The Greeks believed that the dead went to the Underworld. This was an underground kingdom ruled by the god Hades.
To reach the Underworld, dead souls had to cross the River Styx. A grumpy ferryman called Charon would take them across, but only if they paid him. So Greeks would place a coin in the mouth of a dead person at funerals, to make sure they could pay the fare.
Ferryman Charon - Aheron River by Leon1991GR
After crossing the River Styx, three judges decided where the dead person should spend eternity. If they’d been really good, they were sent to live happily forever in the Elysian Fields.
If they had been ok, they were sent to the Asphodel Meadows. But if they had been really bad, they ended up in Tartarus. This was a really horrible pit where their soul was tortured for all eternity.
Journey to the Underworld
First, Thanatos, the God of Death, would reach down and cut a lock of hair from your head, as you died.
Then, Hermes, the messenger of the gods, led you to the River Styx.
If your body had been buried, then Charon, the ferryman, transported you across the river.
On the bank of the river, you would encounter Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guarded the Underworld. His job was to stop people from leaving and returning to the world of the living.
After crossing the river, you would leave the ferry and walk on to a place called the Asphodel Fields, where people forget all memories of their former life.
Then, at a fork in the road three judges would decide where to send souls: good people were allowed to go onwards to Elysium (a comfortable place where the sun always shone), but those who needed to be punished were sent to Tartarus. Sometimes, when the judges could not decide, souls would be sent back to the Asphodel Fields.
In Tartarus, people who had upset the Gods would receive terrible punishments. Tartarus was a dark place, imagined to be as far below the Earth as the Earth is from the sky. Greek mythology tells the stories of people who ended up in Tartarus, like:
- Sisyphus, who had to push a heavy rock up a hill again and again, only for it to roll back down on him every time.
- Hungry Tantalus, who stood near a table covered with delicious food but could never reach it.
