Death in Ancient Greece
- Journey to the Underworld The Greeks believed that after death, a soul went on a journey to a place called the Underworld (which they called Hades ). ...
- Burial Rituals in Ancient Greece When someone died in Ancient Greece, they would be washed. ...
- Tombs and Gravestones Entrances to tombs, where the dead were laid to rest, were made of marble. ...
- Glossary ...
What did the ancient Greeks do with the dead?
When someone died in Ancient Greece, they would be washed. A coin would be placed in their mouth, to pay the ferrymen who took the dead across the rivers in the different parts of the Underworld. When the Greeks conquered Egypt, they adopted the Egyptian tradition of mummification.
What happens to mortals when they die in Greek mythology?
In Greek mythology, mortals are doomed to spend their eternity after death in the Underworld. They’re watched by Hades, the God of the Underworld, and they’re at the mercy of their decisions during their limited time on earth. Those who led the life of a hero could kick back and relax once their days were up.
Why did ancient Greeks put coins in the mouth when they died?
As part of their burial ritual, Greeks always placed coins in the mouth of the deceased so that they could pay the entrance fee to the underworld. Those shades who received improper burials and couldn't pay the toll were turned away.
What was the afterlife like for the ancient Greeks?
For these Greeks of long ago, the afterlife wasn’t always a pleasant place. This was the time of Homer’s famous The Odyssey, a tale of dramatic triumphs and perils centered around Greek mythology. What’s the Greek Underworld? What Are the Three Levels of the Underworld? What Do Souls in the Underworld Do?
What did ancient Greeks do when died?
The Greeks believed that at the moment of death, the psyche, or spirit of the dead, left the body as a little breath or puff of wind. The deceased was then prepared for burial according to the time-honored rituals.
What happens when you die in Greece?
Under Greek law, a deceased person must be buried within one month of death. However, in the case of foreign nationals the authorities will normally allow as much time as necessary.
Where do Greek monsters go when they die?
The Greek underworld is said to be invisible to the living, and is ruled by the god Hades. In mythology, the underworld is a different world where the dead go after death and resides.
What is the Greek tradition when someone dies?
It is a Greek tradition that the wake will be held in the house of the deceased among relatives and friends. During the wake, candles are burning by the head of the body, which is placed in a coffin and usually on a table.
How does death work in Greek mythology?
According to the ancient Greeks, at the time of death, the soul separates from the body and is transported to the underworld, where it is accepted into the realm by the governing god Hades, who is known to reside at the edges of the ocean and under the deepest depths of the Earth.
Did ancient Greeks believe in heaven?
Ancient Greeks didn't believe in postmortem judgment because the Greeks didn't have a concept of heaven and hell. They saw the afterlife as a cheerless phase. Q: Who was Charon? Charon, the ferryman, helped the dead cross the river Styx and enter Hades.
Who killed Medusa?
PerseusPerseus set out with the aid of the gods, who provided him with divine tools. While the Gorgons slept, the hero attacked, using Athena's polished shield to view the reflection of Medusa's awful face and avoid her petrifying gaze while he beheaded her with a harpe, an adamantine sword.
What was Hades real name?
Hades, Greek Aïdes (“the Unseen”), also called Pluto or Pluton (“the Wealthy One” or “the Giver of Wealth”), in ancient Greek religion, god of the underworld.
What is the Greek underworld called?
the house of HadesGreek Beliefs about the Afterlife In Homer's Odyssey (750–700 bc) the Underworld—otherwise known as “the house of Hades,” or simply “Hades,” after the god who ruled over the dead—was bleak and somber for nearly everyone.
How is death viewed in Greek culture?
In the Greek mythology, the dead journeyed to the Afterlife, ruled by Hades. Death was not perceived as an end in and by itself, but rather as another “world” to belong to. By Classical times there was a rise to burial rituals and commemorative practices, carried out throughout the centuries.
How long do Greeks mourn for?
40 daysMourning. After the spirit has released from the body, the family enters a mourning period of 40 days. This period of time is the amount of time between Christ's resurrection and ascension. During this time, mourners do not attend social events.
How long do Greek people mourn for?
The mourning period for Eastern Orthodox Christians lasts for forty days. Within those forty days, the third day, the ninth day, and the fortieth day all have special significance.
How do Greek bury their dead?
After 1100 BC, Greeks began to bury their dead in individual graves rather than group tombs. Athens, however, was a major exception; the Athenians normally cremated their dead and placed their ashes in an urn. During the early Archaic period, Greek cemeteries became larger, but grave goods decreased.
Where do the soul go after death?
Typically, these traditions locate hell in another dimension or under the earth's surface and often include entrances to hell from the land of the living. Other afterlife destinations include purgatory and limbo.
What happens if you die in the Underworld?
About the avatar, so when you die, to use it again, you have to reset it to a default statee. If you die in Underworld, the Avatar can't be used again, unless you re-activate it to a living state.
How does a soul get to the Underworld?
Upon death, a soul was led by Hermes near the entrance of the Underworld, where a ferry awaited to carry it across either the Acheron or the Styx.
What is the Greek tragedy about?
Both figures invariably exhibit a dignified calm. That’s what Greek tragedy is all about—looking death squarely in the eye. As a Greek, they knew that terrible things happen; and they knew, too, that by confronting them head-on, they’d be able to deal with them and get on with life.
Why do we put ourselves in the sandals of a dying Greek?
One needs to put oneself in the sandals of a dying Greek to understand the mind frame of the ancient Greeks and to understand why they did the things that they did. Also, one needs to live an ancient Greek death following all the rites of passage and the burial laws. The first rite of passage, or prothesis, means laying out of the body.
Why did the ekphora take place before sunrise?
The ekphora had to take place before sunrise so that it wouldn’t create a public nuisance. If one was wealthy, one’s body would be transported in a cart or carriage drawn by horses. This scene is also depicted on the earliest vases with figurative decoration.
Why is it not lawful for a deity to be present at the death?
She explains to him that it’s not lawful for a deity to be present at the death because the pollution that a corpse releases would taint her.
How long after a funeral can a person be reintegrated?
Reintegration into the community for mourners didn’t take place until several weeks after the funeral.
What is the Hippocratic Oath?
In fact, the Hippocratic Oath, which was probably widely adopted, enjoined upon those physicians who took it “not to administer a poison to anybody who asked for one and not to propose such a course”. So let’s hope that one’s final illness is short and painless.
Where was the burial law in ancient Greece?
According to the burial law in ancient Greece, one had to be buried outside the city walls.
Where are the tombs in Athens?
Many of the finest Attic grave monuments stood in a cemetery located in the outer Kerameikos, an area on the northwest edge of Athens just outside the gates of the ancient city wall. The cemetery was in use for centuries—monumental Geometric kraters marked grave mounds of the eighth century B.C. ( 14.130.14 ), and excavations have uncovered a clear layout of tombs from the Classical period, as well. At the end of the fifth century B.C., Athenian families began to bury their dead in simple stone sarcophagi placed in the ground within grave precincts arranged in man-made terraces buttressed by a high retaining wall that faced the cemetery road. Marble monuments belonging to various members of a family were placed along the edge of the terrace rather than over the graves themselves.
What did Achilles tell Odysseus?
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). The Greeks believed that at the moment of death, the psyche, or spirit of the dead, left the body as a little breath or puff of wind. The deceased was then prepared ...
What is the Department of Greek and Roman Art?
Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The ancient Greek conception of the afterlife and the ceremonies associated with burial were already well established by the sixth century B.C. In the Odyssey, Homer describes the Underworld, deep beneath the earth, where Hades, the brother of Zeus and Poseidon, and his wife, ...
What are the three parts of a burial?
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 ekphora (funeral procession), and the interment of the body or cremated remains of the deceased.
What did the Greeks believe after the burial?
The Greeks believed that after the burial, Hermes (the god of trade, travelers, and merchants) led the soul to the entrance of the underworld to a ferry that carried the spirit across the Acheron (river of woe) and the Styx (river of hate). These two rivers divided the world of the living from that of the dead.
What was the burial ritual in Ancient Greece?
Burial Rituals in Ancient Greece. Tombstone of Xanthippos. Once a Greek man or woman passed away, their families washed their bodies and placed a coin inside their mouth as payment for the spiritual ferryman Charon who carried the bodies’ spirits cross the river Styx into the underworld.
What is the underworld of Hades?
Hades’ Underworld. Aeneas and the Sibyl explore the underworld. The Greek underworld consisted of various realms ruled by Hades. Elysium resembles a Greek pagan version of the Christian Heaven where good spirits whose lives were etched into the memories of the living began a bright new state of existence.
What is the afterlife in Greek mythology?
Abrahamic Religions. The concept of an afterlife is not unique to Greek mythology. Most religions have some sort of believe in a soul and what happens to your essence when you die. The Christian bible exhorts believers to make all their decisions during life based on what will happen to their soul in the afterlife.
What is the afterlife called?
Most often, the world of the afterlife is associated with Greek mythology, where it is called the underworld, or Hades. According to the ancient Greeks, at the time of death, the soul separates from the body and is transported to the underworld, where it is accepted into the realm by the governing god Hades, who is known to reside at the edges ...
What were the objects that were buried in the Greek burial?
Valuable objects such as pottery, coins, and jewelry were buried alongside them as gifts for the bodies to use in the underworld.
Why do people visit tombs?
Families of the deceased visited these tombs annually to make offerings and to refresh the tomb decorations. This ritual stemmed not only out of respect but also from the fear that the dead brought bad luck if the family did not pay tribute to them regularly.
Why did Persephone return to Hades?
While Persephone was allowed back to the land of the living, because she had eaten (pomegranate seeds) while with Hades, she had to return to Hades every year. Other stories include Theseus' being trapped on a throne in the Underworld and various heroic voyages to rescue people down below.
Who ferries the souls of the deceased across?
Thus the boatman, Charon, who ferries the souls of the deceased across, might not actually be described as inhabiting the Underworld, but the area around it.
How many judges does the Greek Underworld have?
Like the Christian Judgment Day and the ancient Egyptian system, which uses scales to weigh the soul to judge one's fate, which could be an afterlife better than the earthly one or an eternal end in the jaws of Ammit, the ancient Greek Underworld employs 3 (formerly mortal) judges.
Where does the afterlife take place?
The Afterlife or Hereafter in the mythology of ancient Greece and Rome takes place in an area often referred to as the Underworld or Hades (although sometimes the location is described as a distant portion of the earth): The Underworld, because it is in the sunless regions under the earth. Hades ' Realm (or Hades) because ...
Who made the voyages of Hades?
These voyages are made by a living hero, usually, the son of a god, but in one case a fully mortal woman. Because of the details of these trips, even at such a great remove both in time and space, we know some details of ancient Greek visions of Hades' realm. For instance, access to the Underworld is somewhere in the west.
What is the meaning of Katabasis in the Underworld?
*You may see the word katabasis instead of nekuia. Katabasis refers to a descent and can refer to the walk down to the Underworld.
What is the Greek duty to the dead?
Greek Duty to the Dead. In Ancient Greece, honoring the dead is a part of daily life. To not honor the dead is considered impious and frowned upon socially. Regardless of the type of life the individual led, whether virtuous or otherwise, they were to be remembered by friends and family in death.
Why is remembering the dead important?
Like in many traditions around the world, remembering the dead played an important role in daily life for the people of Ancient Greece. For these Greeks of long ago, the afterlife wasn’t always a pleasant place. This was the time of Homer’s famous The Odyssey, a tale of dramatic triumphs and perils centered around Greek mythology.
What Do Souls in the Underworld Do?
Once deceased, souls take a journey to their final resting place in the underworld. First, souls cross a mythological river into the Underworld. They’re ferried by Charon, the infamous boatman tasked with taking souls to the underworld.
Why did Persephone spend one third of the year in the Underworld?
Because Persephone ate a single pomegranate seed while with Hades, she wasn’t able to free herself fully. Instead, she spends one-third of the year in the Underworld and the rest of the year with her mother. This accounts for the barren landscape during the wintertime as Persephone finds her temporary home in the Underworld.
How is the Underworld divided?
In his writings, Plato explains how the Underworld is divided depending on how individuals act during their lives. For those who devote their lives to goodness, they’re rewarded with a pleasant afterlife experience. Like Heaven, life is even better after death for those who lived a moral life.
What is the story of Persephone?
The story of Persephone is one of the greatest myths of the Underworld. The daughter of Zeus, the young goddess was gathering flowers when Hades abducted her to the Underworld. Persephone’s mother, the goddess of agriculture, grew depressed and famine ensued across the land.
Where do the souls spend eternity?
The vast majority of souls aren’t bad enough to warrant Tartarus, and they’re not good enough for Elysium. As such, they spend eternity in the Asphodel Meadows, an endless greyness. Though it’s not always easy to understand the Greek mythology behind this belief system, there are clear similarities between modern religion’s understandings of the afterlife.
What was the ritual of burial in Ancient Greece?
Burial Rituals in Ancient Greece. When someone died in Ancient Greece, they would be washed. A coin would be placed in their mouth, to pay the ferrymen who took the dead across the rivers in the different parts of the Underworld. When the Greeks conquered Egypt, they adopted the Egyptian tradition of mummification.
What did the Greeks do when they conquered Egypt?
When the Greeks conquered Egypt, they adopted the Egyptian tradition of mummification. They used simple boxes for burying their dead or the deceased would be burned, and their ashes buried in a special pot.
What information do ancient burials give us?
Ancient burials give us information about how people lived and what they believed would happen to them after they died.
Who was the Greek god who pushed a rock up a hill?
Greek mythology tells the stories of people who ended up in Tartarus, like: - Sisyphus, who had to push a heavy rock up a hill again and again, only for it to roll back down on him every time. - Hungry Tantalus, who stood near a table covered with delicious food but could never reach it.
Why are tombs made of marble?
Heads of Gorgons were carved on to the tomb doors to ward off evil. The tombs were made to stop the dead being forgotten and sometimes they were carved with pictures, showing the deceased with people they knew in life. A Tomb Door Showing a Gorgons' Head.
What did people think of the Greek afterlife?
In ancient Greece, people believed that the soul went to the Underworld in the afterlife. This doesn’t have many similarities with the Christian version of Heaven and Hell in the afterlife.
Why did ancient people assign gods to the dead?
War, famine, and disease took people from this earth before their prime. To provide some clarity and comfort , ancient people assigned gods to overlook their dead and the afterlife. Ancient Greeks, in particular, had multiple gods of the dead.
What are the furies in Greek mythology?
Like death himself, he is not easily moved or changed by stories of grief or sorrow. 3. Furies. The Furies in Greek mythology are goddesses of revenge and death. They are personified curses, aiding Hades in the Underworld. Though their origin isn’t clear today, there are some ideas for where the Furies developed from.
What is Plato's version of the afterlife?
Plato articulates the different plateaus of the afterlife in his work The Phaedo. In his version, a person’s “goodness” is what marks their place in the afterlife. They were rewarded with a more pleasant version of the Underworld, though this is far from Heaven.
What is Hecate's role in the Underworld?
Originally, Hecate was a goddess of fertility and childbirth. However, over time, she earned an association with the moon and the Underworld. She gained more recognition during Halloween time since she’s also the goddess of the witches.
Why do people put coins in the eyes of the deceased?
This was the belief that relatives needed to place coins in the eyes of the deceased. The coins were a form of bribe or payment for Charon, the ferryman of the dead. Charon was one of Hades' many gods in the Underworld. He would lead the dead through the river leading them to their new realm.
What did mythology and gods help explain?
For the ancient Greek people, mythology and gods helped explain the things that couldn’t be explained.
What is the Greek burial?
Greek Mythology and Burying the Dead. In ancient Greek culture, funerals involved dressing the body, placing a coin on the lips, lamenting the dead, a funeral procession, and burial or cremation. Those that did not receive a proper burial could not pay the fare to enter the underworld and were doomed to wander the shore of the Acheron River.
What happened to Polyneices and Eteocles?
But when Eteocles refused to allow his brother to rule, Polyneices and his supporters attacked. Both brothers died in the ensuing battle, but Creon, their uncle, refused to give Polyneices a proper burial. Instead, he left the body outside the city gates to rot.
Why did Achilles and Patroclus join the Greek army?
But when the Trojan prince Paris kidnapped Helen, the wife of King Menelaus, Achilles and Patroclus were obliged to join the Greek army in the Trojan War to reclaim Helen. To prepare for a fight against Paris' brother Hector, ...
Why did Antigone leave her brother's body outside the city gates?
Horrified at the thought of her brother's shade knowing no peace in the afterlife, Antigone revolted against Creon's orders. She covered her brother's body with a thin layer of soil, and when Creon's guards removed the covering, she buried him once more.
How long did Achilles desecrate Hector's body?
He continued to desecrate Hector's body for 12 days, though the gods protected the body from lasting damage or decay.
Did Achilles bury Hector?
Achilles vowed he would bury Patroclus only after he killed Hector. Achilles did, however, allow the women in his contingent to cleanse Patroclus's body and mourn him. Only after Achilles killed Hector did the shade of Patroclus visit Achilles in his sleep, begging him for a proper funeral.
Who allowed Sisyphus to return to the upper world?
Persephone allowed Sisyphus to return to the upper world, and Sisyphus evaded death for several more years. When he passed away again, the trickster god Hermes led him directly to Tartarus, where Sisyphus was forced to push a boulder up a hill for an eternity for tricking the gods of the underworld.
