The underworld is the final destination for all of the dead.
However, there were two different destinations that the dead could arrive at.
Tartarus was for the sinners resembling Hell while Elysium was a beautiful
place which resembles Heaven. The Greeks did not worship Hades but there was
one temple built in his honor. (Bleiberg et al). It was only opened once a year
and was located in Elis (Bleiberg et al). There was also an oracle of the dead
to Hades and Persephone (Bleiberg et al).
Tartarus
Tartarus is the version of Hell in the underworld. It is the
home of Hades, Zeus’ brother, and Hades’ wife Persephone, queen of the
Underworld (Bleiberg et al).The gates into the underworld are guarded by
Cerberus, a many headed dog that allows no one to leave (Gagarin). Tartarus is often
associated with “blackness, confusion, uproar and torment” (Houghton). This
dark place holds the Titans in captivity after Zeus defeated them (Bleiberg et
al). Tatratus is said to be far beneath the earth—making it a tangible place (Johnson).
The underworld is surrounded by several rivers that all come together to form the
river Stynx (Gargarin). The immortal gods feared and despised the river Styx
because it was the closest thing to death for them (Johnson). The belief in
Transmigration is the idea that the psyche enters another body after it dies
and Plato argued that the reason no one remembered their previous life and body
was because they drink from the river Lethe (forgetfulness) (Gargarin).
Homer’s view of the underworld claimed that the ghosts
resented the living, had no way of communicating with the upper world, and
could only utter “bat like noises” (Gargarin). However, there were a few that
would endure torment for all eternity. These included Sisyphus, Tantalus and
Tityus (Gargarin). Tantalus was forced to stand in a lake up to his chin and
would drink but his thirst could never be quenched while the wind would take
fruit from his grasp and Sisyphus had to roll a massive boulder up a hill and
then watch it roll back down for all eternity (Houghton).
Caracci,
Agostino. Pluto (Hades). 1592
Titans
The Titans were pre-Olympian gods who ruled the Earth before
the Greeks arrived in Greece (Bleiberg et al). They are the offspring of
Ouranos and Gaia (Heaven and Earth) (Bleiberg et al). There was then the great
battle between the Greeks and the Olympians in which the Titans lost and most
of them were damned to Tartarus for all eternity (Bleiberg et al). There were,
however, a handful of Titans that fought with the Olympians instead of against
them like Cronus, lord of the Titans (Bleiberg et al).
Wtewael, Joachim. Battle Between the Gods and the Titans. 1600.
Elysium
Elysium is the version of paradise in the underworld.
Elysium is where “life is easiest for men” and it is believed its name comes
from enelysios or “struck by lightning” because those who died from a being hit
by lightning were favored (Gargarin). The souls in Elysium were able to enjoy
athletic games and dance to the music that was being played for them (Bleiberg
et al). In ancient Roman tomb art,
Elysium was a garden that was full of “glowing flowers, fruits and gorgeous
birds” (Houghton). There was even a Latin poet that wrote about Elysium and
said that it was complete with love-making and that often times love would stir
up battles on the Elysian Fields (Houghton).
Conca, Sebastiano. The Vision of Aeneas in the Elysian Fields,
c. 1735-40
Burials
An important aspect in Greek life was their burials. If a
deceased person was not properly buried then their soul would not be able to
“rest in a quiet place” and they were unable to pass through the gate into the
underworld (Adams). If a proper burial did not happen then that could result in
a curse from the gods because they were able to communicate and haunt the
living in the upper world. (Adams). For example, in the Odyssey we see Agamemnon
tries to embrace Odysseus and we also see Odysseus try to embrace his dead
mother and he commented, “Three times I rushed to her, and my hear desire to
take her, and three times she flew out of my hands like a shadow or a dream”
(Adams).
Bibliography
Evans, James Allan, Kristen Mossler Figg, Philip M. Soergel,
and John Block. "The
Underworld and
Its Inhabitants." Ancient Greece and Rome 1200 B.C.E.-476
C.E.Ed.
Edward I. Bleiberg. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 309-12. Gale
Virtual Reference
Library. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.
Gagarin, Michael, ed. "Underworld and Afterlife." Oxford
Encyclopedia of Ancient
Greece and Rome. N.p.: Oxford
University Preee, 2010. Oxford Reference
Online. Web. 17 Jan.
2014.
Houghton, L. B. T. "Tibullus' Elegiac Underworld." The
Classical Quarterly 57.01
(2007): 153-65. JSTOR.
Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
Adams, Jeff. "Greek and Roman Perceptions of the
Afterlife in Homer’s Iliad and
Odyssey and Virgil’s
Aeneid." McNair
Scholars Journal 11.1
(2007): n.
pag. ScholarWorks.
Grand Valley State University, 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
Johnson, David M. "Hesiod's Descriptions of Tartarus
("Theogony" 721-819)." Phoenix
53.1/2 (1999):
8-28. JSTOR.
Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
Conca, Sebastiano. The Vision of
Aeneas in the Elysian Fields, c. 1735-40
Wtewael,
Joachim. Battle Between the Gods and the Titans. 1600.
Map of the Underworld. [Picture] Retrieved January
20, 2014 from:
Caracci, Agostino. Pluto (Hades). 1592
Sarah, I really enjoyed your blog. It cleared up some confusion that I had about the Greek’s beliefs in regards to the after life. Before reading your post, I thought that Hades and the Under World directly paralleled the Devil and Hell. However, as you pointed out in you post, there were two aspects of the Under World. These included both hell and heaven. This cleared up some confusion in regards to Antigone. When I was reading Antigone, I continually wondered why on earth Antigone would want her brother to go to Hades. I was under the impression that Hades was the Devil. I was proven wrong though. I now understand Antigone a bit better. She did not want her brother to be delivered to hell. She wanted her brother to enter the Under Life in general. This is much like the Christian belief that we want our loved ones to have the chance to go to Heaven once they pass on. Even if they do not enter into heaven, we hope that they have the chance. Knowing what I now know, I understand Antigone’s willingness to risk death for her brother’s soul. She had to provide her deceased brother the opportunity to go to heaven.
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