What Is The Ancient Greek Journey To The Underworld

In ancient Greek beliefs people were also judged when they were down in the underworld. At the dividing road between Tartarus, a place of torture in the underworld and the Isles of the Blest, a place for the good in the underworld, there are the Plains of Judgment. Awaiting the souls in the Plain of Judgment are Aeacus, Minos, and Rhadamanthys. These dead men, judge who goes to Tartarus, who goes to the Isles of the Blest or back to the Asphodel Fields if they were neither good or evil. These men were all sons of Zeus who were rewarded as judges in the underworld by creating the first just laws on Earth. Aeacus was king of Aegina during mortal life and was also known for making decisions for Zeus. After his death he became keeper of the keys of Hades and the judge of men of Europe in the Underworld. Minos was the King of Crete, and Rhadamanthys was his brother. They both lived in Asia during their mortal lives. After his death, Rhadamanthys became lord of the Isles of the Blest, and judge of the men of Asia. After Minos died he gained the responsibility of having the final judgment. In The Odyssey, Odysseus says " And now there came before my eyes Minos, the son of Zeus, enthroned, holding a golden staff, dealing out justice among ghostly pleaders arrayed about the broad doorways of Death.". (XI. 640) The Greeks believed Minos had a lot of power in the underworld. In Roman beliefs Rhadamanthus had control over the punishments people

The Greeks finished building an exquisite temple to their beloved goddess, Athena in the year 432 BCE. (Sayre 60). The name of this enriched, unique temple was the Parthenon. The Parthenon took the Greeks approximately fifteen years to complete and as Pericles stated, it was built to give gratitude to their goddess Athena for the salvation of their city, Athens and all of Greece in the Persian Wars (Sayre 60). It was also a symbol of their power and superiority among other cultures. It was something the Greeks took great pride in and recognized it to a great extent. The Parthenon was built on the highest point of the city of Athens to look over the precious Greek city. On the exterior walls of the Parthenon there was beautiful artwork that

“This worship took the form of building elaborate temples and sanctuaries, holding festivals, making animal sacrifices, and offering them the fruits of the harvest” (Pearson, A. 2014). Athens’ patron goddess was Athena who is the goddess of wisdom, warfare, practical reason and handicraft. As temples were often “built to celebrate a city’s success or to thank a patron God for help during times of war,” (Pearson, A. 2014) it is often believed that the Parthenon’s sole purpose was to be a temple dedicated to Athena; however, it also symbolized the “wealth and exuberance of Athenian power” (Ancientgreece.com, 2012). This secondary source written by Pollard J.R.T. and Adkins A.W.H. supports this concept stating that “The Parthenon and other Athenian temples of the late 5th century proclaim the taste and power of the Athenians rather than their awe of the gods” (Pollard J.R.T. and Adkins A.W.H. 2016). Another religious aspect of the Parthenon is the Parthenon frieze (appendix 1) which runs around the outside of the cella wall. The Parthenon frieze depicts the Panathenaic Procession which is a Greek religious festival where “the sacrifice of several animals were offered... contests were held, and portions of epic poems were recited” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016). Unfortunately, many of the sculptures on the Parthenon frieze are in poor condition so historians cannot be certain as to what the Parthenon frieze illustrates as it is possible that it could represent a mythical

The girls would descend the steps of the Acropolis, a large fortress containing many important buildings. The Scirophonia was a festival in which priests would walk in a somber march under a vast sun umbrella and lastly the Panathenea. The Panathenea festival was the largest festival in which hundreds of people walked in a massive procession to the Acropolis. The people were bringing Athena a peplos, or a robe, made by the most skilled workers in Athens. During this festival, people held races, sang songs, played music, competed in gymnastics and also music contests (The Cut of Athena 1). Along with the festivals, the Greek people built expansive temples to Athena. There is the sanctuary of Athena in Delphi, Greece, part of the great temple complex there. The sanctuary was set-aside for Athena for her role as guardian of wisdom and consciousness (Philip, Wilkinson 53). The Parthenon in Athens also has a portion dedicated to Athena, but aside from that, there are two other temples devoted to the goddess: the temple of Athena Nike and the Erectheum, both of which are also located on the Acropolis in Athens. Athena was respected throughout Greece but she had an almost cult following in Athens (The Cult of Athena 1). There was an ancient rivalry between Athens, the city known for its advanced thinking, and Sparta, known for its warlike approach towards problems. However, both cities worshipped Athena. In Sparta, she was adored for her power in battle

According to the first document that I read, a brief history of Athens, which details Athens existence at around 3000 BC, mentions several buildings made in her honor. Some of these building are the Parthenon and Erechtheion.

In the period known as classical Greece in the years 800-323 BCE, Greece comprised of small city states (poleis) which were considered and operated as independent small countries. Amongst those city states Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and considered in Greek history as the most influential states to western civilisation. These two city states shared some common characteristics whilst in some instances they were very different from each other. Sparta and Athens had differences and similarities in the way they governed their city states, in how they established their military forces, how they treated women, their marriage customs and social gatherings

The Parthenon was home to the Athena Parthenos, but where it was located in the Parthenon is crucial. It was located in a special chamber called the cella.*footnote* The only people that were actually allowed into the Parthenon were priests, who are could be considered the holiest of all people in their culture.*footnote* This elevates the Athena Parthenos to a very high level of holiness, that most would consider to be Goddess-like. Normal citizens of Athens had to worship in a courtyard outside of the Parthenon, which means that they couldn’t even be under the same roof as the Athena Parthenos.*footnote* The placement of the statute clearly indicates a very high level of religious standing, that could be best described as Goddess-like.

In ancient Egypt, food offerings were made to the dead. In ancient Greece, pictures of feasts and their favorite things along with food were offered. The overall funeral between the two cultures was very similar in the way things were conducted, however grievers were different. In ancient Greece, people wore black robes and women cut their cheeks and hair to show their grief. In ancient Egypt, people showed their grief through the floral collars they wore . While the beliefs of the afterlife and funerals don’t differ tremendously between the two places, the way they handled the actual body did. In ancient Greece, they buried the dead so the dead who had good hearts would be ensured to make it to the good parts of the afterlife. In ancient Egypt, they used their advanced technologies to preserve bodies through mummification, so the dead could come out of the dead to accept offerings and essentially live forever. Sometimes, afterlife religious practices involved sacrifices which were found in different parts of life leading to the next idea.

The Rome’s Pantheon and Greek’s Parthenon are both significant and innovative structures that have influenced the architecture around the world. This essay will describe the style and function of each building as well as the similarities and differences between ancient Greece and Rome in four characters including history, design, usage, and similarity.

Besides being the Athenians greatest architectural achievement, the Parthenon serves a basic purpose. The Parthenon is a temple devoted to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and guardian of the city- state of Athens that got its name from her. The temple marked the zenith of ancient

In comparing and contrasting the societies of Periclean Athens and ancient Egypt, we must first mention some of the characteristics of an actual society: a society has a stable food supply, social levels and classes, specialization of labor, a system of government, and a highly developed culture. Both the societies of ancient Athens and Egypt fit into these parameters. In this essay we will explore social classes, gender relations, social inequality, and hierarchy as they apply to these societies.

The agora and Temple of Hephaestus were known to represent the isonomy and democracy within Athens. The agora served as a common place for the people of Athens to come together for government and social occasions. The temple of Hephaestus was purposefully located higher up so that it faced the agora. Hephaestus was the god of the everyday people, therefore, his temple looked over them. Because the landscape is the most important area of a holy place and is the connection to god, it emphasizes how significant Hephaestus was to the Athenians. This temple helped invision an idea of what most of the temples looked like originally, because it was one of the few that was still well preserved and we could stand in close proximity of it.

The last Olympic swimmer just touched the wall and the race has ended. Cameras are replaying every single movement from the race and a winner has been clearly decided. Just as these Olympic swimmers will gain a medal for placing, ancient Athens had numerous accomplishments of its own. Athens “prosperity … was due in large part to its stable and effective government” (SOURCE 1). When analyzing the history of ancient Athens, is easy to see how the accomplishments of a democracy, Greek philosophy, and Greek literature all shape Athens.

Have you ever been to ancient Greece and seen a magnificent Greek temple or an amphitheater that was filled with spectators, watching a performance, or seen the first Olympic stadium and wondered: what is this building and what is the purpose of it? Is it important, or just a normal building in town? “Greek architecture is a very specific and influential type of design, which was based off of the post-and-lintel system.” www.historyforkids.net. In ancient Greece, temples were made to worship the gods of Olympus. “Zeus was the god of the sky and the ruler of the Olympian gods.” www.greekmythology.com. Temples such as the Parthenon, the temple of Poseidon, and the temples at the Acropolis were very essential at this time and are still are a

The Parthenon in Athens is the most important and characteristic monument of ancient Greek civilization, it is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. It shows the finest point of Greek architecture, history and ancient Greek religious beliefs. The Parthenon is a temple dedicated to Athens patron goddess, Athena (Herbert, 2006:3). Athena was the goddess of civilization, wisdom, weaving, crafts and war. She never had a consort or lover, and so she was often known as Athena Parthenos ("Athena the virgin") which is were the Parthenon's name, derives from.