You died
Find out what fate awaits you after death the beliefs of the different peoples of the world.
Upstairs
Imagine that you died. And now where will go your soul? It’s up to you. Select one of the nether worlds, who created the inhabitants of the Old and New world, who lived in ancient times or the middle ages. And we’ll show you what kind of reception waited there dead (spoiler — different and not always depended on the sins and virtues of the deceased).
The place of my death — Ancient Egypt
You’re wasting it, not a good choice. In the realm of the dead, the Duat, the deceased will find a lot of dangers, so don’t forget to grab a sturdy papyrus with the “Book of the dead”.
Of course, if you were a Pharaoh, that is, the incarnation of God on earth, then you and the hereafter will be good. The pharaohs joined the retinue of the sun God RA and floated behind him in the boat on the celestial Nile. But mere mortals had a harder one.
First, the deceased had to get to the place where the God Osiris held court. But on the way there, regardless of who the deceased was righteous or a sinner, he waited for a different adversity. For example, it could eat “eater of Asses”, and even the deceased might have fallen into the “lake of fire”.
In this case the deceased had multiple entities — name, a shadow, a few souls of varying degrees of physicality, but in their number and values are confused even ancient Egyptian texts. Therefore, such details are often missing.
So they could have avoided troubles, the priests supplied their texts with maps and instructions telling you how to get to the place of judgment, where, and when to say the right spells and names. First, the lyrics were written on the walls of the sarcophagus, but apparently not dead too that was convenient to read them on the way, so later appeared in “the Book of the dead”, written on papyrus.
When the deceased reached the place of destination, he was met by the gods — the participants of the Afterlife Judgment. First, he listed 42 of the crime and swore that none of them are innocent. Then were the gods, the witnesses and the soul of the deceased, who told about his good and bad deeds, and after this the heart of the deceased weighed on the Scales of Truth.
If the scale is rejected, a dead man was considered a sinner and his heart was eaten by the goddess of ammat — a monster with the body of a hippopotamus, mouth of a crocodile, mane and paws of a lion. Over time, in the ancient Egyptian realm of the dead began to be punished more subtly: the sinners deprived of heat, light and the ability to communicate with the gods.
If the deceased was justified, he went to the Egyptian version of Paradise — in the Field Ialu (Reeds). Here he led the same life as on earth, but nothing was perfect. The gods provided him food, and worked for his servants, which figures were prudently laid him in the tomb.
It remains to add that neither the wicked nor the righteous was not possible to leave the duat. According to the representation of the ancient Egyptians, the souls of the departed remained in the realm of the dead forever.
The place of my death — Ancient Mesopotamia
Well, not bad. Just once I want to warn you: if you are not a God to go to heaven? not a chance. While this honor was awarded to only two people — the Mesopotamian version of Noah (the Sumerians called him Ziusudra, the Assyrians — Utnapishtim) and his wife.
In all other cases, the soul of the deceased, whether righteous or a sinner, went to hell, Chickens (Kigal ‘ or Eden). Another thing is that there wasn’t always bad, in any case of torture and the special suffering of the souls of the dead were not expecting.
To the underworld, the dead were not sent with empty hands. In the burial put a lot of useful things: weapons, jewelry, tools, clothes and shoes, boxes of food and drink, and the Cup which the dead were kept at the mouth. Apparently, the drink in the cups helped to overcome the way to the judgment seat. In the underground Kingdom of the dead is richer moved on a stretcher, sled, or even four-wheeled carts.
To get into the realm of the dead had to cross the river, “absorbing people”, with carrier — “man the boat”. For this, the graves were often placed model boats. On the other side of the river the deceased had to pass through seven gates and finally got on the court of the ruler (a later ruler) of the underworld.
At the judgment sinners were given the death sentence, and they died completely. Much more lucky for those who died in battle, who on earth were the sons and who took care of the relatives, after performing funeral rituals. Died in battle, comforted the parents and wife; those who had sons in the afterlife realm fed and watered, and some were even let into the Palace to the gods.
If the deceased does not particularly distinguished, and even relatives about it did not care, he is in the underworld had to vegetate and eat scraps.
To get out of the underworld to mere mortals was impossible. It was only the gods who accidentally got there, and only the “barter” — they had to leave is a substitute.
The place of my death — Ancient India
Yes, Hindus also have their own afterlife realm, and if you, for example, the astrologer swatted a mosquito or if you have no son, then it is better not to get there, the torment of torture. Yes, and the righteous were waiting there, in the eyes of modern man, a rather dubious award. So the choice is, frankly, not very.
Not all of the dead in Hinduism immediately sent back to the living world to a new rebirth. First they go to the underworld, Naraku, where brought before the court of the ruler of this world, the God of death Pits. Depending on the verdict of the souls of the departed for some time unable to go to heaven or hell and then be born again.
To the place of judgment, they get a long time, a year. First, the soul of the deceased moves through the underground world of the Ganges river, holding onto a cow’s tail, and then walks across the country with difficult terrain and many cities until you get to the capital.
There the soul is in the Palace of Yama. The scribe enumerates the merits and transgressions of the deceased, and Yama decides where to send it, in heaven or hell. Paradise, Svarga is heaven and there take a limited group of people: fallen soldiers and especially virtuous people. In Paradise the righteous in unlimited quantities drink the “drink of immortality”, the soma. Despite the fact that the prescription of the soma is lost, the researchers believe that it was made from plants containing narcotic substances, possibly from ephedra or red mushroom.
In the Hindu hell, Naraka, which rules the Pit, the ancients counted up to 28 “units.” Each of them was intended for punishment for any one sin or group of sins. To hell Yama sent not only the familiar set of murderers, poisoners and seducers, but have committed less sins, such as astrologers, fortune-tellers, the brāhmaṇas, who sold meat and alcohol, and even those who have harmed insects.
Bad had and those who did not leave the male offspring.
Despite the fact that these people were ascetics and lead a righteous life, after death they and their ancestors were doomed to torment.
The place of my death — Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome
No matter what you chose — Greece or Rome. The Romans “naturalized” Greek Pantheon by changing the names of the gods, but the topography of the underworld kept. Your choice is good, if you get into a local Paradise to the Elysian fields. But most of the shadows of the dead had forever aimlessly wander the underworld. On the other hand, the dead here were punished rarely and only for very serious offenses.
Shadow of the deceased in Hades, or just Hades (named for the ruling God here) accompanies the God Hermes. He brings it to the boundaries of the world of the living and the dead, the river Styx (according to another version, Acheron). Using it the deceased carries specially put here by the God Charon. Transports not free, but for small coin, which during the funeral of the deceased placed under the tongue. In Ancient Greece it could buy about a liter of cheap wine (translated into modern Russian prices — about 150 rubles).
One of the entrances to the underworld guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed dog with a snake tail. Unlike Charon, he has other problems — not to let into the underground world of the living and not to release him from the shadows of the dead.
After shadow got into the world of the dead, she went through the endless fields asfodeli by the court, which had completed three of the demigods, sons of Zeus from a mortal women. The righteous and very honored people (for example, the mortal relatives of the gods) were sent to the Elysian fields. Despite the fact that they were under the earth, here the sun always shines, and the inmates spent their time in feasting, entertainment, and sports. Moreover, they might again be born on earth in the body of a human or animal of their choice.
If life were neither good nor bad deeds, his soul was sent back to asphodelaceae field where she first drank from the “river of oblivion” Years and was losing her memory, and then wandering aimlessly through it until the end of time. The only joy for the shadows were sacrifices of the living. Then they could drink the blood of sacrifice and some time to remember the earthly world.
Sinners meant Tartarus, the abyss, is even lower than the underworld. There they expect different punishments: for example, Sisyphus endlessly trying to push that rock up the top of the mountain and monarch were condemned to fill with water bottomless barrel.
By the way, from the ancient Greek name of the underworld “Hades” came the Russian word “hell.” And the English “hell” comes from the name of Norse hell, and at the same time they ruled the goddess “Hel”. But that’s another story.
The place of my death, the Ancient Scandinavia
A good choice if you are a warrior who died in battle (death from old age or from disease is not considered). Then you go to the local Paradise or Valhalla Folkwang. The rest of the inhabitants of the underworld lived rather dull, but the torture, they were not tortured.
In Valhalla One Supreme God (in Folkvang — the goddess of fertility and love, Freya) assembles a squad of valiant warriors, who will fight in the final battle of the gods with the dead and infernal monsters. Therefore, in addition to feasts with copious libations, local residents regularly organize training battles, in which cut each other to pieces, but then again, all gather together for a friendly feast.
The rest of the dead journey to the underworld, Hel (or HELHEIM — “the land of Hel”), located, according to one, in the West, where the sun set and others in the North, in the land of eternal cold.
It’s the same goddess-giantess — a particularly unpleasant appearance. She was half blue, half the color of the meat. Despite the frightening appearance, Hel seems to have been a hospitable hostess. When her Kingdom fell victim to misunderstanding God Balder, she gave him a generous reception, seated in a place of honor in his chambers, ordered to cook for him honey and strew the floor with gold. However, back she was not released.