1.
Yggdrasil
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Yggdrasil is an immense mythical tree that connects the nine worlds in Norse cosmology. Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional sources. In both sources, Yggdrasil is an ash tree that is center to the cosmos and considered very holy. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their things, creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the dragon Níðhöggr, an unnamed eagle, and the stags Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór. The generally accepted meaning of Old Norse Yggdrasill is Odins horse and this interpretation comes about because drasill means horse and Ygg is one of Odins many names. The Poetic Edda poem Hávamál describes how Odin sacrificed himself by hanging from a tree and this tree may have been Yggdrasil. Gallows can be called the horse of the hanged and therefore Odins gallows may have developed into the expression Odins horse, according to this interpretation, askr Yggdrasils would mean the world tree upon which the horse of the highest god is bound. Both of these rely on a presumed but unattested *Yggsdrasill. A third interpretation, presented by F. Detter, is that the name Yggdrasill refers to the word yggr, yet not in reference to the Odinic name, and so Yggdrasill would then mean tree of terror, gallows. F. R. Schröder has proposed a fourth etymology according to which yggdrasill means yew pillar, deriving yggia from *igwja, in the Poetic Edda, the tree is mentioned in the three poems Völuspá, Hávamál and Grímnismál. In stanza 19, the völva says, An ash I know there stands, Yggdrasill is its name, from there come the dews that drop in the valleys. It stands forever green over Urðrs well, in stanza 20, the völva says that from the lake under the tree come three maidens deep in knowledge named Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld. The maidens incised the slip of wood, laid down laws and chose lives for the children of mankind, in stanza 27, the völva details that she is aware that Heimdallrs hearing is couched beneath the bright-nurtured holy tree. In stanza 45, Yggdrasil receives a mention in the poem. The völva describes, as a part of the onset of Ragnarök, that Heimdallr blows Gjallarhorn, that Odin speaks with Mímirs head, and then, Yggdrasill shivers, the old tree groans, and the giant slips free. In stanza 137 of the poem Hávamál, Odin describes how he sacrificed himself to himself by hanging on a tree. The stanza reads, I know that I hung on a windy tree nine long nights, wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin, myself to myself, on that tree of which no man knows from where its roots run. In the stanza that follows, Odin describes how he had no food nor drink there, that he peered downward, in the poem Grímnismál, Odin provides the young Agnar with cosmological lore
2.
Vishnu
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Vishnu is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, and the Supreme Being in its Vaishnavism tradition. Along with Brahma and Shiva, Vishnu forms a Hindu trinity, however and his avatars most notably include Krishna in the Mahabharata and Rama in the Ramayana. He is also known as Narayana, Jagannath, Vasudeva, Vithoba and he is one of the five equivalent deities worshipped in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta Tradition of Hinduism. In Hindu inconography, Vishnu is usually depicted as having a dark, or pale blue complexion and having four arms. He holds a padma in his left hand, Kaumodaki gada in his lower right hand, Panchajanya shankha in his upper left hand. A traditional depiction is Lord Vishnu reclining on the coils of Ananta, accompanied by his consort devi Lakshmi, yaska, the mid 1st-millennium BCE Vedanga scholar, in his Nirukta, defines Vishnu as viṣṇur viṣvater vā vyaśnoter vā, one who enters everywhere. He also writes, atha yad viṣito bhavati tad viṣnurbhavati, that which is free from fetters, the medieval Indian scholar Medhātithi suggested that the word Vishnu has etymological roots in viś, meaning to pervade, thereby connoting that Vishnu is one who is everything and inside everything. Vishnu is a Vedic deity, but not a prominent one when compared to Indra, Agni, just 5 out of 1028 hymns of the Rigveda, a 2nd millennium BCE Hindu text, are dedicated to Vishnu, and he finds minor mention in the other hymns. Though a minor mention and with overlapping attributes in the Vedas, he has important characteristics in various hymns of Rig Veda and he is also described in the Vedic literature as the one who supports heaven and earth. In the Vedic hymns, Vishnu is invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra and his distinguishing characteristic in Vedas is his association with light. Two Rigvedic hymns in Mandala 7 refer to Vishnu, in section 7.99 of the Rgveda, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra. In the Vedic texts, the deity or god referred to as Vishnu is Surya or Savitr, in hymn 7.99 of Rigveda, Indra-Vishnu are equivalent and produce the sun, with the verses asserting that this sun is the source of all energy and light for all. In other hymns of the Rigveda, Vishnu is a friend of Indra. In the Yajurveda, Taittiriya Aranyaka, Narayana sukta, Narayana is mentioned as the supreme being, the first verse of Narayana Suktam mentions the words paramam padam, which literally mean highest post and may be understood as the supreme abode for all souls. This is also known as Param Dhama, Paramapadam or Vaikuntha, Rig Veda 1.22.20 a also mentions the same paramam padam. In the Atharvaveda, the mythology of a boar who raises goddess earth from the depths of cosmic ocean appears, in post-Vedic mythology, this legend becomes one of the basis of many cosmogonic myth called the Varaha legend, with Varaha as an avatar of Vishnu. Several hymns of the Rigveda repeat the mighty deed of Vishnu called the Trivikrama and it is an inspiration for ancient artwork in numerous Hindu temples such as at the Ellora Caves, which depict the Trivikrama legend through the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. Trivikrama refers to the three steps or three strides of Vishnu
3.
Patala
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In Indian religions, Patala or Patal denotes the subterranean realms of the universe - which are located under the earth. Patala is often translated as underworld or netherworld, in Hindu cosmology, the universe is divided into the three worlds, Svarga, Prithvi and Patala. Patala is composed of seven regions or lokas, the seventh and lowest of them is also called Patala or Naga-loka, the Danavas, Daityas, Yakshas and the snake-people Nagas live in the realms of Patala. Surya Siddhanta, a text, refers to Southern Hemisphere of the earth as Patala whereas the northern hemisphere is referred to as Jambudvipa. The Vishnu Purana tells of a visit by the wandering sage Narada to Patala. Narada describes Patala as more beautiful than Svarga, Patala is described as filled with splendid jewels, beautiful groves and lakes and lovely demon maidens. Sweet fragrance is in the air and is fused with sweet music, the soil here is white, black, purple, sandy, yellow, stony and also of gold. The Bhagavata Purana calls the seven lower regions bila-svargas and they are regarded as planets or planetary systems below the earth and these regions are described as being more opulent than the upper regions of the universe, which include heaven. The life here is of pleasure, wealth and luxury, with no distress, the demon architect Maya has constructed palaces, temples, houses, yards and hotels for foreigners, with jewels. The natural beauty of Patala is said to surpass that of the upper realms, there is no sunlight in the lower realms, but the darkness is dissipated by the shining of the jewels that the residents of Patala wear. There is no old age, no sweat, no disease in Patala, the Vishnu Purana, states the seven realms of Patala, which are located one above the other, are seventy-thousand yojanas below the Earths surface. Each of them extends ten thousand Yojanas, in Vishnu Purana, they are named as from the highest to the lowest as, Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Garbhastimat, Mahatala, Sutala and Patala. In the Bhagavata Purana and the Padma Purana, they are called Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala and Patala, the Shiva Purana, replaces Mahatala with Tala. The Vayu Purana calls them Rasatala, Sutala, Vitala, Gabhastala, Mahatala, Sritala and Patala, the seven Patalas as well as the earth above them is supported on the head of the tamasic form of Vishnu, the thousand-headed nāga Shesha. Sometimes, Shesha is described to reside in the lowest region of Patala instead of below it, below the regions of Patala lies Naraka, the Hindu Hell - the realm of death where sinners are punished. Different realms of Patala are ruled by different demons and Nagas, Vayu Purana records each realm of Patala has cities in it. Bali rules as the king of Patala. The Bhagavata Purana presents a description of the seven lower realms
4.
Shesha
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In Hinduism, Shesha, also known as Sheshanaga or Adishesha, is the nagaraja or king of all nāgas and one of the primal beings of creation. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to all the planets of the universe on his hoods. He is sometimes referred to as Ananta Shesha, which translates as endless-Shesha or Adishesha first Shesha and it is said that when Adishesa uncoils, time moves forward and creation takes place, when he coils back, the universe ceases to exist. Vishnu is often depicted as resting on Shesha, Shesha is considered a servant and a manifestation of Vishnu. He is said to have descended to Earth in two forms or avatars, Lakshmana, brother of Rama, Balarama, brother of Krishna. Shesha in Sanskrit texts, especially relating to mathematical calculation. But in Sanskrit it also means 6 shesham as the sheshanaga has been depicted to have many heads, Shesha is generally depicted with a massive form that floats coiled in space, or on the ocean of bliss, to form the bed on which Vishnu lies. Sometimes he is shown as five-headed or seven-headed, but more commonly as a many thousand-headed serpent and his name means that which remains, from the Sanskrit root śiṣ, because when the world is destroyed at the end of the kalpa, Shesha remains as he is. In the Bhagavadgita of Chapter 10, verse 29, Shri Krishna while describing 75 of his common manifestations, declares, anantaś ca asmi nāgānāṁ, Of the nagas, as per the Mahabharata, Shesha was born to sage Kashyap and his wife Kadru. Kadru gave birth to a snakes, of which Shesha was the eldest. After Shesha, Vasuki, Airavata and Takshaka were born, in order, a lot of Sheshas brothers were cruel and were bent upon inflicting harm on others. They were even unkind to Garuda, who was Kashyapa’s son through Vinatha, Shesha, disgusted by the cruel acts of his brothers, left his mother and kin, and took to austere penances. He lived on air and meditated in places including Gandhamadhana, Badrikashrama, Gokarna, Pushkara and his penances were so severe that his flesh, skin and muscles dried up and merged with his frame. Brahma, convinced of his Sheshas will, asked Shesha to request a boon, Shesha asked that he be able to keep his mind under control so that he could continue to perform ascetic penances. Brahma then asked a favour of Shesha, to go beneath the unstable earth, Shesha agreed and went to the netherworld and stabilized her with his hood. He is known to support her even today, thus making Patala his perennial residence, Shesha is also depicted as floating in the ocean of the changing world, forming the bed of Maha Vishnu. Since he is known as Adishesha and because he is Anantashesha or simply Ananta and he is said to live since before the creation of the universe. When the universe is towards its end, he creates 11 rudras from him to destroy the universe for a new one to be created and he expands himself as garbhodakshayi-vishnu in the beginning of the universe to create Brahma
5.
World (theology)
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The world is the planet Earth and all life upon it, including human civilization. In a philosophical context, the world is the whole of the physical Universe, in a theological context, the world is the material or the profane sphere, as opposed to the celestial, spiritual, transcendent or sacred. The end of the world refers to scenarios of the end of human history. World history is understood as spanning the major geopolitical developments of about five millennia. World population is the sum of all human populations at any time, similarly, world economy is the sum of the economies of all societies or countries, terms like world championship, gross world product, world flags imply the sum or combination of all current-day sovereign states. The English word world comes from the Old English weorold, weorld, worold, a compound of wer man and eld age, which thus means roughly Age of Man. The Old English is a reflex of the Common Germanic *wira-alđiz, also reflected in Old Saxon werold, Old High German weralt, the corresponding word in Latin is mundus, literally clean, elegant, itself a loan translation of Greek cosmos orderly arrangement. Earth, on the hand, refers to the planet as a physical entity. World was also used to mean the material universe, or the cosmos, The worlde is an apte frame of heauen and earthe. The earth was often described as the center of the world, World can also be used attributively, to mean global, relating to the whole world, forming usages such as world community or world canonical texts. By extension, a world may refer to any planet or heavenly body, especially when it is thought of as inhabited, World, in its original sense, when qualified, can also refer to a particular domain of human experience. The world of work describes paid work and the pursuit of a career, in all its aspects, to distinguish it from home life. The fashion world describes the environment of the designers, fashion houses, historically, the New World vs. the Old World, referring to the parts of the world colonized in the wake of the age of discovery. Now mostly used in zoology and botany, as in New World monkey, in philosophy, the term world has several possible meanings. In some contexts, it refers to everything that makes up reality or the physical universe, in others, it can mean have a specific ontological sense. The question of what the world is has by no means been settled, in his Allegory of the Cave, Plato distinguishes between forms and ideas and imagines two distinct worlds, the sensible world and the intelligible world. In Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegels philosophy of history, the expression Weltgeschichte ist Weltgericht is used to assert the view that History is what judges men, their actions, science is born from the desire to transform the World in relation to Man, its final end is technical application. The World as Will and Representation is the work of Arthur Schopenhauer
6.
Religions
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Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are said by followers to be true, that have the side purpose of explaining the origin of life. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has considered a source of religious beliefs. There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, about 84% of the worlds population is affiliated with one of the five largest religions, namely Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or forms of folk religion. With the onset of the modernisation of and the revolution in the western world. The religiously unaffiliated demographic include those who do not identify with any religion, atheists. While the religiously unaffiliated have grown globally, many of the religiously unaffiliated still have various religious beliefs, about 16% of the worlds population is religiously unaffiliated. The study of religion encompasses a variety of academic disciplines, including theology, comparative religion. Theories of religion offer various explanations for the origins and workings of religion, Religion is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which are obscure. One possible interpretation traced to Cicero, connects lego read, i. e. re with lego in the sense of choose, go over again or consider carefully. The medieval usage alternates with order in designating bonded communities like those of monastic orders, we hear of the religion of the Golden Fleece, of a knight of the religion of Avys. In the ancient and medieval world, the etymological Latin root religio was understood as a virtue of worship, never as doctrine, practice. In the Quran, the Arabic word din is often translated as religion in modern translations and it was in the 19th century that the terms Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Confucianism first emerged. Max Müller characterized many other cultures around the world, including Egypt, Persia, what is called ancient religion today, they would have only called law. Some languages have words that can be translated as religion, but they may use them in a different way. For example, the Sanskrit word dharma, sometimes translated as religion, throughout classical South Asia, the study of law consisted of concepts such as penance through piety and ceremonial as well as practical traditions. Medieval Japan at first had a union between imperial law and universal or Buddha law, but these later became independent sources of power. There is no equivalent of religion in Hebrew, and Judaism does not distinguish clearly between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities
7.
Mythologies
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Mythology refers variously to the collected myths of a group of people or to the study of such myths. Myths are the people tell to explain nature, history. Myth is a feature of every culture, mythologizing continues, as shown in contemporary mythopoeia such as urban legends and the expansive fictional mythoi created by fantasy novels and comics. A cultures collective mythology helps convey belonging, shared and religious experiences, behavioral models, the study of myth began in ancient history. Rival classes of the Greek myths by Euhemerus, Plato and Sallustius were developed by the Neoplatonists, the nineteenth-century comparative mythology reinterpreted myth as a primitive and failed counterpart of science, a disease of language, or a misinterpretation of magical ritual. Recent approaches often view myths as manifestations of psychological, cultural, or societal truths, the term mythology predates the word myth by centuries. It first appeared in the fifteenth-century, borrowed from the Middle French term mythologie, the word mythology, comes from Middle French mythologie, from Late Latin mythologia, from Greek μυθολογία mythología from μῦθος mythos and -λογία -logia. The word mythología appears in Plato, but was used as a term for fiction or story-telling of any kind, combining mỹthos. From Lydgate until the seventeenth or eighteenth-century, mythology was similarly used to mean a moral, fable, from its earliest use in reference to a collection of traditional stories or beliefs, mythology implied the falsehood of the stories being described. It came to be applied by analogy with similar bodies of traditional stories among other cultures around the world. The Greek loanword mythos and Latinate mythus both appeared in English before the first example of myth in 1830, in present use, mythology usually refers to the collected myths of a group of people, but may also mean the study of such myths. For example, Greek mythology, Roman mythology and Hittite mythology all describe the body of myths retold among those cultures, dundes defined myth as a sacred narrative that explains how the world and humanity evolved into their present form. Lincoln defined myth as ideology in narrative form, scholars in other fields use the term myth in varied ways. In a broad sense, the word can refer to any traditional story, due to this pejorative sense, some scholars opted for the term mythos. Its use was similarly pejorative and now commonly refers to its Aristotelian sense as a plot point or to a collective mythology. The term is distinguished from didactic literature such as fables. Main characters in myths are usually gods, demigods or supernatural humans, however, many exceptions or combinations exist, as in the Iliad, Odyssey and Aeneid. Myths are often endorsed by rulers and priests and are linked to religion or spirituality
8.
Soul
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In many religious, philosophical and mythological traditions, the soul is the incorporeal essence of a living being. Depending on the system, a soul can either be mortal or immortal. In Judeo-Christianity, only human beings have immortal souls, for example, the Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas attributed soul to all organisms but argued that only human souls are immortal. Other religions hold that all organisms have souls, as did Aristotle, while some teach that even non-biological entities possess souls. The latter belief is called animism, Greek philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, understood that the soul must have a logical faculty, the exercise of which was the most divine of human actions. Anima mundi is the concept of a world soul connecting all living organisms on planet Earth, the Modern English word soul, derived from Old English sáwol, sáwel, was first attested in the 8th-century poem Beowulf v.2820 and in the Vespasian Psalter 77.50. Further etymology of the Germanic word is uncertain, the Koine Greek word ψυχή psychē, life, spirit, consciousness, is derived from a verb meaning to cool, to blow, and hence refers to the breath, as opposed to σῶμα, meaning body. Vulgate, et nolite timere eos qui occidunt corpus animam autem non possunt occidere sed potius eum timete qui potest et animam et corpus perdere in gehennam. Authorized King James Version And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, vulgate Creavitque Deus cete grandia, et omnem animam viventem atque motabilem. KJV And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, Paul of Tarsus used ψυχή and πνεῦμα specifically to distinguish between the Jewish notions of נפש nephesh and רוח ruah. The ancient Greeks used the word alive for the concept of being ensouled, the soul was considered the incorporeal or spiritual breath that animates the living organism. Francis M. Cornford quotes Pindar by saying that the soul sleeps while the limbs are active, but when one is sleeping, the soul is active and reveals an award of joy or sorrow drawing near in dreams. Erwin Rohde writes that an early pre-Pythagorean belief presented the soul as lifeless when it departed the body, drawing on the words of his teacher Socrates, Plato considered the psyche to be the essence of a person, being that which decides how we behave. He considered this essence to be an incorporeal, eternal occupant of our being, Socrates says that even after death, the soul exists and is able to think. He believed that as bodies die, the soul is reborn in subsequent bodies and Plato believed this as well, however. Thymos is located near the chest region and is related to anger, eros is located in the stomach and is related to ones desires. Plato also compares the three parts of the soul or psyche to a caste system. According to Platos theory, the soul is essentially the same thing as a states class system because, to function well
9.
Afterlife
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The afterlife is the concept of a realm, or the realm itself, in which an essential part of an individuals identity or consciousness continues to exist after the death of the body. Belief in an afterlife, which may be naturalistic or supernatural, is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death, in this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or Otherworld. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism and metaphysics, in metaphysical models, theists generally believe some type of afterlife awaits people when they die. Members of some generally non-theistic religions, tend to believe in an afterlife, the Sadducees were an ancient Jewish sect that generally believed that there was a God but no afterlife. Reincarnation refers to a concept found among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Rosicrucians, Theosophists, Spiritists. Reincarnation is also a belief described in Kabbalistic Judaism as gilgul neshamot and this succession leads toward an eventual liberation. One consequence of reincarnationist beliefs is that our current lives are both afterlife and a beforelife, according to those beliefs events in our current life are consequences of actions taken in previous lives, or Karma. In most denominations, heaven is a condition of reward for the righteous to go after they die, traditionally defined as eternal union with God. In contrast to heaven, hell is a condition of punishment and torment for the wicked, traditionally defined as eternal separation from God and confinement with other sinful souls and fallen angels. So they are seen as existing in a state of natural. In other Christian denominations it has described as an intermediate place or state of confinement in oblivion. The notion of purgatory is associated particularly with the Catholic Church, the tradition of the church, by reference to certain texts of scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire although it is not always called purgatory. Anglicans of the Anglo-Catholic tradition generally also hold to the belief, traditional African religions are diverse in their beliefs in an afterlife. For each soul remains distinct and each represents a new soul. In some societies like the Mende, multiple beliefs coexist, the Mende believe that people die twice, once during the process of joining the secret society, and again during biological death after which they become ancestors. However, some Mende also believe that people are created by God they live ten consecutive lives. One cross-cultural theme is that the ancestors are part of the world of the living, interacting with it regularly, the afterlife played an important role in Ancient Egyptian religion, and its belief system is one of the earliest known in recorded history. When the body died, parts of its known as ka
10.
Chthonic
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The translation of meaning discusses deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for earth, it refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land. These include, but are not strictly limited to, Demeter. Nocturnal ritual sacrifice was a practice in many chthonic cults. When the sacrifice was a creature, the animal was placed in a bothros or megaron. In some Greek chthonic cults, the animal was sacrificed on a raised bomos, offerings were usually burned whole or buried rather than being cooked and shared among the worshippers. C. He does, however, note that this may be somewhat of an overgeneralization, the myths associating the underworld chthonic deities and fertility were not exclusive. Myths about the later Olympian deities also described an association with the fertility, thus Demeter and Persephone both watched over aspects of the fertility of land, yet Demeter had a typically Olympian cult while Persephone had a chthonic one. Also, Demeter was worshiped alongside Persephone with identical rites, and yet occasionally was classified as an Olympian in late poetry, the absorption of some earlier cults into the newer pantheon versus those that resisted being absorbed is suggested as providing the later myths. The categories Olympian and chthonic were not, however, completely separate, some Olympian deities, such as Hermes and Zeus, also received chthonic sacrifices and tithes in certain locations. The deified heroes Heracles and Asclepius might be worshipped as gods or chthonic heroes, depending on the site, moreover, a few deities are not easily classifiable under these terms. Hecate, for instance, was typically offered puppies at crossroads—a practice neither typical of an Olympian sacrifice nor of a sacrifice to Persephone or the heroes. Because of her roles, Hecate is generally classed as chthonic. As well, the chthonic has connotations with regard to gender, in cultural anthropology, men associated with the above, the sky, and women associated with the below, with the earth, water of the underground, and the chthonic deities. This was by no means universal, in Ancient Egypt the main deity of the earth was the male god Geb, his consort was Nut. The term allochthon in structural geology is used to describe a large block of rock which has moved from its original site of formation. From the Greek allo meaning other and chthon designating the process of the mass being moved under the earth. Chthonic law Earth mother Geomancy Life-death-rebirth deities Sky father The dictionary definition of chthonic at Wiktionary
11.
Aztec mythology
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Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures, according to legend, the various groups who were to become the Aztecs arrived from the north into the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco. The location of this valley and lake of destination is clear – it is the heart of modern Mexico City –, there are different accounts of their origin. In the myth the ancestors of the Mexica/Aztec came from a place in the north called Aztlan, other accounts cite their origin in Chicomoztoc, the place of the seven caves, or at Tamoanchan. The Mexica/Aztec were said to be guided by their god Huitzilopochtli, at an island in Lake Texcoco, they saw an eagle holding a rattlesnake in its talons, perched on a nopal cactus. This vision fulfilled a prophecy telling them that they should found their new home on that spot, the Aztecs built their city of Tenochtitlan on that site, building a great artificial island, which today is in the center of Mexico City. This legendary vision is pictured on the Coat of Arms of Mexico, to the Aztec, the Toltec were the originators of all culture, Toltecayotl was a synonym for culture. Aztec legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of Quetzalcoatl with the city of Tollan. Because the Aztec adopted and combined several traditions with their own earlier traditions, coatlicue was the mother of Centzon Huitznahua, her sons, and Coyolxauhqui, her daughter. She found a ball filled with feathers and placed it in her waistband and her other children became suspicious as to the identity of the father and vowed to kill their mother. She gave birth on Mount Coatepec, pursued by her children, but the newborn Huitzilopochtli defeated most of his brothers and he also killed his half-sister Coyolxauhqui by tearing out her heart using a Xiuhcoatl and throwing her body down the mountain. Our age, the age, or fifth creation, began in the ancient city of Teotihuacan. According to the myth, all the gods had gathered to sacrifice themselves, although the world and the sun had already been created, it would only be through their sacrifice that the sun would be set into motion and time as well as history could begin. The handsomest and strongest of the gods, Tecuciztecatl, was supposed to sacrifice himself but when it time to self-immolate. Instead, Nanahuatl the smallest and humblest of the gods, who was covered in boils, sacrificed himself first. The sun was set into motion with his sacrifice and time began, humiliated by Nanahuatls sacrifice, Tecuciztecatl too leaped into the fire and became the moon. Water deities Tlaloc, rain god Chalchiuhtlicue, goddess of water, lakes, rivers, seas, streams, horizontal waters, storms, Xipe-Totec, god of force, lord of the seasons and rebirth, ruler of the East. Quetzalcoatl, god of the life, the light and wisdom, lord of the winds, Huitzilopochtli, god of the war, lord of the sun and fire, ruler of the South
12.
Mictlan
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Mictlan was the underworld of Aztec mythology. Most people who died went to Mictlan, although other possibilities existed, Mictlan, far to the north, consisted of nine distinct levels. The journey from the first level to the ninth was difficult and took four years, Mictlan also features in the Aztec creation myth. Mictlantecuhtli set a pit to trap Quetzalcoatl, when Quetzalcoatl entered Mictlan, Mictlantecuhtli was waiting. He asked Quetzalcoatl to travel around Mictlan four times blowing a conch shell with no holes, Quetzalcoatl eventually put some bees in the conch shell to make sound. Fooled, Mictlantecuhtli showed Quetzalcoatl to the bones, but Quetzalcoatl fell into the pit and some of the bones broke. The Aztecs believed this is why people are different sizes, Mictlan was ruled by King Mictlantecuhtli and his wife, Mictecacihuatl. Other deities in Mictlan included Cihuacoatl, Acolmiztli, Chalmecacihuilt, Chalmecatl and Acolnahuacatl, the nine regions of Mictlán in Aztec mythology take shape within the Nahua worldview of space and time as parts of a universe composed of living forces. According to Mexica mythology, in the beginning there were two gods, Omecíhuatl and Ometecuhtli, whose children became the creator gods. The names of these gods were Xipetótec, Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcóatl, and Huitzilopochtli. The higher part was supported by four gigantic trees, growing in each corner of the Tlalocán, such imagery is also found in the idea of a world tree, such as Yggdrasil in Norse mythology, Jian Mu in Chinese mythology or the Ashvattha fig in Hindu mythology. These trees impeded the joining of the Overworld and the Underworld to Tlaltícpac, the earth was a land formed from the body of Cipactli, the crocodilomorphic sea monster, and was a solid, living land that generated food for humankind. Cipactli was mother nature, from whom was created the surface, as they organized the universe horizontally and vertically, the four creator gods forged the pairs of gods who would control each area of power, the water, the earth, fire and the dead. In addition to Mictlan, the dead could also go to destinations, Warriors who died in battle. Women who died in childbirth went to the west and accompanied the sun when it set in the evening. People who died of drowning — or from causes that were linked to the rain god Tlaloc, such as certain diseases
13.
Babylonian mythology
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Babylonian religion is the religious practice of Babylonia. Babylonian mythology was influenced by their Sumerian counterparts, and was written on clay tablets inscribed with the cuneiform script derived from Sumerian cuneiform. The myths were usually written in Sumerian or Akkadian. Some Babylonian texts were translations into Akkadian from the Sumerian language of earlier texts, some of the stories of the Tanakh are believed to have been based on, influenced by, or inspired by the legendary mythological past of the Near East. Babylonian mythology is a set of stories depicting the activities of Babylonian deities, heroes and these stories served many social, political, ceremonial purposes, and at times tried to explain natural phenomena. Babylonian myths were greatly influenced by their Sumerian counterparts, and were written on clay tablets inscribed with the script derived from Sumerian cuneiform. The myths were usually written in Sumerian or Akkadian. Some Babylonian texts were translations into Akkadian from the Sumerian language of earlier texts. Many Babylonian deities, myths and religious writings are singular to that culture, for example, the Enûma Eliš, a creation myth epic was an original Babylonian work. Tablet fragments from the Neo-Babylonian period describe a series of festival celebrating the New Year. The Festival began on the first day of the first Babylonian month, Nisannu and this festival celebrated the re-creation of the Earth, drawing from the Marduk-centered creation story described in the Enûma Eliš. An elaborate ceremony of washing the mouths of the statues appeared sometime in the Old Babylonian period
14.
Irkalla
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In Mesopotamian mythology, Irkalla, Kur or Ersetu is the underworld from which there is no return. It was also called earth of no return, Kurnugia in Sumerian, Kur is ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal and her consort, the death god Nergal. Irkalla was originally another name for Ereshkigal, who ruled the underworld alone until Nergal was sent to the underworld, both the deity and the location were called Irkalla, much like how Hades in Greek mythology is both the name of the underworld and the god who ruled it. The Sumerian netherworld was a place for the bodies of the dead to exist after death, the living spirits of the dead are only spoken of in connection with this netherworld when someone has been placed here before they are dead or wrongly killed and can be saved. The bodies of the dead decompose in this afterlife, as they would in the world above, as the subterranean destination for all who die, Irkalla is similar to Sheol of the Hebrew Bible or Hades of classic Greek mythology. It is different from more hopeful versions of the afterlife, such as those envisioned by the contemporaneous Egyptians and the later in Platonic philosophy, Judaism, however, Irkalla also differs from the Greek Tartarus and the Christian perspective of hell. The underworld had various names, some of which were used for the earth and the surface of the earth as well. Sumerian names are, a. rá, arali, bùr, ganzer, idim, ki, kir5, kiši, kukku, kur, kur. gi, kunugi / kurnugia, lam / lamma, lamḫu, uraš2, urugal / erigal and ZÉ. Akkadian names are, ammatu, arali / arallû, bīt ddumuzi, danninu, erṣetu, erṣetu la târi, ganzer / kanisurra, ḫaštu, irkalla, kiūru, kukkû, kurnugû, lammu, mātu šaplītu and qaqqaru. Assyro-Babylonian religion Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions Sumerian religion Horowitz, W. Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography, gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels by Alexander Heidel
15.
Naraka (Buddhism)
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Naraka is a term in Buddhist cosmology usually referred to in English as hell or purgatory. The Narakas of Buddhism are closely related to diyu, the hell in Chinese mythology, a being is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her accumulated actions and resides there for a finite period of time until that karma has achieved its full result. After his or her karma is used up, he or she will be reborn in one of the worlds as the result of karma that had not yet ripened. In the Devaduta Sutta, the 130th discourse of Majjhima Nikaya, physically, Narakas are thought of as a series of cavernous layers which extend below Jambudvīpa into the earth. There are several schemes for enumerating these Narakas and describing their torments, the Abhidharma-kosa is the root text that describes the most common scheme, as the Eight Cold Narakas and Eight Hot Narakas. Arbuda, the blister Naraka, is a dark, frozen plain surrounded by icy mountains, inhabitants of this world arise fully grown and abide lifelong naked and alone, while the cold raises blisters upon their bodies. The length of life in this Naraka is said to be the time it would take to empty a barrel of sesame seeds if one took out a single seed every hundred years. Nirarbuda, the burst blister Naraka, is colder than Arbuda. There, the blisters burst open, leaving the bodies covered with frozen blood. There, beings shiver in the cold, making a sound with their mouths. There, the lament in the cold, going haa, haa in pain. Huhuva, the chattering teeth Naraka, is where beings shiver as their teeth chatter, utpala is the blue lotus Naraka. The intense cold there makes the turn blue like the colour of an utpala waterlily. Padma, the lotus Naraka, has blizzards that crack open frozen skin, leaving one raw, mahāpadma is the great lotus Naraka. The entire body cracks into pieces and the organs are exposed to the cold. Each lifetime in these Narakas is twenty times the length of the one before it, Sañjīva, the reviving Naraka, has ground made of hot iron heated by an immense fire. Beings in this Naraka appear fully grown, already in a state of fear, as soon as the being begins to fear being harmed by others, their fellows appear and attack each other with iron claws and hell guards appear and attack the being with fiery weapons. As soon as the experiences a unconsciousness like death, they are suddenly restored to full health
16.
Niraya
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Naraka is a term in Buddhist cosmology usually referred to in English as hell or purgatory. The Narakas of Buddhism are closely related to diyu, the hell in Chinese mythology, a being is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her accumulated actions and resides there for a finite period of time until that karma has achieved its full result. After his or her karma is used up, he or she will be reborn in one of the worlds as the result of karma that had not yet ripened. In the Devaduta Sutta, the 130th discourse of Majjhima Nikaya, physically, Narakas are thought of as a series of cavernous layers which extend below Jambudvīpa into the earth. There are several schemes for enumerating these Narakas and describing their torments, the Abhidharma-kosa is the root text that describes the most common scheme, as the Eight Cold Narakas and Eight Hot Narakas. Arbuda, the blister Naraka, is a dark, frozen plain surrounded by icy mountains, inhabitants of this world arise fully grown and abide lifelong naked and alone, while the cold raises blisters upon their bodies. The length of life in this Naraka is said to be the time it would take to empty a barrel of sesame seeds if one took out a single seed every hundred years. Nirarbuda, the burst blister Naraka, is colder than Arbuda. There, the blisters burst open, leaving the bodies covered with frozen blood. There, beings shiver in the cold, making a sound with their mouths. There, the lament in the cold, going haa, haa in pain. Huhuva, the chattering teeth Naraka, is where beings shiver as their teeth chatter, utpala is the blue lotus Naraka. The intense cold there makes the turn blue like the colour of an utpala waterlily. Padma, the lotus Naraka, has blizzards that crack open frozen skin, leaving one raw, mahāpadma is the great lotus Naraka. The entire body cracks into pieces and the organs are exposed to the cold. Each lifetime in these Narakas is twenty times the length of the one before it, Sañjīva, the reviving Naraka, has ground made of hot iron heated by an immense fire. Beings in this Naraka appear fully grown, already in a state of fear, as soon as the being begins to fear being harmed by others, their fellows appear and attack each other with iron claws and hell guards appear and attack the being with fiery weapons. As soon as the experiences a unconsciousness like death, they are suddenly restored to full health
17.
Celtic mythology
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Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and it is mostly through contemporary Roman and Christian sources that their mythology has been preserved. The Celtic peoples who maintained either their political or linguistic identities left vestigial remnants of their ancestral mythologies, however, from what has survived of Celtic mythology, it is possible to discern commonalities which hint at a more unified pantheon than is often given credit. Indeed, many Gaelic myths were first recorded by Christian monks, the oldest body of myths stemming from the Heroic Age is found only from the early medieval period of Ireland. As Christianity began to take over, the gods and goddesses were slowly eliminated as such from the culture, the Tuatha Dé represent the functions of human society such as kingship, crafts and war, while the Fomorians represent chaos and wild nature. The leader of the gods for the Irish pantheon appears to have been the Dagda, the Dagda was the figure on which male humans and other gods were based because he embodied ideal Irish traits. Celtic gods were considered to be a clan due to their lack of specialization. Irish tales depict the Dagda as a figure of power, armed with a club, in Dorset there is a famous outline of an ithyphallic giant known as the Cerne Abbas Giant with a club cut into the chalky soil. While this was produced in relatively modern times, it was long thought to be a representation of the Dagda. In Gaul, it is speculated that the Dagda is associated with Sucellus, the Morrígan was a tripartite battle goddess of the Celts of Ancient Ireland. She was known as the Morrígan, but the different sections she was divided into were also referred to as Nemain, Macha and she is most commonly known for her involvement in the Táin Bó Cúailnge. The god appearing most frequently in the tales is Lugh, the most famous of these are the cities of Lugdunum, Lugdunum Batavorum and Lucus Augusti. Lug is described in the Celtic myths as the last to be added to the list of deities, in Ireland a festival called the Lughnasadh was held in his honour. Other important goddesses include Brigid, the Dagdas daughter, Aibell, Áine, Macha, notable is Epona, the horse goddess, celebrated with horse races at the summer festival. Significant Irish gods include Nuada Airgetlám, the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Goibniu, the smith and brewer, Dian Cecht, the patron of healing, less is known about the pre-Christian mythologies of Britain than those of Ireland. Important reflexes of British mythology appear in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, especially in the names of characters, such as Rhiannon, Teyrnon. The children of Llŷr in the Second and Third Branches, and the children of Dôn in the Fourth Branch are major figures, indeed, though there is much in common with Irish myth, there may have been no unified British mythological tradition per se. Whatever its ultimate origins, the material has been put to good use in the service of literary masterpieces that address the cultural concerns of Wales in the early
18.
Annwn
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Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn was the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease was absent and it became identified with the Christian afterlife in paradise. Middle Welsh sources suggest that the term was recognised as meaning very deep in medieval times, the pronunciation of Modern Welsh Annwn is. In both Welsh and Irish mythologies, the Otherworld was believed to be located either on an island or underneath the earth. In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, it is implied that Annwn is a land within Dyfed, two other otherworldly feasts that occur in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi are located in Harlech in northwest Wales and on the island of Grassholm in southwest Pembrokeshire. Annwn plays a prominent role in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, entitled Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, in recompense he exchanges places with Arawn for a year and defeats Arawns enemy Hafgan, while Arawn rules in his stead in Dyfed. During this year, Pwyll abstains from sleeping with Arawns wife, earning himself gratitude, on his return, Pwyll becomes known by the title Penn Annwn, Head of Annwn. The similarly mythological epic poem Cad Goddeu describes a battle between Gwynedd and the forces of Annwn, led again by Arawn. It is revealed that Amaethon, nephew to Math, king of Gwynedd, stole a bitch, a lapwing, the narrator of the poem is possibly intended to be Taliesin himself. The speaker relates how he journeyed with Arthur and three boatloads of men into Annwfn, but only seven returned. Annwfn is apparently referred to by names, including Mound Fortress, Four-Peaked Fortress. Within the Mound Forts walls Gweir, one of the Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain known from the Welsh Triads, is imprisoned in chains, the narrator then describes the cauldron of the Chief of Annwn, it is finished with pearl and will not boil a cowards food. Whatever tragedy ultimately killed all but seven of them is not clearly explained, the poem continues with an excoriation of little men and monks, who lack various forms of knowledge possessed by the poet. Over time, the role of king of Annwn was transferred to Gwyn ap Nudd, a hunter and psychopomp, the Christian Vita Collen tells of Saint Collen vanquishing Gwyn and his otherworldly court from Glastonbury Tor with the use of holy water. In Culhwch and Olwen, an early Welsh Arthurian tale, it is said that God gave Gwyn ap Nudd control over the demons lest this world be destroyed, tradition revolves around Gwyn leading his spectral hunts, the Cŵn Annwn, on his hunt for mortal souls. The Dark, a 2005 film directed by John Fawcett and based on the novel Sheep by Simon Maginn, involves the legend, Annwn is the name of a German medieval and pagan folk duo from North Rhine-Westphalia. The name was previously used by an unrelated Celtic Rock trio in Berkeley, California
19.
Mag Mell
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In Irish mythology, Mag Mell was a mythical realm achievable through death and/or glory. Unlike the underworld in some mythologies, Mag Mell was a pleasurable paradise, however, Mag Mell was similar to the fields of Elysium in Greek mythology, and like the fields of Elysium, was accessible only to a select few. Furthermore, Mag Mell, like the other mystical islands said to be off the coast of Ireland, was never explicitly stated in any surviving mythological account to be an afterlife. Rather, it is portrayed as a paradisal location populated by deities. In its island guise it was visited by various Irish heroes and this otherworld is a place where sickness and death do not exist. It is a place of eternal youth and beauty, here, music, strength, life and all pleasurable pursuits come together in a single place. Here happiness lasts forever, no one wants for food or drink and it is the Irish equivalent of the Greek Elysium or the Valhalla of the Norse. Legends say its ruler is the Fomorian King Tethra, or more frequently Manannan mac Lir, Mag Mells allure extended from the pagan era to Christian times. They typically explore many other islands before reaching their destination. Among these voyagers are St. Brendan, Bran mac Febal, Irish monks, being celebrated sailors, doubtless inspired such stories and were inspired by them. They reached and colonized any number of islands, and St. Brendan is even speculated to have reached the New World a thousand years before Columbus. Mag Mell is a location in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, which is home to Carbuncles, Mag Mell is the title of an album by Japanese artist Mili. The German Metal band SuidAkrAs album Book of Dowth includes a song titled Mag Mell, Mag Mell is a location in Kersten Hamiltons urban fantasy series Goblin Wars. Mag Mell is the setting for the fantasy series The Harmatia Cycle by M. E. Vaughan. Mag Mell is the name of a village in Dark Age of Camelot, tír na nÓg Fortunate Isles Valhalla Avalon Aaru Heaven Aericura Aillen Sídhe Hy-Brasil James MacKillop, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, Oxford,1998
20.
Chinese mythology
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Chinese mythology includes creation myths and legends, such as myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state. As in many mythologies, Chinese mythology has in the past been believed to be, at least in part. Some myths are widely shared across multiple ethnic groups, but may exist as versions with some differences, historians have written evidence of Chinese mythological symbolism from the 12th century BC in the Oracle bone script. Legends were passed down for over a thousand years before being written in such as Classic of Mountains. Other myths continued to be passed down through oral traditions like theater, imperial historical documents and philosophical canons such as Book of Rites, Records of the Grand Historian, Book of Documents, and Lüshi Chunqiu all contain Chinese myths. Some myths survive in theatrical or literary formats as plays or novels, books in the shenmo genre of vernacular fiction revolve around gods and monsters. Examples include, Shangdi, also sometimes Huángtiān Dàdì, appeared as early as the Shang dynasty, in later eras, he was more commonly referred to as Huángtiān Shàngdì. The use of Huángtiān Dàdì refers to the Jade Emperor and Tian, Yu Di appeared in literature after the establishment of Taoism in China, his appearance as Yu Huang dates back to beyond the times of Yellow Emperor, Nüwa, or Fuxi. Tian appeared in literature c.700 BC, possibly earlier as dating depends on the date of the Shujing, there are no creation-oriented narratives for Tian. The qualities of Tian and Shangdi appear to have merged in later literature and are now worshiped as one entity in, for example, the extent of the distinction between Tian and Shangdi is debated. Nüwa appeared in no earlier than c.350 BC. Her companion, Fuxi, was her brother and husband and they are sometimes worshiped as the ultimate ancestor of all humankind, and are often represented as half-snake, half-humans. It is sometimes believed that Nüwa molded humans from clay for companionship and she repaired the sky after Gong Gong damaged the pillar supporting the heavens. Pangu, written about by Taoist author Xu Zheng c.200 AD, was claimed to be the first sentient being and creator, “making the heavens and these legendary rulers ruled between c.2850 BC to 2205 BC, before the Xia dynasty. The list of names comprising the Three August Ones and Five Emperors vary widely among sources, Emperor Ku, great-grandson of the Huang Emperor and nephew of Zhuanxu. Yao, son of Ku, Yaos elder brother succeeded Ku, Shun, successor of Yao, who passed over his own son and made Shun his successor because of Shuns ability and morality. These rulers are generally regarded as morally upright and benevolent, examples to be emulated by latter day kings, historically, when Qin Shi Huang united China in 221 BC, he felt that his achievements had surpassed those of all the rulers who had gone before him. He combined the ancient titles of Huáng and Dì to create a new title, Huángdì, Shun passed on his place as emperor to Yu the Great
21.
Taoism
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Taoism, also known as Daoism, is a religious or philosophical tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao. The Tao is an idea in most Chinese philosophical schools, in Taoism, however. Taoism differs from Confucianism by not emphasizing rigid rituals and social order, the Tao Te Ching, a compact book containing teachings attributed to Laozi, is widely considered the keystone work of the Taoist tradition, together with the later writings of Zhuangzi. By the Han dynasty, the sources of Taoism had coalesced into a coherent tradition of religious organizations. In earlier ancient China, Taoists were thought of as hermits or recluses who did not participate in political life, Zhuangzi was the best known of these, and it is significant that he lived in the south, where he was part of local Chinese shamanic traditions. Women shamans played an important role in this tradition, which was strong in the southern state of Chu. Early Taoist movements developed their own institution in contrast to shamanism, shamans revealed basic texts of Taoism from early times down to at least the 20th century. Institutional orders of Taoism evolved in various strains that in recent times are conventionally grouped into two main branches, Quanzhen Taoism and Zhengyi Taoism. After Laozi and Zhuangzi, the literature of Taoism grew steadily and was compiled in form of a canon—the Daozang—which was published at the behest of the emperor, throughout Chinese history, Taoism was nominated several times as a state religion. After the 17th century, however, it fell from favor, Chinese alchemy, Chinese astrology, Chan Buddhism, several martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, feng shui, and many styles of qigong have been intertwined with Taoism throughout history. Beyond China, Taoism also had influence on surrounding societies in Asia, Taoism also has a presence in Hong Kong, Macau, and in Southeast Asia. English speakers continue to debate the preferred romanization of the words Daoism and Taoism, the root Chinese word 道 way, path is romanized tao in the older Wade–Giles system and dào in the modern Pinyin system. In linguistic terminology, English Taoism/Daoism is formed from the Chinese loanword tao/dao 道 way, route, principle and the native suffix -ism. The debate over Taoism vs. Daoism involves sinology, phonemes, loanwords, Daoism is pronounced /ˈdaʊ. ɪzəm/, but English speakers disagree whether Taoism should be /ˈdaʊ. ɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊ. ɪzəm/. In theory, both Wade–Giles tao and Pinyin dao are articulated identically, as are Taoism and Daoism, an investment book titled The Tao Jones Averages illustrates this /daʊ/ pronunciations widespread familiarity. In speech, Tao and Taoism are often pronounced /ˈtaʊ/ and ˈtaʊ. ɪzəm/, lexicography shows American and British English differences in pronouncing Taoism. Taoist philosophy or Taology, or the mystical aspect — The philosophical doctrines based on the texts of the I Ching, the Tao Te Ching and these texts were linked together as Taoist philosophy during the early Han Dynasty, but notably not before. It is unlikely that Zhuangzi was familiar with the text of the Daodejing, however, the discussed distinction is rejected by the majority of Western and Japanese scholars
22.
Diyu
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Diyu is the realm of the dead or hell in Chinese mythology. Diyu is typically depicted as a maze with various levels and chambers. The exact number of levels in Diyu and their associated deities differ between Buddhist and Taoist interpretations. Some speak of three to four courts, others mention Ten Courts of Hell, each of which is ruled by a judge, other Chinese legends speak of the Eighteen Levels of Hell. According to ideas from Taoism, Buddhism and traditional Chinese folk religion, Diyu is a purgatory that serves to punish, many deities, whose names and purposes are the subject of conflicting accounts, are associated with Diyu. Some early Chinese societies speak of going to Mount Tai. At present, Fengdu and the temples on Mount Tai have been rebuilt into tourist attractions, incorporating artistic depictions of hell, the concept of the Ten Courts of Hell began after Chinese folk religion was influenced by Buddhism. In Chinese mythology, the Jade Emperor put Yama in charge of overseeing the affairs of Diyu, there are 12,800 hells located under the earth – eight dark hells, eight cold hells and 84,000 miscellaneous hells located at the edge of the universe. All will go to Diyu after death but the period of time one spends in Diyu is not indefinite – it depends on the severity of the sins one committed, after receiving due punishment, one will eventually be sent for reincarnation. In the meantime, souls pass from stage to stage at Yamas decision, Yama also reduced the number of hells to ten. He divided Diyu into ten courts, each overseen by a Yama King, among the various other geographic features believed of Diyu, the capital city has been thought to be named Youdu. It is generally conceived as being similar to a typical Chinese capital city, such as Changan, the concept of the eighteen hells started in the Tang dynasty. The Buddhist text Wen Diyu Jing mentioned 134 worlds of hell, Sinners feel pain and agony just like living humans when they are subjected to the tortures listed below. They cannot die from the torture because when the ordeal is over, the following is a list of common punishments and tortures in the hells, Mountain of Knives, Sinners are thrown off cliffs and land on mountainous terrain with sharp blades sticking out. Some depictions show offenders climbing trees with knives or sharp thorns sticking out of trunks, Cauldron torture, Sinners are fried in cauldrons of oil. Dismemberment, Sinners are dismembered by various means, including sawing, slicing into half, mashing/pounding into pulp, being crushed by rocks/boulders, being run over by vehicles, grinding torture, Sinners are put into a grinding machine and ground into a bloody pulp. Burning, Sinners are set aflame or cast into infernos, paolao torture, Sinners are stripped naked and tied to a large hollow metal cylinder with a fire lit at its base. Boiling liquid torture, Boiling liquids are forced down sinners throats or poured on parts of their bodies, Tortures involving removal of body parts or organs, Tongue ripping, eye gouging, teeth extraction, heart digging, disembowelment, skinning, etc
23.
Christian mythology
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Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. In ancient Greek, muthos, from which the English word myth derives, meant story, early Christians contrasted their sacred stories with myths, by which they meant false and pagan stories. A number of modern Christian writers such as C. S. Lewis have described elements of Christianity, particularly the story of Christ, as examples of Biblical myths, Every cites the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 and the story of Eves temptation. Many Christians believe parts of the Bible to be symbolic or metaphorical, mythic patterns such as the primordial struggle between good and evil appear in passages throughout the Hebrew Bible, including passages that describe historical events. Mircea Eliade argues that the used in some parts of the Hebrew Bible reflects a transfiguration of history into myth. According to scholars including Neil Forsyth and John L. McKenzie, the New American Bible also says that Psalm 93 alludes to an ancient myth in which God battles a personified Sea. Some scholars have identified the biblical creature Leviathan as a monster from Canaanite mythology, some scholars have argued that the calm, orderly, monotheistic creation story in Genesis 1 can be interpreted as a reaction against the creation myths of other Near Eastern cultures. Even in the New Testament Saint Paul is said to have visited the third heaven, the official text repeated by the attendees during Roman Catholic mass contains the words He ascended into Heaven, and is Seated at the Right Hand of God, The Father. From thence He will come again to judge the living and the dead, medieval cosmology adapted its view of the Cosmos to conform with these scriptures, in the concept of celestial spheres. Some famous opponents of religion, including John Lennon and Stephen Hawking, according to a number of scholars, the Christ story contains mythical themes such as descent to the underworld, the heroic monomyth, and the dying god. Some scholars have argued that the Book of Revelation incorporates imagery from ancient mythology, Bernard McGinn suggests that the image of the two Beasts in Revelation stems from a mythological background involving the figures of Leviathan and Behemoth. The Pastoral Epistles contain denunciations of myths and this may indicate that Rabbinic or gnostic mythology was popular among the early Christians to whom the epistles were written and that the epistles author was attempting to resist that mythology. The Sibylline oracles contain predictions that the dead Roman Emperor Nero, infamous for his persecutions, according to Bernard McGinn, these parts of the oracles were probably written by a Christian and incorporated mythological language in describing Neros return. According to Mircea Eliade, the Middle Ages witnessed an upwelling of mythical thought in each social group had its own mythological traditions. Often a profession had its own origin myth which established models for members of the profession to imitate, for example, the medieval trouveres developed a mythology of woman and Love which incorporated Christian elements but, in some cases, ran contrary to official church teaching. George Every includes a discussion of medieval legends in his book Christian Mythology, some medieval legends elaborated upon the lives of Christian figures such as Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints. For example, a number of legends describe miraculous events surrounding Marys birth, in many cases, medieval mythology appears to have inherited elements from myths of pagan gods and heroes. Eliade notes that some traditions of medieval knights, namely the Arthurian cycle
24.
Christian views on hell
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In Christian theology, Hell is the place or state into which by Gods definitive judgment unrepentant sinners pass either immediately after death or in the general judgment. Its character is inferred from teaching in the texts, some of which. Theologians today generally see hell as the consequence of using free will to reject union with God and, because God will not force conformity, not incompatible with Gods justice. Calvinists, on the hand, believe hell is a consequence of Gods justice for mans sin. Different Hebrew and Greek words are translated as hell in most English-language Bibles and they include, Sheol in the Hebrew Bible, and Hades in the New Testament. Many modern versions, such as the New International Version, translate Sheol as grave and it is generally agreed that both sheol and hades do not typically refer to the place of eternal punishment, but to the grave, the temporary abode of the dead, the underworld. Gehenna in the New Testament, where it is described as a place where both soul and body could be destroyed in unquenchable fire, the word is translated as either hell or hell fire in many English versions. The Greek verb ταρταρῶ, which occurs once in the New Testament, is almost always translated by a phrase such as thrown down to hell. A few translations render it as Tartarus, of this term, in ancient Jewish belief, the dead were consigned to Sheol, a place to which all were sent indiscriminately. Sheol was thought of as a place situated below the ground, by at least the late rabbinical period, Gehinnom was viewed as the place of ultimate punishment, exemplified by the rabbinical statement the best of physicians are destined to Gehinnom. Also described in Assumption of Moses and 2 Esdras, the realm of eternal punishment in Hellenistic mythology was Tartarus, Hades was a form of limbo for the unjudged dead. Three different New Testament words appear in most English translations as hell, The most common New Testament term translated as hell is γέεννα, apart from one use in James 3,6, this term is found exclusively in the synoptic gospels. Gehenna is most frequently described as a place of torment, other passages mention darkness. Apart from the use of the term gehenna the Johannine writings refer to the destiny of the wicked in terms of perishing, death and condemnation or judgment. Paul speaks of wrath and everlasting destruction, while the general use a range of terms and images including raging fire, destruction, eternal fire. The New Testament also uses the Greek word hades, usually to refer to the abode of the dead, only one passage describes hades as a place of torment, the parable of Lazarus and Dives. Jesus here depicts a man suffering fiery torment in hades, which is contrasted with the bosom of Abraham. Some scholars believe that this reflects the intertestamental Jewish view of hades as containing separate divisions for the wicked
25.
Sheol
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The inhabitants of Sheol are the shades, entities without personality or strength. Under some circumstances they are thought to be able to be contacted by the living, as the Witch of Endor contacts the shade of Samuel for Saul, but such practices are forbidden. While the Old Testament writings appear to describe Sheol as the permanent place of the dead, brichto, writing in Hebrew Union College Annual, the family tomb is the central concept in understanding biblical views of the afterlife. Although not well defined in the Tanakh, Sheol in this view was an underworld where the souls of the dead went after the body died. The Babylonians had a similar underworld called Aralu, and the Greeks had one known as Hades. For biblical references to Sheol see Genesis 42,38, Isaiah 14,11, Psalm 141,7, Daniel 12,2, Proverbs 7,27 and Job 10,21,22, the Hebrew Scriptures themselves have few references to existence after death. The notion of resurrection appears in two late biblical sources, Daniel 12 and Isaiah 25-26, the traditional biblical interpretations explain that Sheol is a grim and desolated land below, occupied by the dead who continue their colorless existence irrespective of their earthly conduct. Contrary to this however, the Hebrew Bible supports the descriptions of Sheol which suggest that it is something more than just a place. In terms of numbers the amount of anthropomorphic descriptions is significant. Sheol is either portrayed by means of human qualities or attributed with the elements of anatomy, womb, hand. Some additional support for this comes from the ancient Near Eastern literary materials. For example, the Akkadian plates mention the name shuwalu or suwala in reference to a deity responsible for ruling the abode of the dead, as such it might have been borrowed by the Hebrews and incorporated into their early belief system. What is more, some argue that Sheol understood anthropomorphically fits the semantic complex of the other ancient Near Eastern death deities such as Nergal, Ereshkigal or Mot. Barzakh Biblical cosmology Christian views on Hades Gehenna Hellenistic Judaism Limbo of the Patriarchs Spirit world Tartarus Aune, Westminster Dictionary of the New Testament and Early Christian Literature. The Formation of Hell, Death and Retribution in the Ancient, hess, Richard S. Israelite Religions, An Archeological and Biblical Survey. Hell with Purgatory and two Limbos, Hell and Its Afterlife, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, the Westminster Theological Wordbook of the Bible. In Metzger, Bruce Manning, Coogan, Michael David, the Oxford Guide to Ideas & Issues of the Bible
26.
Gehenna
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Gehenna, from the Hebrew Gehinnom, is a small valley in Jerusalem and the Jewish and Christian analogue of hell. The terms are derived from a place outside ancient Jerusalem known in the Hebrew Bible as the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, the Valley of Hinnom is the modern name for the valley surrounding Jerusalems Old City, including Mount Zion, from the west and south. It meets and merges with the Kidron Valley, the principal valley around the Old City. In the Hebrew Bible, Gehenna was initially where some of the kings of Judah sacrificed their children by fire, thereafter it was deemed to be cursed. In Jewish Rabbinic literature, and Christian and Islamic scripture, Gehenna is a destination of the wicked and this is different from the more neutral Sheol/Hades, the abode of the dead, although the King James Version of the Bible usually translates both with the Anglo-Saxon word Hell. In the King James Version of the Bible, the term appears 13 times in 11 different verses as Valley of Hinnom, Valley of the son of Hinnom or Valley of the children of Hinnom. English Gehenna represents the Greek Geenna found in the New Testament and this was known in the Old Testament as Gei Ben-Hinnom, literally the Valley of the son of Hinnom, and in the Talmud as גהנם Gehinnam or גהנום Gehinnom. Joshua is describing the boundaries of the tribe of Judah and this reference in the Book of Joshua is the first mention in the Old Testament of this Valley of the Sons of Hinnom. This valley, as Keil and Delitzsch note, is on the side of the Jebusite town. In the Quran, Jahannam is a place of torment for sinners and non-believers, the exact location of the Valley of Hinnom is disputed. Older commentaries give the location as below the wall of ancient Jerusalem. Smith, Dalman, Bailey and Watson identify the Wadi ar-Rababi, according to Joshua, the valley began at En-rogel. If the modern Bir Ayyub is En-rogel, then Wadi ar-Rababi, the oldest historical reference to the valley is found in Joshua 15,8,18,16 which describe tribal boundaries. The next chronological reference to the valley is at the time of King Ahaz of Judah who sacrificed his sons according to 2 Chron. Since his legitimate son by the daughter of the High Priest Hezekiah succeeded him as king, the same is recorded of Ahaz grandson Manasseh in 33,6. There remains debate about whether the cause his children to pass through the fire meant a religious ceremony or literally child sacrifice. In the reign of Josiah a call came from Jeremiah to destroy the shrines in Topheth and to end the practice Jeremiah 7 and it is recorded that King Josiah destroyed the shrine of Molech on Topheth, to prevent anyone sacrificing children there in 2 Kings 23,10. Despite Josiahs ending of the practice, Jeremiah also included a prophecy that Jerusalem itself would be made like Gehenna, a final purely geographical reference is found in Neh.11,30 to the exiles returning from Babylon camping from Beersheba to Hinnom
27.
Tartarus
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In Greek mythology, Tartarus is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato in Gorgias, souls were judged after death, like other primal entities, Tartarus was also considered to be a primordial force or deity. In Greek mythology, Tartarus is both a deity and a place in the underworld, in ancient Orphic sources and in the mystery schools, Tartarus is also the unbounded first-existing entity from which the Light and the cosmos are born. In the Greek poet Hesiods Theogony, c.700 BC, Tartarus was the third of the deities, following after Chaos and Gaia, and preceding Eros. According to Hyginus, Tartarus was the offspring of Aether and Gaia, as for the place, Hesiod asserts that a bronze anvil falling from heaven would fall nine days before it reached the earth. The anvil would take nine days to fall from earth to Tartarus. In the Iliad, Zeus asserts that Tartarus is as far beneath Hades as heaven is above earth, while according to Greek mythology the realm of Hades is the place of the dead, Tartarus also has a number of inhabitants. When Cronus came to power as the King of the Titans, he imprisoned the one-eyed Cyclopes, Zeus killed Campe and released these imprisoned giants to aid in his conflict with the Titans. The gods of Olympus eventually triumphed, kronos and many of the other Titans were banished to Tartarus, though Prometheus, Epimetheus, Metis and most of the female Titans were spared. Another Titan, Atlas, was sentenced to hold the sky on his shoulders to prevent it from resuming its primordial embrace with the Earth, other gods could be sentenced to Tartarus as well. Apollo is an example, although Zeus freed him. The Hecatonchires became guards of Tartarus prisoners, later, when Zeus overcame the monster Typhon, he threw him into wide Tartarus. Originally, Tartarus was used only to confine dangers to the gods of Olympus, in later mythologies, Tartarus became the place where the punishment fits the crime. But regardless of the impropriety of Zeus frequent conquests, Sisyphus overstepped his bounds by considering himself a peer of the gods who could report their indiscretions. When Zeus ordered Thanatos to chain up Sisyphus in Tartarus, Sisyphus tricked Thanatos by asking him how the chains worked and ended up chaining Thanatos and this caused Ares to free Thanatos and turn Sisyphus over to him. Sometime later, Sisyphus had Persephone send him back to the surface to scold his wife for not burying him properly, Sisyphus was forcefully dragged back to Tartarus by Hermes when he refused to go back to the Underworld after that. In Tartarus, Sisyphus was forced to roll a boulder up a mountainside which when he almost reached the crest, rolled away from Sisyphus. King Tantalus also ended up in Tartarus after he cut up his son Pelops, boiled him and he also stole the ambrosia from the Gods and told his people its secrets
28.
Limbo
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Medieval theologians of western Europe described the underworld as divided into four distinct parts, Hell of the Damned, Purgatory, Limbo of the Fathers or Patriarchs, and Limbo of the Infants. However, Limbo of the Infants is not a doctrine of the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes Christs descent into hell as meaning primarily that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the prior to his resurrection. This was the first meaning given in the preaching to Christs descent into hell. It adds, But he descended there as Saviour, proclaiming the Good News to the imprisoned there. It does not use the word Limbo and this concept of Limbo affirms that admittance to Heaven is possible only through the intervention of Jesus Christ, but does not portray Moses, etc. as being punished eternally in Hell. The term Limbo does not appear in the Bible, the concept of Limbo of the Patriarchs is not spelled out in Scripture, but is seen by some as implicit in various references. Jesus told the Good Thief that the two of them would be together this day in Paradise, but between on the Sunday of his resurrection he said that he had not yet ascended to the Father. Some say that the descent of Jesus to the abode of the dead, his presence among them, turned it into a paradise. Others understand the text to mean not I say to you, This day you will be me in paradise. Timothy Radcliffe explained the today as a reference to the Today of eternity, Jesus is also described as preaching to the spirits in prison. Medieval drama sometimes portrayed Christ leading a dramatic assault—The Harrowing of Hell—during the three days between the Crucifixion and the resurrection, in this assault, Jesus freed the souls of the just and escorted them triumphantly into heaven. This imagery is used in the Eastern Orthodox Churchs Holy Saturday liturgy. The Limbo of Infants is a hypothesis about the permanent status of the unbaptized who die in infancy, too young to have committed personal sins, but not having been freed from original sin. Recent Catholic theological speculation tends to stress the hope, though not the certainty, so great was Augustines influence in the West, however, that the Latin Fathers of the 5th and 6th centuries did adopt his position. In the later period, some theologians continued to hold Augustines view. In the 12th century, Peter Abelard said that these infants suffered no material torment or positive punishment, others held that unbaptized infants suffered no pain at all, unaware of being deprived of the beatific vision, they enjoyed a state of natural, not supernatural happiness. This theory was associated with but independent of the term Limbo of Infants, hence they will nowise grieve for being deprived of the divine vision, nay, rather will they rejoice for that they will have a large share of Gods goodness and their own natural perfections
29.
Purgatory
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The notion of Purgatory is associated particularly with the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, Anglicans of the Anglo-Catholic tradition generally also hold to the belief. Judaism also believes in the possibility of purification and may even use the word purgatory to present its understanding of the meaning of Gehenna. However, the concept of soul purification may be denied in these other faith traditions. The same practice appears in traditions, such as the medieval Chinese Buddhist practice of making offerings on behalf of the dead. Roman Catholics consider the teaching on Purgatory, but not the imaginative accretions, of the early Church Fathers, Origen says that He who comes to be saved, comes to be saved through fire that burns away sins and worldliness like lead, leaving behind only pure gold. St. Ambrose of Milan speaks of a kind of baptism of fire which is located at the entrance to Heaven, and through which all must pass, at the end of the world. By this he meant that attachments to sin, habits of sin, and even venial sins could be removed in Purgatory, but not mortal sin, which, according to Catholic doctrine, causes eternal damnation. The Catholic Church gives the name Purgatory to the purification of all who die in Gods grace and friendship. Though Purgatory is often pictured as a rather than a process of purification. According to Catholic belief, immediately after death, a person undergoes judgment in which the eternal destiny is specified. Some are eternally united with God in Heaven, envisioned as a paradise of eternal joy, conversely, others reach a state called Hell, that is eternal separation from God often envisioned as an abode of never ending, fiery torment, a fire sometimes considered to be metaphorical. In addition to accepting the states of heaven and hell, Catholicism envisages a third state before being admitted to heaven, such souls, ultimately destined to be united with God in heaven, must first be cleansed through purgatory – a state of purification. Through purgatory, souls achieve the necessary to enter the joy of heaven. Mortal sin incurs both temporal punishment and eternal punishment, venial sin incurs only temporal punishment, the Catholic Church makes a distinction between these two types of sin. According to Catholicism, purification from our sinful tendencies can occur during life, the situation has been compared to that of someone who needs to be cleansed of any addiction. As from any addiction, rehabilitation from the disordered affection for created goods will be a gradual and it can be advanced during life by voluntary self-mortification and penance and by deeds of generosity that show love of God rather than of creatures. After death, a process can be recognized as a still necessary preparation for entering the divine presence. The writings of Saint Catherine of Genoa explain, As for paradise, whoever wishes to enter, does so
30.
Egyptian mythology
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Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptian religion, Myths appear frequently in Egyptian writings and art, particularly in short stories and in religious material such as hymns, ritual texts, funerary texts, and temple decoration. These sources rarely contain an account of a myth and often describe only brief fragments. Inspired by the cycles of nature, the Egyptians saw time in the present as a series of recurring patterns, Myths are set in these earliest times, and myth sets the pattern for the cycles of the present. Present events repeat the events of myth, and in doing so renew maat, events from the present that might be regarded as myths include Ras daily journey through the world and its otherworldly counterpart, the Duat. The details of these sacred events differ greatly from one text to another, Egyptian myths are primarily metaphorical, translating the essence and behavior of deities into terms that humans can understand. Each variant of a myth represents a different symbolic perspective, enriching the Egyptians understanding of the gods and it inspired or influenced many religious rituals and provided the ideological basis for kingship. Scenes and symbols from myth appeared in art in tombs, temples, in literature, myths or elements of them were used in stories that range from humor to allegory, demonstrating that the Egyptians adapted mythology to serve a wide variety of purposes. The development of Egyptian myth is difficult to trace, Egyptologists must make educated guesses about its earliest phases, based on written sources that appeared much later. One obvious influence on myth is the Egyptians natural surroundings, thus the Egyptians saw water and the sun as symbols of life and thought of time as a series of natural cycles. This orderly pattern was at constant risk of disruption, unusually low floods resulted in famine, the hospitable Nile valley was surrounded by harsh desert, populated by peoples the Egyptians regarded as uncivilized enemies of order. For these reasons, the Egyptians saw their land as an place of stability, or maat. These themes—order, chaos, and renewal—appear repeatedly in Egyptian religious thought, another possible source for mythology is ritual. Many rituals make reference to myths and are based directly on them. But it is difficult to determine whether a cultures myths developed before rituals or vice versa, questions about this relationship between myth and ritual have spawned much discussion among Egyptologists and scholars of comparative religion in general. In ancient Egypt, the earliest evidence of religious practices predates written myths, rituals early in Egyptian history included only a few motifs from myth. For these reasons, some scholars have argued that, in Egypt, but because the early evidence is so sparse, the question may never be resolved for certain. In private rituals, which are often called magical, the myth, many of the myth-like stories that appear in the rituals texts are not found in other sources
31.
Aaru
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For the natural habitat, see Reed bed. For the use of reeds to filter wastewater, see Constructed wetland, for the Tamil film, see Aaru. It has been described as the ka of the Nile Delta and those souls which balance the scales are allowed to start a long and perilous journey to Aaru, where they will exist in pleasure for all eternity. Hearts heavy with evil tip and fall into the jaws of the demon Ammit. After this second death, the soul is doomed to restlessness in Duat, the souls who qualify undergo a long journey and face many perils before reaching Aaru. Once they arrive, they enter through a series of gates, the exact number of gates varies according to sources, some say 15, some 21. They are uniformly described as guarded by evil demons armed with knives, Aaru is also known as the home of Osiris. Aaru usually was placed in the east, where the Sun rises and this ideal hunting and farming ground allowed the souls here to live for eternity. More precisely, Aaru was envisaged as a series of islands, covered in fields of rushes, the part where Osiris later dwelt is sometimes known as the field of offerings, Sekhet Hetepet in Egyptian. Heaven Elysium The Summerland Budge, Ernest Alfred Wallis, london, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. Ltd. p.37. Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore, and Stymbols, Part 1, Egyptian Field of Reeds and Christian Heaven
32.
Duat
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Duat was the realm of the dead in ancient Egyptian mythology. It was the realm of the deity Osiris and the residence of other gods, the Duat was the region through which the sun god Ra traveled from west to east during the night, and where he battled Apep. It was also the place where peoples souls went after death for judgement, burial chambers formed touching-points between the mundane world and the Duat, and spirits could use tombs to travel back and forth from the Duat. What is known of the Duat derives principally from funerary texts such as the Book of Gates, the Book of Caverns, the Coffin Texts, the Amduat, and the Book of the Dead. Each of these fulfilled a different purpose and gave a different perspective on the Duat. Surviving texts differ in age and origin, and there likely was never a single interpretation of the Duat. The geography of Duat is similar in outline to the world the Egyptians knew, there are realistic features like rivers, islands, fields, lakes, mounds and caverns, along with fantastic lakes of fire, walls of iron and trees of turquoise. In the Book of Two Ways, one of the Coffin Texts, the Book of the Dead and Coffin Texts were intended to guide people who had recently died through the Duats dangerous landscape and to a life as an akh or blessed spirit amongst the gods. The dead person must pass a series of gates guarded by dangerous spirits, depicted as human bodies with heads of animals, insects. These beings have equally grotesque names, for instance Blood-drinker who comes from the Slaughterhouse or One who eats the excrement of his hindquarters, other features emphasised in these texts are mounds and caverns, inhabited by gods or supernatural animals, which threatened the spirits of the dead. The purpose of the books is not to lay out a geography, if the deceased successfully passed these unpleasant demons, he or she would reach the Weighing of the Heart. In this ritual, the heart of the deceased was weighed by Anubis, using a feather, representing Maat, any hearts heavier than her feather were rejected and eaten by the Ammit, the Devourer of Souls. Those souls that were lighter than a feather passed the test would be allowed to travel toward the paradise of Aaru, in spite of the unpleasant inhabitants of the Duat, this was no Hell to which souls were condemned, the nature of Duat is more complex than that. The grotesque spirits of the underworld were not evil, but under the control of the Gods. The Duat was also a residence of gods themselves, as well as Osiris, Anubis, Thoth, Horus, Hathor and Maat all appear as a dead soul makes its way toward judgement. It was also in the underworld that the sun, Ra, travelled under the Earth upon his Atet barge from west to east and was transformed from its aged Atum form into Khepri, the new dawning Sun. Just as a person faced many challenges in the Duat. The Egyptian Book of the Dead, The Book of Going Forth by Day, chronicle Books,2000 Pinch, G. Magic in Ancient Egypt
33.
Amenti
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Duat was the realm of the dead in ancient Egyptian mythology. It was the realm of the deity Osiris and the residence of other gods, the Duat was the region through which the sun god Ra traveled from west to east during the night, and where he battled Apep. It was also the place where peoples souls went after death for judgement, burial chambers formed touching-points between the mundane world and the Duat, and spirits could use tombs to travel back and forth from the Duat. What is known of the Duat derives principally from funerary texts such as the Book of Gates, the Book of Caverns, the Coffin Texts, the Amduat, and the Book of the Dead. Each of these fulfilled a different purpose and gave a different perspective on the Duat. Surviving texts differ in age and origin, and there likely was never a single interpretation of the Duat. The geography of Duat is similar in outline to the world the Egyptians knew, there are realistic features like rivers, islands, fields, lakes, mounds and caverns, along with fantastic lakes of fire, walls of iron and trees of turquoise. In the Book of Two Ways, one of the Coffin Texts, the Book of the Dead and Coffin Texts were intended to guide people who had recently died through the Duats dangerous landscape and to a life as an akh or blessed spirit amongst the gods. The dead person must pass a series of gates guarded by dangerous spirits, depicted as human bodies with heads of animals, insects. These beings have equally grotesque names, for instance Blood-drinker who comes from the Slaughterhouse or One who eats the excrement of his hindquarters, other features emphasised in these texts are mounds and caverns, inhabited by gods or supernatural animals, which threatened the spirits of the dead. The purpose of the books is not to lay out a geography, if the deceased successfully passed these unpleasant demons, he or she would reach the Weighing of the Heart. In this ritual, the heart of the deceased was weighed by Anubis, using a feather, representing Maat, any hearts heavier than her feather were rejected and eaten by the Ammit, the Devourer of Souls. Those souls that were lighter than a feather passed the test would be allowed to travel toward the paradise of Aaru, in spite of the unpleasant inhabitants of the Duat, this was no Hell to which souls were condemned, the nature of Duat is more complex than that. The grotesque spirits of the underworld were not evil, but under the control of the Gods. The Duat was also a residence of gods themselves, as well as Osiris, Anubis, Thoth, Horus, Hathor and Maat all appear as a dead soul makes its way toward judgement. It was also in the underworld that the sun, Ra, travelled under the Earth upon his Atet barge from west to east and was transformed from its aged Atum form into Khepri, the new dawning Sun. Just as a person faced many challenges in the Duat. The Egyptian Book of the Dead, The Book of Going Forth by Day, chronicle Books,2000 Pinch, G. Magic in Ancient Egypt
34.
Estonian mythology
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Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging to the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology. Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers accounts, systematic recordings of Estonian folklore started in the 19th century. Pre-Christian Estonian deities included a known as Jumal or Taevataat in Estonian, corresponding to Jumala in Finnish. According to the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia in 1222 the Estonians even disinterred the enemys dead, some traces of the oldest authentic myths may have survived in runic songs. There is a song about the birth of the world – a bird lays three eggs and starts to lay out the nestlings – one becomes Sun, one becomes Moon, other Finno-Ugric peoples have also myths according to which the world has emerged from an egg. The world of the Estonians’ ancestors is believed to have turned around a pillar or a tree, milky Way was a branch of the World Tree or the way by which birds moved. These myths were based on animistic beliefs, changes occurred in proto-Estonian mythology as a result of the contacts with Baltic and Germanic tribes, as well as the transition from hunting and gathering to farming. Personifications of celestial bodies, sky and weather deities and fertility gods gained importance in the world of the farmers, there may have been a sky and thunder god called Uku or Ukko, also called Vanaisa or Taevataat. Proto Estonian pre-Christian deities may also have included a sky-god by name Jumal, known also by other Finnic peoples as Jumala in Finnish, many recorded legends and myths depicting a supreme sky god are however probably of later origin and feature Christian or foreign influences. Estonian legends about giants may be a reflection of Germanic influences, there are numerous legends interpreting various natural objects and features as traces of Kalevipoegs deeds. The giant has merged with Christian Devil, giving birth to a new character – Vanapagan (a cunning demon living on his farm or manor and his farm hand Kaval-Ants. In the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, cantos 47,48 and 49 can be interpreted as descriptions of the impact, faehlmann also wrote eight fictional myths combining motives of Estonian folklore, Finnish mythology and classical Greek mythology. Matthias Johann Eisen was another folklorist and writer who studied folk legends, many of their contemporary scholars accepted this mythopoeia as authentic Estonian mythology. The Estonian literary mythology describes the following pantheon, The supreme god and he is celebrated in sacred oak forests around Tartu. The god of thunder is Uku, ukus daughters are Linda and Jutta, the queen of the birds. Uku has two sons, Kõu and Pikker, Pikker possesses a powerful musical instrument, which makes demons tremble and flee. He has a naughty daughter, Ilmatütar, during the era of Estonian national awakening the elements in the literary mythology were quickly and readily incorporated into contemporary popular culture through media and school textbooks. It can be difficult to tell how much of Estonian mythology as we know it today was constructed in the 19th
35.
Tuonela
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Tuonela is the realm of the dead or the Underworld in Finnish mythology. Tuonela, Tuoni, Manala and Mana are used synonymously, in Estonian mythology, it is called Toonela or Manala. According to the ancient beliefs the fate of good and bad people is the same, Tuoni and his wife Tuonetar are the rulers of Tuonela. At times living people visited Tuonela to gather information and spells, the trip there required weeks of trekking in a desert, and finally the crossing of the river with the help of a ferryman. Shamans could visit Tuonela by falling into a trance and tricking the guards, Tuonela is best known for its appearance in the Finnish national epic Kalevala. In the 16th song of Kalevala, Väinämöinen, a shamanistic hero, on the journey he meets the ferryman, a girl, Tuonen tytti, or Tuonen piika, who takes him over the river of Tuoni. On the isle of Tuoni, however, he is not given the spells he was looking for, after his return he curses anyone trying to enter the place alive. Tuonela is used as the translation for the Greek word ᾍδης in Finnish translations of the Bible, in Finnish Christianity it is often interpreted as the place of the dead before the Last Judgement. The Swan of Tuonela by Jean Sibelius Finnish mythology
36.
Fijian mythology
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Fijian mythology refers to the set of beliefs practiced by the indigenous people of the island of Fiji. Its gods include Degei, a serpent who is the god of Fiji. He is the creator of the world and he judges newly dead souls after they pass through one of two caves, Cibaciba or Drakulu. A few he sends to paradise Burotu, most others are thrown into a lake, where they will eventually sink to the bottom to be appropriately rewarded or punished
37.
Melanesian mythology
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Melanesian mythology is the folklore, myths and religion of Melanesia — the archipelagos of New Guinea, the Torres Strait Islands, the Admiralty Islands, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Professor Roland Burrage Dixon wrote an account of the mythology of this region for the The Mythology of All Races, what follows is his account of the topic. Since that time, the region has developed new cults and legends as a result of exposure to advanced western civilisations and their missionaries. These include the cargo cults in which the attempt to restore the supply of material goods which were a side-effect of the campaigning in this region during the Pacific War. From the anthropological point of view the population of the Melanesian area is exceedingly complex, while detailed knowledge of the area is still too fragmentary to render conclusions other than tentative, it may be said that at least three groups can be recognized. Mythological material from them is exceedingly scanty, strictly speaking, the term Melanesian should be applied to this group only, and from it and the Papuo-Melanesian mixtures the greater part of the myth material at present available has been derived. Of Negrito mythology, here, as in the case of Indonesia, the Melanesian stratum, on the other hand, is perhaps best developed in eastern Melanesia, i. e. Further examination of this Melanesian type seems to indicate that it is by no means a unit, although, because of the character of the material, any conclusions must be wholly tentative. The first of these groups is represented much more strongly in New Guinea than in the eastern archipelago, the second group—rather unexpectedly—is, like the first, more prominent in New Guinea than farther east, but is better represented on the south coast than is the first group. Accordingly, To-Kabinana told him to make the figure of a Thum-fish, then To-Kabinana said, You are indeed a stupid fellow. You have brought it about that our descendants shall suffer and that fish will eat all the others, and he will also eat people as well. Tales of a type have been collected at one or two points on the German New Guinea shore, but appear to be much less common than among the coast population of New Britain. In the Banks Islands Qat is the hero, and many tales are told of him and his eleven brothers, all of whom were named Tagaro, one being Tagaro the Wise. Thus, according to one tale, when Qat had finished his work of creation, he proposed to his brothers, Tagaro, that they make canoes for themselves. On finishing work one night, he determined to watch, and accordingly, making himself of very small size, he hid under a large chip which he carried away from the pile that he had made during the day. Finally the old man found it, but just as he was about to pick it up, Qat sprang out, grew to his full size, and raised his axe to kill the old man who had thus interfered with his work. The latter, however, who was Marawa in disguise, begged Qat to spare his life, so Qat had mercy on Marawa, and he finished the boat, using his nails to scoop and scrape it out. After this, the tried to destroy Qat in order that they might possess his wife
38.
Finnish mythology
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Finnish mythology is a commonly applied description of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many features shared with fellow Finnic Estonian mythology and its neighbours, the Balts. Some of their myths are also related to the myths of other Finno-Ugric speakers like the Samis. Finnish mythology survived within a tradition of mythical poem-singing and folklore well into the 19th century. Although the gradual influence of surrounding cultures raised the significance of the sky-god in a monolatristic manner, of the animals, the most sacred was the bear, whose real name was never uttered out loud, lest his kind be unfavorable to the hunting. The bear was seen as the embodiment of the forefathers, and for this reason it was called by many circumlocutions, mesikämmen, otso, kontio, metsän kultaomena but not a god. The first historical mention of Finnish folk religion was by the bishop, Agricola supplied a list of purported deities of the Häme and Karjala, twelve deities in each region, with their supposed functions briefly set out in verse form. Due to the lists, Agricola is considered to be the father of the study of Finnish religious history, cristfried Gananders Mythologia Fennica, published in 1789, was the first truly scholarly foray into Finnish mythology. In the 19th century, research into Finnish folklore intensified, scholars like Elias Lönnrot, J. F. Cajan, M. A. Castrén, and D. E. D. Europaeus travelled around Finland writing down folk poetry sung by runo singers, the genres they collected included material like the synnyt, which give mythical accounts of the origins of many natural phenomena. From this material Lönnrot edited the Kalevala as well as the Kanteletar, the wealth of folk poetry collected in the 19th century often deals with pre-Christian pagan themes, and has allowed scholars to study Finnish mythology in more detail. The world was believed to have formed out of a pochard egg. The sky was believed to be the cover of the egg, alternately it was seen as a tent. The movement of the stars was explained to be caused by the rotation around the North Star. A great whirl was caused at the pole by the rotation of column of sky. Through this whirl souls could go to the outside of the world to the land of dead, Earth was believed to be flat. At the edges of Earth was Lintukoto, the home of the birds, the Milky Way is called Linnunrata, the path of the birds, because the birds were believed to move along it to Lintukoto and back. In Modern Finnish usage, the word means an imaginary happy, warm
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Germanic paganism
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Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period. Germanic paganism took various forms in different areas of the Germanic world, the best documented version was that of 10th and 11th century Norse religion, although other information can be found from Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic sources. Scattered references are found in the earliest writings of other Germanic peoples. The information can be supplemented with archaeological finds and remnants of pre-Christian beliefs in later folklore, Germanic paganism was polytheistic, with similarities to other Indo-European religions. The Common Germanic period begins with the European Iron Age, contemporary to the Celtic La Tene culture to the south, early Germanic history remains in the prehistoric period until the earliest descriptions in Roman ethnography in the 1st century BC. The earliest forms of the Germanic religion can only be speculated on based on archaeological evidence, the first written description is in Julius Caesars Commentarii de Bello Gallico. He contrasts the religious custom of the Gauls with the simpler Germanic traditions. A much more detailed description of Germanic religion is Tacituss Germania, Tacitus describes both animal and human sacrifice. He identifies the chief Germanic god with the Roman Mercury, who on certain days receives human sacrifices, while gods identified by Tacitus with Hercules and Mars receive animal sacrifice. The largest Germanic tribe, Suebians, also sacrifices, allegedly of captured Roman soldiers. Nerthus is revered by Reudignians, Aviones, Angles, Varinians, Nerthus is believed to directly interpose in human affairs. Her sanctuary is on an island, specifically in a wood called Castum, a chariot covered with a curtain is dedicated to the goddess, and only the high priest may touch it. The priest is capable of seeing the goddess enter the chariot, drawn by cows, the chariot travels through the countryside, and wherever the goddess visits, a great feast is held. During the travel of the goddess, the Germanic tribes cease all hostilities, when the priest declares that the goddess is tired of conversation with mortals, the chariot returns and is washed, together with the curtains, in a secret lake. The slaves who administer this purification are afterwards thrown into the lake, according to Tacitus, the Germanic tribes think of temples as unsuitable habitations for gods, and they do not represent them as idols in human shape. Instead of temples, they consecrate woods or groves to individual gods, divination and augury was very popular, To the use of lots and auguries, they are addicted beyond all other nations. Their method of divining by lots is exceedingly simple, from a tree which bears fruit they cut a twig, and divide it into two small pieces. These they distinguish by so many several marks, and throw them at random and without order upon a white garment
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Hel (location)
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In Norse mythology, Hel, the location, shares a name with Hel, a female figure associated with the location. In late Icelandic sources, varying descriptions of Hel are given, in the Poetic Edda, Brynhildrs trip to Hel after her death is described and Odin, while alive, also visits Hel upon his horse Sleipnir. In Snorri Sturlusons Prose Edda, Baldr goes to Hel on his death, the Old Norse feminine proper noun Hel is identical to the name of the entity that presides over the realm, Old Norse Hel. The word has cognates in all branches of the Germanic languages, including Old English hell, Old Frisian helle, Old Saxon hellia, Old High German hella, all forms ultimately derive from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic feminine noun *xaljō or *haljō. In turn, the Proto-Germanic form derives from the form of the Proto-Indo-European root *kel-, *kol-, to cover, conceal. The term is related to Modern English hall and therefore also Valhalla. Hall and its numerous Germanic cognates derive from Proto-Germanic *hallō covered place, hall, related early Germanic terms and concepts include Proto-Germanic *xalja-rūnō, a feminine compound noun, and *xalja-wītjan, a neutral compound noun. This form is reconstructed from the Latinized Gothic plural noun *haliurunnae, Old English helle-rúne, the compound is composed of two elements, *xaljō and *rūnō, the Proto-Germanic precursor to Modern English rune. The second element in the Gothic haliurunnae may however instead be an agent noun from the verb rinnan, which would make its literal meaning one who travels to the netherworld. )Proto-Germanic *xalja-wītjan is reconstructed from Old Norse hel-víti hell, Old English helle-wíte hell-torment, hell, Old Saxon helli-wīti hell, and the Middle High German feminine noun helle-wīze. The compound is a compound of *xaljō and *wītjan, in reference to Hel, in the poem Völuspá, a völva states that Hel will play an important role in Ragnarök. The Völva states that a crowing sooty-red cock from the halls of Hel is one of three cocks that will signal one of the events of Ragnarök. The other two are Fjalar in Jotunheim and Gullunkambi in Valhalla, in Grímnismál stanza 31, Hel is listed as existing beneath one of the three roots of the world tree Yggdrasil. One of the two leads to the frost jötnar and the third to Mankind. In the short poem Helreið Brynhildar, Hel is directly referenced as a location in the title, while riding along a road on the border of Hel in a lavish cart, Brynhildr encounters a dead giantess at a burial mound belonging to her. This results in an exchange, during which Brynhildr tells of her life. In Baldrs draumar, Odin rides to the edge of Hel to investigate nightmares that Baldr has had and he uses a spell to bring to life the corpse of a Völva. Odin introduces himself under a name and pretense and asks for information from the völva relating to Baldrs dreams. The völva reluctantly proceeds to produce prophecies regarding the events of Ragnarök, Niflhel is mentioned as being just outside Hel
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Niflheim
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Niflheim is one of the Nine Worlds and is a location in Norse mythology which sometimes overlaps with the notions of Niflhel and Hel. The name Niflheimr only appears in two extant sources, Gylfaginning and the much-debated Hrafnagaldr Óðins, Niflheim was primarily a realm of primordial ice and cold, with the frozen river of Elivágar and the well of Hvergelmir, from which come all the rivers. According to Gylfaginning, Niflheim was one of the two realms, the other one being Muspelheim, the realm of fire. Between these two realms of cold and heat, creation began when its waters mixed with the heat of Muspelheim to form a creating steam. Later, it became the abode of Hel, a daughter of Loki, and the afterlife for her subjects. Nifl being cognate with the Anglo-Saxon Nifol, Dutch nevel and German nebel, in Gylfaginning by Snorri Sturluson, Gylfi, the king of ancient Scandinavia, receives an education in Norse mythology from Odin in the guise of three men. She has great possessions there, her walls are exceeding high, Hel thus became the mistress of the world of those dead in disease and old age. This is the instance in which Niflheim and Hel are equated. However, there is confusion in the different versions of the manuscript. And straightway the hammer Mjöllnir was raised aloft, he paid the wrights wage, and not with the sun and the moon. Nay, he denied him dwelling in Jötunheim, and struck but the one first blow, so that his skull was burst into small crumbs
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Greek mythology
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It was a part of the religion in ancient Greece. Greek mythology is explicitly embodied in a collection of narratives. Greek myth attempts to explain the origins of the world, and details the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. These accounts initially were disseminated in a tradition, today the Greek myths are known primarily from ancient Greek literature. The oldest known Greek literary sources, Homers epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, focus on the Trojan War, archaeological findings provide a principal source of detail about Greek mythology, with gods and heroes featured prominently in the decoration of many artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles, in the succeeding Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has had an influence on the culture, arts. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in the themes, Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from the Geometric period from c. Mythical narration plays an important role in every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless, the only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus and this work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. Apollodorus of Athens lived from c, 180–125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed the basis for the collection, however the Library discusses events that occurred long after his death, among the earliest literary sources are Homers two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Other poets completed the cycle, but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely. Despite their traditional name, the Homeric Hymns have no connection with Homer. They are choral hymns from the part of the so-called Lyric age. Hesiods Works and Days, a poem about farming life, also includes the myths of Prometheus, Pandora. The poet gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar, Bacchylides and Simonides, and bucolic poets such as Theocritus and Bion, additionally, myth was central to classical Athenian drama
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Greek underworld
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The Greek underworld, in mythology, is an otherworld where souls go after death, and is the original Greek idea of afterlife. At the moment of death the soul is separated from the corpse, taking on the shape of the former person, the Underworld itself is described as being either at the outer bounds of the ocean or beneath the depths or ends of the earth. It is considered the counterpart to the brightness of Mount Olympus. Hades is an invisible to the living, made solely for the dead. There are five rivers that are visible both in the living world and the underworld. Their names were meant to reflect the emotions associated with death, the Styx is generally considered to be one of the most prominent and central rivers of the Underworld and is also the most widely known out of all the rivers. Its known as the river of hatred and is named after the goddess Styx and this river circles the underworld seven times. The Acheron is the river of pain and its the one that Charon, also known as the Ferryman, rows the dead over according to many mythological accounts, though sometimes it is the river Styx or both. The Lethe is the river of forgetfulness and it is associated with the goddess Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness and oblivion. In later accounts, a poplar branch dripping with water of the Lethe became the symbol of Hypnos, the Phlegethon is the river of fire. According to Plato, this leads to the depths of Tartarus. The Cocytus is the river of wailing, oceanus is the river that encircles the world, and it marks the east edge of the underworld, as Erebos is west of the mortal world. In front of the entrance to the underworld live Grief, Anxiety, Diseases, fear, Hunger, Death, Agony, and Sleep also live in front of the entrance, together with Guilty Joys. On the opposite threshold is War, the Erinyes, and Eris, close to the doors are many beasts, including Centaurs, Gorgons, the Lernaean Hydra, the Chimera, and Harpies. In the midst of all this, an Elm can be seen where false dreams cling under every leaf, the souls that enter the Underworld carry a coin under their tongue to pay Charon to take them across the river. Charon may make exceptions or allowances for those carrying a certain Golden Bough. Charon is appallingly filthy, with eyes like jets of fire, a bush of unkempt beard upon his chin, although Charon embarks now one group now another, some souls he grimly turns away. These are the unburied which cant be taken across from bank to bank until they receive a proper burial, across the river, guarding the gates of the Underworld, is Cerberus
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Elysium
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Elysium or the Elysian Fields is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cults. Initially separate from the realm of Hades, admission was reserved for mortals related to the gods, the Elysian Fields were, according to Homer, located on the western edge of the Earth by the stream of Okeanos. In the time of the Greek oral poet Hesiod, Elysium would also be known as the Fortunate Isles or the Isles of the Blessed, located in the ocean at the end of the earth. The Isles of the Blessed would be reduced to an island by the Thebean poet Pindar, describing it as having shady parks, with residents indulging in athletic. The ruler of Elysium varies from author to author, Pindar and Hesiod name Cronus as the ruler, another suggestion is from ελυθ-, ἔρχομαι. The Greek oral poet Hesiod refers to the Isles of the Blessed in his didactic poem Works, pindars Odes describes the reward waiting for those living a righteous life, In Virgils Aeneid, Aeneas, like Heracles and Odysseus before him, travels to the underworld. Virgil describes those who travel to Elysium, and those who will travel to Tartarus. Virgils Elysium knows perpetual spring and shady groves, with its own sun and lit by its own stars, solemque suum, sua sidera norunt. He further intimated that the Greek prophet Orpheus composed his fables about the afterlife when he traveled to Egypt, Elysium as a pagan expression for paradise would eventually pass into usage by early Christian writers. In the Renaissance, the population of the Elysian Fields tended to outshine its formerly dreary pagan reputation. After the Renaissance, an even cheerier Elysium evolved for some poets, sometimes it is imagined as a place where heroes have continued their interests from their lives. Others suppose it is a filled with feasting, sport, song. The poet Heinrich Heine explicitly parodied Schillers sentiment in referring to the Jewish Sabbath food cholent as the daughter of Elysium in his poem Princess Shabbat. Christian and classical attitudes to the afterlife are put in contrast by Christopher Marlowes Doctor Faustus in saying, This word damnation terrifies not me and my ghost be with the old philosophers. When in William Shakespeares Twelfth Night shipwrecked Viola is told This is Illyria, and what should I do in Illyria. My brother he is in Elysium. is her answer, Elysium for her and her first Elizabethan hearers simply means Paradise, in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, Elysium is described as the path for some of the protagonists and antagonists of the series. The mythical island is described in terms a WWII sailor in the South Pacific would liken to the Greek paradise, the term and concept of Elysium has had influence in modern popular culture, reference to Elysium can be found in literature, art, film, and music. New Orleans Elysian Fields also provides the second act setting of Elmer Rices The Adding Machine, in his poem Middlesex, John Betjeman describes how a few hedges Keep alive our lost Elysium – rural Middlesex again
