The Greek underworld is a unique realm where individuals go after death. It is the place where one's essence is transferred. They can reunite with loved ones and start a new life. It's a fascinating place and is worth exploring. Read on to find out more about this ancient realm.
Homer’s Homeric Hymn to Demeter
Homer's Homeric Hymns (33 hymns to the gods) are composed in the Greek language. These hymns are epic in beat and speak the same dialect that the Iliad (and the Odyssey). They are some of the best pieces of ancient Greek literature.
The Homeric Hymn for Demeter deals specifically with Persephone's death. Cronos, Persephone’s dad, had set up a marriage between Hades and Persephone, and the earth was opened after Persephone passed away so that Hades might return from beneath.
Homer's Oedipus rex
Oedipus summons Tiresias, the blind prophet, to tell Homer's Oedipus. Tiresias claims she knows the answer to Oedipus’s question, but refuses her to speak. After hearing this, Oedipus goes into a deep state of denial and accuses Tiresias of complicity in Laius's murder. Oedipus presumes that Creon paid Tiresias this to do it.
Oedipus Rex, a Greek tragedy dating back to the 4th Century BC, is known. The play begins when Oedipus, Thebes' king, sends Creon to Delphi to question the oracle about a plague plaguing Thebes. The oracle reveals that the plague is due to the unsolved murders of Laius. As a result, Oedipus vows to find Laius and solve the plague.
Homer's Orpheus
Homer's Iliad was the first time Orpheus, a Greek mythology figure, appeared in Homer in the 7th Century BCE. His story ended in the ninth century CE. He was a mortal, sometimes demigod, but he was also a human who was later married to Eurydice the sea nymph.
One classic example of a story about reincarnation is the tale of Orpheus. Homer describes in the Iliad or the Odyssey the process of rebirth. He also explains what the Moirae sisters do. The Orphic stories of the afterlife are interwoven with the Homeric description.
Homer's Eurydice
Homer's Eurydice a classical Greek myth is about a mortal, female nymph and their love affair with Orpheus. The story starts in the 7th Century BCE, when Eurydice appears for the first time in Homer’s Iliad. It ends in the 9th century BCE. Eurydice was the daughter of the god Apollo and married the legendary musician Orpheus.
Eurydice fell in a love with Orpheus. The two were eventually married. Orpheus, however, broke his promise not to look back. Eurydice was left behind and he tried to return to The Underworld to beg the gods for her soul. He arrived at Hades and was denied entry. He could not even sing to enter.