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Greek And Roman Influence On Afterlife

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The times of the Greeks and Romans have shaped the world we live in today. It has changed society and life as we know it forever. The inspiration and cultural influence from the Greeks and Romans have lived on for many centuries. The Greeks and the Romans had religious beliefs of the afterlife. They both believed in the afterlife and that everyone has a spirit. The conception of afterlife and the ceremonies associated with the burials were already well established by the sixth century B.C. (Heilbrunn). While the Greeks and the Romans share common burial practices and rituals, they differ on what happens to the soul in the afterlife and what is buried with the body. The Greeks and the Romans both believed that death is defined when the separation of the body and soul happen (theology). The soul could only find peace when the physical body is buried or cremated. Both the Greek and Romans …show more content…

To the Greeks, the afterlife underworld was known as Hades, a grey world ruled by Lord of the Dead, also known as Hades. If they had lived a good life and were remembered by the living, they could enjoy the sunny pleasures of Elysium. If they were wicked, then they fell into the darker pits of Tartarus while, if forgotten, they wandered eternally in the bleakness of the land of Hades (Mark). My thoughts is that the Greeks thought like this because they only looked at how they made a difference in the life they were living and never really expected a meaningful afterlife. As stated by Joshua Mark, “if forgotten, they wandered eternally in the bleakness of the land of Hades.” That tells you that their life journey was to be remembered after death to enjoy the sunny pleasures of Elysium. This is why the Greeks and the Romans were different when it came to afterlife

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