Underworld
placeThe 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.
The Myth
Five rivers defined the underworld: Styx (hatred/oath), Acheron (woe), Lethe (forgetting), Phlegethon (fire), and Cocytus (lamentation). Charon ferried the dead across the Styx for the price of an obol coin. Cerberus guarded the gate. Three judges — Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Aeacus — sorted souls. The virtuous went to Elysium (later the Isles of the Blessed), the ordinary to the Asphodel Meadows, and the wicked to Tartarus for punishment. Sisyphus, Tantalus, and the Danaids endured eternal torments.
Symbols
Fun Fact
Greeks placed a coin in the mouth of the dead to pay Charon — a practice archaeologists still find in ancient graves.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Acheron
placeThe Acheron was the River of Woe in the underworld, which the dead had to cross — in some...
Aeacus
heroAeacus was the most pious mortal of his age, whose prayers could end drought and whose justice...
Cerberus
creatureThe three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the underworld, preventing the dead from leaving and...
Charon
godCharon was the grim ferryman who carried the souls of the dead across the river Styx into the...
Elysium
placeThe paradise at the edge of the world where heroes and the virtuous spent eternity in perfect...
Lethe
placeLethe was the River of Forgetfulness in the underworld — the dead drank from it to erase all memory...