Descents to the Underworld from Gilgamesh to Christian Late Antiquity
Descents to the Underworld from Gilgamesh to Christian Late Antiquity

Summary/Abstract: In my contribution I trace the transformations of the descent into the underworld from ancient Assyria via Greece and Rome to the world of Christian Late Antiquity. My aim is to analyse the evolution of a pagan and Jewish hellscape into a Christian one. First, I will briefly discuss the earliest known literary descent, that by Enkidu, which almost certainly influenced the poet of the Odyssey (§ 1), who, in turn, paved the way for the famous descent of Orpheus (§ 2). Subsequently, we will return to Assyria, and from there move to Israel and Rome during the early Imperial period (§ 3), before concluding with Christian Late Antiquity (§ 4). In my argument I will concentrate on the interplay of pagan and Christian traditions, as well as to the nature of the sinners in the various hellscapes.

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