Does anyone know how the ancient romans viewed the afterlife?

Question

and how does it compare to jewish and christian views?

Answer 1

When you die ("you" being a good Roman of the Religion persuasion), you are escorted to the River Styx by spirits. There, you and the other recently life-challenged are met by Charon, the ferryman. A coin, an obolus, will have been placed in your former body's mouth to pay Charon (although an aurus gets you a better seat in the boat, some believed). This payment is not representative of money so much as of the relationship between god and man, acknowledging your debt to the gods and their protection and guidance to you.

On the other side of Styx, you will pass Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog belonging to Father Dis, god of the Underworld. Cerberus will be friendly — he only becomes Unfriendly when shades try to get OUT of the Underworld unauthorized.

You will go before the three judges, Minos, Rhadamanthos and Aeacus, who will ask you to account for your life. After you've made your accounting, you will be given the water of the River Lethe, the river of forgetfulness and one of five Rivers in the Underworld, which makes you forget your past life. You will be sent to the Elysian Fields (a version of paradise) if you've been a warrior or hero; The Plain of Asphodel, if you've been a good citizen, where you will continue to live a good life as a shade; or — if you've really offended the gods — to Tartarus, where you'll be punished by the Furies until your debt to society is paid. (There's no "eternal damnation" in the Roman underworld, although you can be there a pretty long time, depending on what you've done.) Your punishment depends on your crime.

Every once in a while, Dis or Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, will reprieve a candidate for the entire process and send him or her back to live again, especially if the deceased was unjustly murdered. He is given the Water of Forgetfulness and sent back across the Styx, presumably with a treat for Cerberus! (This is where the old phrase, " a sop for Cerberus" comes from — a bribe.)

Dis, while he is God of the Underworld, is NOT the God of Death. He does not decide who lives and dies. Instead, this is determined by the Three Fates. However, Dis does dispatch the god of death, Mors or Thanatos, to do his duty. He also has some connection with Morpheus, god of dreams.

Interestingly, Dis Pater is the only god with no name. He is known by the name of his kingdom: Hades, Pluto, or Dis, all of which refer to the secret riches of the earth.

Answer 2

There were various beliefs about afterlife in ancient Rome. The general
view was that the afterlife is gray and dull. That's why the souls of
the dead were called Shades. The description given by Flavia Claudia
is very good. If I may add this...
the spirit that guides the dead to the Underworld is
the god Mercury (Hermes Psychopompus). And the customary coin is made of
Bronze. (Bronze coins are hard to find nowadays too.) If the dead person
had no payment, s/he had to wander around the shore of the Styx for 100
years before Charon would ferry them across to the other side.

Beyond that, the Epicureans tended to believe that death was the end and
there was nothing more. The Neo-Platonists and Pythagoreans believed in
reincarnation and that if one could live 3 virtuous lives, he would live
in the Elysian Fields forever. Some Stoics seemed to follow the former
view and some the latter.

For a good description of the Roman view of the afterlife you could check out
chapter 6 of the Aeneid about 3/4 in beginning with...

And now Aeneas saw at the remote vale-head
A hidden grove and woodland-rustling spinneys,
And saw the RIver Lethe as it flowed
By these abodes of peace. And round about it
Hovered the souls of countless tribes and peoples
Like bees in the fields of a fine summertide....

Answer 3

There was a great variance in the Romans as there is in any group..Some were atheists..The traditional view was death was a dark and dismal place. Same for the Jews, some believed in an afterlife, some did not. Sadducee's and the Pharisees.. Christians believe that Heaven is going to be great.. What it is going to be like varies amongst Christians. Some Christians believe in a fiery Hell..some don't..

Answer 4

Haides - the Underworld is the place *all* souls go. some are left via the river, being no longer able to pay Charon, ultimately all earthly issues are forgotten and the soul could or won't be reincarnated, or are shredded (finished destruction). human beings that go stand earlier the three judges and their destiny is set from there. The rather depraved ones with repeat offenses directly to the gods (observe that non-concept isn't an offense) visit Tarterus. authentic Heroes visit the Elysian Fields. the generic public of souls lead a particularly bland life with neither super exhilaration or super soreness till they drink from the river Lethe, forget all issues and returned could or won't be reincarnated. Greek and Roman ideals are surprisingly comparable so a techniques as that's all in favour of the exception of the names of the deities.

Answer 5

There were two basic afterlifes, both ruled over by Hades. When you died, your spirit made it's way into a deep cave system, eventually you would reach the entrance to the land of the dead, gaurded by the three-headed dog Cerebrus, who was supposed to keep the living out. Further in, you would come to the river Styx, who's waters erase memory. If your family buried you properly with coins on your eyes, Charon would ferry you across, if not you would have to search for the "Pauper's Path" and that is generally considered to suck. Once over the river, you would be judged by the spirits of great mortal kings, and they would decide which afterlife you would be sent to for eternity. The Elysian feilds were a paradise, reserved for the greatest and best souls. Fertile and sunny pastures where everyone was happy and anythign you wanted was yours for the asking. But most people got Tartarus. Tartarus is pretty similar to the christian hell, where souls spent eternity in ironic tortures to make up for their shortcomings while alive.

The details vary depending on which historian is translating which ancient theologian, but those are the basic elements.

Answer 6

To the Romans, the afterlife was just as important as the life they lived, if not more so! It's such an interesting topic and comparison I wonder why you don't take the time to learn more about this fascinating subject. You won't find it dry or boring for sure!

Answer 7

Yes the romans viewed the afterlife after they were dead.
Or at least they thought they would.

Answer 8

They helt one of them tube lookin thangs up to thier eyeball an twisted it.

Answer 9

yes, 2 more points!

Answer 10

from the outside.

gimme two points!

I rock!