Journeying to the Afterlife in Ancient Greece
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Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. 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. Rose Miriam Lisa Chalklen 2019 ii 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. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Gina Salapata for dedicating so much of her time in helping my finish my thesis. I am overwhelmingly grateful for your patience and support during the most stressful times throughout the course of my study. I have thoroughly enjoyed my topic, and I truly could not have achieved this without your help. Secondly, I would like to thank my partner Luke, who has supported me over the course of my study, especially during times of great stress, and I am eternally thankful for you having remained by my side. I would also like to thank my parents, who have helped support me throughout my university career, and have always encouraged me to follow my passions. Lastly, I would like to thank the History department, as well as Massey University, for allowing to research a Classical studies topic, so that I may have Gina as my supervisor. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the amazing distance learning system, which proved to be indispensable for my thesis. iv Table of Contents List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………v INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 CHAPTER ONE: PREPARATION…………………………………………………………………………………………………..……..8 Funerary Rites and the Afterlife Journey……………………………………………………………………………….8 The Customary Funerary Rites…………………………………………………………………………………………….13 Prothesis…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………17 Ekphora………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….22 Burial………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………24 Graveside Rites……………………………………………………………………………………………………….27 Grave Goods……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….29 Provisions for the Road…………………………………………………………………………………………..31 The Ferryman’s Fee…………………………………………………………………………………………………35 Orphic Tablets…………………………………………………………………………………………………………39 Planning for the Beyond………………………………………………………………………………………………………44 Initiation…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………44 Morality and Philosophy…………………………………………………………………………………………48 Chapter Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..50 CHAPTER TWO: JOURNEY……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….52 Transport……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……52 By Air………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………52 By Foot……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………58 Guides………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...61 Hermes Psychopompos………………………………………………………………………………………..…62 Charon……………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………..67 Plato’s Daimon Guides……………………………………………………………………………………………71 The Route to the Underworld………………………………………………………………………………………………………….73 Location of Hades…………………………………………………………………………………………………..73 Shortcuts………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..76 Entrance Topography………………………………………………………………………………………………………….80 v Groves of Persephone…………………………………………………………………………………………….82 Leukas Rock…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...84 Water Barriers………………………………………………………………………………………………………..87 Gates of Hades……………………………………………………………………………………………………....91 Chapter Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..94 CHAPTER THREE: ARRIVAL……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...96 Final Destination…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………96 Asphodel Meadow………………………………………………………………………………………………….96 Elysium…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………100 Tartarus………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..107 Navigating the Netherworld………………………………………………………………………………………………112 Pathways……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..114 Diversions and Hazards………………………………………………………………………………………..120 i. The Waters of Forgetfulness…………….………………………………………………………120 i. The White Cypress…………………………………………………………………………………..123 Checkpoints………………………………………………………………………………………………………….125 i. Guardians of the Spring……………………………………………………………………….…..126 i. Chthonic Gods………………………………………………………………………………………….128 Judgement………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..132 Chapter Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………137 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...139 FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………147 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...156 vi FIGURES 1. Black-Figure Type A Lidless Pyxis. Boeotia. Athens, National Archaeological Museum, 437. Date: c. 470-460 BCE. Source: Stampolidis and Oikonomou (2014) 67, no. 10. 2. Black-Figure One Handled Kantharos. Attica. One-Handled Kantharos Type. Vulcii, former Canino Collection. Date: c. 510-500 BCE. Source: Stampolidis and Oikonomou (2014) 82, no. 23. 3. Black-Figure One Handled Kantharos. Attica. Perizoma Group. Vulcii, former Luynes Collection. Date: c. 510-500 BCE. Source: Stampolidis and Oikonomou (2014) 83, no. 24. 4. White-Ground Lekythos. Attica. Athens, National Archaeological Museum, 2967 Date: c. 420 BCE. Source: Oakley (2004) 124, fig. 87. 5. Mycenaean Larnax. Tanagra, Boeotia. Private Collection. Date: Thirteenth Century BCE. Source: Vermeule (1965) Plate XXVI(a) (5a); Immerwahr (1995) 115, fig. 7.6 (5b). 6. Mycenaean Bird Attachments. Tanagra, Boeotia. Thebes, Archaeological Museum. Date: Thirteenth Century BCE. vii Source: Spyropoulos (1970) 190, fig. 8. 7. Clay Model of a Funeral Wagon. Attica. Ekphora Group. Athens, National Archaeological Museum, 26747. Date: c. 700-650 BCE. Source: Stampolidis and Oikonomou (2014) 81, no. 22. 8. Black-Figure Neck Amphora. Attica. Diosphos Painter. New York, Metropolitan Museum, 56.171.25. Date: c. 525-475 BCE. Source: Beazley Archive Pottery Database, no. 305529. 9. White-Ground Lekythos. Attica. Group of Huge Lekythoi. Berlin, Antikensammlung, F2684. Date: c. 400 BCE. Source: Oakley (2004) 84, fig. 54. 10. White-Ground Lekythos. Attica. Tymbos Painter. Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat, 338. Date: c. 460 BCE. Source: Beazley Archive Pottery Database, no. 209420. 11. Marble Lekythos. Athens, National Archaeological Museum, 4485. Date: c. 420-410 BCE Source: Wikimedia Commons. 12. White-Ground Lekythos. Attica. Phiale Painter. Munich, Antikensammlungen, 6248. Date: c. 435-430 BCE. viii Source: Oakley (2004) 142-143, figs. 104 (12a), 105 (12b). 13. White-Ground Lekythos. Attic. Sabouroff Painter. Athens, National Archaeological Museum, 1926. Date: c. 440 BCE. Source: Oakley (2004) 115, fig. 72. 14. Black-Figure Stand Fragment. Attic. Frankfurt, Liebieghaus, 560. Date: c. 525-475 BCE. Source: Beazley Archive Pottery Database, no. 4966. 15. White-Ground Lekythos. Attic. Munich 2335 Painter. Cracow, Czartoryski Museum, 1251. Date: c. 430 BCE. Source: Oakley (2004) 124, fig. 86. 16. White-Ground Lekythos. Attic. Triglyph Painter. Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Antikensammlung, F2680. Date: c. 410 BCE. Source: Oakley (2004) 123, fig. 85. 17. Gold Mouthpiece. Thessaloniki, Archaeological