Lesson 2
The Underworld
The Greek Underworld
This was a place souls would go to after they died. It was the equivalence of the afterlife. Also called Hades or Erebus, it was named after its ruler, Hades. The Underworld is made up of:
- Rivers
- Tartarus
- The Fields of Punishment
- The Asphodel Meadows
- The Elysian Fields
- Hades and Persephone
- The Erinyes (Furies)
- King Minos, the judge
- Charon
- Cerberus
- Hermes (who goes there for his message delivery duties)
- Various personified concepts
- Souls of the dead
Rivers
There are 5 rivers in Hades:
- Styx: the river of hatred, it circles the Underworld 7 times. Anyone who bathes in here is granted invincibility.
- Acheron: the river of pain, which Charon ferries the dead across.
- Lethe: the river of forgetfulness and oblivion.
- Phlegethon: the river of fire, which leads to Tartarus.
- Cocytus: the river of wailing cries.
Tartarus
Tartarus is not considered to be directly part of Hell, but it is most commonly referred to as a part of it. In actual fact, it is far beneath Hades. When Zeus defeated Kronos, he cast the cut up pieces of his father inside Tartarus and also the other titans who opposed him. It is described as a dark abyss, with no light, no hope, no joy; only punishment and cruelty.
Judgement
Fluffy, Cerberus' smaller cousin
The souls of the dead are led by Hermes to the Underworld. When a soul reaches the Underworld, it passes by Cerberus, a three headed dog guarding Hell. Orpheus once managed to lull Cerberus to sleep using music (reminds you of Fluffy, doesn’t it?) Cerberus only allows the dead to pass within it. Then, the souls are ferried by Charon across the river Acheron towards their judgment. The souls are judged by the spirit of the king Minos of Crete, where he decides where they go. If they did well, they attain Elysium, our equivalent of heaven. If they did bad, they attain the Fields of Punishment, where they are punished eternally for their sins. Some of the torturers of Hades are the Erinyes: Alecto (unnameable), Megaera (grudging) and Tisiphone (vengeful destruction). If they did neither good nor bad, they remain in Asphodel, a field of asphodel flowers (favourite food of the dead). The souls hang around there, doing nothing but existing.
Death
A depiction of the angel of death, Thanatos
Since we have established that all dead souls go to the Underworld, many people jump to the conclusions that Hades is the god of the dead. This is totally untrue. Hades rules the dead souls but it is another minor god who actually is death itself. The personified deity that represents death is called Thanatos. Thanatos was the son of Nyx (night-time) and Erebus (darkness). The twin brother of death is sleep (Hypnos). Depictions of Thanatos are almost identical to those of Eros (love) and isn't it true that love kills all of us?
Thanatos resides in Erebus and is one of those under the command of Hades. He is the Greek equivalent of the Grim Reaper. Words in English such as "euthanasia" and "thanatophobia" come from his name.
Thanatos resides in Erebus and is one of those under the command of Hades. He is the Greek equivalent of the Grim Reaper. Words in English such as "euthanasia" and "thanatophobia" come from his name.
“Why do we loathe Hades more than any god, if not because he is so adamantine and unyielding?” said Agamemnon.
Hades
Hades was the eldest son of Kronos and Rhea. His domain was the Underworld and he was the richest of the gods, due to his control over the earth’s precious metals. No Greek was in any hurry to meet him and most were fearful to even utter his name (reminds you of Voldemort doesn’t it?). The only reason he was so feared was because of the finality of death. Hades is feared simply because he represents death.
His most famous symbols were the Cap of Invisibility, drinking horn, scepter, Cypress, Narcissus, the key of Hades and Cerberus.
Persephone
Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of springtime. Before she was Persephone, her name was Kore. Homer describes Persephone as “the formidable, venerable majestic queen of shades, who carries into effect the curses of men upon the souls of the dead.”
Kore was a young girl, playing about in the fields with her friends. Her mother Demeter did not accept any of her suitors (amongst them Hermes and Apollo). Hades had fallen in love with her when a love arrow struck him, and on the counsel of his brother Zeus, father of Kore, he kidnapped her and took her to the Underworld.
Before long, Demeter realized her daughter was gone and began to mourn. In her mourning, she neglected the harvest and the earth became barren. She found out where her daughter was and set off to reclaim her. The pleas of hungry humans to Zeus made him force Hades to release Persephone (as her name had changed by now) so that Demeter may allow the earth to become fertile once more. Hades complied, but before he did, he tempted Persephone with pomegranate seeds, fragrant and enticing. She had eaten four seeds, the equivalent of four months. When one eats the food of the Underworld, one is forced to remain there.
It was ordained by the Fates for Persephone to stay within Hades for four months of the year, and the remaining months to be spent with her mother. The months she is with Hades are the months Demeter mourns, the winter months. Those where Persephone is with her mother are the summer months, when Demeter is happy and joyous.
Persephone rules alongside Hades as queen of Hell.
Kore was a young girl, playing about in the fields with her friends. Her mother Demeter did not accept any of her suitors (amongst them Hermes and Apollo). Hades had fallen in love with her when a love arrow struck him, and on the counsel of his brother Zeus, father of Kore, he kidnapped her and took her to the Underworld.
Before long, Demeter realized her daughter was gone and began to mourn. In her mourning, she neglected the harvest and the earth became barren. She found out where her daughter was and set off to reclaim her. The pleas of hungry humans to Zeus made him force Hades to release Persephone (as her name had changed by now) so that Demeter may allow the earth to become fertile once more. Hades complied, but before he did, he tempted Persephone with pomegranate seeds, fragrant and enticing. She had eaten four seeds, the equivalent of four months. When one eats the food of the Underworld, one is forced to remain there.
It was ordained by the Fates for Persephone to stay within Hades for four months of the year, and the remaining months to be spent with her mother. The months she is with Hades are the months Demeter mourns, the winter months. Those where Persephone is with her mother are the summer months, when Demeter is happy and joyous.
Persephone rules alongside Hades as queen of Hell.
Persephone: A story from Greece
I found this really nice video explaining the story of Persephone, it really gives a nice gist of the story.
Now that we've had great fun in Hell, move on to Assignment 2.