a descent into hades
DESCRIPTION
A descent into Hades. Lake Avernus, the birdless lake; an entrance to the Underworld. A map of Hades, Erebus or the Underworld. Hermes, in the role of Psychopompus, guided the souls of the dead to the banks of the Styx River. Psychopompus. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
A descent into Hades
Lake Avernus, the birdless lake; an entrance to the Underworld.
A map of Hades, Erebus or the Underworld
Hermes, in the role of
Psychopompus, guided the souls
of the dead to the banks of the Styx
River.
Psychopompus
Charon ferries the souls of the dead across the river Styx.
The Greeks and Romans put a coin in the mouth of a dead person to be used as payment to Charon for the boat ride.
Dante and Virgil crossing the Styx
There are five rivers in the Underworld:
Cocytus—wailingLethe—forgetfulness
Acheron—sorrow or woePhlegethon--fire
Styx---hate;unbreakable oath
Thetis dips her son Achilles
into the River Styx and he
becomes invulnerable except for his
heel.
The entrance to the Underworld was
guarded by a three-headed dog, Cerberus.
The king and queen of the
Underworld were Pluto
and Proserpina..
Here, with his dog Cerberus, Pluto is seen wearing the helmet of
invisibility and holding the bident.
Hecate, goddess of
witchcraft, was a resident of the
Underworld.
Orpheus, son of Apollo, entered the Underworld while still living to retrieve his bride Eurydice
from an untimely death.
Orpheus pleads with Pluto for the life of
his bride Eurydice.
Charon
Tantalus
Danaids
Ixion
Tityus
Pluto tells Orpheus to
take his Eurydice,
but“noli
respicere!”
”“
Orpheus disobeys Pluto’s command and “looks back;” Eurydice is lost for a second time to death.
When Orpheus refused to choose another bride, the nymphs tore
him to pieces.
The head of Orpheus is flung into the Hebrus river, still singing as it floats along.
One of the Muses (probably
Calliope, his mother) with the head of
Orpheus
Sinners of the Underworld
Ixion on the wheel of fire
Ixion’s sin was an attempt to rape
the goddess Hera.
Sisyphus indiscreetly disclosed one of Zeus’ many amorous
affairs.
He went to Asophus, father of Aegina, with the details of Zeus’ intrigue.
For interfering in Zeus’ affairs and
for trying to escape from the
Underworld, Sisyphus was
condemned to roll
a rock up a hill forever.
Tantalus, forever hungry and
thirsty, while standing in water
up to his neck and with moist fruit hanging
above.
Tantalus’ punishment was assigned because he fed his son
Pelops to the gods.
Demeter, the only deity fooled by Tantalus’ trick, ate Pelops’ shoulder.
Hephaestus made a new shoulder for Pelops out of ivory.
The Danaids filling the sieve with water; this
was their punishment for murdering their
husbands on their wedding
night.
49 Danaids
The one Danaid who did not obey her father Danaus and refused to murder her husband Lynceus was Hypermnestra.
Odysseus in the Underworld
Odysseus journeyed to the Underworld to speak
with Tiresias.
In the Underworld
Odysseus saw the shades of many of his comrades at
Troy, including Achilles and Agamemnon.
Odysseus also saw the shade of his
mother Anticlea, who had
died in his 20 year absence.
Aeneas and the Sibyl of Cumae
Aeneas saw the shade of
Elissa, or Dido, while
in the Underworld.
Anchises shows his son Aeneas the future heroes of Rome.
Psyche with
Charon
Psyche entered the Underworld to steal
Proserpina’s beauty for the goddess Venus.
Hercules wrestling
with Death for the life of Alcestis
Thanatos was the god of death.
Theseus and Pirithous went to Hades to kidnap
Persephone.
Pirithous was seated for eternity in the chair of
forgetfulness.
Editorial cartoon using Thanatos,
death and Bacchus, god of wine, to condemn the
vagaries of alcohol.
Orpheus respexit.
Jupiter strikes Asculapius for raising the dead.
Eleusis
The return of
Persephone
Orpheus loses Eurydice for the second time.
Souls of the virtuous and noble spent eternity in the Elysian
Fields.
Elysian Fields
Quis in Tartaro semper sedet?
Pirithous
Who was the goddess of witchcraft?
Hecate
Minos, the former king of Crete; one of the judges of the
Underworld.
Quis in Tartaro stans in aquā semper manet?
Tantalus
Sisyphus
Orpheus uxorem defunctam apud inferos requirit.
Orpheus Eurydicen recipit, dum supplicat orco sed male respiciens perdit, et illa perit.
Ceres and Triptolemus, the teacher of agricultural arts to man
Quis mortuos ad Charontem adducebat?
Mercurius aut Psychopompus
Psyche and Cerberus. What does Psyche have in her hand?
Proserpina’s beauty.
Quis est? Orpheus est.
Ceres and Triptolemus, the teacher of agricultural arts to man
Ceres and Triptolemus, the teacher of agricultural arts to man