Hades means places of the departed spirit. In Christian terminology it is the place, either heaven or hell, where the spirit awaits the resurrection. Throughout the modern New Testament the word Hades has been mistranslated as 'hell' meaning the inferno, rather than ambiguous correct meaning. Research Hades
In Greek mythology, Aeacus was a son of Zeus and Aegina, born on the island of Aegina, of which he became the ruler. His sons Telamon and Peleus abandoned the island, Telamon going to Salamis and Peleus to Phthia. After his death, Zeus made him a judge of the shades in Hades with Minos and Rhadamanthus. Research Aeacus
In Greek mythology, Charon was the son of Erebus and Nyx. He was the ferryman who transported the dead across the river Styx to the Underworld of Hades. Charon was depicted as a squalid, mean, sprightly, bad tempered old man. Charon demanded a fee of an Obol for the journey across the river Styx, and to this end the Greeks buried their dead with an Obol coin in their mouth with which to pay Charon. Hercules forced Charon to ferry him into the Underworld, and Hades punished Charon by binding him in chains for a year. Research Charon
In Greek mythology, Elysium was originally another name for the Islands of the Blessed, to which favoured heroes were sent by the gods to enjoy a life after death. It was later a region in Hades. Research Elysium
The Erinys or Furiae also called Dirae, Eumenides, or Semnae - that is, the ' revered' goddesses - were, in Greek mythology, daughters of Night, or, according to another myth, of the Earth and Darkness, while a third account calls them offspring of Cronos and Eurynome. They were attendants of Hades and Persephone, and lived at the entrance to the lower world. Their first duty was to see to the punishment of those of the departed who, having been guilty of some crime on earth, had come down to the shades without obtaining atonement from the gods. At the command of the higher gods, sometimes of Nemesis, they appeared on earth pursuing criminals. Nothing escaped their sharp eyes as they followed the evil-doer with speed and fury, permitting him no rest. Research Erinys
Hell (from the Anglo-Saxon, hel, from helan, to cover), properly signifies originally the covered or invisible place. In the English Bible the word is used to translate the Hebrew sheol (grave or pit) and Gehenna (properly the valley of Hinnom), as well as the Greek Hades (the unseen). In the Revised Version of the New Testament, however, hell is used only to translate Gehenna, Hades being left where it stands in the Greek. In common Christian mythology usage hell signifies the place of punishment of the wicked after death, its earlier meaning being lost. The distinctive Scripture term for the place of future punishment of the wicked is Gehenna, which, unlike Sheol and Hades, never has an intermediate signification; and the bible adopting on this point the current language of the time gave the sanction of authority to the leading ideas involved in it. Gehenna, or hell, is with the bible the place of final torment. The Eastern and Western churches are at one as to the punishment of hell being partly 'a pain of loss,' that is, the consciousness of being debarred the presence of God, and partly a 'pain of sense,' that is, real physical suffering. The prevailing idea is that the 'fire' and the 'worm' are significant emblems to provide the most descriptive conceptions of hell. Research Hell
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Hades
