The Christian Hell and the Greek Underworld

There are several theories about what happens after we perish. Many thoughts can be made about where we go or who and even what we turn into but there are so many possibilities on what actually happens. Coming up with one specific theory is not easy, but I have come to the conclusion that my belief is after we die, we come back as something else. Reincarnation is a debatable topic on rather you believe the rules behind it or not. My theory is that we come back as perhaps another person in a completely different body with no memory of what happened in your past. Several ideas have been made such as how we all have birthmarks that can conclude how we die in our past life. If you have a birthmark on your back then that could be how you died. Some similarities between my beliefs and Greeks beliefs is the journey that contradicts

Christianity has several different variations on the theme of immortality. These variations are related to the many different denominations under the umbrella of Christianity. In general, liberal Christians accept the idea that the authors of the bible held different beliefs involving heaven and hell. Some of the oldest biblical writings described an underground cavern in which all people regardless of their deeds spent eternity in after death. The books within the New Testament more commonly described hell as a place of

In ancient Greece, around 500 B.C.E, the culture was revolving around gods and goddesses. The lifestyles and actions of the people of Greece had an interdependence with the common belief of Hellenism. By understanding that many Greeks looked to their gods and goddesses in most aspects of their life, we can better understand how Greek culture worked as a whole. This can be seen specifically in Athens Greece. In Athens they looked to the Goddess Athena in particular because she was their patron Goddess. During this time a sculptor, named Phidias, sculpted a grand statue called the Athena Parthenos. The Athena Parthenos was viewed as an actual incarnation of the Goddess Athena, and symbolize victory in wars that ultimately create peace and harmony.

The underworld in Greek mythology was not a lively place, for it was where all the dead souls went. When a person died, the soul would be sent to Hades, a more formal name for the underworld. "The dead would go to Hades because there was no annihilation in the Greek mythology. The dead are dead because they have a flavorless and unhappy existence".

Ancient Greeks believed that when you died your soul went to the Underworld. They also believed that you had to go through a journey in order to be able to go to where you needed to in the Underworld. The first step of this journey was the god of death would come to

Zeus demanded Athena to come to the underworld with them and Hermes provided them with his winged sandals for any unexpected consequences. Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena crept through the underworld and stopped in their tracks when they heard a monstrous noise. It was Cronus, their vicious, arrogant and selfish father who couldn’t see anyone’s good. Hades stood still looking terrified and full of regret. “I’ve never thought I’d see you two together again brothers.” He spoke to Zeus and

A major theological problem exist as it related to Christ descending into hell to take the keys of death. Although the Apostle’s Creed points out that Jesus descended down into hel, His descent was not about suffering, but about a triumph victory over Satan. In order to ascertain the truth behind the afterlife, the validity of hell has to be established.

In the first place, Christians of the new and old age primarily believe that after death their souls live on in the grace of God's presence. For example, in the Bible it states, “Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies.”’ In Dante’s Inferno, Dante is shunned by God’s grace and is trying to find his way back. In the concluding lines of inferno; “...and beauteous shining of the Heavenly cars. And we walked out once more beneath the Stars” (Alighieri 287). These last words represent Dante climbing out of the nightmare he called Hell and he is gazing upon the beautiful stars of Heaven. Which represents a sense of hope as if his sins are forgiven. Heaven and hell in the Bible have a rather vague description of the details embedded in the experience you will face in the afterlife. All that is very well known and established is Heaven is a place of light and God's love and Hell is the land in which you experience eternal suffering for your sins. These loose interpretations of hell are greatly represented in Inferno because Dante takes these thoughts and roughly based Christian ideology of the after life into his own “Visions of Hell” Henceforth, the Christian faith and ideas are the base to many other religions. Dante’s Inferno a like Christianity has multiple representations of faith including an abundance of Christian Beliefs.

The afterlife as a residence for souls after death has long been a topic of discussion and debate. This idea intrigues many. As Christians we believe that heaven is a place where believers go where life there will be a continuation of their present life, while hell is a place of judgment and punishment where many experience severe treatment. Direct experience is the only way individuals can experience these concepts, but once we obtain the experience it cannot be shared. This ultimately makes us want to know more leading many to visualize the afterlife. Starting with the earliest Greek Epics, such as The Iliad, society has imagined an Underworld, a place beneath the Earth where souls go once the body dies. Our thoughts and expectations about such an idea have changed over time; the idea of the Underworld continues in many Greek and Latin poems and it still used today (Spiegel).

When Looking at the early Christian church we must also look at the surroundings of these people and the religions of the people living mixed in with the Christians at the time. What was hell like to people of the Roman religions or mystery religions. The religious mythology of the Roman people stems from Greek mythology. Everyone knows that hell for the Romans was the underworld, there are many Roman legends that deal with the underworld and their deity similar to Hades. The Romans called Hades, Pluto. Pluto was the ruler of the underworld. He is the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. The story goes that these three brothers defeated their father, Cronus, and the Titans, the twelve primeval deities, and split the rule of the sky, sea, and underworld.

A dark, silent, formless void, a perpetual abyss without orientation, this is essentially what the Greeks believed was the origin of the world. The ancient Greeks while trying to further explain the world, invented beguiling myths (Evie). From these myths a world of human like gods and goddesses was formed (Evie). Through narratives, legends, and myths this world justified various abstract ideas, thus creating Greek mythology (Evie). A central element in Greek mythology is the underworld. The underworld is considered to be the place where one’s soul goes to after death. The underworld has played a vital role in Greek culture by serving as an incentive to live a virtuous life, which in turn has affected all aspects of Greek life.

Different religions have their different views on Hell, Christianity has become one of the big three religions and they have a different view of what Hell has become. Religions have different views of what Hell is and Christianity sees Hell as having a place for souls that should receive punishment for what they did while they were on earth. Not only is there a Hell in Christianity but before a soul might go to Hell there is a place called purgatory. Lingering souls that wander go there and they await what their punishment or reward for their afterlife. That is the first stop before a soul can go to either Heaven or Hell, people will pray “for the dead to alleviate their suffering in purgatory” (Greenblatt 9). Once a soul has been judged they

Poseidon, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Zeus; these are all gods and goddesses from Hellenic (Ancient Greek) mythology who have been worshipped and prayed to by the people of Hellas for millennia, although not today, but the gods used to be the centre of life in Hellas. The Hellenes would pray to, worship, sacrifice animals to, give up wine and food to and revere the gods due to their power and authority over them. Hoplite: Torch of Prometheus, by Michael Pritsos, takes place in the eighteenth year of the Peloponnesian War (413 BC) in Hellas. The main character, Maxites, is the adopted son of king Diocrates of a fictional polis named Devanum. Through hardships, near death experiences, nightmares and visions, conversations with the gods and the

The concept of hell in Buddhism is different comparatively amongst other religions.Hell in buddhism isn’t a place for eternal everlasting punishment as viewed by the 'almighty creator' of religions. In Buddhism, it is one of the six realms in Samsara [really it being the worst of three undesirable realms]. Also, there is virtually an unlimited abundance of hells in the Buddhist universe as there is an infinite number of Buddha worlds.

There has been a lot of controversy over whether philosophy is needed or should be a part of Christianity. An early church father Tertullian said that we only needed the Bible and that we did not need philosophy at all. He said the Bible was enough. Clement of Alexandria believed that Greek philosophy was the handmaid of theology. “…before the advent of the Lord, philosophy was necessary to the Greeks for righteousness. And now it becomes conducive to piety; being a kind of preparatory training to those who attain to faith… philosophy was given to the Greeks directly and primarily, till the Lord should call the Greeks. For this was a schoolmaster to bring “the Hellenic mind,” as the law, the Hebrews, “to Christ.” Philosophy, therefore, was a preparation, paving the way for him who is perfected in Christ.” Justin believed that all