Roots of Hell
Zoroaster
Founder of Zoroastrianism
Opening of mouth ceremony
Funerary ritual performed so that person's soul could eat, drink, speak, smell, in order to survive in afterlife.
Osiris
God of the dead.
Maat
Goddess of truth and justice. Depicted with a feather on her head.
Merry Hell
Graveyard humor that was popular in the Middle Ages.
Irkalla
Great below
Isis
Wife and sister of Osiris. Collects Osiris's body parts in Nile putting him back together bringing him back to life.
Enkidu
Wildman sent by gods to defeat Gilgamesh but end up being equals/friends.
Book of Daniel
gives insight into the long years of Babylonian exile and Persian domination
Pharisees
populists who embraced resurrection.
Akh
When Ba and Ka unite with proper burial offerings.
Descent Motif
When a living person descends to the underworld on a quest.
Sekhet Aaru
Field of Rushes. Afterlife in your new body.
Shabti
Figurine that will be your slave in afterlife.
Epic of Gilgamesh
First and most popular of stories of Gilgamesh in search for immortality.
Chinvat Bridge
Foot of underworld. Here is where the separation of the living and the dead happens.
6 Regular features of Hell
1) Mountain barrier 2) River 3) Boat and boatman 4) Bridge 5) Gates and guardian 6) Important tree
Essenes
3rd group influenced by Neoplatonism. Envisioned afterlife where soul and body are seperate
Boat of Ra
A boat that the sun god, Ra used to travel across the sky and through the Nile to the underworld.
Syncretism
Amalgamation of different relgions
Book of the Dead
Collection of religious spells and prayers to help guide you after death.
Pukku and Mikku
Drum and drumstick. Gilgamesh's penis and Testicles.
The 12th Tablet
End of a confusing story where Enkidu is seized by Ereshkigal and Gilgamesh can only communicate with him through a small hole to the underworld while he suffers.
Ammit
Horrid little monster that devours your soul. Eater of hearts.
Ahura Mazda
In Zoroastrianism, the good god who rules the world.
Dumuzi
Inanna's shepherd consort that was seized to the underworld by her sister Ereshkigal for ransom in place of her.
Dying vegetation God/Goddess myth
Inanna's shepherd consort, Dumazi is seized to the underworld by her sister Ereshkigal for ransom in place of her 6 months out of the year. Explains change of seasons.
Dilmun
Isle of the blest.
Anubis
Jackal-headed guardian that escorts the dead to the Hall of Justice.
Josephus
Jewish historian that documented the friction between the Sadducee's and Pharisees.
Sheol
Known as Hell in old testament.
Psychopomp
Leader of the soul.
The Nile River
Longest River in the World.
Utnapshtim
Mesopotamian Noah chosen by gods to build a huge ship for a flood. Achieved immortality.
Nergal
Minor god seduced by Ereshkigal. Leaves her promising to return to the underworld but doesn't. She threatens to send the dead to earth.
Set
Osiris's jealous brother that kills him and distributes his body parts all over The Nile River.
Duat
Realm of the Dead with 7 gates.
Sadducees
Rejected resurrection.
Yama/Yima
Ruler of hell.
Ereshkigal
Ruler of the dead and the Great Below
Ba
Second self. Soul
Schadenfreude
Shameful joy.
Dermonology
Study of Demons
Infernology
Study of Hell
Diabology
Study of the Devil
The Burney Relief
Terracotta plaque believed to be Ereshkigal in the nude with wings and a horned crown from 1800 b.c.
Horus
The Falcon. Son of Osiris and Isis who avenges father by defeating Set.
Weighing of the heart
The ceremony to see if the person was good enough for the afterlife.
Ahirman
The evil spirit in Zoroastrianism that is against the supreme God Ahura Mazda
Avesta
The sacred writings of Zoroastrianism
Abominable Fancy
Those in heaven taking joy when looking upon those suffering in hell.
Harrowing of Hell
Type of Descent Motif story (Example: what Jesus did to release the righteous into Heaven)
Gehenna
Valley of Hinnom. Life removed from Yahweh. Hell
Soshyans
Victorious Savior that destroys hell and resurrects and renews world
Ka
Vital life-force.