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Elysium
Definition of Elysium
The definition of Elysium:
The Underworld according to classical mythology was the
abode of the ghosts, shades or souls ruled over by the Greek
god Hades or the Roman god
Pluto.
Elysium was an area of the Underworld of Hades which was a
heavenly place, peaceful and beautiful, where those who are
favored by the gods could go when they died.
Journey to Elysium
To gain access to Elysium
the souls of the dead first had to cross the
River Styx ferried by
Charon the boatman. The River Styx
was the principal river of the underworld and had to be
crossed to pass to the regions of the dead. The mortal life
of the dead soul was judged in Hades by the gods and
judges of the Underworld. The judges of the underworld of
Hades were Minos for the regions of Erebus, Rhadamanthus for Tartarus,
Aeacus for Elysium and Pluto and
Proserpina as sovereigns
over the whole of the Underworld of Hades. The gods and
judges would decide which part of Hades the dead soul would
go to. Hades consisted of five different regions one of
which was the district of joy and bliss
which was called Elysium.
Elysium and the
other Regions of Hades
The myths and legends
relating to the five different regions of Hades are as
follows:
The Fields of Asphodel
contained beings which brought misery
to mortal men such as war, discord, labor, grief, and and all
the most frightful monsters of the imagination taken from
mythology such as Gorgons and Harpies ***
The River Styx - All the departed souls had
to pass the waters to enter into the Underworld of Hades ***
The melancholy and gloomy
region called Erebus which began immediately
on the bank on the other side the River Styx. Erebus was divided again into several
particular districts or regions for different souls including the
place for infants, the place for all
who had been put to death without a cause, the place for those
who put an end to their own lives. After this were the fields
of mourning, full of dark woods and forest and inhabited by those
who died of love and lastly was an open
country which was allotted for the souls of departed warriors.
The road from Erebus divided into two, of which the right hand road led to Elysiumand the left hand road to Tartarus
The fourth district was Tartarus, or the region of torments
and punishment after death ***
The fifth district was the
region of joy and bliss which was called Elysium
Facts
and Myths about
Elysium and the Elysian Fields
Elysium was the place of the blessed inhabited by
those who died for their country, those of pure lives, truly
inspired poets, the inventors of arts, and all who have done
good to mankind. It was a delightful region where souls
could
converse with whom they pleased.
Elysium, a paradise for those who found favour with the
gods. The home of heroes and the virtuous. Fields of the
pale liliaceous asphodel and poplars grew in Elysium. This
gave rise to the name of the place known as the Elysian
Fields which were the final resting place of the blessed
chosen by the gods - paradise or heaven.
Elysium
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