Changes

In ancient religions, people tended to personify the powerful forces that shaped their lives and their environment. This was common in many pre-modern societies and there are still animists who hold similar beliefs. The Greeks also tended to personify power forces and one of these, was Death. In the past, the Hellenes developed many myths about the God of Death, Thanatos. He was shown as one of the most powerful and fearsome of all the deities in the pantheon. A study of the legends and the stories about this god, can tell us so much about the Greeks and also the Romans, who adopted the worship of this god. The mythology around Thanatos can help us to better understand how the Classical World viewed death and the afterlife. Moreover, it can show us how different the ancient world conceived of death compared to modern societies. The influence of the mythology of Thanatos on modern thought is also examined.