Death & Dying & Hades

Question 1

General Feeling about Death

Answer 1

bleak; some part remains, but if you want to be happy, be happy in the world

Question 2

Apotheosis

Answer 2

a human becoming a god, Heracles. Roman emperors becoming a god after death

Question 3

Katabasis

Answer 3

‘going down’ recurring motif in myth, going down to hades: Dionysus, Persephone, Orpheus etc

Question 4

Pluto

Answer 4

roman god, not the same as Hades, not necessarily associated with HADES the place. Etymologically related to the wealthy, deep of the earth has lots of wealth, lots of secrets

Question 5

Symbols of Hades

Answer 5

Cornucopia, Rooster

Question 6

Eidola

Answer 6

a ghost, if the psyche (the soul part of the dead) remains on earth it transforms into this

Question 7

Odysseus’ interaction with the underworld

Answer 7

NOT katabisis, went to opening of Hades, sacrificed animals summoning ghosts up to speak with him. Spoke to his mother and Elpenor

Question 8

Elpenor

Answer 8

shipmate of odysseus, fell off of a roof and died no one knew, asks odysseus to go back find and bury his body

Question 9

Burial Rituals

Answer 9

bodies MUST be buried, by law, otherwise the spirits turn into Eidolae and haunt the living. Not following rules is a crime

Question 10

Lithe

Answer 10

the river of forgetfulness in the underworld, to be born again one must drink from the river and lose all memory of the previous life

Question 11

Entrance to the Underworld

Answer 11

Cross the river styx, by boat, led by Charon. Enter Hades and are judged

Question 12

Judges of Hades

Answer 12

Minos and Rhadamanthys, decide where you go

Question 13

Aeacus

Answer 13

gatekeeper of Hades

Question 14

Cerberus

Answer 14

3 headed, 5 headed, 50 headed beast that will not let souls LEAVE hades

Question 15

Tartarus

Answer 15

where the bad people go, in Virgil is a place of torture

Question 16

Ixion

Answer 16

favorite of the gods, especially Zeus. frequents banquets with him, Hera thinks he is lusting after her. Zeus makes a replica of Hera from clouds, Ixion tries to rape the cloud hera, his semen falls to the earth and create the centaurs. Punished in Hades with the Prometheian punishment

Question 17

Tityus

Answer 17

tried to rape Leto, mother of Apollo and Artemis, tied to an every turning wheel of fire

Question 18

Tantalus

Answer 18

kills his son, Pelops, and cooks him for the Gods. Pelops gets brought back to life. Tantalus punishment

Question 19

Sisyphus

Answer 19

tried to defy death, HUBRIS. Must push a boulder forever

Question 20

Aeneas’ interaction with Hades

Answer 20

must speak to his dead father, must

Question 21

Danaids

Answer 21

50 daughters, killed their bridegrooms on their wedding night. Must fill a container with water, draw water with a siv

Question 22

Elysium/Elysian Fields

Answer 22

happiest part of the underworld

Question 23

Orpheus and Eurydice

Answer 23

He is the greatest musician of all time. Eurydice gets killed by a snake on their wedding night. Orpheus commits a katabisis. Music is so beautiful that he gets through without trouble. Music is so moving, Hades lets Eurydice’s soul go up to the world with Orpheus. Orpheus must not look back at the ghost of Eurydice, he does, she disappears

Question 24

Death of Orpheus

Answer 24

Dionysus’ Maeneds try to woo Orpheus, he has forsaken women b’c of Eurydice. They rip him to pieces and throw him in a river. Even dead, his lyre still places, and his decapitated head still sings