Death & Dying & Hades Flashcards
General Feeling about Death
bleak; some part remains, but if you want to be happy, be happy in the world
Apotheosis
a human becoming a god, Heracles. Roman emperors becoming a god after death
Katabasis
‘going down’ recurring motif in myth, going down to hades: Dionysus, Persephone, Orpheus etc
Pluto
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
Symbols of Hades
Cornucopia, Rooster
Eidola
a ghost, if the psyche (the soul part of the dead) remains on earth it transforms into this
Odysseus’ interaction with the underworld
NOT katabisis, went to opening of Hades, sacrificed animals summoning ghosts up to speak with him. Spoke to his mother and Elpenor
Elpenor
shipmate of odysseus, fell off of a roof and died no one knew, asks odysseus to go back find and bury his body
Burial Rituals
bodies MUST be buried, by law, otherwise the spirits turn into Eidolae and haunt the living. Not following rules is a crime
Lithe
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
Entrance to the Underworld
Cross the river styx, by boat, led by Charon. Enter Hades and are judged
Judges of Hades
Minos and Rhadamanthys, decide where you go
Aeacus
gatekeeper of Hades
Cerberus
3 headed, 5 headed, 50 headed beast that will not let souls LEAVE hades
Tartarus
where the bad people go, in Virgil is a place of torture
Ixion
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
Tityus
tried to rape Leto, mother of Apollo and Artemis, tied to an every turning wheel of fire
Tantalus
kills his son, Pelops, and cooks him for the Gods. Pelops gets brought back to life. Tantalus punishment
Sisyphus
tried to defy death, HUBRIS. Must push a boulder forever
Aeneas’ interaction with Hades
must speak to his dead father, must
Danaids
50 daughters, killed their bridegrooms on their wedding night. Must fill a container with water, draw water with a siv
Elysium/Elysian Fields
happiest part of the underworld
Orpheus and Eurydice
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
Death of Orpheus
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
