How is the Underworld Viewed in Classical Mythology?

1. How is the Underworld Viewed in Classical Mythology?

2. What is an Underworld? • In classical mythology, it is an imaginary realm where all human beings live after death. • Homer depicts the underworld in the Odysseyas does Virgil in the Aeneid. • Many tales from Greek mythology involve journeys to the underworld by those who are still living. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of the most famous of these.

3. Homer’s Underworld • On his long journey home after the Trojan War, Homer's Odysseus visits Hades. Engaged in a symbolic search for the self, Odysseus must come to know the reality of death and the afterlife. Like many mythological heroes, he is allowed to come to the edge of Hades in the underworld, discover self-knowledge, and then return to life on earth. While in Hades, Odysseus encounters Achilles, the great warrior of the Iliad. Achilles is miserable in Hades, not from physical pain, but from a lack of purpose.

4. Homer’s Underworld • This is because in Homer's underworld, the afterlife does not involve polar realms like heaven and hell. The dead wander in a vast, largely undefined place. People who have led evil lives are given painful tasks, but these people are not separated from those who have led good lives.

5. Virgil’s Underworld • In the Aeneid, Virgil's vision of the underworld is influenced by Homer's vision in the Odyssey, but there are major differences. Homer's Odysseus journeys to the underworld alone, without a guide, but when Aeneas makes this journey, the Sibyl, a prophetess, guides him.

6. Virgil’s Underworld • Though Homer's Hades is a vague and shadowy space, Virgil creates an underworld with distinct regions. Someone entering the kingdom of the dead might be banished to Tartarus, a place for punishment that is similar to visions of hell. In contrast, the Elysian fields, the home of heroes favored by the gods, is far more peaceful than Tartarus. Virgil's descriptions create an underworld with specific territories. Each territory is suitable to the characters of its inhabitants.

7. Key Terms As you tour the underworld, you will find the following definitions helpful: • Heroes of Greek mythology: • Heracles (Hercules): Son of Zeus and known for his strength • Theseus: Leader of Attica who slew the Minotaur • Odysseus: King of Ithaca whose idea for the wooden horse enabled the Greeks to defeat the Trojans

8. Key Terms continued • Additional characters and places: • Elysium: Often called Elysian Fields; place where the great heroes dwell after death • Tiresias: Blind prophet who appears in descriptions of the underworld • Tityos, Sisyphus, Tantalus, Ixion: Among those punished in the underworld • Hera: Queen of the gods • Hephaestus: God of the forge and of metalworking • Demeter: An earth goddess, responsible for the seasons and the harvest • Persephone: Daughter of Demeter who becomes the queen of Hades • Dionysus: Greek god of wine and revelry

9. Map of the Underworld • View the map & follow Aeneas’ journey through the Underworld. • FIND: • the region of Unburied Souls • Charon • the Vale of Mourning • Tartarus • the Plain of Judgment • the Palace of Hades • Elysium

11. Bullfinch’s Age of Fable: Vols. I & II: Stories of Gods and Heroes XXXII a.The Infernal Regions • Carefully read the summary of Aeneas’ journey through the Underworld as described by Thomas Bullfinch from Virgil’s Aeneid. • On the chart, list some of the important mythological figures who dwell in each of the main regions Aeneas visits. Record each character’s location and explain the reason why the character is in this region. • The first row of the chart has already been completed for you as a guide.