Advent Calendar 2023

Long before the concept of a Christian afterlife there existed the myth of an underworld, governed by a stern ruler of the dead, to which the souls of both good and evil journeyed. In the myths of Sumeria and Babylon, this impenetrable domain was the territory of a female deity called Ereshkigal, for our final abode was perceived as the same dark womb from which we emerged to take our place in earthly incarnation.

In early Greek myth, the underworld was haunted by terrifying goddesses such as the Moire or Fates, Hekate, the mistress of sorcery, and the Erinyes, goddesses of vengeance. But just as the sea eventually became the domain of the male deity, Poseidon, the underworld passed into the hands of the enigmatic god, Hades. The Romans knew him as Pluto, from the Greek meaning "giver of wealth."

Invisible to the eyes of mortals, Pluto could be obsessive and violent. Yet he was inexorably just in his fashion. Guarded by a ferocious three-headed dog, his realm encompassed the calm restfulness of the Elysian Fields, abode of dead heroes, and the torture chambers of Tartaros, reserved for those who had in their lifetimes offended the gods. So immovable was the will of Pluto that, once a soul had passed into the underworld, no dictate from any other god could bring it back again, for the irrevocability of death has precedence over every other divine command.

Yet Pluto could also be immensely seductive, and his charms are portrayed in myth by his tempting of Persephone with the sweetness of the pomegranate. Because death was understood to be an impenetrable mystery, few images of Pluto have survived from antiquity. Nor are there any temples to the Lord of the Dead, for his presence is everywhere: his altars exist in the mortal bodies of all living things.

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