Zeek

1. Vergil mentions five different rivers in this text. One of them is Cocytus which means “wailing”. He describes it as pitch-black and that it coils all around the clustering forests. He also mentions the River Styx, which means hated, and which we have talked about before. He just says that if you’re indeed passionate and have a strong desire to go to the Underworld, then you have to float on the river twice. He also mentions Acheron which means “woe”. He mentions that this river bends in the marsh in the darkness near the entrance to the Underworld. He also mentions Phlegethon which means “fiery.” Vergil just describes this as “the Burning River.” Lastly, he mentions Lethe. Aeneas’ father, Anchises, tells him that if the dead souls drink from this river to rid their memories of their previous lives in order to begin new ones. Individually, each river represents something different that is important to way of life of the individuals mentioned. Collectively, all these bodies of water together aren’t really symbolizing the happiest of things so they could be mentioned for the purpose of making the Underworld seem like an extremely unbearable place to be and all the things you have to go through in order to get there.

2. Four of the mythological creatures that are being tormented in Tartarus are Tityus, Plegyas, the sons of Aloeus (Otus and Ephialtes), and Tantalus. Their crimes can go from anywhere involved adultery, to being selfish when they found riches, to taking part in an unrighteous war, to betraying their allies, or even hating and killing their brothers or parents. Their punishments include rolling a huge boulder or being bound on the spokes of a wheel. Tityus’ punishment includes being stretched out over 9 acres while a vulture pecks at his immortal liver. There are a lot more different kinds of crimes and punishments that aren’t mentioned. These punishments usually last forever.

3. Everything about the Elysian Fields just seems so peaceful and relaxing. The sun is shining everyday and you can see the stars every night. People are playing games on a bright green field or in the sand. There were people dancing and singing around a huge feast. It just seems like a great place to be after death, where you can relax and not really worry about anything.

4. The majority of the people that aren’t in Tartarus or in Elysium are spending their time being purified so that they can clear their vision of the person. When this happens, the soul of the dead person drinks from the waters of Lethe which erases the person’s memory of their previous life and they are born into a new body. The purification process can sometimes take up to a thousand years.