CONCEPTS OF DEAD AMONG ANCIENT CIVILIZATION 35 



The Greeks of the later civilization, before the 4th Century 

 B.C., shared and cherished the belief that death was not the end 

 of existence, that man lives on by means of his soul. They were 

 influenced by certain myths of the gods, particularly those con- 

 cerned with the soil, crops and the abode of the dead. In na- 

 ture, things come back to life again and again as evidenced by 

 the seasonal rebirth of plants and the reappearance of hibernat- 

 ing animals, therefore, why not man. At first, it was felt that 

 blessed immortality belonged only to the gods. The common man 

 was first interested in and looked to those deities who had ex- 

 perienced struggle, pain and death (Dionysis and Demeter), who 

 had triumphed over death and risen to a new life. In such a 

 victory, was the evidence that death can be overcome; therefore, 

 the only hope for man to escape from the gloomy underworld was 

 participation in divine nature. 



From the 6th Century B.C., the myth of Orpheus, Thracian 

 singer, son of Apollo, wielded great influence among the Greek 

 population. He descended to the underworld with his lyre in an 

 attempt to save his wife, Eurydice, who died after being bitten 

 by a snake. His music so charmed the queen of Hades that she 

 gave Orpheus permission to let Eurydice follow him back to 

 earth on condition that he would not look behind until they 

 reached the upper world. On the upward journey, because of his 

 emotional condition, he ventured a glance in her direction and 

 she vanished. Thereafter, Orpheus mourned her loss and scorned 

 the women of Thrace. This so infuriated them that they tore him 

 to pieces in an orgy. They cast his head, which was still calling 

 for Eurydice into the river Hebrus; it floated down to the shore 

 of Lisbon, which thereafter became renowned for its lyric poetry. 



According to the Orphic doctrine, at death the soul was 

 carried around upon the wings of the wind until it found another 

 body, a primitive concept of transmigration. The human frame, 

 therefore, was nothing more than a prison for this essence and 

 freedom could be attained only by deliverance from it. The con- 

 cept of the Orphic hell was on the gruesome side. It was a place 

 of misery where the souls wallowed in filth, where an earth dragon 

 with 100 heads existed which could tear out a man's vitals; which 

 contained a Spanish sea serpent which could claw their lungs; 



