Death, Suicide, Underworld, Afterlife
The Deaths of the First Triumvirate
The first triumvirate in Republican Rome was made up of ambitious men, none of whom died quietly of old age. Read about fates that seem almost fitted to their colorful lives.
Greek Afterlife
The Greek Afterlife was in the Underworld where there were neutral shadowy areas, a paradise, and an area of torture.
Roman Burial Practices
Romans burial practices included inhumation and cremation at different times in their history.
Judgment in the Egyptian Afterlife
Judgment in the Egyptian Afterlife
Why did the Maya perform human sacrifices?
Possible reasons for the practice of human sacrifice.
Lares, Larvae, Lemures, and Manes - Roman Ghosts
The ancient Romans believed that there were spirits of the dead that good be benevolent or harmful towards the living.
The Suicide of Cato the Younger
Cato the Younger, incorruptible and staunch supporter of the Optimates in the Senate committed suicide rather than live under Caesar.
Etruscan Life and Afterlife
Etruscan Life and Afterlife is a collection of monographs on Etruscan topics compiled in 1986.
Human Sacrifice Among the Maya
Carvings by the Maya show human sacrifices.
Greek Mummy
The Greeks appear to have adopted Egyptian techniques in this Greek mummy.
Cerberus - The Hell Hound Cerberus
The three-headed, serpent-tailed dog Cerberus was the offspring of Echidna and Typhon. In Hesiod's Theogony, Cerberus had not three, but fifty heads.
Latin Death Vocabulary
Just as in English, expressions for death are not all straight forward. Here is a variety of expressions for death from Classical Latin.
Attila the Hun - Death of Attila
Two versions of the death of the Hun leader Attila.
Cicero's Dream - Somnium Scipionis - Dream of Scipio
Scipio Africanus, in this dialogue from the sixth book of the De republica written by Cicero, answers a question, posed by Laelius, on the enduring rewards of virtue.
Odyssey XI - Nekuia
Odysseus visits the realm of Hades and Persephone where he must provide sacrificial blood in order to talk with the dead. He has been advised to talk with them for advice on getting back home to Ithaca.
Thanatos
Glossary entry on the Greek personification of death known as Thanatos.
Aeneas' Underworld Adventure
When Aeneas, in direct imitation of Odysseus, visits the realm of Dis and Proserpine, the areas of the Underworld are clearly marked out, with Tartarus, the land of eternal punishment, and special areas for the innocent, the blessed, and the suicides.
Review - Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs
Mythology adds zest to this fascinating survey of man's inhumanity to man. In Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs - Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World, Adrienne Mayor demonstrates how only minor details regarding how best to destroy one's enemy have changed over the millennia.
Dionysus - Pictures of Dionysus
Dionysus is seen in connection with both high living and death, as seen in marble-carved sarcophagi.
Legends of the Jews
Sarah dies for joy when she learns that Abraham her husband did not kill their son. This Biblical story involves Satan.
Dancing with the Dead
From British Archaeology No. 50, 1999. Bones of the dead from neolithic graves were handled repeatedly, danced with, or shuffled about to make room for more dead bodies.
Disease and death in the ancient city of Rome, by Walter Scheidel
This PDF is a Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics, from April 2009. "This paper surveys textual and physical evidence of disease and mortality in the city of Rome in the late republican and imperial periods. It emphasizes the significance of seasonal mortality data and the weaknesses of age at death records and paleodemographic analysis, considers the complex role of environmental features and public infrastructure, and highlights the very considerable promise of scientific study of skeletal evidence of stress and disease."
Demons
From St. Augustine's City of God, the criteria by which Platonists determine which people become Lemures (Larvae, Manes, and Lares) after death.
Map of the Underworld
Carlos Parada's map showing Odysseus' and Aeneas' travels in the Underworld.
Suicidal Females in Greek and Roman Mythology - A Catalogue
From Diotima, an A (Aethra) - Z (or X, for Xenodoce) of mythological females who have pined away or taken their own lives.
Suicidal Females in Greek and Roman Mythology - An Essay
Texas A&M's Elise P. Garrison explains motives for suicide, including grief, unrequited love, madness, incest, rape, fear, frustration, and self-sacrifice.
Taste of the Ancient World
Meal sharing was important in ancient religious practices. Meals at funerals were thought to feed the dead.