The Underworld is not Hell

dream-of-lust:

A lot of people mistake the ‘Underworld’ as ‘Hell’.

This is not true.

Hell is derived from other Religious beliefs that is is a place to which the damned go as punishment, to pay for their Sins while living. There are many different hells, it just depends on what one’s religious belief is, or their culture.

Punishment in Hell typically corresponds to sins committed during life. Sometimes these distinctions are specific, with damned souls suffering for each sin committed, but sometimes they are general, with condemned sinners relegated to one or more chamber of Hell or to a level of suffering.

 

According to Dante Alighieri’s 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy, the first part being Inferno, there are Nine Levels of Hell;

First Circle – Limbo
Second Circle – Lust
Third Circle – Gluttony
Fourth Circle – Greed
Fifth Circle – Anger
Sixth Circle – Heresy
Seventh Circle – Violence
Eighth Circle – Fraud
Ninth Circle – Treachery

Although, the Christian Bible does not specifically say so, it does seem to indicate that there are different levels of punishment in hell. In Revelation 20:11–15, the people are judged “according to what they had done as recorded in the books”  

In Ancient Egypt, at death a person faced judgment by a tribunal of forty-two divine judges. If they had led a life in sync with the precepts of the Goddess Maat, who represented truth and right living, the person was welcomed into the Two Fields. If found guilty the person was thrown to a “devourer” and would be condemned to the Lake of Fire.

The Underworld is a place to which all spirits go, good or bad. Once arriving there, they are judged, and sent into different sections depending on how they lived their life. 

Judges of the Underworld decide where to send the souls of the person where each one is sent to either Elysium, Tartarus, or the Asphodel Meadows. There are different sections of the Underworld; However, Tartarus isn’t considered to be part of the Underworld itself, more rather, below it ( Much like the Earth is below the Sky ) 

Tartarus is the place that Zeus cast the Titans along with his father Cronus after defeating them. While Odysseus does not see them himself, he mentions some of the people within the underworld who are experiencing punishment for their sins.

The areas in the Underworld ( or Hades ) are;

Tartarus ( Not really apart of it, but still connected ) – The place for Titans to where Zeus casted them, as well as a place for punishment.

 Fields of Punishment –  A place for those who had created havoc on the world and committed crimes specifically against the gods. Hades himself would make the individual’s punishment of eternal suffering based on their specific crime.

 Fields of Asphodel –  A place for ordinary or indifferent souls who did not commit any significant crimes, but who also did not achieve any greatness or recognition that would warrant them being admitted to the Elysian Fields. It was where mortals who did not belong anywhere else in the Underworld were sent.

 Vale of Mourning –  Is where those who were consumed by unhappy love dwell.

 Elysium –  A place for the especially distinguished. It was ruled over by Rhadamanthus, and the souls that dwelled there had an easy afterlife and had no labors. Usually, those who had proximity to the gods were granted admission, rather than those who were especially righteous or had ethical merit. Heroes such as Kadmos, Peleus, and Achilles also were transported here after their deaths. Normal people who lived righteous and virtuous lives could also gain entrance such as Socrates who proved his worth sufficiently through philosophy

 Isles of the Blessed –  Islands in the realm of Elysium. When a soul achieved Elysium, they had a choice to either stay in Elysium or to be reborn. If a soul was reborn three times and achieved Elysium all three times, then they were sent to the Isles of the Blessed to be sentenced to eternal paradise.

Each one has it’s own type of specific souls, each one is a different area for them; Some are to be Punished, others are to either Relax or be Reborn. As well as different areas, there are also five Rivers that appear both in the real world and the Underworld;

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. It is known as the river of hatred and is named after the goddess Styx.

The Acheron –  Is the river of pain. It is the river 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. It is associated with the goddess Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness and oblivion.

 The Phlegethon –  Is the river of fire. According to Plato, this river led to the depths of Tartarus.

 The Cocytus –  Is the river of wailing.

Hell and Hades are not the same.

Hell and Hades are not the same.

The Greeks believed Hades is where all souls went; Hell is believed to be the place to which only those who committed sin and needed punished went.