Scientists May Have Found Hades

An ancient Greek cave nearly the size of four football pitches and with its own underground lake may be responsible for sparking the age-old myth about the Greek underworld god Hades, archaeologists claim.
The cavern - named Alepotrypa which means 'foxhole' - laid undiscovered for centuries in Diros Bay, Mani, southern Greece, until a man walking his dog found a tiny entrance to the cave in the 1950s.
Experts have spent the last few decades excavating the cave and believe hundreds of people lived inside Alepotrypa, making it one the oldest prehistoric villages in Europe, before the cave entrance collapsed burying everyone alive 5,000 years ago.


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So what really is Hades? I always thought it was Hell.

reply to post by TheProphetMark


It's the underworld. There was no "hell" in Greek myth, not hell as you and I would think of it anyway. Hades had a bit of heaven and hell in it. It was just where you went when you died.

reply to post by TheProphetMark


Hades was the Greek " underworld " , hell if you so wish.

One had to pay the ferryman for the ride into the afterlife.

Hence why many traditions still exist of placing two coins on the dead, one on each eye.

The toll must be paid, lest ye be left behind.


SS

reply to post by Spike Spiegle

Originally posted by TheProphetMark
So what really is Hades? I always thought it was Hell.

Both are myths/states of mind. Hades is supposed to be a place for the dead to rest, at least in Christian theology... it's not the same thing as "hell" at all (or Hel, from Norse myth). In Greco-Roman mythology, it was just the underworld for dead people: not a paradise, but not torment either. Elysium was for the honoured dead, like Heaven and Valhalla.

nice picture i want to see more
SNF

So then we'll have to further discuss any of the stories/legends/epics of "a hero's descent into hades to retrieve his lost love or golden something or other."

Honey, what were you doing in that cave?

Seriously, though... How does this change the story of Orpheus sneaking into the underworld to get his wife back, or Heracles being sent there for some impossible task, or Persephone being kidnapped and brought there on account of pomegranate seeds?

Could the area have been like a "dyin' hole"? Or a place for indentured servants (i.e. Slaves enslaved for the repayment of a debt?) Did Orpheus bring correct change and pay for his wife's release? Was Heracles just good with animals? Did Persephone just have an x-months debt to pay?

If it's real, what prizes come along with that?

Thanks for the post - interesting read.
The origins of legends have always fascinated me...
I think was supposed to be an archeologist...oh well

reply to post by coldkidc


If you want archaeology at home, try this
www.thechronicleproject.org...

I thought Hades was Hell as well..
I think these scientists are just saying this to make their discovery more astounding -_-

cool stuff though

Yeah...just more evidence that there's nothing mystical to these legends. Ignorant townsfolk amusing themselves by embellishing on the more interesting natural developments they stumbled across in their adventures.

reply to post by ArtOfTrance


Where did you hear that from?

First -- "Hades" was a "god" (son of Cronus and Rhea -- Titans) who ruled "the Underworld."

Second -- he wasn't good or evil. He simply ruled over the dead. All of them. Finis.

And his rule was final. There was no good dead or bad dead. And no one dared steal a soul from his realm, except for mythical heroes like Odysseus.

Greek mythology predates Christianity by hundreds or even thousands of years. That doesn't make it "true" or anything. It just means that the Greeks had no concept of "Hell" as Christians came to know it.

Great to read about it.

I have been in that cave around 15 years ago.
We did a tour by boat and foot, very impressive!
Also "sailed" the river Styx and visited some nearby temple ruines

Impressive Not only as for scenery, but also the taught of walking real live trough ancient histories!

Hades is the the GOD of the underworld, not the word for underworld.

I think that there interpretation of the underworld at that time may be due to the fact of those 100's of people dying , hence the trapped souls of the underworld in which no one can enter , and Hades was the god who got the blame for it , back then they always blamed the god for things that they diden't understand, and now we have the Chinese whispers since that time , as in an exaggerated view of the underworld , just a thought..

Originally posted by Spike Spiegle
reply to post by TheProphetMark

 

Hades was the Greek " underworld " , hell if you so wish.

One had to pay the ferryman for the ride into the afterlife.

Hence why many traditions still exist of placing two coins on the dead, one on each eye.

The toll must be paid, lest ye be left behind.




SS

edit on 103030p://pm3038 by Spike Spiegle because: ferryman*

Did someone call me.

Originally posted by ptdait
Hades is the the GOD of the underworld, not the word for underworld.

Correct S+F

Tony

reply to post by winterkill


While It is a cool idea I don't think it matches up as being "The" underworld... It's called underworld for the same reason it's called "falling" asleep.. It's deeper inside, and inward movement feels like shrinking/falling... People must realize these myths were probably produced by NDEs.. I wonder if they had figured out how to control the dream lands better and hercules could have actually gone through spirit/mind into the depths and pulled someones soul back up into their body?? He'd have to be the man to pull that one off, but by all accounts he was. hahahaha..

Greek underworld was made up of various realms believed to lie beneath the earth or at its farthest reaches.

These include:

* The great pit of Tartarus, originally the exclusive prison of the old Titan gods, it later came to be the dungeon home of damned souls.
* The land of the dead ruled by the god Hades, which is variously called the house or domain of Hades (δόμος Ἄϊδος, domos Aïdos),[1] Hades, Erebus, the Asphodel Meadows (where the neutral souls are sent), Stygia and Acheron.
* The Isles of the Blessed or Elysian Fields ruled by Cronus (According to Pindar in his descriptions), where the great heroes of myth resided after death.
* The Elysian Fields ruled by Rhadamanthys, where the virtuous dead and initiates in the ancient Mysteries were sent to dwell.

The five rivers of Hades are Acheron (the river of sorrow), Cocytus (the river of lamentation), Phlegethon (the river of fire), Lethe (the river of forgetfulness) and Styx (the river of hate), which forms the boundary between upper and lower worlds.

Source

did they find 5 rivers? And if you guys do ever experience that side of things as I have you will understand the rivers names.. These aren't waters of earth.. They are paths of the soul.. Only the greatest heroes and those who know the "ancient arts" get to live on in the Elysian Fields, (enlightenment)...

Those rivers... Are describing what happens to ones consciousness after death takes them.
Sorrow (sadness) - Lament (regret) - Fire (purification) - forgetfulness (who am I) - hate (destination decider)

Only super strong souls ever make it out of there.. It's too easy to forget it all... Greeks had heaven and hell and even middle ground... It's not very far from christian belief actually.. And why would it be?

I bet Greeks buried dead people as close to the "underworld" as they could get them, to give them the best chances in the afterlife.. I think this cave could be a place like this..

The great pit originally housed the spirits of titans.. Giants... And then afterwards started housing damned souls.. Think about it guys.. They are speaking of the Big White gods.. These cats show up in other myths..

S and F..

They say 5000 people lived there and then the cave entrance collapsed. So that means there are 5000 skeletons right?

I'm just ensuring scientists haven't embellished the facts a little like they are prone to do... you know "lucy' having human features and human hands and feet even those she was found without hands ad feet or a face !