Essay On The Greek Underworld

Explain how the Greek Underworld helped to shape and dictate the behaviours of the Greeks.

The Underworld played an important role in the lives of the Ancient Greeks and was a constant influence on their behaviours. The Underworld was the centre of Ancient Greek beliefs concerning the afterlife, and was thought to be ruled by the god, Hades and his wife, Persephone. The belief of the Ancient Greeks was that when someone died their psyche, the Greek word for soul, left their body and was transported to the Underworld via the River Styx. It was widely accepted among the Greeks that it was necessary for proper funeral rites to be completed in order for a person 's psyche to pass into the Underworld, if these rites were not completed their psyche …show more content…
Hades was thought to be a gloomy and miserable place, where the deceased would live on as a shadow of their former self, known as a shade, without any memories of their life before death. However, those who were favoured by the gods, the righteous, the good and brave heroes, would not be sent to Hades, they would instead live on in Elysium. Elysium was referred to by the Greek poet, Hesiod, as the ‘Isle of Blessed’ and was believed to be a joyous and heavenly place, where the deceased would fully remember their lives from before and live in peace for eternity. In Elysium the deceased were able to experience things that they enjoyed during there life, and in later myths they were also presented with the opportunity to be reincarnated on Earth. Elysium was presented to the Greeks as a paradise and they believed that if they were considered good and fought bravely in wars, they would be able to gain access into Elysium. The promise of Elysium and terror of Hades, influenced the actions Greeks throughout their lives and caused them to try to live up to the ideals of righteousness and courageousness of the