Hell: United Yet Contrasted By Fear

The fundamental ideals behind the afterlife have vastly changed between Grecco-Roman Tartarus and Christian afterlife; specifically pertaining to the idea of hell and punishment. While there are also essential commonalities between the two afterlife views, the adaptation that has occurred over time contrasts the two views harmoniously. Fear is the underlying theme that eventually connects yet juxtaposes the ideas of life after death.

Hell threatens a peaceful life after death, it is abnormal where it is not tangible, and has horrifying views associated when referenced by the grotesque nature of punishment that some believe Hell provides. Naturally, humans fear the unknown; due to the uncertainty of what happens after one dies, the afterlife becomes one of the most pondered human questions. While each version of Hell has a slightly different background, all share common threads throughout. Religion, mythology, and folklore, help to make sense of answers that are not concrete.

Ancient Greek Mythology referred to the afterlife as the underworld. Most often Hades was considered the ruler or king of the underworld, regardless of names he was considered to be in control of the dead. Hades is a similar figure to Christianity’s Satan, through his correlation of controlling the underworld. A striking difference between Christianity and old Grecco-Roman ideas is that that everyone goes to the underworld but Tartarus is more representative of Christian hell. In Tartarus evil is sent to be judged and punished (Mercante 816). While Tartarus is a physical place, in Greek mythology, the original entities are also considered deities; the Earth is Gaea, Tartarus is Hell, Eros is Love, Uranus is Heaven. These physical ideas or places are given...

... middle of paper ...

...nefoy, Yves. "The Perales and Their Gnostic Interpertation of Paganism." Roman and European Mythologies. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1992. 191. Print.

"Hell." Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

Johnson, Christopher Jay., and Marsha G. McGee. How Different Religions View Death & Afterlife. Vol. 2. Philadelphia, PA: Charles, 1998. Print.

Mercatante, Anthony S., and James R. Dow. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend. New York, NY: Facts on File, 2004. 816. Print.

Morford, Mark P., Robert J. Lenardon, M. P. Morford, M. P. O. Morford, Mark Morford, and Mark Percy Owen Morford. Classical Mythology. Oxford: Oxford Univ.- Pr., 2010. Print

Revelation (also Apocalypse). King James Bible. Oxford ed. New York: n.p., 1769. Print.

Romans, King James Bible. Oxford ed. New York: n.p., 1769. Print.