In all religions key elements exist, cornerstones of their belief system, upon which everything else builds (Wilkins 22). These elements explain the world around us, from the fabrication of the universe to the meaning of life, imparting knowledge of the social mores and customs of the times (Wilkins 3). These myths testify to the moral and ethical code of the society that first conceived them (Wilkins 5). As with all systems of rule, an attempt to force the peoples governed by them into obedience creates possibilities for positive and negative reinforcement via religious beliefs (Wilkins 12). Good and bad, or in more common terms, heaven and hell. Punishment on earth is often short lived and quickly forgotten, but a threat of eternal punishment is well, eternal. From ancient Egyptians to current Judeo-Christian religion, there is always an eternal punishment for infractions of the religious law though the punishments and crimes may vary.
Take for instance the Egyptians, whose well known elaborate burial chambers, coffins and practices form the basis of the first story I want to relate to you. These coffins, or sarcophagi, were often very elaborately inscribed with paintings and carvings, spells against the perils the deceased would face in Duat, the underworld (Hart 18). These spells would help protect them and guide them to the throne room of the underworld, where their soul would be judged (Hart 18). The decedents’ epic travels involved placating gods, overcoming demons, traversing lakes of fire, escaping executioners and surviving poisonous snakes on their journey to reach Duat (Hart 18). Only with the proper spells and maps, placed on and in the sarcophagi, could one hope to arrive in the throne room unharmed (Hart 1...
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...cape her judgment nor argument with her edicts will sway her. Hell is an absolute, and all the more forbidding because of it. Though the violence depicted in these myths varies, the overall story remains unchanged. Disobeying the laws and strictures set forth by the government and religious doctrines will exact a hefty price, perhaps eternally.
Works Cited
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Willis, Roy. World Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
The funerary rituals introduced by the Egyptians were the most intricate, spiritual rites in their times and, perhaps, even to this day. Their elaborate customs, tombs, and gifts to the dead were representative of their pious, devoted nature. Albeit not all were as imposing as the oldest and still remaining Seven Wonder of the World, the Pyramids of Giza, all were meaningful and sacred. The Egyptians, highly reverent of their dead, adopted ornate, religious burial practices to fit to every member of their society.
Harris, Stephen L., and Gloria Platzner. Classical Mythology: Images and Insights. 2nd ed. Mountain View: Mayfield, 1995
In The Inferno of Dante, Dante creates a striking correspondence between a soul’s sin on Earth and the punishment it receives in hell for that sin. This simple idea serves to illuminate one of Dante’s recurring themes: the perfection of god’s justice. Bearing the inscription the gates of hell explicitly state that god was moved to create hell by justice. Wisdom was employed to know what punishments would be just, power to create the forms of justice, and love to show that the punishments are conditioned with compassion, however difficult it may be to recognize (and the topic of a totally separate paper). Certainly then, if the motive of hell’s creation was justice, then its purpose was (and still is) to provide justice. But what exactly is this justice that Dante refers to? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is the So hell exists to punish those who sin against god, and the suitability of Hell’s specific punishments testify to the divine perfection that all sin violates.
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Thury, Eva and Margaret K. Devinney. “Theory: Man and His Symbols.” Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. 519-537. Print.
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