SIN, DEATH, AND THE AFTERLIFE

HOMER’S ESCHATOLOGY

SIN:

 causing offense to the gods

 can occur for many reasons, many of them circumstantial to the moral
 he or she may be put in a situation where sin is his/her only option
 punishment for sin is certain
 forgiveness depends on the whim of the gods
 no such thing as “grace” according to the Greeks
 being in Hades after death is not considered punishment
 animal sacrifices are made to appease the gods
o Plato later says sacrifices are bribes to the gods
o sacrifice was not meant to atone for sin
 not the reason one might be in Hades after death
o special miseries are reserved for those with special powers who have offended the gods
in the extreme
 whether one is good, bad, or indifferent in the mortal life does not impact one’s standing in
Hades

DEATH:

 the living man is regarded no as a single indivisible substance but rather as a union of two
distinct and separable entities one of which is the body and the other the soul
 the idea of “self” is attached to the body
 at death “the which is a material substance of the nature of breath or air issues out of the
mouth or the wound: man’s soul, says Homer, return not again “when once it hath passed the
barrier of his teeth” and elsewhere “the soul through the stricken wound sped hastily away and
darkness enveloped his eyes.”
 the funeral is vital for allowing the soul to move on
o until then it keeps a sort of uneasy limbo between the body it has left behind and the
entrance to the underworld
 the afterlife isn’t really a life, but an existence in shadow

HADES:

 existence in Hades is even more troubling than the surroundings

THE EXCEPTION:

 some mortals are granted entry into Elysium, a much better alternative to Hades
 entry into Elysium is exemption from death, the promise of eternal youth, great weather and
other benefits
 one has a body and retains his “self” as a result
 entry in Elysium is unlocked by favor of the gods, not by merit and so did not influence the
behavior or moral choices of regular Greeks
