For questions about what a being may encounter after death, such as a heaven, hell, or underworld.
Questions tagged [afterlife]
23 questions
34
votes
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How was it decided which warriors would go to Fólkvangr and which to Valhalla?
I have read numerous times that some Norse warriors, upon death, would go in Fólkvangr, while some others would go to Valhalla. How was it decided which warrior would go to which place? Why did the need to have many "paradises" (whatever you many…
anon
27
votes
1 answer
Why did Charon collect a toll at the River Styx
Charon is known as the ferryman of the River Styx, letting certain people cross the river with a fee. Charon himself is well known for helping many significant heroes in multiple Greek legends.
He always seems to collect a toll from those who cross…
Anthony Pham
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Why is the ferry toll for Charon placed in the dead person's mouth?
In Greek mythology, the deceased pays a ferryman, Charon, to take them across the river Styx. Apparently this reflects a common custom in the funeral rites of antiquity. Sometimes, though not always, a coin is placed in the deceased's mouth as a…
Semaphore
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Why are the "Fields of Reeds" the Egyptian paradise?
Aaru, the Field of Reeds was the Egyptian idea of paradise. Food was unlimited, and menial funeral statues could gather it for you.
However, it is described as a “mirror image of one's life on earth”.
Yet, Egypt’s real fields of reeds, in the delta…
Reed -SE is a Fish on Dry Land
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Why were the Isles of the Blest ruled over by Cronos and Rhea?
As I was researching Isles of the Blest, I came across something very confusing. According to Maicar...
Rather, after three lifetimes, the souls of the good are conveyed to the Island of the Blest, ruled by Cronos and Rhea:
"With these wreaths and…
bleh
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2 answers
What sources describe the rivers of the Underworld?
Many stories about the Greco-Roman Underworld mention the rivers flowing through it: the Styx, the Acheron, the Lethe, the Pyriphlegethon, the Cocytus, the Eridanus, and sometimes others.
Sources differ about which ones are actually rivers, though.…
Draconis
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How did Christianity come to equate the place of punishment and the place of demons?
In Hinduism, the cosmology works roughly like this: there's Earth; there are worlds above the Earth called Swargas where you go as a reward for good deeds; there are worlds under the Earth called Narakas where you go as a punishment for bad deeds;…
Keshav Srinivasan
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8
votes
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Traditional beliefs regarding guardians of burial grounds
Many years ago (the mid-1980s) someone described to me a belief that a Christian burial ground was guarded by the spirit of the most recently interred body. For this reason, when a burial ground was being 'retired' it was traditional to bury a dog…
arboviral
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Do humans become angels when they die?
Where does the belief that humans become angels after death come from?
Who (which groups) have this belief? Is it an idea from other religions that has been incorporated into Christian beliefs? Has it happened to other religions as well?
peterorme
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Mythologies with a warrior afterlife, similar to Valhalla?
So I am currently researching into ancient war gods and goddesses of various ancient religions and also learning about all the various afterlives the dead go to.
I'm trying to learning something kind of specific however and that is afterlives that…
Set767
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5
votes
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Why are the three Judges of the Underworld Zeus's sons?
The Judges of the Dead in Greek Mythology are Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus.
Minos was a tyrant king of Crete. He made war with Athens because his son died there. He demanded 14 virgin youths, 7 girls and 7 boys, be sacrificed every nine (it…
Andrew Johnson
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Why were the lungs left inside the mummy of Herakleides, instead of the heart?
In ancient Egyptian mummies, the heart was the only organ that stayed in the body. This was because the heart would be weighed against the feather of Ma'at in the Hall of Two Truths.
The Romano-Egyptian portrait mummy of Herakleides (50 - 100 A.D.)…
yannis
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What is the ancient Egyptian name for "The Book of Gates"?
The Book of Gates is an ancient Egyptian funerary text which describes the various bxn.t (gates), also known as a pylon (πυλών) in ancient Greek. I have been unable to find the full name of the Book of Gates in the actual ancient Egyptian words. The…
Walter
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What is the Native American term for Happy Hunting Ground?
The web has only the English term, or other European languages
(most of those translate to "eternal hunting land", rather than "happy"). Frustratingly, even native storytellers use the English expression. But what was the actual name for Happy…
Ralf B
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Was Aaru considered part of the Duat (underworld) in ancient Egypt?
The sources I've found don't make a clear statement of whether Aaru was formally considered part of the Duat or distinct from it. I'm trying to understand if the deceased pass through the Duat and then move on to Aaru, or if they remain in the…
crispyduck
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