Underworld Mythology

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Fātae, Fatārum, f. (pl)

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3 old women who spin, measure, and cut the threads of peoples' lives in the underworld; their power cannot be overcome.

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Nemesis

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Goddess of retribution in the Underworld, she tormented in death those who had committed foul crimes in life.

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Somnus

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Roman god of sleep in the Underworld, the son of Night and Darkness; his arrival at evening brings people release from their daily cares.

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Ixīōn

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Greek king who had offended Jupiter; punished by crucifixion on a burning wheel, forever spinning in the Underworld.

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Eurydicē

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Beautiful bride of Orpheus who was taken from him by Pluto. Orpheus tried to get her back, but she was lost as they approached the light of day.

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Danaidēs

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50 daughters of King Danaus, 49 of which killed their husbands on their wedding night and were condemned to Tartarus to forever carry water in buckets with holes in them.

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Elysium

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Land of the Heroes in the Underworld; you had to be heroic to go there.

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Lacus Avernus

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Entrance to the underworld, with dark, sulfurous waters and toxic volcanic gasses. The name means 'without birds, a place of deadly silence.'

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Mercurius

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Roman messenger god who guided the spirits of the dead to the Underworld; his winged helmet and sandals helped him in this.

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Hercules

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Legendary hero who traveled to the Underworld to retrieve Cerberus as the last of his 12 labors.