Land Of No Return Essay

Although it is unknown when people began to believe in ghosts, but from the evidences it is dated back to ancient Mesopotamian religion as well as Egypt culture in the Bronze age (3300-1200 BC). The belief was started by the concept of the souls that are taught by the religions of Near East (which, were influenced from the ancient Greek religion). In ancient Mesopotamian culture, death was considered the final part of the living. The land of the dead was known as Irkalla, meaning the "land of no return", where the souls stay in darkness. No soul was permitted to leave Irkalla, however, ghosts could appear to living people to correct people for what they had done to them. When one is dead, a spiritual entity called Gidim was created, which maintained

The judges would then assign the soul one of the three locations: Elysian Fields which were a paradise, or the Plain of Asphodel, which also full of pleasure, or the darkness of Tartarus where the soul remained until it had atoned for the sins of one's life. However, the improper burial of the dead was considered the prime reason for the return of a spirit from the afterlife. In ancient Asia civilization, The Chinese afterlife was thought of as a journey in which the soul had to cross a bridge over an abyss where it was judged. If the soul was found worthy, it continued on, paused at a pavilion to look back on the land of the living one last time, and then drank a cup of a brew called Mengpo Soup which caused one to forget one's former life entirely. According to some works, the soul goes on to heaven, while according to others, it is reincarnated. If the soul is found unworthy as it crosses the bridge to the afterlife, it slips down into hell where it remains. As in the other cultures mentioned, the spirits could return to the living because of impropriety in burial or funeral