Journey to the Greek Underworld

    Ancient Greeks have a vast collection of gods and stories in their religion. They believed that death is not the end of the soul. Following a person dying, their soul leaves through an exhale or a little puff of wind. Hermes, known as the messenger of the Olympian gods, led the soul to the entrance of the underworld (Art, 2003). There they would wait for the ferry to carry them across the river Styx. The ferry was rowed by Charon. He was tasked with taking the souls of the dead to the gates of the underworld. The Cerberus, a three-headed dog, guarded the gates, making sure that the souls who went in did not leave. Three judges, Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus, would give a sentence based on their previous life. This sentence decided what region of the underworld the soul would inhabit. (The Underworld, 2019)

    Ancient Greeks describe the underworld as a sunless place where the dead go. The early writers said the underworld is one place, that, “All souls, regardless of how exemplary or dishonorable their earthly lives might have been, ended up in the same place after death.”. Later writings, such as the Odyssey, Iliad, and Aeneid, suggest the existence of at least 4 regions of the Underworld each serving a different function. These regions are named Tartarus, The Fields of Mourning, The Asphodel Meadows, and The Elysian Fields. The underworld also has 5 rivers that are named the Styx, Acheron, Cocytus, Phlegethon, and Lethe. The Styx is the river of hatred and unbreakable oaths. It circles the Underworld seven times. Acheron is the river of sorrow and pain. Cocytus is the river of lamentation and wailing. Phlegethon is the river of fire that leads to Tartarus where the worst people go. Lethe is the river of oblivion and forgetfulness where dead souls can drink to forget their life. It is said that it is a place where the soul prepares for reincarnation. Most ordinary people go to the Asphodel Meadows while only the best reside in the Elysian Fields. Souls that inhabit the Fields of Mourning are those who were hurt by love. (The Underworld, 2019)

Works Cited

The Underworld. (2019, November 5). Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Places/The_Underworld/the_underworld.html

Art, A. D. of G. and R. (2003, October). Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm