ancient-wisdom.co.uk/landofdead.htm The Land of the Dead: The other shore. The idea of a land of the dead is a concept which appears in myths and traditions from various cultures around the ancient world. Without a modern equivalent, mainstream religions today are unable to offer anything with which to compare, the basic difference being that the land of the dead was then believed to be a physical place; a land that mortals could travel to and from, visit and talk to the dead, even (almost) bringing them back in the case of Orpheus and his wife. It has been said that we have learnt more from archaeology about the rituals of death than we have of the living, but it is only recently that we have been able to build a more accurate picture of the practices involved. Archaeological evidence supports the idea that our relationship with the dead has changed considerably over time with patterns emerging which suggest a transition from an early belief system in which we likely inhabited the same landscape as the dead, living alongside them and sharing our thoughts and daily routines with them, to one in which death becomes the final act of the living, following which we are separated by the definitive Valley of Death. The transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic appears to mark an elaboration of these rituals, perhaps not unexpectedly as it was also the start of a period of sustained human growth and cultural development around the ancient world. The separation between the lands of the living and the dead was both a physical and imaginative process, with the last few thousand years producing a variety of belief systems, most of which have left behind such intimate relationships with the spirit world effectively severing the connection between the living and the dead. The land of the dead is mentioned in several important texts, not least of all, the earliest known written story in human history; The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. Other important literary works such as the Egyptian Book of Thoth, and several Greek texts, most famously The Odyssey also describe journeys by mortals to the realm of the dead. With the exception of the Egyptian concept, the location of the land of the dead was considered to be a physical, accessible place at the same time as being located almost beyond the boundaries of the known, visible world, often existing either underground or far out at sea, but one that could always be found by those who sought hard enough. Scholars have suggested influences from Near Eastern mythology and literature in the Odyssey. In particular, the substantial parallels between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Odyssey. Both Odysseus and Gilgamesh are known for travelling to the ends of the earth, and on their journeys go to the land of the dead. On his voyage to the underworld, Odysseus follows instructions given to him by Circe, a goddess who is the daughter of the sun-god Helios. Her island, Aeaea, is located at the edges of the world, and seems to have close associations with the sun. Like Odysseus, Gilgamesh gets directions on how to reach the land of the dead from a divine helper: in this case, the goddess Siduri, who, like Circe, dwells by the sea at the ends of the earth. Her home is also associated with the sun: Gilgamesh reaches Siduris house by passing through a tunnel underneath Mt. Mashu, the high mountain from which the sun comes into the sky. It is therefore argued that the similarity of Odysseus and Gilgameshs journeys to the edges of the earth are the result of the influence of the Gilgamesh epic upon the Odyssey.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 13:25:44 +0000
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