Mythologis
The Underworld: A Complete Guide to the Lands of the Dead in World Mythology

Mythology Themes

The Underworld: A Complete Guide to the Lands of the Dead in World Mythology

Hades, Hel, Duat and the Realms Beyond Death

The complete guide to the mythological underworld: the Greek Hades, the Egyptian Duat, the Norse Hel, the Mesopotamian land of no return, and how the world's cultures imagined the country of the dead.

190 pagesPDFEnglishMythologis Library

$14.99

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Inside this book

What you will read

  • 11 chapters, primary sources
  • Instant PDF download
  • Original ink illustrations
  • Greek, Egyptian, Norse and Mesopotamian afterlives
  • Designed for print quality
See all chapters  +
  1. 01Where Do the Dead Go?
  2. 02The River and the Gate: Crossing Into the Underworld
  3. 03Hades: The Greek Land of the Dead
  4. 04The Egyptian Duat and the Weighing of the Heart
  5. 05The House of Dust: The Mesopotamian Underworld
  6. 06The Descent of Inanna
  7. 07Hel and the Norse Road to the Dead
  8. 08The Underworlds of Mesoamerica
  9. 09Judgement, Reward and Punishment
  10. 10The Heroes Who Went Down and Came Back
  11. 11The Shape of the Afterlife

About this book

About this Mythology Themes mythology guide

Every culture had to answer the same question: where do the dead go? This is the complete guide to the mythological underworld, from the Greek Hades to the Egyptian Duat to the Norse Hel.

Every culture has had to answer the same question: where do the dead go? The answers are some of the richest stories humanity ever told. The Greeks built a grey kingdom across a river you paid to cross; the Egyptians mapped a perilous night-journey ending in the weighing of the heart; the Mesopotamians imagined a house of dust where even the gods who entered could not easily leave; the Norse sent most of their dead down to the cold halls of Hel. The geography of the afterlife is the geography of human hope and dread.

This is the complete guide to the underworld across the great mythologies. The realm of Hades and the rivers of the Greek dead; the Egyptian Duat and the judgement of Osiris; the descent of Inanna into the Mesopotamian underworld; the Norse Hel and the road to the land of the dead; the underworlds of Mesoamerica, of India and of the wider world; and the heroes who dared to go down living and come back.

The book maps the lands of the dead across cultures, drawing on the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Homer, the Descent of Inanna, the Eddas and the sacred texts, and every chapter cites where it comes from.

Delivered as a print-quality PDF within 24 hours of purchase.

What you will discover inside

  • The Greek Hades and the rivers the dead had to cross
  • The Egyptian Duat and the weighing of the heart against a feather
  • The descent of Inanna into the Mesopotamian land of no return
  • The Norse Hel and the cold road to the dead
  • How the underworld judged, rewarded and punished the dead
  • The heroes who went down living and came back changed

Mythology Themes mythology book at a glance

TraditionMythology Themes mythology
Chapters11 chapters
Length190 pages
SourcesDrawn from the primary sources, cited inline
Reading levelBeginner-friendly. Every name and place is explained from scratch
FormatPrint-quality PDF
DeliveryPDF within 24 hours

Formats and editions

EditionWhat you getPrice
Instant PDFPrint-quality download, readable on any device. PDF within 24 hours.$7.99
PaperbackA paperback edition is on the way. Sign up on this page to hear when it lands on Amazon.Coming soon

About the author

Guillaume Henry, founder of Mythologis

Guillaume Henry

Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Mythologis

Guillaume Henry founded Mythologis to make the world's mythologies readable without losing what makes them strange. Every Mythologis book draws on the primary sources first, cross-references multiple translations, and avoids inventing details that aren't in the originals.

More about the author

Questions about the Mythology Themes mythology book

When will I receive my PDF?

Within 24 hours of purchase. Your download link arrives in your inbox automatically.

Which cultures does it cover?

The major underworlds of the ancient world, Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Norse, are covered in full, with chapters on the Mesoamerican and Indian afterlives and the wider world. The aim is to compare how different peoples imagined the land of the dead.

Is this book based on primary sources?

Yes. It draws on the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Homer's Odyssey, the Sumerian Descent of Inanna, the Poetic and Prose Eddas, and the relevant sacred texts, with references to the standard translations.

How long is the book?

Eleven chapters, around 190 pages depending on the final layout.

Will there be a paperback on Amazon?

The PDF is available immediately. A KDP paperback edition follows once the book has been validated by readers.

What formats is this book available in?

Every title is available as an instant PDF, downloaded the moment you buy it: the link appears on the confirmation page and lands in your inbox. Selected titles also have a paperback edition on Amazon. Where the paperback is not out yet, you can sign up to be notified the day it does.

What is the return policy?

The PDF is delivered instantly by Mythologis. If a download ever fails or a file looks wrong, get in touch and we will make it right. Paperbacks bought on Amazon are handled under Amazon's own returns and refund policy.

Can I order from outside the United States?

Yes. The PDF is a digital download, so it works instantly anywhere in the world, with nothing to ship. Where a paperback edition exists, it is sold across Amazon's international marketplaces, with shipping rates and delivery times depending on your country.

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