The beginning of the Long Parliament in England. English Revolution in the middle of the 17th century. Reforms in the Army of Parliament

IN different religions world there are deities that are directly associated with death. In one case, they are guides of souls to another world, in another, underground deities and rulers of the underworld, and in the third, the one who took the soul of a person at the time of death. It is interesting that all these creatures controlled the dead, but did not determine how long a person should live.

For a person, death, like birth, is the most important component of life. That is why the gods of death are an important component of religion and mythology, powerful and powerful. In some cults, believers even worship them. The most famous gods of death will be discussed.

Hades and Thanatos. ancient greek mythology known to many. God underworld in it - Hades, was the brother of Zeus himself. After the division of the world, he got the underworld, which he guards. The guide here is Hermes, who is generally quite a multifaceted deity. The Greeks also had a god of dying - Thanatos. But other inhabitants of Olympus did not particularly respect him, considering him indifferent to human sacrifices. Thanatos was the brother of the god of sleep, Hypnos. The Greeks often depicted death and sleep side by side, as a black and white youth. Thanatos held an extinguished torch in his hands, symbolizing the end of life. And the kingdom of Hades itself was described as gloomy fields with pale fields. Incorporeal, weightless souls live there, to whom they complain about a dull life without light and desires. And in this kingdom quiet groans are heard, like the rustle of withered leaves. There is no way to return from the kingdom of Hades' sadness. It is not surprising that the Greeks were afraid to get here. Gloomy Hades was considered the Olympic god, rising upstairs on business. His wife was Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Her father allowed her to spend two-thirds of her life on earth. Many legends are connected with the realm of the dead and Hades. Here is Sisyphus, who, for his deceit of death, was sentenced to forever lift the same stone. And Orpheus, in recognition of his talents, Hades even allowed him to take his Eurydice. Hades also had his immortal helpers - monsters and deities. The most famous of these is Charon, who transported the dead across the River Styx.

Anubis and Osiris. Anubis for the ancient Egyptians was considered a guide to the world of the dead. He was depicted as a man with the head of a jackal. And it cannot be said that this animal for the symbol of God was chosen at random. The fact is that the jackal outwardly is a small predator, from which you do not initially expect a threat. But the animal can really symbolize death. Jackals feed on carrion, their howl resembles the cries of the desperate, and this is also a very cunning creature. Before the advent of the cult of Osiris, it was Anubis who was the main deity of Western Egypt. Osiris was the father of this guide and the king of the underworld. Together with his son, he judged the dead. Anubis held in his hands the scales of Truth, on one of the bowls of which they put the heart of a person, and on the other - the feather of the goddess Maat, symbolizing justice. If the heart turned out to be just as light, then the deceased fell on the beautiful and fruitful fields of paradise. Otherwise, he was devoured by the monstrous monster Amat - a lion with the head of a crocodile. And this already meant final death. According to one of the legends, Osiris was the pharaoh of Egypt, teaching people about agriculture, winemaking and gardening. Killed by his brother, Set, Osiris was pieced together and resurrected by Ra. But the deity decided not to return to earth, leaving it to his son Horus. Osiris chose the realm of the dead for himself.

Hel. In the mythology of the ancient Scandinavians, the realm of the dead was ruled by Hel. She was the daughter of the cunning god Loki and the huge giantess Angrobda. The myths tell that Hel inherited her tall stature from her mother. She was a goddess half dark blue and half deathly pale. It is no coincidence that she was also called the Blue-White Hel. It was said that the thighs and legs of the goddess were covered with cadaveric spots and therefore decomposed. This was due to the fact that death was presented in the form of a skeleton, the features of a corpse were transferred to the image of Hel. Her realm is a dull place where it is cold and dark. It was believed that Hel received power over the realm of the dead from Odin. All the dead get there, with the exception of the heroes taken by the Valkyries to Valhalla. There warriors fight, kill each other and resurrect each other again and again. This is how they show victory over death. The most famous mention of the goddess is found in the myth of Baldr. After his death, he became a prisoner of Hel. He almost got out of realms of the dead, but the cunning Loki prevented this. The ancient Scandinavians believed that when the Last Battle - Ragnarok took place, Hel would lead the army of the dead to storm the heavens.

Izanami. In Shintoism, this goddess is credited with power over creation and death. Together with her husband Izanagi, she created the earth and all its inhabitants. After that, Izanami gave birth to several other gods who were able to rule the world. That's just Kagutsuchi, the god of fire, scorched his mother, and after a serious illness, she went to the land of eternal darkness, Yemi. Even the prayers and tears of a loved one did not help. But Izanagi could not live without her and went for his beloved. But in the darkness, he heard the voice of his wife, who told him that it was too late to change anything. Then Izanagi lit a torch to last time look at your favorite. Instead, he saw a monster, bleeding with rage and surrounded by monsters. The creatures of darkness attacked Izanagi, who barely managed to escape, blocking the passage to the realm of the dead with a rock. Interestingly, this myth is somewhat similar to the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. The search for your beloved in the realm of the dead is generally a popular story in mythology. In reality, people often break up because of the death of one of the spouses. So there are myths about how it was almost possible to return loved ones from the realm of the dead.

Mictlantecuhtli. IN South America the realm of the dead and its ruler were portrayed in a similar way in other cultures. Among the Aztecs, the god of the afterlife was Mictlantecuhtli, who looked like a bloody skeleton or just a man with a skull in place of his head. The eerie look was accompanied by stylish owl feathers on her head and a human eye necklace around her neck. The god is accompanied by a bat, an owl, a spider, and his wife Mictlancihuatl. She was portrayed in a similar way, in addition, she also had a skirt made of rattlesnakes. And the couple lives in a house without windows, located at the bottom of the Underworld. To get to visit them, the deceased had to make a four-day journey. And the path was not easy - between crumbling mountains, across deserts, overcoming the icy wind and escaping from snakes and crocodiles. And on the bank of the underground river, the deceased met a guide in the form of a small dog with ruby ​​eyes. On her back, she transported the souls to the possessions of Mictlantecuhtli. The deceased gave to God those gifts that his relatives put in the grave. According to the degree of wealth of gifts, Mictlantecuhtli determined to which level of the underworld to send the newcomer. I must say that there was nothing good there. Only warriors who died in battle and sacrificed captives fell into a special world, like Wahalla. A separate afterlife was among the drowned, who were considered guests of the god of water. Yes, and women who died during childbirth had their own abode.

Satan. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, this is the main opponent of the heavenly forces. This god has many names, the most famous are Lucifer, the Devil, Mephistopheles, Beelzebub, Shaitan. The Bible tells us that Satan was originally an angel, perfect and wise. But the inhabitant of Eden became proud and wished to be equal to God himself. Then he was cast down to Earth along with his friends, who became demons. It is Satan who is guilty of expelling people from paradise, seducing Eve to taste the forbidden fruit of knowledge. And in Judaism, Satan is just an accusing angel who allows a person to make a choice. This deity is identified with evil inclinations and the angel of death. The mouth of Satan was often considered the entrance to hell, to get there meant to be devoured by the Devil. It is generally accepted that it is Satan who directs hell, where all sinners go. And life was taken from people with the help of the angels of death sent by God. Abaddon and Azrael were considered the most famous of them.

Ereshkigal. The name of this goddess literally means "great underground mistress." Among the Sumerians, Ereshkigal was the mistress of the underground kingdom of Irkalla. Her older sister was Inanna (Ishtar), the goddess of love and fertility, and her husband was Nergal, the god of the underworld and the sun. Ereshkigal had seven judges of the underworld under her command. There was also a temple dedicated to the goddess in Kut in Babylon. Among the Sumerians, Ishtar personified spring and summer, and Ereshkigal - autumn and winter, that is, death and withering. Later, she was given power over afterlife and death. One of the most famous songs about Ereshkigal speaks of her deceit, how she forced Ishtar to sacrifice her spouse. There is also a famous myth about how she married Nergal. Ereshkigal refused to attend the feast of the celestials. To punish her, the warlike Nergal was sent to the realm of the dead. But he not only did not punish her, but also took the goddess as his wife, remaining with her in Irkalla.

Orcus and Pluto. The ancient Romans originally considered Orcus the god of death. Even among the Etruscans, he was considered a small demon, but then his influence expanded. He was portrayed as a bearded and winged substance that takes human souls to its realm. Having become the ruler of the afterlife, Orcus absorbed the features of another similar deity, Dis Patera. And later he himself became part of the image of the god Pluto. Pluto was the Roman version of Hades, incorporating many of its features. He was considered the brother of Jupiter and Neptune. Pluto was considered a hospitable god, but he didn’t let anyone back. God himself rarely appeared on the surface of the earth, only to choose the next victim. It was said that Pluto was looking for cracks in the earth so that the rays of the sun could not illuminate his gloomy kingdom. And he rides in a chariot drawn by four black horses. His wife is the goddess of plants Proserpina, who reigns with him in the underworld.

Santa Muerte. If we are talking about most religions in the past tense, then Santa Muerte is still common today. This cult is present mainly in Mexico, but also occurs in America. People worship the deity of the same name, which is the embodiment of death. This cult was born on the basis of a mixture of myths of the natives of Mexico and Catholicism. For local residents it is natural to worship such deities, as manifested in the celebration of the "Days of the Dead" even among Catholics. Fans of Santa Muerta believe that prayers addressed to her reach, and she can grant wishes. Chapels are built in honor of the deity. It itself appears as a female skeleton in a dress. The sacrifices are cigarettes, chocolate and alcoholic beverages. The most fanatical believers even commit ritual murders in honor of the goddess. This religion attracts poor people because everyone is equal before Santa Muerte, including criminals. The Mexican authorities declared the cult to be satanic, carrying out repressions against its followers. Yes, representatives catholic church declared that this religion had nothing to do with Christianity. But the number of followers of Santa Muerte is still growing.

Baron Samdi. This deity is present in the voodoo religion. Baron Samdi is associated not only with the dead and death, but also with sex and the birth of children. The deity is depicted in the form of a stylish skeleton, on which a black tailcoat and top hat flaunt. He looks like an undertaker. Yes, the coffin is also its symbol. In Haiti, every new cemetery is supposed to dedicate the first grave to Baron Samdi. He can also inhabit people, making them obsessed with food, alcohol and sex. Baron Samdi is also considered the patron saint of bandits. A celebration day of the dead in Haiti, it essentially turns into a deity's benefit performance. Pilgrims gather at his grave. They sing songs in his honor, smoke and drink strong rum. The cross on the grave of the Baron is not at all Christian, but a symbol of the crossroads.

Pit. In the Buddhist tradition, this deity is responsible for the fate of the dead and controls hell. The world of Yama is called "heaven without battles" - this is the first level, which has nothing to do with our life and its problems. In China, the God of Death Yanlo-wang is believed to live in the underworld of Yudu. In his hands is a brush and a book with the fate of the dead. The ruler himself has the face of a horse and the head of a bull. The guards bring the souls of people to Yanlo-wang, and he administers the court. The virtuous are successfully reborn, while the sinners end up in hell or are reborn in other worlds. In China, Yanluo-wang is regarded more as an official than as a deity. Among the Tibetans, the role of Yam is played by Shinje, the lord of death. It occupies a central position in the description of life after death. Legends say that Shinge sits in the very center of hell and determines the future fate of souls.

Hades- ruler underworld, the underworld, where the shadows of dead people and some immortal characters of mythology reside, who lost the battle for power to Zeus and the Olympians.

People tried not to pronounce the name of this god (Hades), but mentioned him allegorically. He was called "Invisible" (Aidoneus - Hades) or "Rich". The last name in Greek sounded like "Pluto" (where did Roman name this god), and in Latin - Dis (from the word dives - "rich"). Other less common names are the Good Counselor, the Illustrious, the Hospitable, the Locking the Gate, and the Hateful. And he was also called the Zeus of the Underground or the Zeus of the Underworld.

Although the Greeks considered Hades to be sullen, cold, and merciless, they did not see him as evil or satanic. Hades - like Zeus and Poseidon - was portrayed as a mature bearded man. One of the attributes of Hades is the invisibility helmet given to him by the Cyclopes, and as the god of wealth he is depicted with a cornucopia.
Origin

Hades, the son of Kronos and Rhea, was swallowed by his father immediately after birth. When Zeus and Metis gave Kronos vomit and he vomited up all his children, the brothers - Hades and Poseidon - joined Zeus in his fight against Kronos and the Titans. Having won the victory, the brothers divided the world among themselves. Hades was given the underworld by lot.

At Aida had no children, and few myths are dedicated to him. He spends most of his time in the underworld, invisible to others. He only surfaced twice. Once, according to Homer, Hades went to Olympus for help when Hercules wounded him with an arrow. The more famous case is when he went upstairs to kidnap Persephone.

Sphere of influence

His sphere of influence in the realm of souls is the sphere of the unconscious, which is why he was called invisible. Although Hades (Hades) is the ruler of the realm of the dead, it should not be confused with Satan. As the god of death, Hades is gloomy, adamant and uncompromisingly fair. Its decisions are not subject to appeal. However, he does not personify evil and is neither an enemy of mankind nor a tempter. His kingdom of the underworld is compared with death in the sense that death is only a change of dimension, a change of one manifested form, for example, what we call material, to another that is not accessible to perception from matter, that is, a transition from one quality to another, a transformation. In other words, what was in the sphere of the subconscious passes into awareness, as a result of which a qualitative change occurs, hence the addition to what already existed before, that is, wealth.

Therefore, another name for Hades is Pluto, which in Greek means "wealth", "prosperity". The invisible fullness of this god was symbolically depicted in the form of a cornucopia, which he held in his hands. This horn is full of various fruits or precious stones and metals.

Of course, this process is usually painful, therefore, Aida was associated as the ruler of the time of decline. And its first manifestation in the soul was felt as bringing darkness into life, and as a source of anxieties, downturns and sorrows, but it also has the ability to bring enlightenment and renewal.

Therefore, the god of the underworld and his kingdom are called in one word - Hades, or Hades. He is the least known because until the transition from one dimension to another is made, he remains "invisible".

And to get acquainted with his kingdom, you need to go down "down". Only then can untold riches be discovered in the twilight and cold of that space, which mystics call the "dark night of the soul", and psychologists - deep depression when a person is cut off from the usual reality and "sunshine" Everyday life seems unbearable to him.

The spirit of death brings a person to Hades. The "death" of relationships, habitual way of life, hopes, goals, meaning can lead us there. The experience of waiting physical death, - when its proximity is likely or inevitable, - also introduces a person to the underworld.

Most people go down to Hades to meet Hades against their will. Like Achilles in Troy, the hero - a man (or woman) whose ego and dignity is identified with success - can "die" due to a major defeat in a battle or contest. Such a defeat marks the death of his image of an invincible hero and his sense of his own invulnerability. A forced descent into the underworld can occur when a person becomes a victim. There comes a moment when everyone can feel helpless, experience horror - and enter the dark, cold, underworld cut off from the world. When a person feels like a victim, he is "abducted" by Hades - which happened to Persephone.

Some volunteer to go down to Hades to meet the king of the underworld. In the case of Psyche, this was the last of her heroic assignments - the only opportunity to reunite with Eros. Orpheus, who descended to Hades after Eurydice, was also driven by love. Dionysus went to the underworld to find his mother, Semele. In Sumerian mythology, Inanna-Ishtar volunteers to go to the underworld to meet her dark sister, Ereshkigal. In addition to love, a desire for wisdom or knowledge can induce a person to descend into the underworld. So, Odysseus decided to go down to the underworld in order to meet the blind seer Tiresias, who could show him the way home. Voluntary descent involves great risk, for there is never a guarantee that the daredevil will be able to return.

Kingdom of Hades

The realm of Hades is the unconscious, both personal and collective. There are our repressed memories, thoughts and feelings - everything that seems too painful, shameful or unacceptable to show in the light of day - unfulfilled desires, unfulfilled opportunities. In the underground world of the collective unconscious is everything that is possible to imagine, everything that has ever been. It must have been precisely after knowing this world that the Roman poet Terentius uttered his famous saying: "Nothing human is alien to me."

The messenger of the gods Hermes accompanied the souls to the underworld, he also brought Persephone out of there. The lesser-known messenger of the gods, Irida Rainbow, could also descend into the underworld when she wanted to. After eating the pomegranate seeds, Persephone returned to the upper world, she also gained the ability to periodically descend to Hades. As the queen of the underworld, she meets and serves as an escort for those who go down there voluntarily. Although the underworld went to Hades by lot, he lives there permanently. Although the ruler of the underworld can leave his possessions, however, according to myths, he took advantage of this opportunity only twice.

In life, as in mythology, some people can descend to the underworld and return from there, some can accompany other souls to this realm, and some even know the underworld very well, because they live there constantly or periodically.

In order to work in the depths of the soul, the seeker needs an archetypal connection with Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus or Hades. These archetypes help a person to get acquainted with the area of ​​the unconscious and everything that is there, including insanity. These same archetypes allow a person to work fruitfully with the issues of death and dying. So depression and near-death experiences are, in a way, the most common initiation methods for entering the realm of Hades. After that, a person is no longer afraid of death - as, they say, those who were initiated in the Eleusinian mysteries were not afraid of it.

However, on Mount Olympus, where Zeus ruled, Hades was not loved and was very afraid. The patriarchy and patriarchal religions see the underworld as a realm of evil, ruled by Satan - people make a lot of efforts not to get there after death, and underestimate this dimension in life. As long as the culture as a whole and individual individuals identify themselves only with Zeus and the heavenly gods, the underworld will be perceived more as a realm of horror than a source of wealth. But in the underworld there is everything that a person needs to gain integrity. The shadows living there are images of the collective unconscious, or archetypes, forms that need vital energy; disembodied potentials waiting to be born.

The underworld in the most negative Christian description is called hell and is associated with eternal fire and damnation. English word hell ("hell") comes from the name of the Norse goddess of the underworld Hel (Hel). The Celtic lord of death is Helman. As in the case of Hades, the names of the deities of the underworld here coincide in sound with the name of the kingdom itself. Researcher Barbara G. Walker notes that the pre-Christian "hell" (hell) among the Celts was a uterine symbol - a sanctuary, or sacred cave of rebirth, which in Norwegian was called hellir. According to even earlier mythological ideas, Hel is a cauldron-womb filled with purifying fire. Initially, the underworld was the kingdom of the Mother, and only then did it pass into the possession of the Father. And as everything in the world more weight acquired the values ​​of a heavenly god, the underworld began to be perceived in a negative light and inspire fear.

Hades also represents one of the repressed aspects of the father archetype. In a patriarchal culture, as on Mount Olympus, Zeus rules. It is in his likeness that the prevailing image of the father is formulated. In individuals and in culture as a whole, Hades exists as an unconscious factor, and in order to know and appreciate it, it is necessary to make a descent.

Ancient Greece is an amazing country. Its highly developed culture has played a huge role in the development of world civilization. The mythological way of thinking inherent in the people of that time gave rise to a religion in which paganism, totem beliefs, the cult of ancestors and the influence of the worldviews of other peoples with whom the ancient Greeks came into contact in the most bizarre way intertwined. The Odyssey and the Iliad, the works of Hesiod, numerous temples, statues of gods, drawings - these are the sources thanks to which we can learn a lot about the great Hellas.

Picture of the world and consciousness

At the heart of the mythological consciousness of the ancient Greeks and their culture are ideas about the Cosmos as a kind of living world. In science, this is called animated-intelligent cosmologism. The Universe with planets, stars, constellations and the Earth itself with everything that exists, seemed to them alive, endowed with intelligence and spiritual content. The laws and forces of nature were personified by the Greeks in the images of ancient gods - great and small, in their servants and helpers, heroes and titans. The Hellenes perceived the whole world and everything that happened in it as a grandiose mystery, as a play played out on the stage of the stage of life. The actors in it are both the people themselves and the deities that control them. The gods were not too distant from the people. They resembled them in appearance, habits, character traits, habits. Because the ancient Greeks could challenge them, disobey and win! We will not find such freedom in other religions.

divine pantheon

The earliest, in particular the god Hades, are associated with the common Indo-European religions that existed at that time. Researchers find many parallels between Indian, for example, and Hellenic celestials. When myths and religion began to intertwine more and more closely in the minds of the people, the Greek pantheon was replenished with new "tenants". They were the heroes of myths and legends. Thus, the primitive pagan cosmogony was combined with the religiosity of the later times. And the very Olympus, which we know about from works of artistic creativity, with all its inhabitants did not take shape immediately.

Generations of gods

In the ancient Pantheon, it is customary to distinguish between the gods of the older and younger generations. The former include Chaos - darkness and disorder, from which all the rest were then born. The Earth was formed out of chaos - the Greeks called its divine incarnation Gaia. The goddess of the night - Nikta - announced the change of time of day with her appearance. Gloomy Tartar became the personification of the word "abyss". Later, from some mythical creature, it will turn into a space of endless darkness, which is controlled by the god Hades. From chaos was born and Eros - the embodiment of love. second generation higher powers the Greeks considered the children of Gaia and the titan Chronos. They were Uranus - the ruler of the sky, Pontus - the ruler of all internal Hades - the owner of the underworld, as well as Zeus, Poseidon, Hypnos and many other Olympians. Each of them had their own "sphere of influence", their own special relationship with each other and with people.

god names

The god Hades has several proper names. The Greeks also called him Hades, and in Roman mythology he is known as Pluto - a huge, lame-footed, dark-skinned, terrible, awesome look. And, finally, Polydegmon (from “poly” - a lot, “degmon” - to contain), i.e., “accommodating a lot”, “accepting a lot”. What did the ancients mean? Only that the Greek god Hades led the realm of the dead. All the souls who left this world fell into his "diocese". Therefore, it accommodates "many", and there are isolated cases when someone could go back. And the definition of “receiving a lot, recipient of gifts” is associated with such a myth: each soul, before moving to its new abode, must pay tribute to the carrier Charon. It is also ruled by the Greek god Hades. This means that those coins that give souls when crossing the Styx go to the treasury of the ruler of the kingdom of the dead. Therefore, by the way, it existed in Ancient Greece custom: to bury the dead with "money".

Hades in Hades

Why exactly Hades - god of the dead? How did it happen that the celestial chose such a gloomy abode for himself? Kronos, fearing competition, devoured his children. According to some sources, the same fate befell Hades. According to other researchers of antiquity, a cruel parent threw his child into the abyss of Tartarus. When the younger gods rebelled against the older ones, a merciless struggle arose between them. Battles have been fought for thousands of years, but Zeus, Poseidon and other children of Kronos won a long-awaited victory. Then they freed the prisoners, overthrew the father and placed him, the titans and the cyclops in the place of the recent prisoners, and divided the whole world into "spheres of influence". as a result, Zeus is the ruler of the sky and all higher powers, Hades is the god of the underworld, which is also called. Poseidon took over everything water elements. The brothers decided to rule amicably, without entering into conflicts and without harming one another.

realm of the dead

What is the realm of the dead, which is ruled by the ancient Greek god Hades? When a person has to say goodbye to life, Hermes is sent to him - a messenger in winged sandals. He escorts the souls to the shores of the border separating the world of people from the world of shadows, and transfers them to Charon, a ferryman who delivers his victims to the underworld. Charon's assistant is Cerberus, a monster dog with three heads and snakes instead of a collar. He makes sure that no one leaves the land of souls and returns to earth. In the lowest, most remote parts of Hades, Tartarus is hidden, the entrance to which is closed by iron doors. In general, a ray of the sun never penetrates into the “gloomy kingdom of Hades”. It's sad, cold, lonely. The souls of the dead roam it, filling the space with loud moans, cries, groans. Their suffering is intensified by the horror of encounters with ghosts and monsters lurking in the dark. That is why this place of sorrow is so hateful to people!

Power Attributes

What are the identification symbols of the god Hades? He sits in the middle main hall his palace on a luxurious throne of pure gold. Nearby is his wife - always sad, beautiful Persephone. According to legend, this throne was made by Hephaestus - the god of blacksmithing, the patron of crafts, a skilled craftsman. Hades is surrounded by viciously hissing Erinnia - the goddess of revenge, secret torment and suffering. No one can hide from them, they will easily torture any person to death! Since Hades is the god of the underworld (you can see a photo from ancient images in our article) of the dead, he was often depicted with his head backwards. With this detail, artists and sculptors emphasized that he does not look into anyone's eyes, they are empty, dead at the deity. Another obligatory attribute of Hades is a magic helmet. It makes its owner invisible. A wonderful armor was presented to the god by the Cyclopes when he rescued them from Tartarus. God never appears without his all-powerful tool - a two-pronged pitchfork. His scepter is decorated with a figure of a three-headed dog. God rides in a chariot, to which only horses black as night are harnessed. The element of the god of the dead, naturally, is earth, dust that takes human bodies into its bowels. And the flowers symbolizing Hades are wild tulips. The ancient Greeks sacrificed black bulls to him.

Entourage

But back to the terrifying retinue of Hades. In addition to Erinnes, next to him are always tough, inexorable judges, whose names are Radamanths and Minos. The dying tremble in advance, because they know that each of their unrighteous steps, each sin will be taken into account at the incorruptible court of Hades, and no prayers will save them from retribution. Huge black wings, similar to those that nature endowed bats, a cloak and a sharp sword of the same color - this is how another inhabitant of Hades looks - Thanatos, This weapon of his cuts off the thread of life and a simple tiller, and a disenfranchised slave, and a mighty king, the owner of countless treasures. Everyone is equal before death philosophical meaning this mythical image. Hypnos, the god of deep dreams, a handsome young man, is also nearby. He is the twin of Thanatos, so sometimes he sends heavy, deep dreams, about which they say "like death." And, of course, the very name of which makes people in awe.

Myths and legends

As with any celestial being, many legends and myths are associated with the god Hades. The most famous is about Persephone, and the goddess of the earth and fertility - Demeter. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is unusually beautiful. A sad myth about a girl named Mint, who had the misfortune to please Hades, which caused a fit of anger and jealousy in Persephone. As a result, we can drink tea with fragrant grass, into which, in fact, the goddess turned the girl! Yes, in the same garden mint. We still remember popular expression about which is directly connected with Hades.

Hades (Hades) kidnaps Persephone. Artist unknown, 18th century.

Hades, Hades, Pluto ("invisible", "terrible") - in Greek mythology the god of the realm of the dead, as well as the realm itself. Hades, the son of Kronos and Rhea, was swallowed by his father immediately after birth. When Zeus and Metis gave Kronos vomit and he vomited up all his children, the brothers - Hades and Poseidon - joined Zeus in his fight against Kronos and the Titans. Having won the victory, the brothers divided the world among themselves. Hades was given the underworld by lot. The second name of Hades was Polydegmon ("recipient of many gifts"), which is associated with the countless shadows of the dead that live in his domain.

Like the ancient Egyptians, the Greeks believed that the kingdom of the dead is located in the bowels of the earth, and the entrance to it is in the extreme west (west, sunset are symbols of dying), beyond the Ocean River, washing the earth. The messenger of the gods, Hermes, forwarded the souls of the dead to the ferryman Charon, who transported only those who could pay for the crossing through the underground river Styx. The entrance to the underground kingdom of the dead was guarded by the three-headed dog Kerberos (Cerberus), who did not allow anyone to return to the world of the living.

There is no road to the underground for the living. However, some managed to accomplish this feat and return back. In Psyche's case, this was her only opportunity to reunite with Eros. Orpheus, who descended to Hades for his wife Eurydice, was also driven by love. Dionysus went to the underworld to find his mother, Semele. Odysseus decided to go down to the underworld in order to meet the blind seer Tiresias, who could show him the way home.

The dispute between Hades and Demeter over the fate of Persephone resolved. She must spend two thirds of the year with her mother and one third with her husband. Thus, the alternation of the seasons was born. Once Hades fell in love with the nymph Minta or Mint, who was associated with the waters of the realm of the dead. Upon learning of this, Persephone, in a fit of jealousy, turned the nymph into a fragrant plant.

third son of Kronos and Rhea, Aida(Hades, Aides), got the underworld of the dead, into which the rays of the sun never penetrate, it seems, by lot, for who would voluntarily agree to manage it? However, his character was so gloomy that he could not get along anywhere else but the underworld.

In Homer's time, instead of saying "die," they said "go to the house of Hades." The imagination that painted this house of the dead, fed on the impressions of the beautiful upper world, in which there is a lot of unjust, frighteningly gloomy and useless. The house of Hades was thought to be surrounded by strong gates, Hades himself was called Pilart ("locking the gate") and was depicted in the drawings with a large key. Outside the gate, as in the homes of rich people who fear for their property, a three-headed, ferocious and vicious watchdog Cerberus appeared, on whose neck snakes hissed with a hiss. Cerberus lets everyone in here and doesn't let anyone out.

Each owner of such a strong house on earth had possessions. Hades also had them. And, of course, golden wheat did not pour there, scarlet apples and bluish plums hiding in the green of the branches did not please. Sad-looking, useless trees grew there. One of them still retains its association with death and separation dating back to Homeric times - the weeping willow. Another tree is silver poplar. The wandering soul cannot see either the grass-ant, which the sheep eagerly nibble, or the delicate and bright meadow flowers, from which wreaths were woven for human feasts and for sacrifices to the heavenly gods. Everywhere you look, there are overgrown asphodels, a useless weed that sucks all the juices from the meager earth to raise a hard, long stem and bluish-pale flowers, reminiscent of the cheeks of a person lying on his deathbed. Across these joyless, colorless meadows of the god of death, an icy, prickly wind drives back and forth the ethereal shadows of the dead, making a slight rustle, like the moan of freezing birds. Not a single ray of light penetrates from where the upper earthly life neither joy nor sadness reach. Hades himself and his wife Persephone sit on a golden throne. Judges Minos and Rhadamanth are sitting at the throne, here is the god of death - the black-winged Tanat with a sword in his hands, next to him are gloomy kers, and Erinyes, the goddess of vengeance, serve Hades. At the throne of Hades and the beautiful young god Hypnos, he holds poppy heads in his hands, and a sleeping pill is poured from the horn, from which everyone falls asleep, even the great Zeus. The kingdom is full of ghosts and monsters, which are ruled by the three-headed and three-body goddess Hekate, dark nights she gets out of Hades, wanders along the roads, sends horrors and heavy dreams to those who forget to call her as an assistant against witchcraft. Hades and his retinue are more terrible and more powerful than the gods living on Olympus.

If you believe the myths, only a few managed to briefly escape from the hands of Hades and the claws of Cerberus (Sisyphus, Protesilaus). Therefore, ideas about the structure of the underworld were unclear and sometimes contradictory. One assured that they got into the kingdom of Hades by sea and that it was somewhere where Helios descends, having made his day trip. The other, on the contrary, claimed that they did not swim into it, but descended into deep cracks right there, next to the cities where earthly life proceeded. These descents into the kingdom of Hades were shown to the curious, but few of them were in a hurry to use them.

The more people went into oblivion, the more certain the information about the kingdom of Hades became. It was reported that it was girded nine times by the river Styx, sacred to people and gods, and that the Styx connected with Kokit, the river of lamentation, which, in turn, poured into the source of Leta, emerging from the bowels of the earth, giving oblivion to everything earthly. dweller Greek mountains and the valleys during his lifetime did not see such rivers as were opened to his unfortunate soul in Hades. These were real mighty rivers, such as flow on the plains, somewhere beyond the Riphean mountains, and not the miserable streams of his rocky homeland that dry up in the hot summer. You can't wade them, you can't jump from stone to stone.

To get into the kingdom of Hades, one had to wait at the Acheron River for a boat driven by the demon Charon, an ugly old man, all gray-haired, with a disheveled beard. Moving from one kingdom to another had to be paid for with a small coin, which was placed under the tongue of the deceased at the time of burial. Coinless and alive - there were also such - Charon pushed away with an oar, the rest he put in a canoe, and they had to row themselves.

The inhabitants of the gloomy underworld were subject to strict rules set by Hades himself. But there are no rules without exceptions, even underground. Those who possessed the golden branch could not be pushed away by Charon and barked at by Cerberus. But on what tree this branch grows and how to pluck it, no one knew exactly.

Here, behind a deaf threshold,
Surf waves are not heard.
There is no place for worries here.
There is always peace...
Constellations myriad
Rays do not send here,
No carefree joy
Nor fleeting grief -
Only one dream, eternal dream
Waiting in that eternal night.
L. Sulnburn

Literally "formless", "invisible", "terrible" - god - the lord of the kingdom of the dead, as well as the kingdom itself. Hades is an Olympic deity, although he is constantly in his underground possessions. The son of Kronos and Rhea, brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera and Hestia, with whom he shared the legacy of his deposed father, Hades reigns with his wife Persephone (daughter of Zeus and Demeter), whom he kidnapped while she was picking flowers in the meadow. Homer calls Hades "generous" and "hospitable". the fate of death does not pass a single person; Hades - "rich", is called Pluto (from the Greek. "wealth"), because. he is the owner of countless human souls and treasures hidden in the earth. Hades - the owner of a magical helmet that makes him invisible; this helmet was later used by the goddess Athena and the hero Perseus, getting the head of the Gorgon. But there were also among the mortals capable of deceiving the lord of the kingdom of the dead. So, he was deceived by the cunning Sisyphus, who once left the underground possessions of the god. Orpheus enchanted Hades and Persephone with his singing and playing the lyre so that they agreed to return his wife Eurydice to earth (but she was forced to immediately return back, because the happy Orpheus violated the agreement with the gods and looked at his wife even before leaving the kingdom of Hades ). Hercules kidnaps from the kingdom dead dog- Guardian of Hades.

In the Greek mythology of the Olympian period, Hades is a minor deity. He acts as a hypostasis of Zeus, not without reason Zeus is called Chthonius - "underground" and "going down." Hades is not sacrificed, he has no offspring, and he even got his wife illegally. However, Hades inspires horror with its inevitability.

Please don't laugh

Late ancient literature created a parodic-grotesque idea of ​​Hades ("Conversations in the Realm of the Dead" by Lucian, apparently originating from "The Frogs" by Aristophanes). According to Pausanias, Hades was not revered anywhere except Elis, where the temple of the god was opened once a year (just as people descend into the realm of the dead only once), where only priests were allowed to enter.

In Roman mythology, Hades was associated with the god Orc.

Hades is also called the space in the bowels of the earth, where the lord lives over the shadows of the dead, which are brought by the messenger god Hermes (the souls of men) and the goddess of the rainbow Irida (the souls of women).

The idea of ​​the topography of Hades became more complicated over time. Homer knows: the entrance to the kingdom of the dead, which is guarded by Kerberos (Cerberus) in the extreme west ("west", "sunset" - a symbol of dying) beyond the Ocean River, washing the earth, gloomy meadows overgrown with asphodels, wild tulips, over which light shadows rush the dead, whose groans are like the quiet rustle of dry leaves, the gloomy depths of Hades - Erebus, the rivers Kokit, Styx, Acheron, Piriflegeton, tartar.

Later evidence also adds the Stygian swamps or the Acherusian lake, into which the Kokit river flows, the fiery Piriflegeton (Flegeton), surrounding Hades, the river of oblivion Lethe, the carrier of the dead Charon, the three-headed dog Cerberus.

Minos administers judgment over the dead, later righteous judges Minos, Aeacus and Radamanths are the sons of Zeus. The Orphic-Pythagorean idea of ​​the judgment of sinners: Titius, Tantalus, Sisyphus in tartar, as parts of Hades, found a place in Homer (in the later layers of the Odyssey), Plato, and Virgil. A detailed description of the kingdom of the dead with all the gradations of punishments in Virgil (Aeneid VI) is based on the dialogue Phaedo by Plato and on Homer with the idea of ​​atonement for earthly transgressions and crimes already formed in them. In Homer's book XI of the Odyssey, six historical and cultural stratifications are outlined in ideas about the fate of the soul. Homer also names in Hades a place for the righteous - the Elysian Fields or Elysium. The "islands of the blessed" are mentioned by Hesiod and Pindar, so that Virgil's division of Hades into Elysium and Tartarus also goes back to the Greek tradition.

The idea of ​​the fate of the soul, the relationship between soul and body, just retribution - the image of the goddess Dike, and the operation of the law of inevitability are also connected with the problem of Hades.

Persephone Bark

("girl", "virgin"). goddess of the realm of the dead. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter, wife of Hades, who, with the permission of Zeus, kidnapped her (Hes. Theog. 912-914).

The Homeric hymn "To Demeter" tells how Persephone, along with her friends, played in the meadow, collected irises, roses, violets, hyacinths and daffodils. Hades appeared from the cleft of the earth and rushed off Persephone on a golden chariot to the kingdom of the dead (Hymn. Hom. V 1-20, 414-433). The grieving Demeter sent drought and crop failure to the earth, and Zeus was forced to send Hermes with the order to Hades to bring Persephone into the light. Hades sent Persephone to her mother, but forced her to taste a pomegranate seed so that Persephone would not forget the kingdom of death and return to him again. Demeter, learning about the deceit of Hades, realized that from now on her daughter would be among the dead for a third of the year, and two-thirds with her mother, whose joy would return abundance to the earth (360-413).

Persephone wisely rules the realm of the dead, where from time to time heroes penetrate. The king of the Lapiths Pirithous, together with Theseus, tried to kidnap Persephone. For this, he was chained to a rock, and Persephone allowed Hercules to return Theseus to earth. At the request of Persephone, Hercules left the shepherd of cows Hades alive (Apollod. II 5, 12). Persephone was touched by the music of Orpheus and returned Eurydice to him (however, through the fault of Orpheus, she remained in the realm of the dead; Ovid. Met. X 46-57). At the request of Aphrodite, Persephone hid the baby Adonis in her place and did not want to return him to Aphrodite; by the decision of Zeus, Adonis had to spend a third of the year in the kingdom of the dead (Apollod. III 14, 4).

Persephone plays a special role in the Orphic cult of Dionysus-Zagreus. From Zeus, who turned into a serpent, she gives birth to Zagreus (Hymn. Orph. XXXXVI; Nonn. Dion. V 562-570; VI 155-165), later torn to pieces by the titans. Persephone is also associated with the Eleusinian cult of Demeter.

In Persephone, the features of the chthonic ancient deity and classical Olympia are closely intertwined. She reigns in Hades against her own will, but at the same time she feels like a completely legitimate and wise sovereign there. She destroyed, literally trampling, her rivals - the lovers of Hades: the nymph Kokitida and the nymph Minta. At the same time, Persephone helps the heroes and cannot forget the earth with her parents. Persephone, as the wife of the chthonic Zeus-serpent, belongs to the deep archaic, when Zeus himself was still the "Underground" king of the kingdom of the dead. A vestige of this connection between Zeus Chthonius and Persephone is the desire of Zeus that Hades kidnap Persephone against the will of Persephone herself and her mother.

In Roman mythology, she corresponds to Proserpina - the daughter of Ceres.

Hecate

Goddess of darkness, night visions and sorcery. In the genealogy proposed by Hesiod, she is the daughter of the Titanides Pers and Asteria, and thus is not connected with the Olympian circle of gods. She received from Zeus as inheritance power over the fate of the earth and the sea, was gifted with great power by Uranus. Hekate is an ancient chthonic deity, which, after the victory over the titans, retained its archaic functions, was even deeply revered by Zeus himself, becoming one of the gods who help people in their daily work. She patronizes hunting, shepherding, breeding horses, social activities of a person (in court, national assembly, competitions, in disputes, in war), protects children and young people. She is the giver of maternal well-being, helps in the birth and upbringing of children; gives travelers an easy way; helping abandoned loved ones. Her powers, therefore, once extended to those areas of human activity that she later had to yield to Apollo, Artemis, Hermes.

As the cult of these gods spreads, Hecate loses her attractive appearance and attractive features. She leaves the upper world and, approaching Persephone, whom she helped her mother look for, is inextricably linked with the realm of shadows. Now this is an ominous snake-haired and three-faced goddess, appearing on the surface of the earth only during the moon, and not sunshine, with two flaming torches in their hands, accompanied by black as night dogs and monsters of the underworld. Hekate - night "chthonia" and heavenly "urania", "irresistible" wanders among the graves and brings out the ghosts of the dead, sends horrors and terrible dreams, but can also protect from them, from evil demons and witchcraft. Among her constant companions were the donkey monster Empusa, capable of changing her appearance and frightening belated travelers, as well as the spirit demons of the kera. This is how the goddess is represented on the monuments visual arts starting from the 5th century. BC.

A terrible night goddess with flaming torches in her hands and snakes in her hair, Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft, a sorceress and patroness of magic that takes place under the cover of night. They turn to her for help, resorting to special mysterious manipulations. The myth introduces her into the genus of wizards, turning her into the daughter of Helios and thereby establishing a relationship with Kirk, Pasiphae, Medea, who enjoys the special patronage of the goddess: Hecate helped Medea achieve Jason's love in the preparation of potions.

Thus, in the image of Hekate, the demonic features of the pre-Olympic deity are closely intertwined, linking two worlds - the living and the dead. She is the darkness and at the same time the moon goddess, close to Selena and Artemis, which leads the origin of Hecate to the limits of Asia Minor. Hekate can be considered the nocturnal analogy of Artemis; she is also a hunter, but her hunt is a gloomy night hunt among the dead, graves and ghosts of the underworld, she rushes around a pack of hell dogs and witches. Hekate is also close to Demeter - the life force of the earth.

Goddess of sorcery and mistress of ghosts Hekate three last days each month, which were considered unlucky.

The Romans identified Hekate with their goddess Trivia, the "goddess of the three roads", just like her Greek counterpart, she had three heads and three bodies. The image of Hecate was placed at a crossroads or at a crossroads, where, after digging a hole in the dead of night, puppies were sacrificed, or in gloomy caves inaccessible to sunlight.

Thanatos fan

God-personification of death (Hes. Theog. 211 next; Homer "Iliad", XIV 231 next), son of the goddess Nikta (Night), brother of Hypnos (Sleep), goddesses of fate Moira, Nemesis.

In ancient times, there was an opinion that the death of a person depends only on it.

This point of view is expressed by Euripides in the tragedy "Alcestis", which tells how Hercules repulsed Alcestis from Thanatos, and Sisyphus managed to shackle the sinister god in chains for several years, as a result of which people became immortal. This was until the moment when Thanatos was released by Ares on the orders of Zeus, since people stopped making sacrifices to the underground gods.

Thanatos has a dwelling in tartar, but usually he is located at the throne of Hades, there is also a version according to which he constantly flies from one bed of a dying person to another, while cutting off a strand of hair from the head of a dying person with a sword and taking his soul. The god of sleep, Hypnos, always accompanies Thanatos: very often on antique vases you can see paintings depicting them together.

Roam and Malice, and Troubles, and
terrible death between them:
She holds the pierced, then catches the unpierced,
Or the dead body is dragged by the leg along the section;
The riza on her breasts is stained with human blood.
In battle, like living people, they attack and fight,
And one before the other is carried away by bloody corpses.
Homer "Iliad"

 . demonic creatures, death spirits, children of the goddess Nikta. They bring people misfortune, suffering and death (from the Greek "death", "damage").

The ancient Greeks represented the ker as winged female creatures that flew up to a dying person and stole his soul. The Keres are also in the midst of the battle, seizing the wounded, dragging the corpses, stained with blood. Keres live in Hades, where they are constantly at the throne of Hades and Persephone and serve the gods of the underworld of the dead.

Sometimes Ker was brought together with Eriny. In the literature on the history of mythology, Greek kers and Slavic "punishments" are sometimes associated.

Like the murmur of the sea in an alarming hour,
Like the cry of a stream that is constrained,
There sounds drawn out, hopeless,
A pained groan.
Faces distorted with flour,
There are no eyes in their eye sockets. open mouth
Spews abuse, entreaties, threats.
They look with horror through tears
In the black Styx, in the abyss of terrible waters.
F. Schiller

Goddesses of vengeance, born of Gaia, who absorbed the blood of castrated Uranus. The ancient pre-Olympic origin of these awesome deities is also indicated by another myth about their birth from Nikta and Erebus.

Their number was initially uncertain, later it was believed that there were three Erinyes, and they were given names: Alecto, Tisiphon and Megaera.

The ancient Greeks imagined Erinyes as disgusting old women with hair intertwined poisonous snakes. In their hands they hold lit torches and whips or instruments of torture. A long tongue protrudes from the terrible mouth of monsters, and blood drips. Their voices resembled both the roar of cattle and the barking of dogs. Having discovered the criminal, they pursue him relentlessly, like a pack of hounds, and punish him for immoderation, arrogance, personified in the abstract concept of "pride", when a person takes on too much - he is too rich, too happy, knows too much. Born of primitive consciousness tribal society, Erinyes in their deeds express the leveling tendencies inherent in him.

The dwelling place of insane demons is the underground kingdom of Hades and Persephone, where they serve the gods of the underworld kingdom of the dead and from where they appear on earth among people to arouse revenge, madness, anger in them.

So, Alecto, drunk with the poison of a gorgon, having penetrated in the form of a snake into the chest of the queen of the Latins Amata and filling her heart with malice, made her insane. The same Alecto, in the form of a terrible old woman, prompted the leader of the rutuls, Turnn, to fight, thereby causing bloodshed.

Terrible Tisiphone in tartar beats criminals with a whip and frightens them with snakes, full of vindictive anger. There is a legend about Tisiphone's love for King Cithaeron. When Cithaeron rejected her love, Erinia killed him with her snake hair.

Their sister, Megara, is the personification of anger and vindictiveness, and to this day Megaera remains a household name for an evil, grumpy woman.

The turning point in understanding the role of the Erinyes comes in the myth of Orestes, described by Aeschylus in The Eumenides. Being the oldest chthonic deities and guardians of maternal rights, they persecute Orestes for the murder of his mother. After the trial in the Areopagus, where the Erinyes argue with Athena and Apollo defending Orestes, they reconcile with the new gods, after which they receive the name Eumenides,  ("good-minded") , thereby changing its evil essence (Greek  , "to be insane") to the function of patronesses of law. Hence the idea in Greek natural philosophy, in Heraclitus, of the Erinyes as "guardians of truth", for without their will even "the sun will not transgress its measure"; when the Sun goes beyond its track and threatens the world with destruction, it is they who force it to return to its place. The image of the Erinyes has gone from the chthonic deities guarding the rights of the dead, to the organizers of the cosmic order. Later, they were also called semeni ("venerable") and pontii ("powerful").

The venerable, supportive Erinyes act in relation to the hero of the early generation Oedipus, who, without knowing it, killed his own father and married his mother. They give him rest in their sacred grove. Thus, the goddesses carry out justice: Oedipus's cup of torment overflowed. He had already blinded himself for an involuntary crime, and being in exile, he suffered from the selfishness of his sons. Just like the defenders of law and order, the Erinyes angrily interrupt the prophecies of Achilles' horses, broadcasting about his imminent death, for it is not a horse's job to broadcast.

The goddess of just retribution Nemesis was sometimes identified with the Erinyes.

In Rome, they corresponded to the furies ("mad", "furious"), Furiae (from furire, "to rage"), the goddess of revenge and remorse, punishing a person for his sins.