The View Of The Afterlife Essay

One of the basic themes of the book is that the thought and the art of classical Athens is full of meaning for people of later generations. It is the full of meaning for nations, cultures and societies beset by broad-scale and profound social and political change and the accompanying confusion and fear produced in the minds and souls of human beings.

Throughout Virgil’s Aeneid, there are characters such as Anchises, Creusa, and Dido, whose deaths are relatable to the deaths of heroes in works the audience would be familiar with such as the Odyssey, the Iliad, and The Oresteia. However, Priam’s death differs as being relatable to the deaths of other heroes and by Virgil’s over-dramatization of Priam’s death through incorporating a snake metaphor as well as with the excessive abuse Priam faced on his way to the altar. In other ancient literary works such as the Odyssey, the Iliad, and The Oresteia, the use of a snake references serves to indicate important plot elements. Analyzing the use of the snake metaphor surrounding Priam’s death suggests that comparing the snakes between book two and book five highlight the change of fortune for the Trojans and Aeneas, on their journey to Italy.

In both Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid, the heroes make the dauntless adventure into the underworld. Both of theses visits occur around the middle of the stories, and they bring information about the lives of heroes ' loved ones. The heroes also get very important information from these loved ones; information that they require to continue on their journeys. However these are not the only things that are similar about the heroes visits. The influence of the Homeric writings of the Iliad and the Odyssey on Virgil’s writings is clear - especially in Book VI of the Aeneid. Throughout this paper we will talk about the similarities that occur throughout the two poems, and how the two authors beliefs shine through. These beliefs are two very different views on the idea of death. Homer’s Iliad depicts death as something that is something souls do not enjoy. Whereas Virgil’s Aeneid depict it more as a final rest for souls – something that relieves them of the troubles of life.

The Odyssey emphasizes the barren and sad nature of the Underworld, showing that the Greeks believe that death is the end of life's happiness. Odysseus' mother explains to Odysseus why he cannot embrace her: “The sinews no longer hold the flesh and bones together;/ these perish in the fierceness of consuming fire as soon as life has/left the body, and the soul flits away as though it were a dream” (Homer 6). From this statement, it can be inferred that the Greeks think that death is a great equalizer. The bad have it worse in Hell but they die like the good, feeling rather sad in not being able to live again. Virgil, however, describes the Underworld in greater detail through its sequences and in much more glorified details (Leach 120). In The Aeneid, every seat in the Underworld is a product of judgment on people's lives (121). Virgil depicts Pluto's dome, which has the roman vestibulum where official and honorable guests congregate (121). Virgil also describes the differences between the people of honor and people of sin in the Underworld. Sinners suffer in the cliff guarded by Tisiphone, where vultures eat their livers and experience numerous other forms of suffering. The Underworld also holds heroes who continually fight their legendary battles: “Here found they Tsucer's old heroic race,/ Born better times and happier years to grace./ Assaracus and Ilus here enjoy/ Perpetual fame, with him who founded Troy” (Virgil 6). Virgil is saying that

A dark, silent, formless void, a perpetual abyss without orientation, this is essentially what the Greeks believed was the origin of the world. The ancient Greeks while trying to further explain the world, invented beguiling myths (Evie). From these myths a world of human like gods and goddesses was formed (Evie). Through narratives, legends, and myths this world justified various abstract ideas, thus creating Greek mythology (Evie). A central element in Greek mythology is the underworld. The underworld is considered to be the place where one’s soul goes to after death. The underworld has played a vital role in Greek culture by serving as an incentive to live a virtuous life, which in turn has affected all aspects of Greek life.

In ancient Greek beliefs people were also judged when they were down in the underworld. At the dividing road between Tartarus, a place of torture in the underworld and the Isles of the Blest, a place for the good in the underworld, there are the Plains of Judgment. Awaiting the souls in the Plain of Judgment are Aeacus, Minos, and Rhadamanthys. These dead men, judge who goes to Tartarus, who goes to the Isles of the Blest or back to the Asphodel Fields if they were neither good or evil. These men were all sons of Zeus who were rewarded as judges in the underworld by creating the first just laws on Earth. Aeacus was king of Aegina during mortal life and was also known for making decisions for Zeus. After his death he became keeper of the keys of Hades and the judge of men of Europe in the Underworld. Minos was the King of Crete, and Rhadamanthys was his brother. They both lived in Asia during their mortal lives. After his death, Rhadamanthys became lord of the Isles of the Blest, and judge of the men of Asia. After Minos died he gained the responsibility of having the final judgment. In The Odyssey, Odysseus says " And now there came before my eyes Minos, the son of Zeus, enthroned, holding a golden staff, dealing out justice among ghostly pleaders arrayed about the broad doorways of Death.". (XI. 640) The Greeks believed Minos had a lot of power in the underworld. In Roman beliefs Rhadamanthus had control over the punishments people

There are many similarities between Dante’s The Inferno and Virgil’s The Aeneid, be it their characterizations or descriptive imagery, but foremost in their ideas of what the afterlife consisted of. Each each epic hero in the works here have descended in to the depths of hell, with The Inferno depicting Dante’s descent into the depths of hell and with Virgil in Book VI of The Aeneid depicting Aeneas’s decent into hell. It can be argued that although different, the knowledge acquired by each character’s descent was equally important to accomplishing their greater tasks at the ends of their journey. Had their descent into hell been skipped their outcomes would have concluded in a different way because their voyages to Hell each played a crucial role in the advancing each narrative.

​This paper will analyze afterlife in Hinduism and in Catholicism. Afterlife will be considered in the Catechism of the Catholic Church 1020-1060 and in Romans 10. Afterlife will also be considered in Bhagavad Gita 2:27, Obayashi page 146 and in Rig Veda 10.14.8. This topic is intriguing because death is a part of life and it is interesting to see the different perspectives of their two religions and of what happens in the afterlife. Besides the perspectives, this topic studies the greatest mystery of life, death which is an uncommon topic since people usually shy away from talking about this because of the emotional implications that it brings to people.

likely to go to hell for a period. In my opinion it would be unfair.

The Greeks believed that the importance of where you go depends on the manner of your death, the behavior you had while still alive and how you were buried could affect where or what happens to you. This is similar to reincarnation because ideas are that the way you act while you are alive, conclude what type of person you are in the future. The way you are buried affect what type of person you become in your future life, such as rather you are buried or cremated. The differences between the Greeks thoughts and mine are that when you die in the Greeks thought, you go to the Underworld if you were judged to be “bad” and if you were “good” you went to Elysium. In reincarnation, some people can go to different places or you can be reincarnated. Another difference is that the Greeks believed in the underworld, if you traveled there your loved ones would be there and available to talk to. With reincarnation you are reborn into a completely different life and are unaware of who your past family was or any relation to your past life

A study of American undergraduates indicated that the beliefs about the nature of life after death were quite complicated. A 41-item questionnaire produced 12 independent groups of beliefs. Belief in an internal locus of control and that one’s life is owned by God were associated with a more positive view of the afterlife, as was being Roman Catholic rather than Protestant. The most common beliefs were that one is reunited with family and friends, that the afterlife is comforting, that there is Heaven and that the transition is peaceful, all believed by more than 90 percent of the students.

When it is performed on a dying person it is often referred to as the

The Counsel of Heaven on Earth is a book written by Ian F. Jones on the topic of Christian counseling. Jones makes sure to let his readers know that this book is not meant to be a guide for Christian counseling; he in no way means to advocate a particular methodology, system, or school of thought. Instead, Jones is “[trying] to identify and explain the essential features of Biblical Christian counseling. No attempt has been made to engage in formal theory building or to develop systematically any counseling strategies or techniques. [His] intention is to show how the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, provides counselors with the blueprint for developing an effective counseling ministry”.

The underworld in Greek mythology was not a lively place, for it was where all the dead souls went. When a person died, the soul would be sent to Hades, a more formal name for the underworld. "The dead would go to Hades because there was no annihilation in the Greek mythology. The dead are dead because they have a flavorless and unhappy existence".

While both Christians and Muslims agree on a life after death of either Heaven or Hell, the differences in their views of the afterlife reflect on how they each see God and what their main goal was to accomplish on earth. Both Christians and Muslims have a Holy Book to follow. Christians have the Bible and Muslims have the Qur’an. Both religions use these books as a guideline to eventually get to Heaven. Where the differences start to affect the afterlife is who each religion prays to. Christians pray to Jesus as God’s Son but Muslims pray to Muhammad. Because of this, Muslims say that Christianity is faulty (Schirrmacher). In the Bible, Christians are assured Salvation when they accept Christ as their personal Savior. Muslims are not assured