Les Grecs Aux Enfers: D'Homere a Epicure

When examining how the Greek concept of the underworld evolved from Homer (8th century BC) to the Epicurean philosophers (3rd century BC), two key characteristics emerge:Perception of the underworld: Throughout their history, Greeks were divided between two contrasting concepts. The first, a Homeric legacy, perceived the underworld as a uniformly gloomy and dismal place, while the second, based on mystery religions and particularly on Plato, conceived of it as a highly complex place offering more pleasing prospects, mixed in with dreadful torments. Each change in the perception of the underworld underscored a new image of the universe until some challenged its very existence in the early 3rd century.The fate of souls: The latter have always had two possible destinations (either to go to “Hades” or to “heaven”), yet this concept evolved through the ages: according to Homer, the allotment of souls was based on social criteria; then, with the advent of mystery religions (Orphism and the Eleusinian cult), it was based on whether or not one was an initiate; lastly with Plato (no doubt also among the strictest followers of Orphism), the decisive factor between good and evil was based on moral criteria.Yet in what form, and on what paths, did thinkers and poets imagine these travelling souls to be? Could souls be reincarnated?Such an exhilarating panorama as this one, spanning from the origins of the Greek world to the Roman era, exists in no other book. It offers the general public a clear and entertaining read, and scholars an in-depth and occasionally novel subject study.Danielle Jouanna has devoted her entire life to ancient Greek. Professor in Strasbourg and Versailles, author of numerous academic textbooks, she has published such notable works as Aspasie de Milet, égérie de Périclès (2005), L’Europe est née en Grèce (2009), Les Grecs aux Enfers (2015), L’Enfant grec au temps de Périclès (2017), Le Monde comme le voyaient les Grecs (2018).