A Tour of Hades

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A Tour of Hades
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Entrance

• Locating the entrance was difficult.
• The dead had to discover the cave and follow the
  path inside.
• Originally, the Greeks believed the underworld
  was across the Ocean. When travel to far islands
  ruined that theory, the underworld changed to
  under the world, in the center of the earth.
• The dead were called shades because the soul was
  a shadow of its original self.

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Acheron

• River of woe, sadness, or affliction
• Acheron was originally a son of Gaea but was said
  to have quenched the thirst of the Titans during
  the Titan/Olympian war, and Zeus had him thrown
  into the underworld to become the first river.

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Charon

• the official ferry operator of the underworld
• He ferried the dead across Acheron (some myths
  say on the river Styx).
• An obolus, or coin of payment, was required. No
  money, no passage. The soul would have to wander
  the banks of Acheron for eternity.
• The Greeks put a coin in the dead persons mouth
  or on the eyes during burial for this purpose.

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ErebusJudgment Area

• Hades had 3 sections Erebus, Tartarus, and the
  Elysium Fields.
• Erebus was a place through which all the dead had
  to pass.
• Since Hades was for ALL the dead, whether good or
  bad, judgment followed.

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The 3 Judges

• Aeacus (son of Zeus and Aegina) judged Europeans.
• Rhadamanthus (son of Zeus and Europa) judged the
  people from Asia.
• Minos (also the son of Zeus and Europa) judged
  the difficult cases.
• The judges would send the dead to Tartarus for
  punishment or the Elysium Fields for rest.

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Cocytus

• River of lamentation or wailing

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The 3 Fates

• 3 women who spun, measured, and cut the thread of
  life.
• They were responsible for the dead person being
  there in the first place.

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The Furies and Nemesis

• The furies had serpent hair and blood dripping
  from their eyes.
• They pursued sinners on earth.
• Nemesis, the spirit of fair punishment, was a
  sister to the Fates. She gave punishments and
  rewards.

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Hecate

• Goddess of magic charms and enchantmentsgoddess
  of witchcraft and sorcery

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Styx

• River with 9 loops that surrounds the underworld
• Originally, she was a daughter of the Titans.
  She helped the Olympians in the war, so she
  became the river of the gods.
• If the gods swore by her, the promise was
  unbreakable.

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Cerberus

• Watchdog at the gates of Tartarus. He had three
  heads, and venom dripped from the mouths. He had
  a serpent or dragon tail.
• He would let souls in, but not out. However, he
  could be bribed with honey cake or with sweet
  music.

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Phelgethon

• River of fire led into and surrounded Tartarus,
  the place of eternal punishment

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Tartarus

• Punishment section of the underworld
• Punishments were specific and special for the
  sinnerchosen just for them
• Gates of Bronze, surrounded by fire

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Sisyphus

• SinnerHe died, but by a trick escaped from the
  underworld to return to earth. He was recaptured
  and punished by rolling a rock up a hill, only to
  have it roll back down each time.

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Tantalus

• SinnerHe served the gods human flesh to eat.
  For his punishment, he stands forever in a pool
  of water, unable to drink, and within reach of
  fruit trees, but unable to eat.

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Ixion

• SinnerHe showed his disrespect to the gods by
  attempting to win the love of Hera. For his
  punishment, he is forced to roll forever on a
  wheel of fire throughout Tartarus.

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Danaids

• Sinners (50 sisters)They were engaged to 50 male
  cousins. For some reason, they went through with
  the marriages, then 49 of them killed their
  husbands on the wedding night (one sister
  couldnt do it). As punishment, they must
  forever fill a barrel with water from a nearby
  stream, but the water had to be carried in a
  sieve.

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Thanatos

• If the dead person wasnt supposed to be punished
  in Tartarus, they went on to the Abode of Sleep.
• There, the soul met
• Thanatos/Mors (death)
• Hypnos/Somnus (sleep)
• Morpheus (son of sleep and the god of dreams)

brothers
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Lethe

• River of forgetfulness
• One cup would make the soul forget the past.

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Elysium Fields

• Some myths have this as a place of happiness and
  peace.
• Other myths show this as a place of
  nothingnessnot a place of paradise.

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Grove of Persephone

• This was a grove of black poplar trees and
  sterile willows, for nothing can grow there.