Gardner, Percy: Sculptured tombs of Hellas (London, 1896)

CHAPTER III

BELIEFS AS TO THE FUTURE LIFE

The group of vase-paintings with which we dealt in the
last chapter raises a curious question. In all, or almost all,
of them the locality is clearly implied by the presence of a stele
m the background. The offerings which they represent were
made, it seems, at the tomb itself. Is it not, however, a strange
thing that wealthy and educated Athenians should suppose the
souls of the dead to have nothing better to do than to rest
beside the tomb, and there await the offerings of survivors ?
Did they not believe in a region of the dead, a kingdom of
Hades, where the bad were punished and the good received the
recompense of their merits ? And if so, how could the souls
of the departed be at the same time in Hades, and in the
neighbourhood of the graveyard? In order to find a solution
for these difficulties we must give some account of the views
of ordinary Greeks, at different periods of the national history,
in regard to the life after death, and the condition of the
departed.

We must begin our examination of Greek belief as to the
future life by turning to the Homeric poems. The outlines
of the psychical doctrine which these contain has been traced
with masterly hand by Dr. Krwin Rohdewhose conclusions

1 l'sychf. Saltncult und Unsltrblkhkrftsglaulic dcr Gricchat, 1894.