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Emily Dome
Mrs. Minton
Scholarship English 11
6 September 2011
How It All Ends… Or Begins: The Afterlife
One day, all of the lights turn on; another day, all of those lights go out. However, many cultures
and religions believe that those same “lights” simply turn on in different places. The afterlife is a much
debated topic. The Ancient Romans and Roman Catholics have similar views on the afterlife including
how one reaches heaven; however, the Ancient Romans have more polytheistic beliefs.
For the Ancient Romans, human life is a small fraction of one’s greater being. Human life is a
short imprisonment of one’s spirit. This spirit can go free after serving its duty on Earth by performing
good deeds, serving one’s country, and seeking honor. If a spirit does beforementioned good things,
that spirit would experience a joyous afterlife (“The Great Unknown – Some Views of the Afterlife”). The
Romans believed that when someone died, he or she would be escorted by other spirits to the River
Styx, where he or she and other spirits would meet the ferryman, Charon (Claudia). At the opposite end
of the river, each person would pass the three-headed dog, Cerberus, and stand before three judges:
Minos, Rhadamanthos, and Aecaus. These judges would ask the dead to account for your life. If the
account pleased the judges, then the person would be sent to a plain which depended on the person’s
occupation or position in their mortal life. If the account angered the gods, then that person would be
sent to Tartarus, where they would be punished by the Furies for all eternity (Claudia). This ancient
civilization believed in many gods and life beyond death. The Roman Catholics, however, had differing
beliefs in certain aspects.
When one envisions hell, many see the fire and brimstone that were described in Roman
Catholic Jonathan Edward’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” These visions are arcurate
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depictions of what a Roman Catholic sees as hell (The Great Unknown – Some Views Of The Afterlife”).
In the Roman Catholic religion, there are five different states of the dead: Limbus Infantium, which is for
infants who died before Baptism; Limbus Patrium, which is for those persons or Holy people who died
before Christian times; Purgatory, which is for those who need to be “purified” before entering Heaven;
Heaven, where one will live forever in perpetual happiness with Jesus Christ; and hell, which is where
un-repented sinners perish in isolation and fire for all eternity (Kirkpatrick). The Roman Catholics believe
that all mortals are born with sin, some of which are removed with Baptism at birth. Those sins which
are not repented at Baptism must be repented in life in order to go to Heaven(Kirkpatrick). Sins can be
repented by confession and prayer. When a person dies repented of all sin, they go to Heaven. Minor
sins will send one to purgatory, and it is here that the soul will be cleansed. The family and friends of the
deceased can reduce one’s stay in purgatory with prayer, mass offerings, and other acts (“Afterlife).
Once out of purgatory, one’s soul ascends to heaven to live eternally with Jesus Christ. Those who die
with many sins are sent to hell to parish in the flames. Roman Catholics believe in one god unlike the
Romans; however, these two perspectives are not entirely different.
The word “Roman” is not the only similarity between the Ancient Romans and the Roman
Catholics. Both of these groups do in fact believe in some variation of an afterlife. They also believe that
good deeds will essentially land a spirit in an enjoyable afterlife. If a person lives an honest life, does
good deeds, and seeks to be a morally sound human being, then they will essentially make it to Heaven
or one of the perspective plains. Similarly, both groups believe that dishonesty, bad deeds, and sins will
land grant the dead a one-way ticket to a rather undesirable place. These places are very much alike, as
the Ancient Romans believed their “bad” dead spirits are sent to parish with the Furies, whereas sinning
Roman Catholics are sent to burn in hell with Satan. While these two groups do hold very different
beliefs, they have comparative qualities.
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The topic of death is just about as popular as the topic of life. Every religious or cultural group
has some sort of belief system about what happens when humans die. Ancient Romans and Roman
Catholics share many aspects but also differ in regards to many topics. No matter what the belief
system, these two groups believe that the when the “lights” go out here on Earth, they turn back on
somewhere else.
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Works Cited
“Afterlife.” Belief Central. Web. 6 Sept. 2011.
Claudia, Flavia. “Religio Romana.” Nova Roma. Web. 6 Sept. 2011.
Kirkpatrick, Paul. “The Roman Catholic View of the Afterlife.” Carolina Messenger. Web. 6 Sept. 2011.
“The Great Unknown – Some Views of the Afterlife.” Think Quest. Web. 6 Sept. 2011.