In Norse cosmology, the universe was made up of nine distinct realms. Each had its unique inhabitants and mythology, but some played bigger parts in the Norse mythology than others. One of the most...
One of the most fascinating concepts of Greek mythology is that of the underworld. The Greek underworld is one of three realms that make up the cosmos. It was believed that after death, an individual...
Orpheus is one of the most well-known heroes of Greek mythology. Unlike most Greek heroes, Orpheus is famous for being a lover, not a fighter. A legendary bard, musician, poet, and prophet Orpheus...
Popularly known as the Well of Hell, the Well of Barhout is a 98-foot (30-meter) wide and 367-foot (112-meter) deep sinkhole located in Yemen’s Al-Mahara province in the east of the country. The...
In days of old, the dead were buried with a silver coin (the shiner the better) so that the souls of the faithful departed could pay the toll to the deathless demon ferryman of the underworld: Charon...
By far, Loki’s most well-known children are the ones he had with the giantess Angurboda. These include the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard Serpent Jormugandr, and the goddess Hel. Legends say that the...
The most widely read work of Florentine politician and writer Dante Alighieri, the Divine Comedy dictates a tale of the three realms of the afterlife as believed by the Italians of the Middle Ages...
My pious Baptist grandmother once shockingly confessed, at the ripe old age of 93, that she didn’t want to go to heaven. “Why,” we asked? “Well, I think it will be rather boring just sitting around...
Tartarus is the infernal abyss of Greek mythology, which is used as a pit of suffering for the wicked and as a dungeon for the Titans. It is also the name of a deity, a primordial being that existed...
Although many of us now associate hell with Christianity, the idea of an afterlife existed much earlier. Greeks and Romans, for example, used the concept of Hades, an underworld where the dead lived...
One of the most common fears shared by most humans at some time in their lives, is what will happen to them after they die? Many parents freeze when their children ask this question and avoiding the...
We recognize heaven as a place to which we will go after our deaths if we have led a good or virtuous life. It is a paradise accessible by earthly beings depending on their standards of faith or...
Joanne M. Pierce / The Conversation When a family member or a friend passes away, we often find ourselves reflecting on the question “Where are they now?” As mortal beings, it is a question of...
The recent dispute over whether Pope Francis denied the existence of hell in an interview attracted wide attention . This isn’t surprising, since the belief in an afterlife, where the virtuous are...
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here,” said William Shakespeare, and now, new scientific findings tells us how the devils got here! And it was through a “gateway to the underworld” located in...
The Gate to Hell, also known as Pluto’s Gate, was the Greco-Roman entrance to the Underworld. When archaeologists found an example of this sacred site in Turkey they also discovered two guardians who...