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Greek Death and Afterlife
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Greek Death and Afterlife
Afterlife
Afterlife
In mythology, the Greek underworld is an other world where souls go after death. The original Greek idea of afterlife is that, at the moment of death, the soul is separated from the corpse, taking on the shape of the former person, and is transported to the entrance of the underworld. The underworld is a combination of heaven and hell. It was not a happy place. "Indeed, the ghost of the great hero Achilles told Odysseus that he would rather be a poor serf on earth than lord of all the dead in the Underworld" (Odyssey 11: 489–91).
Areas of the Underworld
Elysium was a place for the especially distinguished. It was ruled over by Rhadamanthus, and the souls that dweller there had an easy afterlife and had no labors. Most accepted to Elysium were demigods or heroes. . Normal people who lived righteous and virtuous lives could also gain entrance.
Elysium
The Fortunate Isles or Isles of the Blessed were islands in the realm of Elysium. When a soul achieved Elysium, they had a choice to either stay in Elysium or to be reborn. If a soul was reborn three times and achieved Elysium all three times, then they were sent to the Isles of the Blessed to live in eternal paradise.
Isle of the Blessed
While Tartarus is not considered to be directly a part of the underworld, it is described as being as far beneath the underworld. It is so dark that the "night is poured around it in three rows like a collar round the neck.
Tartarus
The Asphodel Meadows was a place for ordinary or indifferent souls who did not commit any significant crimes, but who also did not achieve any greatness or recognition that would warrant them being admitted to the Elysian Fields. It was where mortals who did not belong anywhere else in the underworld were sent
Asphodel Meadows
In the Aeneid, the Mourning Fields (Lugentes Campi) was a section of the underworld reserved for souls who wasted their lives on unrequited love.
Mourning Fields
Deities
Deities
Hades
Ruler of the underworld
Hades was the ultimate ruler of the underworld. He was the eldest of the brothers. When the three oldest brothers divided the world Hades was given the underworld. Hades is rarely seen outside his domain, and to those on earth his intentions and personality are a mystery. In art and literature Hades is depicted as stern and dignified, but not as a fierce torturer or devil-like. Hades was considered the enemy to all life and was hated by both the gods and men. He was also not a tormenter of the dead, and sometimes considered the "Zeus of the dead" because he was hospitable to them. Those who received punishment in Tartarus were assigned by the other gods seeking vengeance.
Hades
Persephone
Queen of the under world
Persephone
Persephone was abducted by Hades, who desired a wife. When Persephone was gathering flowers, she was entranced by a narcissus flower planted by Gaia (to lure her to the underworld as a favor to Hades), and when she picked it the earth suddenly opened up.Hades, appearing in a golden chariot, seduced and carried Persephone into the underworld. She had eaten six pomegranate seeds in the underworld and was thus eternally tied to the underworld, since the pomegranate seed was sacred there.
Burial
Tomb
Grave
Grave stone
The greeks attached great importance to the burial of the dead. They believed that their soul could not enter the Elysian Fields until their bodies had been buried.
Entering the underworld
To ancient Greeks, the spirit (or psyche) left the body in a breath of air. From there began prothesis, the preparation for the recently departed’s final journey. First, female family members gathered to bathe the body, anointing it with oil before dressing it in simple clothes. To makes sure a successful passage across the river Styx, a coin was placed in the deceased’s mouth to pay for the ferry into the underworld. "Relatives of the deceased, primarily women, conducted the elaborate burial rituals that were customarily of three parts (54.11.5)"
Eyes and mouth closed, the body was enshrouded and laid on a funeral bed, feet facing the door, to receive mourners intent on visiting and paying their final respects. Throughout prothesis, the haunting sound of funeral lament could be heard, first sung by the family and later joined by a professional hired to perform threnos.
In the early hours of morning following prothesis, the deceased was transported either by pallbearers or horse-drawn carriage along the streets to make their way to the cemetery for burial. This procession, called ekphora, included musicians, friends, and family, all expressing their sorrow through mournful song and physical expressions of grief. Unlike contemporary services which often find mourners stifling outward expressions of sadness, ancient Greeks were encouraged to grieve publicly.
Once the procession reached the cemetery, the deceased was placed in a larnax, a small, often elaborately carved box. From there, it was either cremated on a funeral pyre or interred, the grave marked by a commemorative stele to ensure that the departed would not soon be forgotten.
After the body was buried, there would be a tomb placed on top. This would normally have the name of the person, the date and if he/she was a slave, then it would have a message about the owner on the tombstone saying about how great the owner was. The tombstones would vary in size because everyone wanted their own to be very tall so that people would see it and remember them. This later became a problem because the tombstones would fall over and would not be able to stand upright.
Cults
Most Greek religious rituals were about sacrifice to the gods. But there was another form of religious activity also, which is called the mystery cults. People who wanted to participate in the mystery cults also kept on doing the usual sacrifices. It was an extra religious activity for people who wanted a more intense, personal religious experience.
Cults
In Ancient Greek culture there were hundreds of local gods and hundreds of cults, many devoted to specific gods. Many of these cults, were very secretive and had special initiation rituals with sacred tales, symbols, formulas and special rituals related towards specific gods. These are often described as mystery cults.
Mystery Cults
Most Greek religious rituals were about sacrifice to the gods. But there was another form of religious activity also, which is called the mystery cults. People who wanted to participate in the mystery cults also kept on doing the usual sacrifices. It was an extra religious activity for people who wanted a more intense, personal religious experience.
All mystery cults worked in the same sort of way. You would choose one particular god or goddess that you would pay special attention to. These were gods who died and were reborn.You did some kind of special ceremony for this god. People thought that if you did this, the god would pay special attention to you and you could possibly be reborn, in a way, so that if you had been having a lot of bad luck, now you would have good luck, a fresh start. And people also thought that you might have a better afterlife because of doing these things; you might be reborn after you died.
Cont.
Gods
Most ancient Greeks recognized the twelve major Olympian gods and goddesses: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus.
Video
Architecture
Primary Sourcing
The cemetery was in use for centuries—monumental Geometric kraters marked grave mounds of the eighth century B.C. (14.130.14)
Primary sourcing
Bibliography
Bibliography
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_underworld
- https://www.ancient.eu/article/29/the-after-life-in-ancient-greece/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_funeral_and_burial_practices
- https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleusinian_Mysteries
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/tomb
Sources for primary evidence
Primary evidence
- "Indeed, the ghost of the great hero Achilles told Odysseus that he would rather be a poor serf on earth than lord of all the dead in the Underworld" (Odyssey 11: 489–91).
- "Relatives of the deceased, primarily women, conducted the elaborate burial rituals that were customarily of three parts: the prothesis (laying out of the body (54.11.5)"
- The cemetery was in use for centuries—monumental Geometric kraters marked grave mounds of the eighth century B.C. (14.130.14)