Introduction to The Underworld as Understood in Ancient Hellas
Working with Thanatos has given me time and insight into studying more about the Underworld. I have come to truly respect it, far more than I may fear it. The journey to the Underworld is not as simple as one may think. The Underworld actually has quite a delicate and sophisticated architecture. To begin, the spirits of the deceased must enter the Underworld through one of five surrounding rivers.
Acheron (Αχέρων): The river of woe. This is the river that the ferryman of the dead was paid to guide spirits across in the transition.
Kocytus (Κωκυτός): The river of lamentation. Those who could not pay the ferryman were destined to walk the banks of this river - a side river to the river Acheron - for one hundred years.
Phlegethon (Φλεγέθων): The river of fire. It’s a side river of the river Styx and is said to be permanently on fire, yet never burn anything it touches.
Lethe (Λήθη) - The river of forgetfulness. The dead have to drink from it to completely forget about their lives on Earth.
Styx (Στύξ) - The river of hate. The Styx joins with the Acheron at the exact juncture where the land of the living makes way for the Underword, and as such, it is a portal, and the most famous of the five rivers. The Styx is said to wrap around the Underworld nine times. The Styx was also the river upon which deities and mankind swore oaths which could not be broken. If one did break an oath made upon the river Styx, they were forced to drink from the river, upon which they lost their voice for an extended period of time.
Within the Underworld, there are various areas where the dead are actually housed (they don’t just wander aimlessly), but also where all the various deities of the Underworld - called “Theoi Khthonioi” - often resided. Immortals and the Moirai, deamons and nymphs…even some of the older Titans are all settled here as well.
Technically, there are three main parts to the Underworld.
Tartaros (Τάρταρος): where those who were punished for all eternity remained. The River Phlegethon is located here.
Asphodel Meadows (δομος Αιδαο): where everyone who had lived a good life wandered about. The River Lethe runs through here.
Elysian Fields (Πεδιον Ηλυσιον): where the children of deities, the blessed dead, and those who had lead extraordinarily honorable, brave or otherwise well-respected lives (such as heroes) resided. The Isles of the Blessed were also located here. It is said that when you achieved Elysium, you had a choice to either stay in Elysium, or to be reborn. If you were reborn three times and achieved Elysium all three times through those lives, then you were sent to the Isles of the Blessed and achieved eternal paradise.
Most importantly, we must remember that the Underworld was a neutral place. That is, this was not necessarily a place of punishment. This was not someplace to be feared. It was simply another space, another dimension of being. Surely, one did not desire to go there in the least, but it was a part of the cycle of life. In fact, most of the afterlife was considered quite dull and sunless, tasteless. But it was not a torment. By far the worst part about it is being without the touch of your loved ones, and occasionally forgetting who you had been in your life.
