Chapter 15

Ixion

sentenced to the underworld for trying to seduce Hera, tied to a flaming wheel, Ixion and the Cloud, birth of the Centaurs, Ixion had a romantic love for Hera, so when Ixion is asleep Zeus sends a cloud of Hera to him and Ixion gets excited and ejaculates into the cloud and then the Centaurs (half human half savage) are conceived 9 months later. Punished by being placed on the wheel

Sisyphus

(Greek legend) a king in ancient Greece who offended Zeus and whose punishment was to roll a huge boulder to the top of a steep hill, (Greek legend) a king in ancient Greece who offended Zeus and whose punishment was to roll a huge boulder to the top of a steep hill

Cerberus

(Greek mythology) 3-headed dog guarding the entrance to Hades, 3-headed dog of the Underworld; foams at the mouth when it sees the sunshine and leaves a flower behind (Aconite or Dogbane)

styx

(Greek mythology) a river in Hades across which Charon carried dead souls, a river in the the lower world which souls of the dead must cross to reach Tartarus

lethe

(Greek mythology) a river in Hades, Lethe is one of five rivers in the underworld. For the dead, drinking from the river allowed one to forget all knowledge of their past life, a process most important to those believing in reincarnation as the dead would need to forget their past life before taking on a new one. Drinking from it most commonly was meant to release the dead from the past life's painful memories and worries, and *it represents the peace found in forgetfulness.

Persephone

(Greek mythology) daughter of Zeus and Demeter, was the lovely daughter of Zeus and Demeter, a goddess of springtime. After Hades abducted her she became the queen of the underworld, but Demeter missed her so much that the earth grew barren. Hades struck a deal with Demeter and allowed Persephone to spend six months each year with him, during which time the land died (autumn and winter) and six months with her mother, during which time the earth flourished (spring and summer).

Tiresias

(Greek mythology) the blind prophet of Thebes who revealed to Oedipus that Oedipus had murdered his father and married his mother, blind prophet who advised Odysseus

Charon

(Greek mythology) the ferryman who brought the souls of the dead across the river Styx or the river Acheron to Hades

Hades

(Greek mythology) the god of the underworld in ancient mythology, was lord of the underworld, the region of the dead. Since he was a brother of Zeus, he was sometimes included among the Olympians. He was a stern, dark, inexorable god, and his kingdom was gray and lifeless. He abducted Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, and made her his queen.

Aeneas' entrance to the Underworld is at Cumae in Italy, and his guide is the Cumaean SIBYL [si'bil], priestess of Apollo (see MLS, Chapter 11). After appropriate sacrifices, Aeneas and the Sibyl enter the Underworld and reach the banks of the river that is its boundary. The grim ferryman CHARON [ka'ron] refuses to take across in his boat those who are unburied; among them is PALINURUS [pa-li-nou'rus], or PALINUROS, the helmsman of Aeneas, who had died without having received burial. In an interview reminiscent of that between Odysseus and Elpenor in Homer, Palinurus receives assurances from Aeneas that his body will receive proper rites. Once a reluctant Charon sees the golden bough, he agrees to ferry Aeneas and the Sibyl across; on the other shore the three-headed hound of Hades, CERBERUS [ser'ber-us], or KERBEROS, guards the realm. The Sibyl throws him a drugged sop, which he devours eagerly. As the two proceed on their way, they pass through various regions (the geography of Vergil's Underworld is quite detailed). One of these regions is called the Fields of Mourning. This is where Aeneas encounters DIDO [deye'doh], queen of Carthage, who had committed suicide when Aeneas left her (see MLS, Chapter 26). They come to a place where the road divides; on the left, the path leads to TARTARUS [tar'tar-us], or TARTAROS, on the right to ELYSIUM [e-liz'ee-um], or ELYSION.

...

To reach the entrance to the Underworld, Odysseus and his men had to go to the farthest, sunless realm of the deep-flowing Ocean. Here ODYSSEUS [oh-dis'e-us] (ULYSSES) dug a pit and around it poured libations to the dead; then, after many supplications, he cut the throats of sacrificed animals so that their blood would run into the pit, whereupon a multitude of the souls of the dead swarmed up. Odysseus ordered his men to flay and burn the slaughtered animals and pray to HADES [hay'deez] (PLUTO) and PERSEPHONE [per-sef'o-nee], the king and queen of the Underworld. Next, Odysseus drew his sword and took his post at the pit of blood and did not allow the spirits to drink the blood before he had spoken to TIRESIAS [teye-ree'si-as or teye-ree'zi-as].

...

Elysium

Elysium, the Elysian Fields. Paradise in the Underworld.

tantalus

Suffered the fate of never being able to satisfy his thirst or hunger, though he is trapped in water and there is a tree with fruit hanging in arms reach that recedes whenever he tries to eat from it. He was punished because he had excessive pride (Hubris). schemed to trick the gods into doing something wrong to prove he is as good as them. Took his child (Pelops), chops him up, cooks him into a stew, and invites all the gods to his house for dinner and serves them the stew. The gods are not allowed to eat human flesh, and if he knows something that god didn't know (that they're eating human flesh) then he would be "worthy" of being on Olympus. None of the gods fall for the trick instead of the goddess Demeter.

Odysseus

The protagonist of the Odyssey. He fought among the other Greek heroes at Troy and now struggles to return to his kingdom in Ithaca. He is the husband of Queen Penelope and the father of Prince Telemachus. Though a strong and courageous warrior, he is most renowned for his cunning. He is a favorite of the goddess Athena, who often sends him divine aid, but a bitter enemy of Poseidon, who frustrates his journey at every turn.

Tartarus

This is the place of punishment for sinners, the Greco-Roman concept of hell. In Vergil it is a triple-walled, invincible fortress with a huge door, mighty columns, and an iron tower, and it is surrounded by a seething, violent river. One of the dread Furies stands guard. From within come horrible sounds of suffering. The Sibyl expounds to Aeneas the nature of sin and its punishment and concludes by saying that she would not be able to recount all the forms of wickedness or enumerate the names of all the punishments, even if she had a hundred tongues.

Aeneas

Trojan, a demi-god and son of Anchises and Aphrodite. Captain and warrior who fights bravely on several occasions. He is rescued by a god each time he is wounded. Also destined to become the leader of the refugee Trojans. Founder of Rome. The central character of Virgil's epic, The Aeneid.

Elysian Fields

When they come to the happy places, the pleasant glades of the woods of the Fortunate, Aeneas and the Sibyl find that all is bright, for paradise has its own sunlight. Shades, wearing halos of snowy white garlands on their temples, are enjoying themselves in the pleasant activities that they pursued while alive. Some delight in sports; others appreciate music and dance under the inspired direction of the bard Orpheus. Amidst the virtuous are patriots who died for their country, priests who remained pure, and devout poets who were worthy of their god, Apollo. Vergil singles out with magnanimous insight, "those who made life better by their discoveries in the arts and the sciences and who through merit made others remember them." The climax of the scene is Aeneas' touching encounter with his father, ANCHISES [an-keye'seez], who reveals the mysteries of human existence. The mother of Odysseus had done the same for her son, but her explanation was more personal and not nearly so civic, detailed, and philosophical. A more Platonic Anchises explains that a divine spirit or mind sustains the universe, and the souls of mortals are but seeds from this divine spirit. Enclosed by the prison of an earthly, harmful, and mortal body, the immortal soul becomes contaminated and must be purified before it comes to Elysium. Anchises points out the group of souls gathered by the stream of Lethe, who must drink of this river of forgetfulness before they are enter a new life. In this group Anchises identifies a long array of great and illustrious Romans who are yet to be born.