Underworld Study Guide PDF
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Staples High School
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Summary
This document is a study guide on the Roman Underworld, including information on various gods, heroes, places, and rivers. It's geared towards students likely studying mythology.
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ANNVS SEC * MĀTERIA LATĪNITĀS MG TABERNĀRIĪ * MMDCCLXXIII AVC DĒ MVNDŌ ĪNFERŌ * MIRABILIA * 10.22.20 INFERĪ RECAPIVLANDVM A). WHO’S WHO please fill in the blank with the name that best fits these descriptions of persons or places from the Roman Underworld. 2 per immortal g...
ANNVS SEC * MĀTERIA LATĪNITĀS MG TABERNĀRIĪ * MMDCCLXXIII AVC DĒ MVNDŌ ĪNFERŌ * MIRABILIA * 10.22.20 INFERĪ RECAPIVLANDVM A). WHO’S WHO please fill in the blank with the name that best fits these descriptions of persons or places from the Roman Underworld. 2 per immortal gods, major and minor Cerberus Huge and horrible three-headed hound that guards the innermost gates to the underworld, Pluto's pet. Ceres Roman goddess of the harvest whose daughter was abducted by Pluto; she nearly destroyed the Earth in her grief searching for her, which brings us winter. Charon He is the ferryman of the underworld who carried souls of the dead across the river Styx; he needed to be paid with coins put over the eyes of the corpses of the dead. Fates Three old women who spin, measure, and cut the threads of peoples’ lives in the underworld, their power cannot be overcome. Furies Three ghastly spirits of retribution who perpetually punish wicked people for their horrible crimes after death in the underworld. Mercury He was the roman messenger god who guided the spirits of the dead to the Underworld; his winged helmet and sandals helped him in this. Morpheus The son of Somnus, this shadowy figure was the god of (good) dreams in the Underworld. Nemesis She was the goddess of retribution in the Underworld, who tormented after death those who had committed foul crimes in life. Pluto He was the powerful and rich god of the Underworld, lord of the dead, brother of Jupiter and Neptune, and one of the original olympians; he carried a bident and wore a helmet of invisibility. Proserpina She was the daughter of Ceres, but also queen of the Underworld; abducted by Pluto, she was forced to remain there for several months each year. Her inevitable return to her mother brings us spring. 1 Somnus Roman god of sleep in the Underworld, the son of Night and Darkness; his arrival at evening brings people release from their many cares; lack of sleep gives us insomnia. people Danaids These were the 50 daughters of King Danaus, 49 of which killed their husbands on their wedding night, and were condemned to Tartarus to forever carry water in buckets with holes in them. Eurydice Beautiful bride of Orpheus who was taken from him by Pluto. Her husband endeavored to get her back, but she was lost as they approached the light of day. Hercules Legendary hero who traveled to the Underworld to retrieve Cerberus as the last of his 12 labors, thereby literally conquering death. Ixion This greek king who had deeply offended Jupiter, and was then punished by crucifixion on a burning wheel, spinning forever in the underworld Minos Legendary king of Crete, his rule was so filled with justice that he became a judge in the Underworld, where assigns the dead to the proper level of retribution. Orpheus He was the greatest singer of all the Greeks, who tried to bring his beautiful bride, Eurydice, stolen by death, back to life by means of his sweet songs, but in vain. Sisyphus This once powerful greek king tried to cheat Charon of his coins, and for his crimes he was condemned by Jupiter to Tartarus, where he tried to push a huge boulder up a hill forever, but in vain. Tantalus This greek king tried to deceive the gods in a most despicable way, and for his crimes was condemned to Jupiter to Tartarus, where he was punished by eternal hunger and thirst, although surrounded by abundant food and water. places Elysian FieldsBlessed land of peace and plenty, to which mighty and heroes in the underworld would be sent after their deaths. Lacus Avernus The entrance to the Underworld in Roman myth, whose name means without birds; symbolic of the absence of life and light. Tartarus Here was the deepest, darkest pit in the Underworld, a bleak realm of infernal punishment and torment, reserved for those who had once committed the most heinous of crimes, the wickedest deeds while living. 2 rivers Acheron In some myths, the first of several rivers that separate the land of the living from the realm of the dead. Lethe River of forgetfulness in the Underworld from which souls had to drink in order to forget their past lives, in some versions of the Roman myth. Phlegethon This was the legendary river of fire that surrounded the innermost kingdom of the Underworld; almost impossible to pass through. Styx This was one of the rivers that separated the land of the living from the land of the dead, across which Charon the ferryman carried dead souls on their way to Pluto. 3