Elysium
The paradise at the edge of the world where heroes and the virtuous spent eternity in perfect happiness. Also called the Elysian Fields or the Isles of the Blessed.
The Story of Elysium
Elysium was the final reward for heroes, the righteous, and those chosen by the gods. Located at the western edge of the world (or, in later versions, within the underworld itself), it was a land of perpetual spring, where gentle breezes blew and the souls of the blessed lived in eternal comfort.
Homer described it as a place where "life is easiest for men. No snow is there, nor great storm, nor ever rain, but always Ocean sends up blasts of the shrill-blowing West Wind to refresh men." Heroes like Achilles, Menelaus, and Cadmus were said to dwell there.
In later Greek thought, Elysium became part of a more elaborate geography of the afterlife. The righteous dead might be reincarnated three times, and if they achieved Elysium in each life, they would be sent to the Isles of the Blessed — the ultimate paradise, ruled by Kronos, who had been released from Tartarus to govern this gentle realm.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The famous Champs-Elysees in Paris takes its name from the Elysian Fields — the avenue of paradise.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Elysian Fields
🏛 placeafterlife
Paradise reserved for heroes and the virtuous dead, located at the western edge of the world or in the depths of the Underworld.
Isles of the Blessed
🏛 placeafterlife
Ultimate paradise beyond even Elysium, reserved for souls who achieved three virtuous incarnations according to Orphic-Platonic teaching.
Underworld
🏛 placeRealm of the dead
The Underworld was the vast subterranean realm where all mortal souls went after death — a geography of rivers, fields, and judges more detailed than any other mythological afterlife.
Hades
🏛 placeUnderworld geography
The vast underground kingdom of the dead ruled by the god Hades and his queen Persephone
Asphodel Fields
🏛 placeUnderworld geography
The vast grey meadow in the underworld where the majority of ordinary souls wandered after death
Elysian Fields
💭 conceptParadise for the virtuous dead
The Elysian Fields were the blessed afterlife reserved for heroes and the exceptionally virtuous — a paradise of eternal spring where the dead lived without toil or sorrow.
Elysian
💭 conceptLanguage and the afterlife
An English adjective meaning blissful, heavenly, or supremely happy, derived from the Elysian Fields, the paradise in the Greek underworld reserved for heroes and the virtuous
Acheron
🏛 placeRiver of Woe in the underworld
The Acheron was the River of Woe in the underworld, which the dead had to cross — in some traditions it was Charon's river rather than the Styx.
Hyperborea
🏛 placeMythical paradise beyond the north wind
Hyperborea was a legendary land of perpetual sunshine and plenty beyond the north wind, where people lived in bliss for a thousand years.
Arcadia
🏛 placePastoral paradise of Pan
Arcadia was both a real mountainous region in the central Peloponnese and an idealised landscape of pastoral innocence, forever associated with Pan, nymphs, and rustic simplicity.
Acheron River
🏛 placeUnderworld geography
The river of woe in the Greek underworld across which the dead were ferried by Charon
Olympus
🏛 placeHome of the gods
The highest mountain in Greece and the mythological home of the twelve Olympian gods. Olympus was imagined as a paradise above the clouds.