People have always known that death cannot be avoided. The afterlife remained a mystery to us, but we always tried to find out what awaits us after death. Religions of different peoples of the world describe the afterlife in different ways. In modern times, we are taught that after death the soul can go to Hell or Paradise, which depends on the actions of a person during life.
In ancient times, people described the afterlife in a different way - more interesting, complete, colorful. We will describe in detail the variations of the afterlife of various ancient peoples, and also find out who the guides to the afterlife are.
Carrier or guide to the underworld
Almost each of us learned from history and mythology textbooks that people in ancient times were extremely responsible for funeral rites. A person was prepared for the afterlife in a special way, since it was believed that without this his soul would not be accepted, because of which it would then get stuck between the worlds of the dead and the living. In funeral rites, special attention was paid to the process of pleasing the carrier or guide, as it is also called.
The line between the worlds: the afterlife and ours has always been something that really existed. For example, the Slavs believed that the Smorodinka River served as it. The ancient Greeks called the border between the worlds the Styx River, and the Celts called the immense sea, which the soul had to overcome with the help of a guide.
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The ferryman who transported souls to the afterlife was treated with respect. The Egyptians, for example, performed separate rituals to appease him. It was believed that if this is not done, the soul will never reach the afterlife, even if its owner was a righteous person. Special amulets and objects were placed in the coffin for the deceased, with which his soul had to pay the guide.
The Scandinavians believed that between the worlds of the living and the dead is the deepest river with gloomy ominous water. Its banks were allegedly connected only in one place by a bridge of the purest gold. It is almost impossible to cross this bridge on your own, since it was guarded by evil giants and fierce dogs. The soul had only one way out: to somehow agree with the mother of these giants, who was a witch named Modgud. By the way, the Scandinavians believed that the warriors who distinguished themselves in the battle on the above-described bridge were met by Odin himself, after which he accompanied them to Valhalla - a mythological afterlife for warriors, in which an eternal holiday awaits them with beautiful Valkyries.
Charon, the hero of the mythology of Ancient Greece, was considered the most intractable carrier to the afterlife. He ferried souls across the fast river Styx to the underworld of Hades. It was impossible to find a compromise solution with him, since he was distinguished by law-abidingness and never argued with the gods of Olympus. For the crossing, Charon demanded only one obol - a small coin of that time, which the relatives of the deceased put in his mouth during the funeral. If during the funeral traditions and customs were not observed, Charon refused to let his soul into his boat. If the relatives of the deceased were stingy and did not make a generous sacrifice to Hades, Charon also refused.
The most enticing is the afterlife as seen by the Celts
The Celts believed that after death a promising "Land of Women" awaits them, in which everyone can do what they love. The deceased, who will be able to get there, expected a carefree, pleasant life. Brave warriors could participate in glorious tournaments there, minstrels gratified women there, endless rivers of ale (an intoxicating Celtic drink) awaited drunkards. The souls of the druids and sages did not remain on the "Land of Women", since soon after the death of the body they were supposed to be reborn into another body and continue their mission.
Perhaps, it is precisely thanks to such ideas about the afterlife that the Celtic warriors have always been considered avid swashbucklers, brave and absolutely fearless. They were not afraid to die, because they knew that after death they would go to the heavenly world. They did not value their lives, giving themselves completely to the battle.
To get to the "Land of Women", it was necessary to sail on a boat with a guide. Legend has it that there was once a mysterious settlement on the west coast of Brittany. Its residents suddenly lost their debts and stopped paying taxes, as they had a responsible mission. The men from this village were destined to transport the souls of the dead to the afterlife. Every night an unknown something came for them, woke them up and directed them to the seashore. There, beautiful boats were waiting for them, almost completely submerged in the water. Male guides sat at the helm and ferried the souls with which the boats were loaded to the gates of the underworld. After some time, the boats stuck to the sandy shore, after which they quickly emptied. Souls were sent to other guides in black cloaks, who asked them for their names, rank and family,and then led to the gate.
Guardians at the doorstep of the afterlife
In many myths and legends, guards, most often dogs, stand at the doors of the afterlife. Some of these guards not only guard the gates of the underworld, but also further protect its inhabitants.
In ancient Egypt, it was believed that the afterlife was ruled by Anubis - a deity with a jackal head, who was greatly respected and feared. Anubis met the souls brought by the guide, after which he accompanied them to the trial to Osiris and was present with them until the verdict.
Legends say that it was Anubis who revealed the secrets of mummification to people. He allegedly told people that by saving the dead in this way, you can provide them with a happy and carefree afterlife.
In the Slavic religion, the wolf saw off the soul to the afterlife, which then grew into a character in the well-known fairy tale about Ivan Tsarevich. It was the wolf who was the guide. He ferried the dead across the Smorodinka River to the kingdom of Prav, telling during this how it is necessary to behave there. The guardian of the afterlife Slavic world, in turn, was the winged dog Semargl. He guarded the borders between the Slavic mythical worlds Navi, Yavi and Prav.
The most terrible and malicious guard was the three-headed Cerberus, a mythical dog guarding the gates of the underworld, which existed in the mythology of Ancient Greece. According to legend, once Hades complained to his brother Zeus that his world was poorly guarded. Souls are constantly getting out of it, upsetting the universal balance. After listening to his brother, Zeus gave him a fierce guard - a huge three-headed dog, whose saliva was toxic, and he himself was covered with poisonous snakes. For many centuries, Cerberus faithfully served Hades, but once left his post for a short time, after which he was killed by Hercules for the sake of the head, which the hero later presented to King Eurystheus. This was the twelfth feat of the glorious Hercules.
Slavic worlds: Nav, Yav, Rule and Slav
Unlike other peoples of that time, the Slavs believed that the soul in the afterlife would not stay forever. Soon after death, she will be reborn and go to the world of the living - Reveal. The souls of the righteous, who during their lifetime did nothing wrong to anyone, for some time went to the world of Prav - the world of the gods, in which they were prepared for rebirth. The souls of people who died in the battle moved to the world of Slavi, in which heroes and daredevils were met by Perun. This god provided the heroes with all the conditions for a carefree afterlife: eternal peace, fun, and so on. But sinners, criminals and deceivers went to the evil afterlife - Navi. There, their souls fell asleep forever, and they could only be bewitched with prayers, which the relatives of the dead who remained in the world of the living had to constantly say.
The Slavs believed that the soul would go back to the world of Reality in two generations. Thus, the deceased had to be reborn as his great-grandson. If he did not have such, or the clan was interrupted for some reason, the soul had to be reborn into an animal. A similar thing happened to the souls of irresponsible people who abandoned their families during their lifetime.