Hades
- The underworld is the domain
of Hades, the god of the
underworld.
- Legends show Hades as
being very greedy, showing
favorable treatment to those
who brought more souls to
the Underworld (as in war and
murder).
- The underworld itself was usually also called
Hades.
- Geographically, the underworld was surrounded
by a series of 5 rivers:
- At the moment of death the soul was separated
from the body
- It took on the shape of the former person
- The soul then
encountered
various
aspects of
Hades before
it finally
rested
The River Styx
- One had to properly buried (according to
Greek customs) in order to enter Hades
- The deceased also had to pay a fare
-
- coins would be placed in the mouth of the deceased
so they could do this
- If a person was either unburied or too
poor to pay, they had to wander between
life and death until their circumstances changed.
- The fare was paid to Charon – the ferry man who
transported the soul across the River Styx
- This river formed the barrier between the earth and the
underworld
Gates of Hades
- At the gates of Hades, one was greeted by Cerberus, the three
headed watchdog
- Each of Cerberus' heads is said to have an appetite only for live
meat and thus allowed only the spirits of the dead to freely enter
the underworld, but allowed none to leave. [
Judgement
-
Once a person crossed the river, he/she had to be judged by a
panel of judges.
-
This process determined where the person would end up.
-
There was said to be three divisions of the Greek Underworld
-
A) Tartarus
-
B)
-
C) Elysium Fields
Tartarus
- Where Greeks who live bad lives went after death
- Titans were imprisoned here
- Those who were here would be tormented by The Furies – the three goddesses of
vengeance
- In Tartarus, one’s punishment would equal the sins one committed on earth.
-
For example, Tantalus was the son of Zeus and the king of Sipylos. He
-
was invited to share the food of the gods. However, he abused the
-
guest-host relationship and was punished by being "tantalized" with
-
hunger and thirst in Tartarus: he was immersed up to his neck in water,
-
but when he bent to drink, it all drained away; luscious fruit hung on
-
trees above him, but when he reached for it the winds blew the
-
branches beyond his reach.
Asphodel Meadows
- The Asphodel Meadows were for people who simply lived and did nothing
amazing, but nothing bad enough to make them go to Tartarus.
- Basically just made up of asphodel flowers – a favorite food of dead
Greeks
- A ghostly place of neutrality – less interesting and less perfect than earth
Elysium Fields ( Elysian Fields)
- Was a paradise inhabited at first only by the very distinguished
- Later those who were judged to be good/heroic went there
- It was located at the western ends of the earth and was characterized by
gentle breezes and an easy life like that of the gods.