The House of Hades

'The House of Hades' deals with attitudes towards death and afterlife in ancient Greece. In contrast to similar studies in which certain stereotypes of belief have been taken for granted, the author of this book takes another point of departure by examining the ways in which ritual obligations and transhuman perspectives have been launched within fundamentally different discursive orders. The first part of the book deals with the 'negative' eschatology of the Homeric discourse, the second part with the 'positive' eschatology of the Orphic discourse, while the third and final part tries to follow the fragmented, secretive pathways to the Mysteries of Eleusis in which these other traditions met in a fascinating rivalry. 'The House of Hades' should appeal especially to scholars and students of the Study of Religion, Classical Philology, Classical Archaeology and the History of Literature.