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
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Date
2019
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Massey University
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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.
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Keywords
Eschatology, Greco-Roman, Future life, Greece, Religion