Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
World of the dead in various mythologies
Yggdrasil , a modern attempt to reconstruct the Norse world tree which connects the heavens , the earth and the underworld
The legs of the god Vishnu as the Cosmic Man depict earth and the seven realms of the Hindu underworld of Patala . The feet rest on cosmic serpent Shesha .
The underworld , also known as the netherworld , is the
religious traditions and
myths , located below the world of the living.
[1] Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
The concept of an underworld is found in almost every civilization and "may be as old as humanity itself".[2] Common features of underworld myths are accounts of living people making journeys to the underworld , often for some heroic purpose. Other myths reinforce traditions that the entrance of souls to the underworld requires a proper observation of ceremony, such as the ancient Greek story of the recently dead Patroclus haunting Achilles until his body could be properly buried for this purpose.[3] People with high social status were dressed and equipped in order to better navigate the underworld.[4]
A number of mythologies incorporate the concept of the soul of the deceased making its own journey to the underworld, with the dead needing to be taken across a defining obstacle such as a lake or a river to reach this destination.[5] Imagery of such journeys can be found in both ancient and modern art. The descent to the underworld has been described as "the single most important myth for Modernist authors".[6]
By religion
This list includes underworlds in various religious traditions, with links to corresponding articles:
Ethnicity, religion, or region
Name of underworld
Albanian mythology
Ferri
Aztec mythology
Mictlan
Mesopotamian religion
Irkalla
Baduy & Sundanese mythology
Buana Larang
Buddhism
Niraya
)
Celtic mythology
Annwn , Mag Mell , Dubnos
Chinese folk religion / Taoism
Míngjiè 冥界 , Huángquán 黄泉 , Dìyù 地狱
Christian mythology
Hell , Tártaro , Purgatory , Hades
Egyptian religion
Amenti
Estonian mythology
Toonela
Fijian mythology
Burotu , Murimuria [7]
Finnish mythology
Tuonela
Georgian mythology
Kveskneli
Germanic religion
Hel , Náströnd , Niflhel
Greek religion
Elysium , Asphodel Meadows , Tartarus
Guanche mythology
Echeide , Guayota
Hinduism
Patala , Naraka or Yamaloka
Hittite mythology
Dankuš daganzipaš/Dankuš tekan (dark earth)
Hopi mythology
Maski
Hungarian mythology
Alvilág
Inca mythology
Uku Pacha
Inuit mythology
Adlivun
Islamic mythology
Jahannam , Sijjin
Jainism
Naraka , Adho Loka (the lower world)
Shinto
Yomi 黄泉, Ne-no-Kuni 根の国, Jigoku 地獄
Jewish mythology
Sheol , Abaddon , Tehom (in Kabbalah ), Tophet , Tzoah Rotachat , Dudael
Korean mythology
Korean : 지옥 ; Hanja : 地獄 ; RR : Jiok
Latvian mythology
Aizsaule
Lithuanian mythology
Anapilis mountain
Malay mythology
Alam Ghaib (The unseen realm)
Indonesian mythology
Mandaeism
World of Darkness (alma d-hšuka )
Māori mythology
Hawaiki , Rarohenga , Rangi Tuarea , Te Toi-o-nga-Ranga , Uranga-o-te-rā
Mapuche mythology
Pellumawida , Degin , Wenuleufu , Ngullchenmaiwe
Maya mythology
Metnal
Melanesian mythology
(includes Fijian) Bulu , Burotu , Murimuria , Nabagatai , Tuma
Oromo mythology
Ekera
Zoroastrianism
Duzakh
Philippine mythology
Kasanaan
Polynesian mythology
Uranga-o-Te-Ra
Pueblo mythology
Shipap
Roman mythology
Orcus , Inferi Di , Avernus
Romanian mythology
Tărâmul Celălalt
Slavic mythology
Vyraj
Sumerian mythology
Turko-Mongol
Tamağ
Vietnamese mythology
Âm phủ 陰府, Địa ngục 地獄
Wagawaga (New Guinea) mythology
Hiyoyoa
Underworld figures
This list includes rulers or guardians of the underworld in various religious traditions, with links to corresponding articles.
Origin
associated deity/spirits
Aboriginal mythology
Akkadian mythology
Albanian mythology
E Bukura e Dheut
Turko-Mongol
Erlik
Armenian mythology
Spandaramet
Aztec mythology
Chalmecatl
)
Babylonian mythology
Balinese mythology
Batara Kala , Setesuyara
Bon mythology
gNyan
Buddhism
King Yama
Canaanite mythology
Celtic mythology
(sometimes in popular culture).
Chinese folk religion
Christianity
Satan , Lucifer , Beelzebub , Belial
Egyptian mythology
Elamite mythology
Jabru
Estonian mythology
Vanapagan
Etruscan mythology
Fijian mythology
Degei
Finnish mythology
Greek mythology
Cerberus , Charon , Hades , Pluto , Keres , Persephone , Thánatos , Eris , Hermes , Hera
Georgian mythology
sasuleti
Germanic religion
Níðhögg
Haida mythology
Ta'xet , Tia
Hittite mythology
Lelwani
Hinduism
Yama
Hopi mythology
Maasaw
Hungarian mythology
Ördög
Ibo mythology
Ala
Incan mythology
Supay , Vichama
Indonesian mythology
(ancient Javananese, Sundanese and Balinese)
Batara Kala guardian for sinners souls' underworld, Dewi Sri guardess for the righteous souls' underworld
Islam
Maalik (Guardian)
Inuit mythology
Sedna
Japanese mythology
Izanami-no-Mikoto , Jikininki , Shikome , Shiryō , Susanoo-no-Mikoto
Judaism
Satan, Malach HaMavet ("Angel of Death") (both are associated with Samael ), Malachei Habala ("Sabotage Angels"), Dumah
Kassite mythology
Dur
Khmer mythology
Preas Eyssaur
Latvian mythology
Zemes māte
Lithuanian mythology
Velnias, Velinas
Levantine mythology
Lunda mythology
Kalunga
Mandaean mythology
Ruha , Ur , Krun , Gaf , Qin , Zahreil , Lilith , Niuli , Saṭani , Latabi , Nalai , Gadulta , Anathan , Giu , Shdum , Zartai-Zartanai , Hag , Mag
Maori mythology
Maya mythology
)
Melanesian mythology
(includes Fijian mythology) Degei , Ratumaibulu , Samulayo
Narragansett mythology
Chepi
Navaho mythology
Estsanatlehi
Niquiran mythology
Mictanteot
Ob-Ugrian mythology
Heini-iki
Orokolo mythology
Kiavari
Persian mythology
Philippine mythology
Magwayen/Maguayen , Sidapa
Phoenician mythology
Horon
Phrygian mythology
Men
Polynesian mythology
Prussian mythology
Picullus
Pueblo mythology
Iyatiku
Roma (Gypsy) mythology
Beng
Roman mythology
Viduus
Romanian mythology
Diavolu , Satana , Necuratu , Scaraoschi
Russian mythology
Dyavol , Satanaya
Saami mythology
Yambe-akka
Salish mythology
Amotken
Siberian mythology
Slavic mythology
Sumerian mythology
Syrian mythology
Reshep
Tamil mythology
Cur
Thracian mythology
Heros
Turkic mythology
Erlik
Vietnamese mythology
Quảng Cung , Thập điện Diêm Vương , Hắc Bạch vô thường (couple of messengers lead the souls of the dead to the Âm phủ), Đầu Trâu Mặt Ngựa (has the same task as Hắc Bạch vô thường), Mạnh Bà (the maker of the oblivion soup called cháo lú by the Vietnamese)
Wagawaga mythology
Tumudurere
Welsh mythology
Annwfn or Annwn
Yoruba mythology
Oya
Yurak mythology
Nga
Zuni mythology
Uhepono
See also
References
^ "Underworld" . The free dictionary . Retrieved 1 July 2010 .
^ Isabelle Loring Wallace, Jennie Hirsh, Contemporary Art and Classical Myth (2011), p. 295.
^ Radcliffe G. Edmonds, III, Myths of the Underworld Journey: Plato, Aristophanes, and the 'Orphic' Gold Tablets (2004), p. 9.
^ Jon Mills, Underworlds: Philosophies of the Unconscious from Psychoanalysis to Metaphysics (2014), p. 1.
^ Evans Lansing Smith, The Descent to the Underworld in Literature, Painting, and Film, 1895–1950 (2001), p. 257.
^ Evans Lansing Smith, The Descent to the Underworld in Literature, Painting, and Film, 1895–1950 (2001), p. 7.
^ T. Williams, J. Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians , Heylin, 1858.
External links