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LIFE AFTER DEATH

BELIEFS ABOUT DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE

“Hermes, the Helper, led them down the dank ways. Past the streams of Oceanus they went, past the rock Leucas, past the gates of the sun and the land of dreams, and quickly came to the mead of asphodel, where the spirits dwell, phantoms of men who have done with toils.” (Homer, Odyssey 24.10-14.)

What awaits us on the other side? This question occupied the thoughts of Greeks and the Romans.  They believed they would be guided by Hermes, the messenger of the gods, and that he would take them to a river, the Styx, which they had to cross with the help of Charon, the ferryman who conveyed the dead to the shore of Hades, the Underworld. The dead were expected to “pay the ferryman” (Charon’s coin). The gates to the Underworld were guarded by Cerberos, a three-headed dog. The Greek underworld was called Hades after the god of death, who resides in his realm together with his wife Persephone. They determine the fate of the dead in the Afterlife.

Illustration: Johnny Kreutz © Museum of Cultural History

There are several versions of what happens to the “soul” (psyché) after death. In early versions, the ghosts of the dead wander the plains of Hades in an endless state of oblivion, unaware of events on earth. A special fate awaited those who had not been given a proper burial. They were denied admission to Hades and had to roam outside the Underworld, sometimes haunting the places of the living as ghosts. This thought so terrified the Greeks that they even allowed their enemies to bury their dead after battle.

The Roman poet Virgil gives us a detailed description of the topography of the Underworld. It is divided into three parts. The first is Limbo. Here dwell all those who have died prematurely of love or suicide, those who have been wrongfully sentenced, and those who have died as warriors or as children. After passing Limbo, the road divides; the left leads down to Tartarus, where the wrong-doers suffer their tortures, and the right leads up to the Golden Palace of Hades, where the blessed enjoy eternal feasting and singing.

The popular perception of the Underworld was much less elaborate. The traditional view was that the souls of the dead lived somewhere under the earth; in a grave, or some other kind of underground room. For the more optimistic, there were other places the ”soul” could go. Homer describes a wonderful place called Elysium, where great heroes went when they died. In time, Elysium became a haven for all those the gods favoured. It was often called the Island of the Blessed and was said to lie somewhere beyond the Ocean. Others believed the ghosts of the dead travelled to the stars.

MYSTERY RELIGIONS AND PHILOSOPHY

Mystery religions offered the promise of a brighter Afterlife. By passing initiation rites, a person was sworn into the secret mysteries of a special deity. For example, people initiated in the Dionysian mysteries had special knowledge that could improve their chances of receiving a favourable judgement on the day of reckoning. They knew to place golden leaves in their graves with inscriptions recommending them to Persephone, the more sympathetic of the judging deities of Hades.

Nevertheless, there was no lack of sceptics, or even those who denied the immortality of the soul. The philosopher Epicurus (c 342 -271 BC) and his followers were convinced that there was no form of existence after death. Epicurus wrote: “Death, therefore, the most awful of evils, is nothing to us, seeing that, when we are, death is not come, and, when death is come, we are not.” (Letter to Menoikeus)

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

Many places around the Mediterranean, especially lakes and caves, were thought to be entrances to the Underworld. These were seen as passages connecting the World of the Living with the Underworld which made communication between the living and the dead possible, at least for those who had special knowledge, or help from the gods.

The living could contact the dead directly by means of special rituals. The “souls” of the dead, however, first had to be strengthened, and this could be done by feeding them the blood of sacrificed animals. There are stories of how heroes entered the Underworld in order to get information, or to free a ”soul” from Hades. The latter was usually a fruitless effort, since Death could only be cheated in the short term.

Classical literature contains plenty of ghost stories. There were many superstitious beliefs about helpful spirits and the restless dead who would visit the living with the purpose of doing good or evil. There are also examples of living individuals who sought their loved ones in Hades. The tale of Orpheus, who went in search of Eurydice, is well known.

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