Underworld - Tumblr Posts
Beliefs about Life after Death: Egyptians and Greeks
The Egyptians and Greeks had some similar beliefs in death. They both believed that there was something after life, however there was a difference.
The Greeks believed that the life they lived would be what would be thoroughly judged once they died, and would determine where they would end up.
(the Judges of the Dead, that being Rhadamanthys, Minos, and Aeacus)
It was a belief that the good they did would be rewarded, while the bad would be punished. However, few of them suffered for eternity (although punished for things beyond humanity, meaning human crimes likely weren't seen as an issue, which says a lot), and the few heroes that did make it to Elysium, or basically paradise, were not because of their behavior, but because of their status and connections to the gods. It was really biased.
It meant however that they believed that when rewarded, they wouldn't really need to work another day in their life. Or well, undead life. (I can't tell if they thought that because they were arrogant and the accounts are biased, or if that's really how it worked then).
Due to that, however, it was believed that by joining mysterious cults in relation to Orpheus, and Dionysus, where they'd perform private rituals and such. There's not that much known on what they did, actually, although believed that they'd be buried with inscribed tablets. The contents vary, however usually tend to be about either guiding them, or vouching for them.
The Egyptians however, believed a different idea. They believed that there was a life after death. That their spiritual body would continue to exist in an afterlife that would be similar to the living world. Only problem? The entry to that afterlife was not guaranteed.
The idea was that they needed to negotiate somehow. To face a perilous journey, and then facing judgement before they could be given access. After that, they were meant to provide necessities for their spirit, for the rest of their undead life.
The preparations however, varied. Items would be placed within or near their tomb (the 'chests of life', made to protect the dead body), although it mainly varied depending on how rich that person was. Funerary items were also usually placed with them, stuff like amulets and the like, not to mention preparations for their needs, like clothing and so on.
(the Shabti of Yuya)
Now, that's vastly different, don't you think? They both believe in a life after death, however the Egyptians saw it as a second life, meanwhile the Greeks saw it as their last judgement before eternal rest (unless punished).
Where the Greeks saw it as the end, believing their judgement to be on the life they lived, the Egyptians thought of it as the life they lived likely preparing them, and death being where they put it to the test, to make it through a dangerous journey, and then to face final judgement on whether they'd be gained entry to the actual afterlife.
Where the Egyptians would work for the rest of eternity (unless they abuse the idea of shabtis), meanwhile Greeks, or the blessed ones, would be in paradise, never having to work another day in their life.
What actually happens in the afterlife is vague to the Egyptians, but the Greeks are a bit more descriptive.
In my opinion, this tells me that the Egyptians embraced death. Not seeing it as the end, but as just another world to 'live' in, to merely exist in. That there was something else beyond it, but they'd have to prove themselves.
The Greeks however likely didn't like death. Not to mention the various myths out there of heroes conquering death, or seeing it as the big bad antagonist to a story. Decorating it in glamour however would have them strive to celebrate their gods, to do big in hopes of being favored, and that death would be their last rest, no matter how scary it seemed.
It gave them a purpose, and I guess in that way makes them both similar to each other. A purpose to work hard, and to do things in life.
Does that make sense at all?
I will mostly blame Hollywood for this misconception but the fact that the Underworld is depicted as Hell even by a lot of Greek Mythology Enthusiasts is dissapointing. And sometimes, the reason for this is not necessarily misinformation, but the fact that recognizing that the Underworld doesn’t look that scary and terrifying and it resembles the earth to some extent means that Hades is not the emo, edgy god many people usually think of.
The only place which could actually be depicted similarly with Hell is Tartarus, whereas the other realms don't look as gloomy and lifeless as they seem to be. Sure, the Underworld is very dark, which is stated in many sources, but that doesn’t mean that it looks like a lovecraftian monster's residence as well.
For example, there's this misconception that nothing grows in the Underworld and that there was Persephone the one who brought nature there. But in reality, it is specified the fact that Hades has an entire pomegranate orchard behind his palace, or that some of his sacred flowers are the cypress, mint, white poplar and asphodelus (two of them being his ex-lovers), which suggests that all of these plants are growing in the Underworld. Also, for one reason or another we often forget that grass exists.
There's also the misconception that besides Cerberus there are no other animals in the Underworld. Which again, is wrong. Hades has four black horses and a whole cattle of black cows whom Menoites takes to graze on the Asphodel Meadows. Furthermore, the ancient greeks portrayed him with chickens on some vases, so there's a chance that there are hens in the Underworld too. And if you take into account what Aristophanes said, there are frogs there as well.
The last misconception I want to point out is that Hades' palace is often designed as this Dracula-like sort of building decorated with skulls and blood fountains, when in fact it is described as being made of gold. Because quess what: he's also the god of riches, and what's the point of being disproportionately wealthy if you're not going to shower in gold anyway?
So many people imagine his palace looking like this:
When in reality, it is more likely that his palace resembled Domus Aurea (I know that this is a roman palace, but I couldn't come up with any other comparation for the moment):
Finally, I'm not sure where I'm going with this post, but can we please ditch all the cliché descriptions extracted from Horror Pulp Fiction novels and come up with more accurate depictions of the Underworld? Thanks!
MICHAEL SHEEN as Lucian in Underworld (2003)
Greek Mythos does mention this, fairly often. You just have to read the right texts.
By the by, many rivers are also deities (and/or dragons). First one to mind is the Welsh Gwyn Ap Nudd, associated with the Irish Nuada Silverhand, both a death god and a river dragon.
Men who died were guided by Hermes, women were guided by Hekate.
Styx is the River of Hate, so sacred that the gods swear by it. The Cocytus is the River of Lamentation or Wailing. The Phlegethon is the River of Fire. The Lethe is the River of Forgetfulness. The Acheron is the River of Sadness.
The close mortal bank of the Styx is crowded with the souls of the hopeless dead -- those not buried properly, who the boatman Charon ignores. For those buried well, ferried past the river Styx by Charon, the gates to Hades are guarded by Cerberus, a three-headed dog who allow anyone in but will not let anyone out. The far shore of the Styx is called Erebus, even more crowded with the waiting dead.
The kingdom of Hades is crowded, with Hades on his throne and near him the three judges Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus, who question and sort the souls.
Leaving Erebus, you pass by a great abyss, the chasm that is the opening to Tartaros. This is the place for evil souls and those who have angered the gods, and also a prison for the Titans. It is a place with iron gates and a bronze floor, guarded by Hundred-Handers (the Hekatonchieres known as Kottos, Briareos, and Gyges). Like Hades and the Rivers, Tartaros is not only a place but a person -- the Titan Tartaros was the father of the monsters Typhon and Echidna. The Furies or Kindly Ones (also known as Erinyes) -- immortal women named Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera -- punish the cruel in Hades, and also sometimes pursue wrongdoers on earth. There is no sun in Tartaros, the only light coming from a man bound for eternity to a flaming wheel in the sky -- Ixion, the first murderer.
The souls everywhere else, in the vast majority of Hades known as the fields of Asphodel, were neither happy nor sad. Empty. Lukewarm. Faceless, nameless shades. They all eventually have drunk from the River Lethe, which wanders through the place, and makes them forget their names and lives and shapes and faces. They all just stand there, and wait. They wait for all eternity, shifting, wandering, empty.
Those who have been more good than bad go to the Elysian Fields, or Elysium. Immortal ease, no snow or winter, no rain, warm breezes from the Ocean River... three harvests a year. There is no more beautiful place in the underworld, and it is mostly empty. Or, it was, until the coming of Persephone to the Underworld.
The fields to which Hades came unseen and from which he took Persephone down to his Underworld were called the fields of Eleusis. When Demeter and Hekate found Persephone and ended the Long Winter of the world, the place where they emerged were those same fields. Later, a new set of rites were created in honor of Persephone and Demeter and Dionysus (also known as Libera, Ceres, and Liber) -- mystery rites by which those who are faithful and good can enter into the blessed peace of Elysium after death. These are known as the Eleusinian Mysteries, sacred to Dionysos and Persephone alike.
Phew.
As you can see, there is a lot of depth and complexity to it. Much recommended for further delving.
I… Ok… this shit just got complicated and now I’m not sure I understand it.
BULGASAL MONSTERS & MYTHS
Bulgasal / Bulgasari
The legend narrates the story, from late Goryeo and is about a frightening monster that kept growing as it ate up all the metal around. People tried to kill it but could not succeed, and thus named the monster ‘Bulgasal (Impossible-to-Kill). The name Bulgasari is also interpreted, in a different set of Chinese characters, Killed-by-Fire.
Jomagu
In the drama, it is shown as the monster with three eyes, who is nourished with corpses. The legend, however, tells a story about a gluttonous monster, who grows up when someone hits it. In a varitation of another myth, it is mentioned to be related to underworld monsters.
Teoreokson ( water monster of Yongsan River )
It is said to be the water monster and is different than water ghost as instead of possessing them, the monster eats them. The peculiar thing is that this monster steals a person's ponytail before it attacks a person.
( Indefinite source. )
Gapsangoe ( monster of Mount Gap )
Dueoksini / Dokeoksini
A creature that kills people by crushing their heads figuratively or literally. It is said to be related to Dokkaebi (Goblin) but is more brutal and monstrous being than the common goblin.
twitter version.
inuyasha! it was fun drawing him ❤️
Sword and Crusade by 老 银
I want someone to make a fic where Nico’s a son a Persephone while Bianca’s still a daughter of Hades. So he could have the protect of both King and Queen of the Underworld. Also this means he could get claimed much earlier or smth but I want to see a fic like this. Please tell me if there are fics like this!
Literally a vampire blog
This is going to be a blog for all things vampires, hunters and hapless humans who get in the way. Will mostly be reblogs and head cannons.
There will also be the occasional bill and ted reblog. Oh who am I kidding I love those two doofuses almost as much as vampires.
Because what 20 something doens’t love vampires?
I can’t believe I haven’t introduced her yet, how rude of me
meet Persephone Butterfly Lucitor
the proud, cold and cunning heiress to the underworld kingdom
Time for lil doodles I did forever ago!
Remember the cat lady from treasure planet? She was really 👌🏽 and basically gave me the idea for this^
Also wanted to try out some monochromatic stuff, but I don’t gave a lot of the same color markers so... I did what I could
⚠️Cartoony blood and gore warning⚠️
Due to some misunderstanding, this undead vampire lady just got (temprorarily) slain
She’s not very happy with the situation
The outfit was totally inspired by The Sims 4 Vampires extension and the subject matter was 1/2 inspired by Marceline from Adventure Time and 1/2 by me watching Underworld (omg Michael Sheen in those movies)
And hoo boy that hair
cosmic love in this club
(a thorki fanmix by brentofthefabulouswild) this particular fanmix was inspired by this AU idea i had where thor and loki are well-known partyphiles in the club scene but they ran in two very different social circles and they happened to meet in the city's newest and exclusive nightclub called "club asgard". naturally, intense sparks fly between them on the dance floor but some typical angsty drama happens between them before they can get their happy ending grinding underneath the strobe lights. the songs i've picked for this mix is basically the soundtrack of that AU idea--as if these were the very songs they would hear playing in club asgard every time they would meet. so if anyone is willing to pick up this crazy prompt to use for a long ass thorki slash fic, feel free to get creative! +++ "don't take me home till the sun comes up, till the sun comes up. right next to me, you wanna be till the sun comes up..." +++ 01 : finley quaye + william orbit + beth orton - "dice [layo + bushwacka! missing u mix]"
i was crying over you i am smiling, i think of you where your gardens have no walls breathe in the air if you care you compare, don't say farewell nothing can compare to when you roll the dice and swear your love's for me...
02 : björk - "human behaviour [underworld mix]"
they're terribly, terribly, terribly moody of human behaviour then all of a sudden--turn happy but oh, to get involved in the exchange of human emotions is ever so, ever so satisfying and there is no map--anxiety...!
03 : dido - "stoned [deep dish remix]"
and if you find one day find some freedom and relief with this freedom maybe maybe you will find some peace with this peace baby i hope it brings you back to me bring you home, take me home...
04 : late night alumni - "shine"
i'm not afraid i'm wrong i'm so afraid i'm right my deepest fear is that i'm powerful but who am i to shine? how was i to know you weren't the captain of my soul? all this time, you and i could've been pulled apart and i'd have stayed alive...
05 : skrillex + penny - "all i ask of you"
in comes the dawn i've fallen asleep with my head pressed against your flaws, all my love and something got in the way and your soul turned black as the sun grows somber took my heart and my love...
06 : florence + the machine - "you've got the love [mark knight remix]"
sometimes it seems the going is just too rough and things go wrong no matter what i do now and then, it seems that life is just too much but you've got the love i need to see me through when food is gone, you are my daily meal when friends are gone, i know my saviour's love is real you know it's real...
07 : underworld - "rez"
[instrumental]
08 : kaskade - "only you"
and it shows, because my heart beats so i will always love only you beautiful, so beautiful all this love is for only you i'll repeat this phrase through all my days with my last breath: only you...
09 : dennis de laat - "the sound of violence [main mix]"
i feel like i wanna be inside you when the sun goes down as long as i'm gonna be around you when the sun goes down, yeah...
10 : delerium + sarah mclachlan - "silence [tiësto's in search of sunrise mix]"
passion chokes the flower till she cries no more possessing all the beauty hungry still for more heaven holds a sense of wonder and i wanted to believe that i'd get caught up when the rage in me subsides...
11 : calvin harris + florence welch - "sweet nothing"
you took my heart and you held it in your mouth and with a word, all my love came rushing out and every whisper, it's the worst emptied out by a single word there is a hollow in me now...
12 : haley - "falling in love (with brazil)"
can love, even in times uncertain be the thing that carries us through? can love open a heart that’s frozen even when there’s nothing there for you? oh, so this is what it feels to be alive even though we stumble our way through one chance and then another one appears and then again another comes to you…
you can listen to the entire mix here.
I know they couldn't have possibly fit it into the movies but it would have been hilarious to have a scene of Eve learning how to drive.
Eve watching Selene ram a lycan head on with a truck: 👀👀
Selene: ...don't do what I just did. This is not how you drive correctly.
Eve watching David do a sharp turn into a parking space and send a lycan flying: 👀👀
David: ...that is not how you park a car.
David and Selene in the back of a van shooting lycans through the open doors
Selene: David.
David: Yes?
Selene: If you're here, who's driving the-
*Entire van just swerved to the left and picked up speed causing the two of them to go crashing into the side interior*
Eve: driving with zero experience and purposely trying to hit lycans
Selene spinning around to see Eve at the wheel: YOU'RE TOO FAR TO THE LEFT.
Eve: swerved right hitting two lycans in the process
David: YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO HIT THEM, STAY ON THE ROAD.
Eve: absolutely flooring it
David and Selene: NO! WHO TAUGHT YOU THAT?!
Eve: YOU GUYS DID!
Underworld Park Estella fanart
