Ancient Greek Afterlife and Mythology (Video Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the notes about ancient Greek beliefs on the afterlife, deities, the underworld, and related mythological figures.

Ancient Greece

The civilization where beliefs about the afterlife and Greek gods originated; contains myths about gods like Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, and Dionysus.

Olympian Gods

The principal gods of Greek mythology who resided on Mount Olympus (e.g., Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Dionysus).

Athena

Goddess of wisdom and war strategy; one of the Olympian deities.

Artemis

Goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and the moon; one of the Olympian deities.

Apollo

God of the sun, music, prophecy, and healing; one of the Olympian deities.

Hermes

Messenger of the gods and guide of souls to the Underworld; one of the Olympian deities.

Dionysus

God of wine, revelry, and theater; one of the Olympian deities.

River Styx

The boundary river between the living world and the dead; souls are ferried across to the Underworld.

Charon

The ferryman who transports souls across the Styx to the Underworld, for a coin.

Obol (coin)

Coin placed in the mouth of a deceased person to pay Charon for passage to the Underworld.

Underworld (Land of the Dead)

The realm of the dead ruled by Hades, where souls are judged and punished or rewarded.

Hades

God of the Underworld and ruler of the dead; governs the realm beneath the earth.

Judges of the Dead

The trio (often Minos, Rhadamanthus, Aeacus) who determine a soul’s fate after death.

Sisyphus

A mortal punished in the Underworld to endlessly roll a boulder uphill for eternity.

Soul

The non-physical essence of a person that leaves the body after death and enters the afterlife.