Ancient Greek Underworld

Ancient Greek Underworld

The Ancient Greek Underworld was a place, according to ancient Greek Mythology where, it was believed, that all the souls of the dead went to, also called Hades Underworld.

If you had been a good person when alive, you could go to the Elysian fields. If you were a bad person, you were sent to live in purgatory

Not only do the dead go there, but those who were sent to live in hell by the Greek gods in Tartarus.

Map of Ancient Greek Underworld

The ancient underworld was heavily guarded and surrounded by rivers, the most important, being the Styx meaning river of hate, sometimes written as, river of Hades.

The Greek underworld was ruled over by Greek god Hades (sometimes known as Pluto) who was the brother of Zeus and Poseidon.

They overthrew their father Cronun and then drew lots for the Heavens/sky, which Greek god Zeus ruled.

The abduction of
Persephone by Hades

The oceans, left to Poseidon; and the Underworld, ran by Hades and his wife Persephone, who was a young innocent, abducted by Greek god Hades.

Persephone's mother Greek goddess Demeter, goddess of corn and harvest was sad and angry and was so distressed that it caused a terrible drought and laid a curse on the world which caused plants to die and the land cold and desolate and bleak.

This caused the people of the nation to die from cold and starvation. Zeus realised the seriousness of this and tried to return her to Demeter, from the ancient Greek underworld, but Persephone had already accepted food from Hades, he gave her pomegranate pips.

Persephone had to spend four months from each year in the Greek underworld. At which time Greek goddess Demeter grieved for her beloved daughter, and so winter was created, because Demeter, withdrew her talents as corn and harvest goddess.

This was a celebration of rewards said to be granted in honour of Demeter and her daughter Greek goddess Persephone, celebrating their mythical works.

It was a ceremony held every five years,(some say annually, (around 600bc)the ritual was supposed to unite the worshipper of the gods with the ancient gods and goddesses and promised a reward of afterlife.

Large crowds of pilgrims form all over Greece would gather in the city of Eleusis, near Athens to participate in the ceremonies.

In later times the ceremonies were held in secret and happened throughout the Roman Empire when the growth of Christianity began to spread and the early Christian fathers condemned the practice.

There are many ancient paintings and pieces of pottery that depicted aspects of visions and powers.

The ancient Greek underworld was divided. Erebus was the part where the dead were sent. Tartarus a deep gloomy pit and dungeon of perpetual torment, was where the Titans where sent to and all that were wicked and sinful.

It was customary to be buried with a coin in your mouth to pay the ferryman. According to ancient Greek underworld stories, the journey began with the God of death, Thanatos, who cut a lock of hair from each of them at the moment of their demise.

The soul was then given directions by Greek god Hermes, who would lead them to the river of hate. If you were deemed to be buried then you could approach Charon, the ferryman of Hades.

Ancient Greek underworld mythology, said if you were buried without the coin or your family could not pay the fee, or the bodies of the dead were not buried, then they were left to roam the shores of the underworld for a hundred years.

But, if you were sent to Tartarus to live in purgatory, then you lived in suffering for a hundred years.

In The Iliad (c. 700), Zeus asserts that Tartarus is "as far beneath Hades, as heaven is high, above the earth. As a place so far from the sun and so deep in the earth and hemmed in by three layers of night."

Greek God Hades by the
Italian painter Carracci

Hades own father, Cronus, was said to have sent his own children the Cyclopes to this evil place, the Greek underworld. Cronus, king of the Titans himself, was imprisoned there as a punishment when he was defeated by his son Zeus, King of Olympians.

Tartarus is mentioned in the bible, once in Peter and once in the book of Enoch.

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