Elysium: The Rolling Meadow of the Underworld
And its evolving meaning since Antiquity.
Some people really have a thing for Greek Mythology. Pantheistic religions give me a headache, but there is one interesting thing that stands out: the myth of Elysium.
Elysium was like Heaven for the Greeks.
This article was written for the sake of portraying one angle on the enjoyable afterlife.
Elysium is described as a rolling meadow of pure pleasantness, where the virtuous initiates of the Mysteries would go after a life of good deeds. Once there, you got to occupy yourself with the occupation you had on Earth, or else you got to play an instrument constantly. You also got to meet several gods or demigods that resided there for various reasons, including Hecate; Persephone; Iacchus; and Zagreus; among others.
Since everyone who believed in the Greek mythology went to the Underworld after death, that is where Elysium was, too. Nowadays, the Underworld gives more of a connotation of Hell than anything, whereas the sky or space gives an impression of Heaven as the Christians see it. Anyway, there were different parts of the Underworld; some good, some bad. Across the river Styx was Hades, the equivalent of Hell in this mythology.
