The Formation of Hell: Death and Retribution in the Ancient and Early Christian Worlds

About this book

What becomes of the wicked? Hellexile from God subjection to fire worms and darknessfor centuries the idea has shaped the dread of malefactors the solace of victims and the deterrence of believers. Although we may associate the notion of hell with Christian beliefs its gradual emergence depended on conflicting notions that pervaded the Mediterranean world more than a millennium before the birth of Christ. Asking just why and how belief in hell arose Alan E. Bernstein takes us back to those times and offers us a comparative view of the philosophy poetry folklore myth and theology of that formative age. Bernstein draws on sources from ancient Egypt Mesopotamia Greece Rome and Israel as well as early Christian writings through Augustine in order to reconstruct the story of the prophets priests poets and charismatic leaders who fashioned concepts of hell from an array of perspectives on death and justice. The author traces hells formation through close readings of works including the epics of Homer and Vergil the satires of Lucian the dialogues of Plato and Plutarch the legends of Enoch the confessions of the Psalms the prophecies of Isaiah Ezechiel and Daniel and the parables of Jesus. Reenacting lively debates about the nature of hell among the common people and the elites of diverse religious traditions he provides new insight into the social implications and the psychological consequences of different visions of the afterlife. This superb account of a central image in Western culture will captivate readers interested in history mythology literature psychology philosophy and religion.