A Descent into the Underworld

There was a scale done that measured the strongest emotions within humans. The third most influential was lust—lust for bodies, for knowledge, for power. The second was fear. Fear drives us to do stupid things but when we master it, it gives us strength. Sometimes lust overrides fear—like if you lusted after your boss’ wife yet you feared his wrath if he found out about the affair. But there is one that is more powerful than either and can never be usurped: Hope. You HOPE you can sleep with your boss’ wife. You HOPE he doesn’t find out.

Hope has the strange effect of soothing our fears and makes us feel less anxious about the unknown. This has lead to the invention of our death myths—or rather, our afterlife myths. These days with monotheism in power, most people have a concept of two different places in the afterlife: Heaven and Hell. Because all most people have to go on is their religious upbringing it’s hard for them to understand the concept of a single Underworld where all human souls go.

This is what the Greek Underworld was like. Heaven, or more accurately the Heavens, was for the gods only so mortal souls went down to the Underworld. It was divided into 3 main layers: Hades, Tartarus and Chaos. These together made up the lower part of the world.

The words Underworld and Hades are used interchangeably even though there was a god of the same name living in there. Nobody knows which came first, Hades the person or Hades the place. The exact meaning of Hades is unknown but it’s thought that it was spawned from one of these words:

** Aidos = “respect” “awe” “reverence” Greek

** Aides = “unseen” Greek

** Aidios = “eternal” “timeless” Greek

** Adesu = “oaths” “consequences of purgery” Akkodian/Babylonian

** Herkos = “fence” “enclosure” “wall for defense” Greek

The Romans also used a similar naming system, using Pluto interchangeably between person and place. Orcus was used in the same way:

** Pluto = “wealth” Latin

** Orcus = “king” Latin

** Urgeo = “to press” “to force” Latin

And finally, Tartarus means “deep place,” being one of the lowest places within the Underworld. The only thing below Tartarus is Chaos which simply means “void” or “gaping yawn.”

What’s with the names huh? Doesn’t sound so scary and no mention of death. All of these translations seem plausible. The Underworld was fenced in to keep the dead from going up to mingle with the living. On the other hand, living mortals could make their way down there if they had the right goods—And example would be the myth of Orpheus who made his way by singing beautifully to the inhabitants.

Most of us are familiar with the phrase “From dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return” in some shape or form. There is a concept or returning to where we came from. In Greek myth people who dwelled in the Underworld for 1,000 years (some say 100) they drink from the River of Forgetfulness, Lethe, and were reborn on earth. So that, plus the amount of people descending, adds a sense of the eternal.

Since Hades drew the lots to take over the lower realm, this obviously gives the “King” idea. But wealthy is the one that usually throws people. But if you think about it- it makes perfect sense. In this age, metal work was the most valuable and desired. It was used for tools, art, weapons—the list goes on. And the raw materials for this came from the earth so they figured that since the Underworld was deep beneath the ground it would likely be filled with ore veins.

ANYWAYS…What could we find down there? When most people think “Underworld” they picture a place that’s dark and lifeless, or a place of torture and misery. In the Greek Underworld there was that in some places but mostly it was fairly normal—almost an exact mirror to the living realm. It has both good areas and bad. What I’m trying to convey is that Hades IS NOT Hell in the Christian sense.

So who’s/what’s down there?

Comparable to Roman PLUTO, Hades is the 4^th son of Cronus. After Titanomachy, he and his brothers Poseidon and Zeus threw lots to decide on who would rule over the sections of the earth. He won the lower realm—which he shares his name with. Unlike the Disney version, Hades had no aspirations to overthrow Zeus and rule the heavenly realm. There is a play where he did that but it’s never been shown in myth. He had a couple lovers, one of them a Nymph that rode the waters of Styx to go between the mortal and death realms, but he yearned for a companion. With Zeus’ consent he kidnapped Persephone and brought her down to be his Queen. From that time on Hades’ power takes a backseat to Persephone’s as rulers of the Underworld. He’s only ever ventured to the mortal realm twice—once when he was fetching Persephone and another to aid Heracles (Hercules). In all of Greece there have only been 2 shrines dedicated to Hades that we know of—it was thought that to utter his name would bring his unwanted attention. Magnetized rocks were thought to be empowered by him and were sacred. Salt was also sacred to Hades, being the only mineral of the earth that humans consume.

Hades the place, on the other hand, is thought to be a normal city surrounded by mountains and wilderness. The souls of people live in homes, sleep in beds, eat food and drink just as they would when they were alive. 3-5 rivers were said to snake their way around the land of Hades. The 3 that are agreed upon are Styx (River of Hate), Lethe (River of Forgetfulness) and Acheron (River of Woe, which is an actual river in Greece). The other 2 are Cocytus (River of Lamentation) and Phlegethon (River of Fire). Everybody went to Hades when they died except for: fallen/former gods, people who insulted the gods and certain heroes. It didn’t matter if you were good or bad, everyone ended up in the same place unless they did something especially extraordinary.

Comparable to Roman PROSEPINA, Persephone is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. Her name is another word for kore which is Greek for “girl,” or the seed that hasn’t grown but has potential to become something. When Hades sent word that he desired a wife Zeus picked her out as the most worthy candidate. Without informing Demeter, Hades popped out of the ground on his black chariot and scooped her up. At first she was terrified and inconsolable but Hades treated her tenderly. Once she had calmed enough to look around at the gardens and the wealth she would inherit, suddenly things didn’t seem so bad. Her dominion and power became on par with that of Hera’s—the Queen of the Heavens. Demeter, distraught with the loss of her daughter, refused to make the grain grow for mortals and Zeus was forced to urge Hades to release Persephone. Zeus can’t force any of the gods to do anything but if the mortals died so too would the gods. So Hades let Persephone return to her mother. However he gave her the seeds of a pomegranate and that marked her as belonging to the underworld and she was to spend 1/3 of the year there. The pomegranate was also a fruit sacred to Hera, the goddess of marriage, so it symbolized their union as husband and wife. Also Persephone, being the seed, must enter the earth to receive nourishment, the pomegranate seed, and when she left the underworld, the fertilized seed would sprout into new plant life. Most myths involving the Underworld after Persephone took power indicate that she was the superior of the two rulers. Her desires dictated Hades’ decisions so it’s curious to see the interplay of the male and female forces.

The goddess and personification of the Night (which is what her name means), she was one of the other children born from Chaos after Gaia, Tartarus and Eros. She was said to dwell on the rims of Hades and bore an entire host of children. With her brother Erebus (“darkness”) she gave birth to Aether (“light”) and Hemera (“day”). But she also had loads of children on her own: Moros (“doom” “destiny”), Hypnos (“sleep”), Dreams, Thanatos (“death”), Momus (“reproach”), Oizys (“distress”), Nemesis (goddess of divine retribution), Apate (“deceit”), Philotes (“love”), Geras (“old age”), the Hesperides (nymphs who guarded the golden apples that Heracles had to get) and Eris (“strife”). In some traditions she also bore the Moirae or Fates, Styx, Eros the god of spiritual love and Charon the ferryman.

The personification of darkness in the Underworld, Erebus was born from Chaos and brother to Nyx. Together they produced Aether and Hemera (sometimes he’s considered the father of Styx) and that was all for him after that. Eventually Erebus became designated as an smaller area in Hades which was especially dark and gloomy.

The “deep place” as I mentioned before. This was one of the original 3 children of Chaos besides Gaia and Eros. Tartarus is similar to the Christian concept of Hell yet it is a very exclusive place. It is the place of punishment for 2 sets of people: Fallen/former gods and mortals who had insulted the gods. If you murdered a stranger or if you lied or cheated you went to the normal part of Hades, this was for the worst of the worst in human kind. The Erinyes lived here and put the inmates through eternal torture for their crimes. Prometheus was the only one to escape from Tartarus with the help of Heracles.

Also known as the “Elysian Fields” or “Isle of the Blessed,” Elysium was the place of eternal bliss and comfort in the Underworld. As the name describes, it’s filled with rolling fields and fresh water and its inhabitants spend their days wandering around eating fruit, drinking and singing (basically goofing off). Like Tartarus, this place was extremely exclusive. This was the resting place of heroes (though strangely, Heracles and Achilles weren’t able to get in). Normal people who lived good lives could not find their home in Elysium. Elysium comes from a word meaning “struck by lightning.” It was thought that anything struck by lightning became sacred because it came from Zeus. If a person died from being struck by lightning he immediately was sent to Elysium. This was a place with no winter, no seasonal death phase and full of plenty.

The lowest part of the Underworld, this was simply a vacuum from which everything sprung and which everything returned to. The worst punishment that could be dealt to anyone was to be sent back to Chaos—there they would cease to exist.

A goddess and river that winds around Hades and Tartarus, Styx’s birth tradition is either the eldest child of the titans Oceanus and Tethys or the child of Nyx and Erebus. Her name means “hate” so she is was the River of Hate. She was married to the titan Pallas and mothered Zelus (“zeal, emulation”), Nike (goddess of victory), Cratos (“strength”), and Bia (“force” “violence”). Styx’s waters were given an esteemed position in the Olympian hierarchy for her part in Titanomachy. Whenever one of the gods would make an oath they would swear upon her waters. If anyone should break that oath they would be dragged to Tartarus to be punished.

“Forgetfulness” or “Oblivion,” Lethe is one of the main rivers in Hades. She is thought to be one of the daughters of Eris. The spirits of the dead could drink from her waters to forget the memories of their past lives. Masters urged their apprentices to drink for another spring, Mnemosyne, so they could remember their skills and be successful in the next life.

There were 2 gates within Hades: The Gates of Ivory and the Gates of Horn. From the Gates of Ivory went false dreams sent by ghosts to living mortals. It is also thought that this was a way for souls to escape or be sent from Hades to be active among the living. The Gates of Horn issued true dreams, or rather, prophetic dreams about what is, what was and what will be.

The Judges of the Underworld. In life, Minos and Rhadamanthys were brothers. Minos ruled the island of Crete (the Minoans) and Rhadamanthys was a man known for his ways of justice. Aeacus was a man of such integrity he was chosen as the only one to pray to Zeus to end a famine caused by his anger. All three were chosen as the judges of souls once they entered the Underworld. Once they passed their judgment they would exit the Halls of Minos and follow a road. The road then splits: to the right, Elysium; to the left, Tartarus; and straight, the normal part of Hades.

The ferryman for the river Acheron, Charon was responsible for bringing the dead spirits into Hades. They couldn’t cross the river on their own so they had to rely on Charon to take them across. The price to cross was 1 obol so when people died it was customary to place the coins over their eyes or in their mouths. If they couldn’t pay this fee (if they weren’t buried for example) they had to wait on the banks of Styx for 100 years then Charon would take them across for free. Mortals who wished to cross had to bring him a golden tree bough, or if they were like Heracles, beat him until he agreed to taking them to the other side. He’s pictured as a ill-tempered old man or a winged demon with snakes twining around his body.

As most probably know, Cerberus is the dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld. He is the child of Typhon and Echidna and thought to be brother of the monster dog of Geryon, the Hydra of Lerna and the Nemean lion. His oldest iconography shows him to have 50 or 100 heads but it was reduced to 3. At times he’s shown to have a back full of snakes or the tail of a serpent. Cerberus allowed people to enter Hades as they pleased but once they tried to get out, they were stuck. If people were smart though he could be bribed (Orpheus sung him to sleep and Heracles fed him a honey cake).

Also, The Furies, these were creatures of revenge and torture masters for the people who were sent to Tartarus. When someone committed an atrocious act in the land of the living they would come up and drive them insane until they killed themselves. Among the acts that would bring the Erinyes’ wrath was murdering one’s mother—the most despicable crime in Greek culture. They are pictured as women with wings and bodies or hair covered in snakes. There’s an indeterminable number of them but the 3 main ones are Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megaera.