12 A good portion of Greeks refused to believe such a pessimistic perspective of the afterlife. He believed that when the body died, the soul died with the body as well. 11 However, there were a few, including the philosopher Epicurus, that believed that the underworld did not exist at all. The way the Greeks saw it, the underworld was a place that everyone ended up after death. Although Tartarus was present as a location within the underworld, the Greeks would not compare it to the equivalent of Christian hell. 10 The sense that exists within Christianity, for example, was not present during the time of the ancient Greeks. The consensus was that the underworld was neither heaven nor hell. Perspectives about the afterlife varied from each other based on their region in Greece as well as their time period in Greek history. 9 However, Demeter interfered, and that is why Persephone spends half of the year with Demeter and the other half with Hades.įurthermore, it is important to note the Greek perspective of the afterlife. Therefore, in order to set up the marriage, Zeus had to trick Persephone, so she could be abducted by Hades. Zeus, however, was okay with the marriage of Hades and Persephone. ![]() Persephone was unable to stay with Hades at all times due to interference from her mother Demeter. Therefore, the ancient Greeks accredited the change in nature (winter) to Persephone moving to the underworld. 8 Persephone was the divine goddess of agriculture and fertility. Although she was Hades’ wife, she only lived with him during the winter time. The god of the underworld was the husband of Persephone (Zeus’s and Demeter’s daughter). 7 A representation of Hades, with the three judges Minos, Rhadamanthus and Aeacus sitting before the doors leading to Elysium at left, and Tartarus at right Cerberus lies on the right | Print by Antoine Jean Duclos, Gravelot | Courtesy of the British Museum Another name for the ancient Greek god was Ploutos and later adopted by the Romans as Pluto. 6 However, Hades was for the most part feared by all. Furthermore, it is important to note that his realm, the underworld, should not be associated with the hell of Christianity. Hades was commonly thought to be a cold god, but he was never considered to be an evil divine figure. 5 After defeating their parents (the Titans), Hades drew lots with Zeus and Poseidon to gain their respective domains. Hades had five other siblings: Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia, and they were all children of Cronus and Rhea. Out of the ancient Greek mythology came the god of the dead and the underworld, Hades. 4 Therefore, humans were constantly looking to please the gods in fear of their wrath. 3 If humans did anything to offend the gods, then those gods would strike back in some sort of fashion to restore justice. In short, the relationship between humans and divine beings was that of a retribution justice. Why? They believed that the forces of nature were under the control of their gods. The people of the ancient Greek civilization were often in a state of weakness under the power of nature therefore, they relied heavily on the divine individuals of Olympus. Most of the highly developed anthropomorphic and comparative rationalism of the ancient Greek religious thought can be accredited to Homer with the aid of his Iliad and Odyssey. 1 Furthermore, ancient Greek mythology lacked much of the asceticism and mystical enthusiasm that is more commonly seen in modern religions. Different from modern religions such as Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, ancient Greek religion was an anthropomorphic polytheism, meaning that ancient Greeks believed in a multitude of individual divine figures that took on human forms and emotions. ![]() More often than not, ancient Greek mythology (religion) served to explain a series of legends. SP 3392 – Language Variation and Dialectology of Spanish.SC 3300 – Special Topics: Public Health.HS 1302 – United States History since 1877. ![]() HS 1301 – United States History to 1877.3 Post-Classical History (600 CE-1492 CE).6 Contemporary Latin America (2000-2030).1 Pre-Columbian Latin America (to 1492).4 Late Middle Ages-Renaissance-Reformation Europe (1300-1648).6 Great Depression and WWII (1929-1945).5 Emergence of Modern America (1877-1929).4 Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877).2 Revolution and Early Republic (1754-1801).1 Colonization and Settlement (1500-1763).
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