The trip of a lifetime : journeying to the afterlife in ancient Greece : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History with a Classical Topic at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Abstract

Though there has been much scholarship on various aspects of death and the afterlife in ancient

Greece, there has been little attempt to view the evidence in the context of the afterlife journey as a

composite whole. This thesis aims to present a comprehensive study on different aspects of ancient

Greek eschatology in the context of the afterlife journey, in order to reconstruct the process of the

transition. This is achieved by investigating the eschatological themes and motifs which are reflected

in ancient Greek literature, iconography, and archaeological remains. The text is loosely structured on

a traveller’s ‘guide’, which consists of three basic stages of the afterlife journey: preparation, transit,

and arrival.

Chapter One outlines the actions undertaken in preparation for the soul’s journey to the afterlife,

primarily regarding the performance of proper burial rites, which were imagined in early times to

directly affect the soul’s incorporation into Hades, but by the Classical period were no longer necessary

for entry into the afterlife. Still, certain practices, such as the provision of grave goods, did facilitate

the soul’s journey to a certain extent. Chapter Two examines how the soul’s transit from the upper to

the lower world was imagined, either through flight or by foot, along with the help of mythological

guides. Evidence also shows that the soul was imagined to reach the underworld by travelling to the

horizon in the west, after which it was required to cross a body of water. Chapter Three explores the

different afterlife destinations for the dead and their criteria for admission. Sources suggest that

places of reward and punishment for ordinary souls in the afterlife emerge during the late Archaic and

early Classical periods, but became more clearly established during the Classical period. Also assessed

are the challenges and hazards which the soul encounters after it has arrived in the underworld, which

ultimately functioned to determine the final destiny of the soul.

Analysis of the primary sources shows that there was a development of afterlife beliefs during the

Archaic period which led to a more complex and elaborate portrayal of the afterlife journey than what

had previously been described by Homer.