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Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Death and the Afterlife
This volume explores the fascinating belief systems about death and the afterlife from cultures around the world, from antiquity to modern times. As humans, nothing affects us more deeply than our own mortality. This volume examines how people throughout the ages have come to terms with the transitory nature of our existence.
Evidence from burial sites dating back to the era of cavemen and continuing through ancient societies shows us the care and thought that went into mourning death and preparing loved ones for the next stage of their journey. Literary texts from many cultures describe in great detail journeys made to the underworld or other lands occupied by the dead. Spells and offerings were made to appease angry spirits, mediums and shamans spoke with the dead on behalf of the living, and people prayed to their ancestors for assistance in the world of the living. These practices are mirrored today, often assisted by technology, in digital funeral services, or even in “grief bots” created to “interact” with the deceased. The ever-present quest for immortality has generated hopes for a permanent form of consciousness that can be somehow merged with technology.
Although details and rituals may differ, universal patterns emerge in the folk tales and legends of the afterworld that transcend place and time, connecting us to people and cultures from thousands of miles, or years, away. These myths continue to be an important part of modern culture and are often found in video games and graphic novels.
Listed below are some of the tales and traditions discussed in the current volume, exploring the realms beyond the great divide separating the living and the dead:
- Osiris, the Egyptian god of the underworld, came to symbolize triumph over death after he was murdered by his brother Set and resurrected by his wife, Isis, as detailed in the Hymn to Osiris from the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
- The legend of Orpheus and Eurydice describes Orpheus’s grief in mourning his love, Eurydice, his descent into the underworld to search for her, and his ultimate reunion with her after his own death.
- Aeschylus’s classic trilogy, the Oresteia, reveals different beliefs about death as characters attempt to justify their actions in life.
- Death was introduced to the world because of a tragic quarrel between the Shinto goddess Izanami, who died in childbirth, and her grief-stricken husband, Izanagi, who journeyed to the underworld of Yomi only to find that her beauty had been polluted by the ravages of death.
- The Hindu goddess Kali is often portrayed as a vengeful force of destruction and death, but she is also connected to transcendental knowledge and renewal.
- Harbingers of death La Llorana (The Weeping Woman), the legendary ghostly figure from Mexican folklore known for wandering along the shores of rivers and lakes in search of her lost children, and the Celtic Morrígan, who incited wars and appeared, often as a crow, to foretell death in battle.
- The Norse apocalypse, Ragnarok, the final battle between the gods and the giants that will destroy the world.
- The decree of the gods that his companion, the mighty warrior Enkidu, must die as a punishment for defeating the Bull of Heaven affects Gilgameš so profoundly that he begins his quest for immortality, eventually coming to accept his works and reputation in life as the only version available to him.
Legends from Africa, Mesoamerica, South America, the Near and Far East, the Americas, Europe, the Pacific and Oceania, India, Egypt, as well as Greek and Roma mythology are discussed. Illustrations, maps, and indexes round out this informative collection.
The Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore series offers analytical articles and plot summaries of the major myths, tales, and other traditional literature for studies in advanced high school and undergraduate classrooms.
