or has she married again?
Anticleia
Penelope is still waiting patiently for you to return, although she is
very upset and is constantly in tears. Your son is looking after your
kingdom for you. However, your father has left the palace and lives
in the country with the farm labourers. He goes around in rags and
sleeps on the hard ground. He misses his son, Odysseus. That was
my problem too, son. It was my heartache for you that brought my
life to an end.
Odysseus
Mother, don’t go! Why can’t I hug you? You slip through my arms,
like a shadow!
Anticleia
My dear son, what did you expect? When we die our physical bodies
are burned away and the soul slips away like a dream. Farewell.
After recognising and questioning the ghosts of many famous women, Odysseus came
face to face with the soul of Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae, who had been
murdered on his return home.
Odysseus
What has happened to you, my lord Agamemnon? Did Poseidon
wreck your ship on the way home from Troy? Or were you killed on
a raiding party?
Agamemnon
Oh, Odysseus, it was neither of these. I was murdered at dinner, like
an ox in a stable, killed by my own wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover.
You would have wept if you had seen us, lying there, beside the winebowl and the laden tables, while the floor swam with blood!
Odysseus
Poor man! Zeus has been cruel to your family. Look at the trouble
your brother had with Helen.
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Agamemnon
Yes, never trust a woman, Odysseus. Never tell your wife everything:
always keep something back. Of course, I’m not suggesting that
Penelope will murder you! She’s much too sensible for that. Now,
can you tell me anything about my son, Orestes? He must still be
alive, for his soul has not yet come here, to Hades.
Odysseus
I’m sorry, Agamemnon, I’ve no idea whether he is alive or dead.
Then the ghost of Achilles appeared, with other Greek warriors who had died at Troy.
Achilles
What will you think of next, Odysseus? How did you dare to come
here, where the dead exist without their wits, as ghosts?
Odysseus
I came to ask Teiresias about how I might reach Ithaca, my home.
But how I envy you, Achilles! When you were alive we honoured
you as if you were a god, and now you are dead, you are a prince
here!
Achilles
Don’t praise death in front of me, Odysseus! I would rather be the
poorest man alive, pushing a plough on someone else’s farm than be
the king of all these dead men. But tell me about my son. Did he
follow me to Troy? And what of my old father, is he still held in
honour, or do people insult him, now that I am no longer there to
protect him?
Odysseus
I have heard nothing about your father, but I can tell you about your
dear son Neoptolemus. He followed in your footsteps, and came to
Troy, where he fought well. He was in the Horse, when we tricked
the Trojans. He could hardly contain himself, he was so keen to
attack the Trojans. And after we attacked the city, he sailed home
safe and sound, without a single word.
Achilles
Thank you, Odysseus. I am a little happier now.
Odysseus
Why does Ajax stand back? The other souls all want to ask me
questions.
Achilles
He cannot forgive you for defeating him in the contest for my armour.
Odysseus
So not even death could make you forget your anger with me on
account of that armour, Ajax! It was the gods’ fault, not mine. We
all missed you, after you died. Talk to me, Ajax!
Achilles
It’s no good, Odysseus. He has turned away.
Odysseus did not pursue him. Instead, he saw other souls: King Minos, still dispensing
justice in Hades; Tityus, tortured by vultures; Tantalus, unable to reach the water and
fruit he craved; and Sisyphus, pushing his rock. He talked to Heracles’ fierce ghost,
who complained about the tasks he had been forced to perform on earth. Heracles
remembered his success in capturing Cerberus, the Hound of Hell. Odysseus might
have stayed longer, in the hope of seeing other heroes, but then it seemed that tens of
thousands of ghosts were suddenly streaming up from the Halls of Hades. Odysseus
was terrified that some monster might appear, and beat a hasty retreat back to his ship.
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QUESTIONS
Use Source 1 (Homer) and EITHER Homer, ‘Odyssey’, Book 11 OR the play ‘A Visit
to the Land of the Dead’.
Intermediate 1
1. Where is the Land of the Dead situated?
2. Why does Odysseus want to talk to the ghost of Teiresias?
3. What attracts the ghosts away from their usual place of rest?
4. In what way is Elpenor’s ghost different from the others?
5. List the items of information given to Odysseus by Teiresias.
6. Why does Agamemnon feel bitter about women?
7. a) Why does Odysseus assume that Achilles, at least, will be happy in Hades?
b) What is Achilles reaction to this assumption?
8. In what way does the behaviour of Ajax’ ghost differ from the others?
Intermediate 2
1. Discuss the ways in which Homer’s description of the Land of the Dead differs
from the more usual mythological descriptions.
2. Why does Homer include so many different ghosts in his story?
3. What impression of existence after death is given by this adventure?
4. What emotions do you think Odysseus would feel after his visit to the Land of the
Dead?
Research
a) Read Source 2 (Pausanias). List the details in Polygnotus’ painting which agree
with Homer’s description, and those which do not.
b) Read the beginning of Homer, ‘Odyssey’, Book 24. Can you suggest why the
description of the Suitors’ arrival in the Underworld has puzzled many critics?
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Source 2 - Polygnotus’ painting of Odysseus’ descent into Hades
Polygnotus was a famous Greek painter who lived in the 5th century BC. At Delphi he
decorated the walls of a club-house, built by the people of Cnidus on the south west
coast of Asia Minor (Turkey), with large wall paintings, one of which portrayed the
Underworld. The painting is completely gone; there are no copies. However,
Pausanias, a traveller in the 2nd century AD, saw it at Delphi and described it. The
following are extracts from his description:
Pausanias, Book 10, Chapters 28-31 (abridged)
The water takes on the appearance of a river, clearly the Acheron, and there are reeds
growing in it, and the forms of fish, but so faint that you would think they were
shadows of fish rather than the real thing. There is a ship on the river and the
ferryman at the oars. As for the ghosts carried on the boat, it is not clear who they are
supposed to be.
On the bank of the Acheron under Charon’s boat is a son who was unjust to his father
being strangled by the father. Near this man is another man who stole holy things
being punished. The woman who is punishing him is well versed in poisons and other
things which damage people.
Above those I have mentioned is Eurynomos. The priests at Delphi say that
Eurynomos is one of the demons of Hades - and that he eats the flesh of corpses,
leaving the bare bones. Neither the ‘Odyssey’ nor the ‘Minyas’ nor the ‘Returns’
knows of any demon called Eurynomos (and in all of these poems there is a
description of Hades and the horrors there). I will describe him: his colour is between
dark blue and black, like the blow-flies that settle on meat; he is showing his teeth,
and he sits on the outspread skin of a vulture.
Above the things I have described are Odysseus’ companions, Perimedes and
Eurylochos, carrying sacrificial victims. These are black rams. Beside them sits a
man and the inscription reveals that the man is Ocnos. He is shown plaiting a rope,
and a female ass stands by him chewing away at the rope he has plaited. They say that
Ocnos was a hard-working man, but he had a free-spending wife. Everything he saved
by his hard work was soon spent by her.
Tityos too is included in the painting, no longer being punished, but so worn out by
his continuous punishment that he seems to be shadowy, and not even a complete
ghost.
. . . he has painted Elpenor and Odysseus, crouching down and holding his sword over
the pit.
The prophet Teiresias is approaching the pit.
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Odysseus’ mother, Anticleia, is standing on a rock beside Teiresias. Elpenor is
wrapped in a garment of plaited reeds, the usual dress of sailors. Below Odysseus,
siting on chairs, are Theseus and Peirithous. Theseus is holding Peirithous’ sword and
his own in his hands, and Peirithous is looking at the swords. You might guess that he
is annoyed with the swords, because they are useless for the daring deed he had in
mind.
Finally, Pausanias describes the figure from the Trojan War included in the picture:
Agamemnon is next to Antilochos, supported by a sceptre under his left armpit and
holding a staff in his hands. Protesilaos sits looking at Achilles. Patroclos is standing
above Achilles. All are smooth faced, except Agamemnon.
. . . Actaeon, the son of Aristaeos, is there, and his mother, holding a fawn in her
hands and sitting on a deerskin. A hunting dog lies beside them, a reference to the
way that Actaeon’s life changed at the end. If you lower your eyes to the lower
section of the painting, you would see Orpheus sitting behind Patroclos on a sort of
hill. He holds his lyre in his left hand, while with his right he touches the leaves of a
willow tree. He is leaning against the tree. It seems to be the grove of Persephone
where, according to Homer, black poplars and willows grow.
. . . You would also see the famous Ajax, Palamedes and Thersites playing dice
(Palamedes invented the game). The other Ajax looks on, his skin encrusted with
seasalt, with the complexion of a shipwrecked sailor. Polygnotus seems to have taken
pains to put all Odysseus’ enemies together.
At the foot of the painting he has Hector, holding his left knee in both hands with a
quite heartbroken appearance. Beside him is Memnon, sitting on a rock, and
Sarpedon, covering his face with both hands. One of Memnon’s hands rests on
Sarpedon’s shoulders … above them is Paris, still a beardless youth, clapping his
hands like some country bumpkin. Penthesileia is giving Paris a disapproving stare . . .
There is also a storage jar in the painting, and an old man, a boy and two women, one
young, on a rock, and an old woman standing beside the old man. The others are
carrying water, but you would guess that the old woman’s urn has broken. She is
pouring what water there is left in the broken vessel back into the storage jar. It seems
to me that these are those who have insulted the Mysteries of Eleusis.
Below this pot is Tantalus, suffering all those things that Homer has attributed to him,
but in addition the terror inspired by the overhanging rock.
Source 3 - The god Dionysus visits the Underworld
The plot of Aristophanes’ comedy ‘The Frogs’, produced in 405 BC, imagines the god
Dionysus making a journey down to Hades to fetch back one of the famous dramatists
Aeschylus and Euripides, so that he might give advice to the city of Athens, at the
time doing very badly in a war with the Spartans.
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The following extract features Dionysus, who is accompanied by his slave, Xanthias,
asking advice from Heracles, who, of course, has a lot of experience in this form of
foreign travel.
Aristophanes, The Frogs, lines 115-140, 143-150, 154-178
Heracles
My dear fellow, don’t tell me you’ve got the urge to go down there too?
Dionysus
Don’t go on about it any more. Just give me some travel information:
what route will take me to Hades quickest? And don’t give me one
that’s too hot or too cold.
Heracles
Well now, what one should I mention to you first, I wonder? There’s the
Rope and Bench methods - by hanging yourself!
Dionysus
Stop it. You’re making me all choked up!
Heracles
OK. There is a short cut you could take: it’s a well-trodden way, or
rather, more ‘ground up’ in a mortar.
Dionysus
You mean a dose of hemlock?
Heracles
Exactly.
Dionysus
That would be a bitter pill to swallow! I’ve got cold feet already!
Heracles
Shall I tell you a way that’s quick and downhill?
Dionysus
Please do, for I’m not much of a hill-walker.
Heracles
Stroll on down to the Kerameikos.
Dionysus
Then what?
Heracles
Once you’ve climbed up the tall tower there …
Dionysus
What do I do then?
Heracles
Wait for the start of the torch race - you’ll get a good view from up there
- and when the spectators say ‘Get on with it!’, then you … get on with
it.
Dionysus
Where?
Heracles
Down.
Dionysus
But I’d lose what’s all neatly wrapped up inside my skull. I couldn’t go
along that road.
Heracles
What then?
Dionysus
The one YOU used on your journey in the past.
Heracles
But that’s a long voyage. First you come to a large lake - bottomless of
course …
Dionysus
Then how am I to get across?
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Heracles
In a little boat - only so big. An old sailorman will take you across, once
he’s got his 2 obol fare … after that you’ll see snakes and thousands of
wild beasts, really terrible!
Dionysus
Don’t keep trying to terrify me, for you won’t put me off.
Heracles
Then there’s masses of filthy mud and ever-flowing shit, and lying in it
anyone who’s ever wronged a guest, or had a rent-boy and didn’t pay up
afterwards, or gave his mother a thrashing, or punched his father on the
jaw, or committed perjury … and then the sound of pipes will surround
you, and you’ll see the most beautiful daylight, just like it is up here, and
groves of myrtle, and happy bands of men and women and a lot of handclapping.
Dionysus
And who will these be?
Heracles
Those who have been initiated.
Xanthias
And I’m the mule at the Mysteries, by Zeus. But I’m not carrying these
bags any longer.
Dionysus
Yes, and keep well yourself. Pick up the bedding again, you.
Xanthias
But I’ve hardly put it down.
Dionysus
And be quick about it.
Xanthias
Please, I’m begging you, hire one of these corpses being carried out for
burial, if there is one suitably qualified.
Dionysus
What if I don’t find one?
Xanthias
Then I’ll do it.
Dionysus
Fair enough. Here’s one now. You there, yes, I mean you, the dead one.
My man, are you willing to carry these little bits of luggage to Hades?
Corpse
How many pieces?
Dionysus
These.
Corpse
It will cost you two drachmas.
Dionysus
Good god, that’s too much!
Corpse
(To the bearers) Let’s be on our way.
Dionysus
Hold on, old fellow, can’t we haggle?
Corpse
If you don’t put down two drachmas, there’s no point wasting your
breath.
Dionysus
Will you take nine obols?
Corpse
I’d rather be alive again!
Xanthias
What a stuck-up swine. I hope he comes to a bad end.
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Source 4 - The punishment of the wicked
On his deathbed, Socrates explains to his friends about the nature of the Earth,
Tartarus and the rivers of the Underworld (Phaedo 108e-13c). He then discusses the
fate of the newly dead:
Plato, Phaedo, 113d-114c
When those who have died reach the place where their ‘guardian spirit’ leads them,
they are first of all divided into those who have lived honourably and devoutly and
those who have not. Those who are found to have lived neither one way nor the other
set out for the Acheron, and, boarding the transport which is available for them, they
arrive at the Acherusian Lake, and there they stay and are purified, atoning through
punishment for their wrongdoings, and equally receiving honour for their good deeds,
as appropriate.
Those who are judged incurable, because of the scale of their misdeeds (for example,
they happen to have committed many serious acts of sacrilege, or many unjust and
unlawful murders), are hurled into Tartarus by their appropriate destiny, from where
they never emerge.
Those who are judged to have committed crimes which, although serious, are
incurable (for example, an act of violence against a father or mother because of anger
followed by remorse for the rest of their lives, or manslaughter under the same
circumstances) must fall into Tartarus. However, after remaining there for a year, the
flow of the waters throws them out again, the manslayers down the River Cocytus and
the mother and father killers down the Pyriphlegethon. And, as they are carried along
and pass the Acherusian Lake, they cry out and appeal to those they have killed or
done wrong to, beseeching and begging them to allow them to be restored to the Lake,
and accepted. If they convince them, they come out and there is an end to their
suffering. If not, they are carried again into Tartarus and from there back to the rivers,
and they do not stop suffering this until they persuade those they have wronged. For
this is the justice their judges have assigned to them.
But those who are judged to have led outstanding holy lives are separated and freed
from these regions within the earth, as if from a prison, rising up to their pure abode,
and dwelling on the True Earth. Those who have purified themselves sufficiently by
philosophy live forever after without bodies and reach dwelling places more beautiful
than these, which are not easy to describe, nor is there sufficient time now.
True Earth: In our everyday world we are prevented from perceiving the beautiful
reality of things.
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QUESTIONS
Use Source 3 (Aristophanes)
Intermediate 1 & 2
1. Why has Dionysus chosen to ask the hero Heracles for advice about the road to the
Underworld?
2. What is the ‘large lake’ and who is the ‘old sailorman’ whom Heracles mentions?
3. Why are some of the ghosts happy, and dancing to the sound of the pipes?
4. Do you think two drachmas was a high charge for carrying the baggage? Give a
reason for your answer.
Intermediate 2
1. Why does Dionysus reject Heracles’ first suggestions?
2. Select two passages which show that Aristophanes’ picture of the Underworld is
not meant to be taken seriously. Explain why you have chosen them.
3. Why does the mention of hemlock give Dionysus ‘cold feet’?
4. What sort of people are being punished in this picture of the Underworld?
Use Source 4 (Plato)
Intermediate 1 & 2
Complete the following table:
CATEGORY OF SOUL
PUNISHMENT
Those who were neither particularly good or bad
Those who committed a crime and were sorry
afterwards
Those who committed sacrilege (crimes against
the gods)
Philosophers
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Source 5 - A rationalist’s account of the sinners in Hades
Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, Book 3, lines 978-986, 992-1002
The truth is that all those things which are said to exist in the depths of Acheron are
all here with us during our lifetime. There is no poor Tantalus, as legend has it,
terrified of the great rock hanging over him in mid-air, frozen in needless terror; rather
it is the pointless fear of the gods in this life which weighs down upon immortals, and
each one fears the fall which chance might bring upon him.
Birds of prey are not burrowing in to Tityos as he lies in Acheron: it is quite clear that
they cannot find pickings in that huge chest cavity to last them for all eternity, but
Tityos is here among us, the helpless lover, and the birds which tear him are the pangs
of love; anguish and uncertainty gnaw at him, shredding him, and the same could be
said of any great passion you might care to mention.
Sisyphus is here too in our lives, right in front of our eyes; the man who is always
thirsty in seeking out political power from the people, and always retires the sad loser.
For the pursuit of power (which is meaningless and never granted), and to suffer the
harsh toil involved, is the same as struggling to push the rock against the barrier of the
mountain, a rock which in spite of everything rolls down again from the summit, and
quickly seeks out the level ground of the plain . . .
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QUESTIONS
Use reference books and Source 5 (Lucretius)
Intermediate 1 & 2
Complete the following table:
SINNERS
CRIMES
PUNISHMENT
Tantalus
Sisyphus
Ixion
Tityus
The Danaids
Intermediate 2
1. Does Lucretius believe that the sinners in the Underworld exist?
2. Lucretius describes Tantalus as ‘terrified of the great rock’. What is the more
familiar punishment he is said to have suffered?
3. Explain why Lucretius believes that, in real life, some people are suffering
torments similar to Tantalus, Sisyphus and Tityus.
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Source 6a - The Entrance to Hades
The Roman poet Virgil describes how Aeneas and the Sibyl, a prophetess, made their
way into the Underworld.
Virgil, Aeneid, Book 6, lines 268-294
Dimly they made their way through the lonely night, through the shadows, through the
empty halls of Dis, a place without substance. Think of a pathway through woodland,
when Jupiter has veiled the sky with cloud and dark night has leached the colour out
of everything.
Right at the very entrance, in what might be called the lobby of Hell, Grief and
Haunting Worries have made their beds. Here dwell pale Diseases and glum Old Age,
along with Fear, Hunger that drives men to evil, and ugly Need, forms terrible to look
upon, and Death and Agony. Coma, close kingsman of Death, unsavoury Pleasures of
the mind, and War the death-bearer are there on the threshold, and the iron
bedchambers of the Furies, and crazy Discord, her snaky hair entwined with bloody
ribbons.
In the middle a huge, shady elm tree stretches the branches, full of years, which are its
arms. The story goes that this is the lair of false Dreams, which cling under every leaf.
Besides these are monsters in abundance, wild things of many kinds; at the doors are
stabled the Centaurs, and Scyllas, with their double nature, and hundred-fold Briareus
and the beast of Lerna (hissing horribly), and the Chimaera, armed with fire, Gorgons,
Harpies and a shadowy form, triplebodied.
At their approach, Aeneas presented his drawn sword, and he would have rushed
against them and struck pointlessly at shadows, had not his wise companion assured
him that they were thin souls, flitting without substance, creating a false impression of
form.
Source 6b - The Ferry across the River Styx
The Roman poet Virgil describes what Aeneas and the Sibyl see when they arrive at
the River Styx.
Virgil, Aeneid, Book 6, lines 295-330
From here the road leads to the waters of Acheron, the river of Tartarus. This is a
torrent, seething with mud, which boils up in a vast whirlpool, spewing out all its sand
into Cocytus. A truly dreadful harbour official controls the waters of these streams:
the terrifying and loathsome Charon.
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A thick, uncared-for greyness sprawls on his chin; his eyes stare, flaming; his filthy
clothing hangs, knotted, from his shoulders. He propels the boat with a long pole, and
attends to the sails, conveying the dead in his mouldering hull. The god may be old,
but he is vigorous in his old age, and filled with raw energy.
Thither came the whole crowd, fast and streaming, men and women alike, and even
great-hearted heroes, their bodies now finished with life; boys too, and girls not old
enough for marriage; young men, placed on the funeral pyre in front of their parents’
eyes, as many as the leaves which fall in the woods at the first cold snap of autumn, or
as many as the birds which gather together on land, coming from the deep ocean
waters, when the cold season forces them to fly across the sea, sending them to
warmer lands.
They stood begging to be the first to cross, and they stretched out their hands in their
longing for the far shore. But the surly ferryman first picked out one group, and then
another, while keeping others at a far remove from the sandy shore. Aeneas was
profoundly impressed, and also moved by the confusion, and said: ‘Tell me, Sibyl,
what this gathering by the river is all about. What do the souls seek? On what
criterion do some of them forsake the bank, while others sweep the grey waters with
the oars?’
The old prophetess answered him briefly as follows: ‘You are looking at the deep
pools of Cocytus and the Stygian marsh, whose power the gods themselves fear,
should they break an oath sworn in its name. All these helpless crowds which you see
are the unburied ones: that is Charon, the harbour-master. These, whom the water
bears, are the properly buried. None may be taken across the harsh-sounding stream,
from one awful bank to the other, until his bones find a resting place. They wander
for a hundred years, flitting and circling these shores. Only then are they admitted and
visit once again the pools that they long for.’
Source 6c - the Sibyl cross the Styx
When the ferryman caught site of them from the waters of the Styx making their way
through the quiet woodland and turning their steps to the bank, he shouted
aggressively at them, reproaching them before they could speak:
‘Whoever you are, approaching my waters with weapons, stop in your tracks right
there. I’d very much like to know why you’ve come here. This is a place for ghosts, a
place of sleep and drowsy night. It is absolutely forbidden to carry living bodies on
the boat of the Styx. Hercules came down here, you know, and I can tell you I wasn’t
pleased to take him out of the water, nor Theseus and Peirithous, although they were
the children of the gods and there was no stopping them. Hercules with his bare hands
forcibly chained the guardian of Tartarus and dragged him trembling from the throne
of the King himself. The other of the two tried to kidnap the Mistress from the
bedchamber of Dis.
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(The Sibyl reassures him that Aeneas poses no threat to either Cerberus or Proserpina
(Persephone). What is more, he has the magical Golden Bough, which is the key to
entering the Underworld.)
Charon marvelled at the fateful branch, an awe-inspiring gift which he was seeing
then after so long a period of time, and, turning his dark boat, approached the bank.
Then he cleared away the ghosts who were sitting on the long benches and unshipped
the gangplanks, allowing Aeneas’ large frame on board the vessel. The boat of
stitched skins groaned under his weight, and let in much of the swampy waters
through its seams. At long last he had conveyed both hero and prophetess across the
river in safety and set them down on an unlovely mudflat, amid sedge grass.
Huge Cerberus filled these parts with barking from his three throats, a monster lying
in the cave opposite. Now seeing the necks were bristling with serpents, the priestess
threw a titbit, a sedative made with honey and drugged corn. Ravenous with hunger,
he opened his triple throats and seized the offering, then his huge body relaxed, he
sprawled on the ground, his massive bulk stretching the whole length of the cave.
With the guard neutralised, Aeneas gained access, quickly escaping from the bank of
that one-way river.
Source 6d - Tartarus
Aeneas suddenly looked back, and saw, under a crag to the left, massive fortifications,
surrounded by a triple wall, which in turn was circled by a river of fire, an allconsuming maelstrom, Phlegethon the Hell-River, a din of whirling boulders.
Opposite, a huge gateway, its pillars of solid steel, so that no human force, and not
even Heavenly Ones themselves, could breach it in war. A tower of iron looms high
into the air, and Tisiphone, clad in a bloodstained robe, sits there unsleeping and keeps
watch over the entrance night and day. From here can be heard groaning and the
sound of harsh blows, the shriek of metal, as chains are dragged.
Aeneas stopped in his tracks, drinking in the terrible noise in terror.
‘What sorts of crimes are to be found there? Tell me, priestess! With what
punishments are they afflicted? What is the awful noise rising to the heavens?’
Then the prophetess began to speak as follows: ‘Famous leader of the Trojans, it is
strictly forbidden for anyone who is pure in heart to set foot in that corrupt threshold.
However, when Hecate put me in charge of the woods of Avernus, she herself taught
me about the gods’ punishments, and gave me the full tour. Rhadamanthys of
Cnossus rules this oppressive kingdom. He hears and punishes acts of treachery,
forcing sinners to confess their crimes. When they were in the world above they were
happy to put off making amends, the fools; now death has ensured it is too late. At
once Tisiphone the Avenger, armed with a scourge, leaps upon them and lashes them,
threatening them with the terrible snakes in her left hand, and calling upon the savage
ranks of her sisters.
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‘Then finally, their hinges screeching in a way that would make you shudder, the
sacred gates open. Do you see what sort of guardian is sitting in the hall behind?
What sort of shape is guarding the entrance? Within, a creature more savage has its
lair, vast, with its fifty dark mouths open wide, the Hydra. After that there is Tartarus
itself, a gaping abyss, plunging down into the shadows twice as far as our gaze
skyward towards the heavenly Olympus.
‘Here the ancient offspring of Earth, the lusty Titans, writhe in the lower depths, cast
down by a thunderbolt. And here I saw the vast twin bodies of Otus and Ephialtes, the
sons of Aloeus, who attacked mighty heaven, attempting to tear down with their bear
hands and dislodge Jupiter from his kingdom.
‘I saw Salmoneus paying a heavy price for mimicking the fire of Jupiter which crashes
out from Olympus. This fellow drove in a four-horse chariot through the communities
of Greece, through the heart of Elis, waving a torch in triumph, and demanded divine
honours for himself, the fool, imitating the thunderstorms and the lightning bolt
(which cannot be counterfeited) with the sound of bronze and the drumming of hornyhoofed horses. But the almighty Father flung his weapon from the thick clouds,
hurling him headlong in an awful tornado. And he did not use a mere torch, a pine
brand with its smoky light.
‘Tityos too, the offspring of the Earth who is the mother of all, could be seen, his body
stretched out over nine whole areas, a huge vulture picking with hooked beak at the
immortal liver and the entrails which provide a rich crop of punishment. It has made
its home deep in his body, and forages for its fine food, no respite being given to the
flesh which grows back again.
‘Need I speak of the Lapiths, Ixion and Peirithous . . . over whom the dark rock hangs,
seeming about to fall at any moment, and actually gives the impression that it is
already falling; the golden legs of lofty banqueting couches gleam, and a feast of royal
extravagance is set out in full view, but the greatest of the Furies is lying nearby, and
forbids all contact with the tables. She springs up, lifting her fire-brand, and yells in a
voice of thunder.
‘Here are those who hated their brothers when they were alive, or struck a father, or
cheated someone who depended on them; and those who found wealth, but gloated
over it in solitude, and put none aside for their heirs (that is the biggest crowd!); those
killed in adultery, those who followed the path of civil war and those who were not
afraid to betray their masters. All of them are imprisoned and await their punishment.
Do not seek to learn what punishment they will suffer, or what kind of fortune has
submerged them. Some roll a large rock, or hang spread-eagled from the spokes of
wheels. Unlucky Theseus sits and will sit forever, and Phlegyas, the most wretched of
all, bears witness, warning all in a loud voice: ‘Be warned and learn justice. Do not
scorn the gods.’ Here is a man who sold his country for gold, placing her under the
power of a dictator; this one made laws and then made new laws - all for money;
another entered a daughter’s bedroom and indulged in a forbidden liaison. All of
them dared to do a horrible thing, and achieved their aim. Not even if I possessed a
hundred tongues, a hundred mouths and a tongue of iron could I include every form of
wickedness or list the names of all the punishments.’
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Source 7 - Orpheus and Eurydice
Virgil, Georgics 4, lines 464-503
Sick with the pain of love, Orpheus tried to console himself with his hollow lyre,
singing to himself on the deserted short. He sang of you as the day dawned, and he
sang of you as the daylight faded.
He even entered the jaws of Taenarum, the high gateway of Dis, and the grove which
is murky with dark fear, and approached the ghosts of the dead, and the terrifying
king, hearts that do not know how to be softened by human prayers.
However, the thin shades were moved by his song, and, from their homes in the
lowest depths of Erebus, they came, the ghosts of those cut off from the daylight, as
many as the birds that hide among the leaves in their thousands, when evening or a
wintry rainstorm drives them from the mountains; mothers with their husbands; and
the bodies of great-hearted heroes, now lifeless; boys and unwed girls, and young men
placed on the funeral pyre in front of their parents’ eyes. Around them is black slime
and the ugly marsh-reeds of Cocytus. The unlovely swamp, and the Styx, its nine
streams barring their way, imprisons them.
Yet the very halls of Death, to the very depths of Tartarus, were stunned, and the
Furies, their hair braided with steel-blue snakes. Cerberus held his three mouths
hanging open, and the wheel of Ixion came to a standstill in the wind.
And now, retracing his steps, he had escaped every pitfall, and Eurydice, restored to
him, was approaching the breezes of the upper world, following behind (for
Persephone had imposed this condition), when a sudden madness gripped the lover
and he dropped his guard; forgivable, perhaps, if the Dead only knew how to forgive!
He stopped, and, as his very own Eurydice was on the verge of daylight, forgetful,
alas, and with his resolution broken, he looked back at her.
With that, all his effort had been wasted, and the agreement with the heartless
monarch was void. Three times a crash was heard over the pools of Avernus.
‘What great madness has ruined us both, Orpheus?’ she cried. ‘Look! Once again the
cruel fates call me back and sleep closes my swimming eye. Now, farewell:
surrounded by a vast blackness I am carried off, stretching out my nerveless hands, to
you, yours, alas, no longer.’
With these words she suddenly was whisked out of sight, like smoke, dispersed into
the breeze, and lost sight of him forever, as he grasped at shadows, wishing to say
much more. The ferryman of Orcus would not allow him to cross the barrier of the
swamp for a second time.
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QUESTIONS
Use Sources 6 & 7 (Virgil)
Source 6a
Intermediate 1
1. What does Aeneas see at the entrance to the Underworld?
2. What are clinging under the leaves of the elm tree?
3. Why was Aeneas in no real danger from the monsters?
Intermediate 2
1. What sort of atmosphere does Virgil evoke in this picture of the entrance to the
Underworld?
2. Do the monsters listed by Virgil share any common factors?
Source 6b
Intermediate 1 & 2
1. To what does Virgil compare the souls on the riverbank?
2. Which souls does Charon refuse to take on board?
Intermediate 2
1. Explain why the images used by Virgil to describe the souls are particularly
effective.
2. What clues to Aeneas’ character are provided by his reactions to what he sees in
Sources 6a and 6b?
Source 6c
Intermediate 1 & 2
1. Why does Charon become worried when he sees Aeneas approaching the River
Styx?
2. What persuades Charon to let Aeneas and the Sibyl come on board?
3. How does Aeneas get past Cerberus?
Intermediate 2
1. Compare the picture of Charon we are given here with the description of him in
Source 6b. Is he as terrifying here as the previous description might have led us to
believe? Give a reason for your answer.
2. Are there any light-hearted touches in Source 6b?
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Source 6d
Intermediate 1 & 2
1. What aspects of Tartarus make it a very grim place?
2. List the mythological figures mentioned here in Tartarus, and find out about any of
them who are unfamiliar.
Intermediate 2
1. Compare this picture of Tartarus with Aristophanes’ comic description (Source 3).
Are there any similarities?
2. What makes Aristophanes’ description of the Underworld light-hearted and
Virgil’s description solemn?
Research
Study the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch, or similar medieval images of Hell.
Source 7
Intermediate 1 & 2
1. Why did Orpheus enter the Underworld?
2. What effect did Orpheus’ music have on the various inhabitants of the
Underworld?
3. Why did Orpheus lose Eurydice for the second time?
4. According to Virgil, why did Orpheus look back?
Intermediate 2
1. Do you think Virgil’s tone is sympathetic or critical towards Orpheus? Give a
reason for your answer.
2. What details of the story has Virgil omitted? Do you think this improves or spoils
the narrative? Give a reason for your answer.
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QUICK REFERENCE LIST OF NAMES INCLUDED IN THIS PACKAGE
Note: Real people and places, except well-known countries are written in capital
letters.
Acheron
one of the rivers of the Underworld
Acherusian Lake
another way of describing the River Acheron
Actaeon
a young hunter, turned into a stag by Artemis, when he saw her
bathing. Torn to pieces by his own dogs
‘Aeneid’
a long poem written by the Roman poet Virgil
AESCHYLUS
a Greek writer of tragedies
Aether
the bright upper air
Agamemnon
a Greek king of Mycenae. Led the Greek Army to TROY
Ajax (1)
second best Greek fighter at TROY. Committed suicide
Ajax (2)
a Greek fighter at TROY. Drowned by Poseidon for blasphemy
Anticleia
Odysseus’ mother
Antilochos
a young Greek fighter killed at TROY
Arges
one of the three Cyclopes
Aristaeos
the father of Actaeon. A kindly god of shepherds but indirectly
responsible for the death of Orpheus’ wife Eurydice
ARISTOPHANES
a Greek writer of comedies
Asphodel
a plant with white flowers, growing in the fields of the
Underworld
AVERNUS
a lake in Italy thought to be the entrance to the Underworld
Briareus
one of the hundred-handed giants
Brontes
one of the three Cyclopes
Centaur
a monster, half man and half horse
Cerberus
the guard dog of Hades
Chaos
a yawning gap, or abyss, at the beginning of Creation
Charon
the ferry-man of the dead
Chimaera
a monster with lion’s body, goat’s head and snake’s tail
Circe
a witch in Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ who entertained Odysseus
CNIDUS
a city in South-West Asia Minor (now Turkey)
CNOSSUS
a city on the Island of Crete - home of the Minotaur
Cocytus
one of the rivers of the Underworld
Coeus
one of the Titans
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Cottus
one of the hundred-handed giants
Crius
one of the Titans
Cronus
one of the Titans, father of Zeus and other gods
Cyclopes
three one-eyed giants, sons of Gaia and Ouranos
Danaids
daughters of King Danaus, punished in the Underworld
DELPHI
sacred site in Greece, home of Apollo’s oracle
Deucalion
son of Prometheus, survivor of the Flood
Dionysus
the god of wine
Dis
the god Hades
ELEUSIS
a religious site near ATHENS, centre of the Mysteries
ELIS
a place in southern Greece, near OLYMPIA, home of the
Olympic Games
Ephialtes
a giant who tried to scale MOUNT OLYMPUS. Also see Otus
Epimetheus
brother of Prometheus, husband of Pandora
Erebus
the Darkness under the Earth
Eros
in Creation myth, the Creative Force. Later imagined to be a
winged boy, son of Aphrodite
Erinyes
see Furies
Eumenides
see Furies
EURIPIDES
a Greek writer of tragedies
Eurydice
the wife of Orpheus
Eurylochos
a member of Odysseus’ crew
Eurynome
a daughter of Oceanos, in one version of the Creation myth, the
creator of the world
Eurynomos
a demon in the Underworld
Furies
grim goddesses of vengeance who live in Erebus or Tartarus.
They punish those who break the laws of decency
Gaia
a Greek name for the Earth
Ge
a Greek name for the Earth
Gorgons
three monstrous sisters, of whom Medusa, beheaded by Perseus,
is best-known
Gyges
one of the hundred-handed giants
Hades
the name of the god of the Underworld, or the Underworld itself
Harpies
monsters with birds’ bodies and women’s heads
Hecate
a goddess later associated with witchcraft
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Hecatoncheires
a Greek name for the hundred-handed giants (‘hecaton’ is the
Greek word for a hundred)
Heracles
a famous Greek hero
Hercules
the Roman name for Heracles
HESIOD
a Greek poet who described the Creation and early history of
the gods in his poems
HOMER
a Greek poet, credited with the ‘Iliad’ and the ‘Odyssey’
Hydra
nine-headed watersnake, killed by Heracles
Hyperion
a Titan
Iapetus
a Titan, father of Atlas, Epimetheus and Prometheus
Ixion
a sinner in the Underworld, on a fiery wheel
Jupiter
King of the Olympian gods
KERAMEIKOS
the potters’ quarter in Ancient ATHENS
Laertes
father of Odysseus
Lapiths
a Greek tribe who fought the Centaurs
LERNA
home of the Hydra
LUCRETIUS
a Roman poet
LYSIPPOS
a Greek sculptor
‘Metamorphoses’
a long poem about Greek mythology by the Roman poet Ovid.
‘Metamorphoses’ means ‘Changes’ and the stories told in the
poem often contain a change of appearance
‘Minyas’
a lost epic poem
Mnemosyne
a Titan, mother of the Muses
Nymph
a female spirit of nature
Oceanos
a Titan, identified with the waters around the earth
Ocnus
a man being punished in the Underworld, in a painting by
POLYGNOTUS
Odysseus
a famous Greek hero who suffered many adventures on his way
home from TROY
‘Odyssey’
a poem by HOMER which tells the story of Odysseus’ return to
ITHACA after the Trojan War
OLYMPUS
a mountain in Northern Greece, home of the gods
Orcus
another name for the Underworld
Orpheus
a famous singer in Greek mythology
Otus
a giant. With Ephialtes he tried to climb MOUNT OLYMPUS
and attack the gods
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Ouranos
the starry Sky of heavens
OVID
a Roman poet
Paris
prince of Troy, killed in the Trojan War
Patroclus
a Greek fighter, killed in the Trojan War at Troy
PAUSANIAS
a Greek traveller and writer, who described many places in
Greece
Peirithous
king of the Lapiths, punished in the Underworld
Perimedes
one of Odysseus’ crew
Penthesileia
queen of the Amazons, killed in the Trojan War
‘Phaedo’
a dialogue by PLATO about the fate of the soul after death
Phlegethon
a river in the Underworld. See also Pyriphlegethon
Phlegyas
father of Ixion, punished in the Underworld for setting fire to
Apollo’s temple
Phoebe
one of the Titans
PLATO
a Greek philosopher
POLYGNOTUS
a Greek painter
Pontos
the Greek name for the deep sea
Prometheus
a Titan who created man and was punished by Zeus
Protosilaos
the first Greek hero to die at TROY
Pyriphlegethon
one of the rivers of the Underworld
Pyrrha
wife of Deucalion, survivor of the Flood
Rhadamanthys
one of the judges in the Underworld
Rhea
one of the Titans, mother of Zeus and the other gods
Salmoneus
brother of Sisyphus, punished by Zeus for his pride
Sarpedon
an ally of the Trojans, killed in the Trojan War
Scylla
a monster encountered by Odysseus
Sibyl
a priestess who guided Aeneas through the Underworld
SOCRATES
a Greek philosopher, teacher of PLATO
SPARTA
important city in southern Greece, famous for its military way
of life
Steropes
one of the Cyclopes
Stygian Marsh
another name for the Styx
Styx
the most famous of the rivers of the Underworld
TAENARUM
a place in Greece thought to be an entrance to the Underworld
Tantalus
one of those punished in the Underworld
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Tartarus
a place below Hades’ kingdom thought to be a kingdom or a
place of punishment
Teiresias
a prophet
Tethys
one of the Titan, wife of Oceanos
Theia
one of the Titans, wife of Hyperion
Themis
daughter of Ouranos and Gaia, first wife of Zeus. Personifies
law and order
Thersites
one of the Greeks at TROY, portrayed by HOMER as a
troublemaker
Theseus
hero of Athens who had many adventures, the best known of
which is the killing of the Minotaur. Punished in the
Underworld
VIRGIL
a Roman poet who wrote the ‘Aeneid’
Xanthias
the slave of the god Dionysus in Aristophanes’ play ‘The Frogs’
Zeus
King of the Olympian gods, god of the sky
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