![]() Some of the richest evidence for ancient beliefs about the afterlife comes from southern Italy, particularly indigenous sites in Apulia and the Greek settlement of Taras (present-day Taranto). Outside of mainstream religious practice, devotion to the mythical singer Orpheus and the god Dionysos also offered paths to achieving a better lot after death. Initiation in the Eleusinian Mysteries, an annual festival in Greece, promised good fortune in both this world and the next. Yet as this exhibition explores, individuals did seek ways to secure a blessed afterlife. Perpetual torment awaited only the most exceptional sinners, while just a select few-heroes related to the Olympian gods-enjoyed an eternal paradise. The Underworld was a shadowy prospect for most ancient Greeks, characterized primarily by the absence of life’s pleasures. ![]()
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