page_title: Greek underworld
section_title: Hecate
hierarchical_section_title: Greek underworld / Deities / Hecate
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Hekateion (kleiner Kultpfeiler der Hekate). Die Göttin in dreifacher Gestalt, von drei Chariten umtanzt. Attika, ca. 3. Jahrhundert v. Chr. English: Hekateion (little votive column to Hecate). The triple-body goddess is surrounded by three dancing Charites. Attica, ca. 3rd century BC. Français&#160;: Hekateion (petite colonne votive à Hécate). La déesse aux trois corps est entourée par trois Charites dansant. Attique, v. 3e siècle av. J.-C.
context_page_description: In mythology, the Greek underworld is an otherworld where souls go after death. The original Greek idea of afterlife is that, at the moment of death, the soul is separated from the corpse, taking on the shape of the former person, and is transported to the entrance of the underworld. Good people and bad people would then separate. The underworld itself—sometimes known as Hades, after its patron god—is described as being either at the outer bounds of the ocean or beneath the depths or ends of the earth. It is considered the dark counterpart to the brightness of Mount Olympus with the kingdom of the dead corresponding to the kingdom of the gods. Hades is a realm invisible to the living, made solely for the dead.
context_section_description: Hecate was variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, dogs, light, the Moon, magic, witchcraft, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, necromancy, and sorcery.
caption: Triple Hecate and the Charites, Attic, 3rd century BCE (Glyptothek, Munich)
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