'BEYOND. Death and Afterlife in Ancient Greece'

In the category of 'exhibitions I missed': for those of you visiting Athens before the 15th of this month, there is a very interesting exhibition on death and the afterlife at the Museum of Cycladic Art. The show is divided into five thematic sections: The moment of death, Burial Customs, Homeric Hades, Bacchic-Orphic Hades, and Platonic Hades. the exhibition was put together with 120 objects from 21 Greek and international museums.

"Where did the souls go after death? Did Gods die? Why were Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death) considered brothers? Could people enter the Underworld alive? Which heroes were sent to the Elysian Fields? The exhibition Beyond focuses on one of the greatest mysteries that has puzzled and continues to puzzle humans: the fate of the immortal soul after the death of the corruptible body.

Through the exhibition Beyond we ask the visitor to reflect on the universal issues of life and death, to seek and find the similarities and differences in their perceptions and those of people who lived thousands of years ago, and to wonder how much survived through time, taking on a new form but retaining the essence of age old concerns."

The exhibition sounds very interesting and I wish I could go. For those who went, and even for those who didn't: Where did the souls go after death? Did Gods die? Why were Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death) considered brothers? Could people enter the Underworld alive? Which heroes were sent to the Elysian Fields? Mythology pop quiz, people!