E·ly·si·um (i li zhi um), n.
1. Also called Elysian Fields, the abode of the blessed after death.
2. Any similarly conceived abode or state of the dead.
3. Any place or state of perfect happiness; paradise.
4. An area in the northern hemisphere of Mars, appearing as a light region when viewed telescopically from the earth.

E·ly·sian (i li shen), adj.
1. Of, pertaining to, or resembling Elysium.
2. Blissful; delightful.
(both:Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary V3.0)

In Greek mythology the Elysian Fields, also known as Elysium or the Isles of the Blessed, were the dwelling place after death of virtuous mortals or those given immortality by divine favor. The poets Homer, Hesiod, and Pindar variously describe this happy land as being on the banks of the river Oceanus at the edge of the Earth.

In Latin mythology, Elysium was part of the underworld where the virtuous among the dead were rewarded. For some this realm was only a temporary layover; after drinking from the river Lethe these souls would return to the earthly-world with no memory of Elysium. In Virgil's Aeneid, Elysium was part of Hades.

In Celtic legend, Elysium was associated with the Fortunate Isles and was sometimes identified with the Canaries and Madeira Islands.

In Egyptian traditions, to supplement the after-life offerings of mourners, additional food for the dead was believed grown in the fields of Aalu (Aaru). This myth is echoed later by the Greek Elysium.

The Elysian Fields can be closely compared to a contemporary concept of Heaven, where souls of the dead live in peaceful bliss with others of their spiritual status.

 

 

 

Residents in Dante's Elysian Limbo:
when possible, links provided (c/o Encyclopedia.com)

Aeneas
Anaxagoras
Aristotle
Averroes
Avicenna
Brutus
Camilla
Ceasar
Cornelia
Democritus
Diogenes
Dioscorides
Electra
Empedocles
Euclid
Galen
Hector
Heraclitus
Hippocrates
Homer
Horace
Julia
King Latinus
Lavinia
Linus
Lucan
Lucretia
Marcia
Orpheus
Ovid
Penthesilea
Plato
Ptolemy
Saladin
Seneca
Socrates
Tarquin
Thales
Tully
Vergil
Zeno

 

Residents in Vergil's Underworld Elysium:
when possible, links provided (c/o Encyclopedia.com)

Anchises
Ancus*
Assaracus
Augustus*
Brutus*
Caesar*
Capys*
Cato*
Cossus*
Chariot riders, with their horses
Fabricius*
Gracchi *
Ilus
Marcellus *
Musaeus
Numitor*
Po
Procas*
Romulus*
Silvius*
Silvius Aeneas*
Thracian Bard
Torquatus*
Tullus*

(*textual evidence suggests he's awaiting reincarnation/birth)

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Dante's Vision of the Elysian Fields

Dante's parallel to the Elysian Fields is found in Inferno, Canto IV, and is referred to as Limbo. It is located in the First Circle of Hell. Limbo is inhabited by worthy people who lived before the time of Christianity and baptism.

Unlike the tortured wailing that is heard in the further depths of Hell, the sighs Dante discerns in the First Circle arise "from sorrow without torments" (IV. 28). This indicates that the souls in Limbo exist in a state lacking physical punishment, but are sorrowful due to their inability to ascend to Heaven. The souls in Limbo have not sinned, and may in fact have lived lives of bravery and virtue. Their one crime is that "they did not worship God in fitting ways" (IV. 38), rather, they followed the pagan traditions of their time.

Within Limbo is a special place of light within the shadow, separate from the rest. This is Dante's specific interpretation of the Elysian Fields. As he and his guide, Virgil (who is himself condemned to Limbo) move towards this light, they are joined by Homer, Horace, Ovid and Lucan. Dante asks, "Who are these souls whose dignity has kept their way of being separate from the rest?" (IV. 74, 75). Virgil replies, "The honor of their name, which echoes up above within your life, gains Heaven's grace, and that advances them" (IV. 76-78). These lines imply levels within Limbo itself, and a place reserved for the especially virtuous.

Dante describes a castle "encircled seven times by towering wall, defended all around by a fair stream" (IV. 107, 108). It is speculated that the castle may represent natural philosophy unilluminated by divine wisdom, in which case the seven walls serving to protect the castle symbolize the seven moral virtues--prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, intellect, science, and knowledge (Musa 22). The group of sages walk across the stream, as though on solid ground, and enter a meadow of great beauty.

Here Dante encounters many souls of glorious past, including Hector, Aeneas, and Caesar. He raises his eyes (implying yet higher position) and sees Aristotle, Socrates and Plato, as well as other great philosophers in history. Dante cites a great number of celebrated people in Limbo (see our Residents section), and one senses that he would enjoy lingering there. He is forced to journey onward, however, and ends his description of Limbo by saying, "what's told is often less than the event" (IV. 147).

Canto IV leaves the reader with the impression that Limbo is a very unique location in Hell. It is not a place of misery for its inhabitants; it is in fact quite pleasant. Dante makes it clear, however, that there is no true joy here; Limbo is not Heaven. In Limbo there is no opportunity for its residents to ascend and join God. Thus their punishment is one of hopelessness and longing. The only exception to this fate is granted to Old Testament figures, whom Jesus extricates to Heaven.

Dante's vision of Limbo differs from Virgil's Elysian Fields in that Christianity drives Dante's interpretation of Heaven. For Virgil, the Elysian Fields represent the ultimate destination for souls that are worthy. Here souls experience pleasure and joy as reward for a life of virtue. The Elysian Fields encompass all earthly delights as well as contentment unknown to the living. For Dante, however, Limbo is a place for the unenlightened, those whom have only the time of their birth to blame for their misfortune.

 

 

 

Virgil's Elysium

Dante chose Virgil to be his guide through the underworld due to his admiration for the classical poet. Virgil's work greatly influenced Roman society, primarily through two important poems: the Fourth Eclogue, which foretells the birth of a wonderful child who is to usher in the golden age, and the Aeneid, an epic poem. The earliest days of Christianity received the Fourth Eclogue as a prophecy of the birth of Christ, which occurred less than 40 years after it was written. Constantine expressly invokes the authority of the Fourth Eclogue in the speech in which he decreed that Christianity was henceforth to be the religion of the Roman state (Perowne 124).

The Aeneid carries yet more influence. This is genuinely Roman myth, expounding the greatness of Rome. This story (approx. 5th century B.C.) includes Aeneas' visit to the underworld where he is shown the future of Rome victorious. The Aeneid, with its many adventures, became the bible of Rome. It exemplifies the value of supreme virtue, duty to neighbor and state, and how passionate love leads only to ruin (Perowne 125).

Virgil is the first poet to define the underworld in great detail in terms of punishments and rewards. He also defines geography for the underworld that is borrowed upon heavily by Dante: The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Styx and Lethe, Charon the Ferryman, Tartarus, and the three-headed dog Cerebus are referenced in Inferno. Virgil's place of blessedness, the Elysium Fields, correlates to Dante's Limbo.

In book six of the Aeneid, Aeneas is able to enter the underworld after retrieving the Golden Bough, which is recognized by Charon and must be presented to Proserpina. His ability to retrieve the Bough has been ordained by the Gods, and he is thus granted access into the forbidden realm. Aeneas has the aid of the Sibyl to guide him on his journey. Dante repeats this theme in Inferno, where his passage through into Hell is made possible only by the will of God, with Virgil as his guide.

Virgil's Elysium Fields draw a parallel to the idea of Heaven. It is a place described as everything delightful; soft green meadows, lovely groves, a delicious life-giving air, sunlight that glows softly purple-an abode of peace and blessedness. Here dwell the great and good dead, heroes, poets, priests, inventors, and all who had made men remember them by helping others (Hamilton 334).

In continuation of earthly joys, those residing in Elysium sing, wrestle, play sports, and feast. Virgil's chariot riders in the Aeneid are tending horses in the Elysium Fields, a pastime they had enjoyed in the living world. This scenario associates pleasure and bliss as incentive and reward for living an honorable life. This provides an interesting link to Dante's theme of contrapasso in Hell, where unjust souls receive punishments fitting to their crime.

Dante punishes souls to reflect their original sin. For example, contrapasso for the lustful (found in Canto V) consists of being continually whirled about in a dark, raging wind. This punishment suggests being immersed in the 'storms' of passion without 'the light of reason' to temper these feelings.

Within Virgil's Elysium Fields there are also souls awaiting reincarnation. One group waits for the opportunity to drink from the river Lethe, and thus forget their past and be reincarnated on earth. A second group is in the process of cleansing themselves of sin. For this group a thousand years must pass until only the pure soul remains. After this time they too may drink from the river Lethe and be granted renewed life in mortal flesh.

The reincarnation theme is not found in Dante's work. The Divine Comedy is driven by Dante's belief in the Christian faith, which denies reincarnation and holds that man must understand and rise above sin in order to ascend to Heaven. Purgatorio reflects the final cleansing process of the soul.

Dante's Inferno places many of the guests of Virgil's Elysium Fields in Hell. For some, this is due to their unenlightened state, having been born before the time of Christianity. If they are without sin, Dante puts these souls in Limbo. This is a place of non-punishment found in the first circle of Hell. Dante describes mostly poets and philosophers in Limbo, and loveliness similar to the Elysium Fields. The souls in Limbo do not experience true joy or sorrow, but rather a longing for communion with the one true God. Other historical figures (whom Dante considers having committed greater sins) are placed in lower circles of Hell.

Dante uses the work of Virgil as a template to create his vision and structure of the underworld in Inferno. He then infuses the Christian doctrine into The Divine Comedy as an attempt to create a guide for all people as they embark on their journey towards God.

 

 

 

As with any timeless motif, people all over the world have derived inspiration from the mythological Elysian Fields.Echoed in today's music, art and literature is the Elysium of generations past. Through an appreciation of the metaphorical levels of Elysian themes, we can better understand the artistic innuendos of contemporary art forms that employ them.

Modern Day Elysian Allusions:

 

Ezra Pound
Cantos (1925-1959), LXXXI

What thou lovest well remains, the rest is dross
What thou lov'st well shall not be reft from thee
What thou lov'st well is thy true heritage
Whose world, or mine or theirs or is it of none?
First came the seen, then thus the palpable
             Elysium, though it were in the halls of
              hell .
What thou lovest well is thy true heritage.

 

John Keats
Poems (1820), Lines on the Mermaid Tavern

Souls of Poets dead and gone,
What Elysium have ye known,
Happy field or mossy cavern,
Choicer than the Mermaid Tavern?
Have ye tippled drink more fine
than mine host's Canary wine?

 

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller
Ode to Joy (1785), St.1

Joy, thou spark from Heav'n immortal,
Daughter of Elysium!
Drunk with fire, toward Heaven advancing
Goddess, to thy shrine we come.
Thy sweet magic brings together
What stern Custom spreads afar;
All men become brothers
Where they happy wing-beats are

 

Emily Dickinson
No. 1760 (n.d.)

Elysium is as far as to
The very nearest Room
If in that Room a Friend await
Felicity or Doom --

What Fortitude the Soul contains,
That it can so endure
The accent of a coming Foot --
The opening of a Door --

 

Don Quixote
Cervantes

'Her name is Dulcinea . . . Her beauty is superhuman . . . Her locks are golden, her brow the Elysian Fields, her eyebrows rainbows, her eyes suns, her cheeks roses, her lips coral . . . ' Even the goatherds and shepherds were by now aware that our knight of La Mancha was more than a little insane.

 

"Young Hercules"
Television Episode: "A Lady in Hades"
This Fox Kids network show used the underworld and Elsyian Fields as part of the plotline--season one, episode 23. Aired 11/4/98.
link

"Elysian Fields"
Composer: David Hamilton
Ochestral Composition, New Zealand
Hamilton, "I liked the idea of (Elysian Fields) and the music is intended to reflect . . . those positive feelings."
link

Jim Stricklan
Album: Elysian Fields
Acoustic rock, country, blues, swing album
link

Allusion Suggestions? Click Here.

 

 

Elysian Links, from Beer to Baseball!

Elysian Brewing Company:
http://www.elysianbrewing.com

Elysian Fiction:
http://www.sfroundup.com/elysian

Elysian Music Group:
http://www.elysianmusic.com/dearviv.html

Elysium Artistic and Literary Journal:
http://elysium.honr.ttu.edu/

Help Save LA's Elysian Park:
http://www.echopark.net/org/ccsep.htm

Elysian Equestrian:
http://www.elysianhills.com

Elysian London Chamber Choir:
http://www.elysiansingers.freeserve.co.uk/

Elysian, Minnesota
http://www.digital-neighbors.com/city/mn/elysian71.htm

Eysian Art: Paintings by Sean Molley
http://www.stunned.org/elysianart/

Elysium Bed & Breakfast
http://www.bbonline.com/az/elysiangrove/

Elysian Digital Imaging
http://www.elysiangrp.com

Elysian Baseball Quarterly:
http://www.efqreview.com/

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Please help us stay updated by notifying the webmaster

 

 

Annotated Bibliography

Alighieri, Dante. Inferno. Trans. Allen Mandelbaum. New York: Bantam Books, 1982.
The first volume in Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Dante's descent into the First Circle of hell is found in Canto IV, where Limbo contains Dante's parallel to the Elysian Fields.

Burgess, Dana, Ph.D. and Kevin Osborn. The Complete Idiot's Guide To Classical Mythology. New York: Alpha Books, 1998.
 This book provides a simple and easy crash course in the myths of ancient Greek and Roman culture. The authors attempt to relate the myths to easily recognizable modern film and literature. The text is also a good reference for those interested in refreshing their knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology.

Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1942.
This work is a collection of Greek, Roman and Norse mythology. The author offers insights on the writing styles of the authors from whom she draws her material, including Hesiod, Ovid and Virgil. Hamilton includes explanatory introductions and gives good transitional information.

Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. Penguin Putnam Inc: New York, 1997.
In the Odyssey, book 10 and 11, Odysseus ventures into the underworld by means of digging a ditch and performing the correct sacrifices and rituals needed for access into the underworld. Here Odysseus meets many famous ghosts of those who have passed. Among these spirits, Odysseus meets his mother. The structure of this encounter in the Odyssey underworld is repeated in Virgil's Aeneid, where Aeneas meets his father in the Elysian Fields. Three times Aeneas tries to hug his father, just as three times Odysseus tries to hug his mother. Structure in The Aeneid, The Odyssey and Dante's Inferno share many similarities.

Kaplan, Justin, ed., Bartlett's Familiar Quotations: Sixteenth Edition. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1992.
Drew quotes relevant to Elysian/Elysium including poetry excerpts from Homer, Keats, Dickinson, Pound and Friedrich von Shiller.

Musa, Mark, ed., The Portable Dante. New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc., 1995
This volume contains the works of Dante Alighieri, including Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise, and Vita Nuova. It combines previous translations by Musa, edited to include commentary and introductions to Dante’s achievements.

Nilsson, Martin P. A History of Greek Religion. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton Co. Inc., 1964.
The precursors to popular Greek religion are explored within this work, with focus on the effects of these early religions and how they intermingled with Greek beliefs. The work also examines rituals that may have been practiced, and the impact of these customs on everyday lives. The authors explore the relationship of Homer's literature on the Greek culture, and the impact of this religion upon society, government, and class hierarchy.

Perowne, Stewart. Library of the World's Myths and Legends: Roman Mythology. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1988.
This book follows Roman belief from primitive to State religion. The expansion of the Roman Empire exposed its people to many religions and philosophies, including Epicureanism, Stoicism, Mithraism, and ultimately Christianity.

Rose, H.J. A Handbook of Greek Mythology. New York: Dutton, 1959.
This text recounts Greek religion and cosmogonical theory. The work also encompasses Greek mythology and its deities. The author examines the influence of Greek religion on Rome and other parts of the ancient world, and addresses the origin of these myths. The work also includes several genealogies to help the reader defuse the relationships of the characters within the Greek myths.

Schnapp, Jeffrey T. The Transfiguration of History at the Center of Dante's Paradise. New Jersey: P rinceton University Press, 1986.
The book explores the history of Dante's Paradise and references the influence of the Elysian Fields Dante's vision.

Stapleton, Michael. The Illustrated Dictionary of Greek and Roman Mythology. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1986.
This work summarizes the people, places, and stories of the Greek and Roman myths. The author shares the significance of the characters and their connection to other works. The publication also includes photographs of relevant artwork, such as vases and statues.

Virgil. The Aeneid of Virgil, in Verse Translation of John Dryden. Franklin Center, Pa: Franklin Library, 1975.
Book six of the Aeneid offers a glimpse into the structure and content of the Greek mythological Elysian Fields. This translation by Dryden is written from the neoclassical viewpoint in which Dryden is classified. Virgil writes of Aeneas's journey into the underworld, lead by the Sibyl. Passing through the walls of Pluto, Aeneas arrives in the Elysian Fields. This is where good people, patriots, poets, and priests reside in peace and happiness. Elysian Fields is a place of fun and sport. Also placed here are those souls awaiting the 1000 years of purification, which will end with a drink from the river Lethe (Forgetfulness). They can then be reborn, or ascend to heaven to reside amongst the Gods.

 

 

 

Welcome

Together, we will examine ancient and modern contributions to the myth of Elysium with special focus on Elysium's relevance to Dante's The Divine Comedy. We hope that by exploring our Elysian Fields learning module our visitors can come to a better understanding of the historical, literary and metaphorical implications of Elysium.

This website created through the efforts and research of members of CSUSM's LTWR 320: Sacred Texts class.

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Created through the efforts and research of:
Christina Ames, Kirstin Brown, Silvia Gonzalez, and Robert Woerheide

 

The Idea of Eternal Life

The concept of eternity is credited to Babylonian astronomers, who, by plotting the motions of the stars, found that after a given period of time certain stars returned to the very same positions in the heavens. If they did this, argued the astronomers, they must be eternal. The power that had made them and set them into perpetual motion must be even more eternal, thus birthing the concept of eternity, and it's corollary, eternal life (Perowne 100).

The idea of life after death is first put forth in the apocalyptic work the Book of Daniel (166 B.C.). Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of firmament and they shall turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever (Daniel XII, 2 & 3). It is made clear in the Book of Daniel that only deserving souls will attain immortality. Also implied is punishment for the wicked. The association of the stars as our connection to God and Heaven is an idea that appears often, including in the work of Dante.

Many ancient cultures envisioned a location for life eternal in the far West; the Egyptian (Amenthe) incorporated this idea, as did Greek/Roman mythology. The mystery and power of the sea is also a primary element in these ideas. Virgil's Elysian Fields are paralleled with the Isles of the Blest. In Homer's The Odyssey, the way to Hades is over the edge of the sea. Other imaginings include entrances to the underworld in caverns or deep pools or lakes.

Virgil's Elysian Fields are located in the underworld by such an access, and although one travels 'down' to the Elysian Fields, this is Virgil's idea of Heaven. A soul must be blessed and have led a pure life to reside here. In the Elysian Fields the dead are treated to 'earthly' pleasures, another common afterlife theme. Descriptions of reward are associated with popular culture; for example, Virgil offers wrestling as a pleasurable pastime. These ideas of compensation will conflict with later Christian notions that earthly gratification is something to be ignored, resisted, or overcome.

The stars represent Dante's vision of Heaven; the sun symbolizes God. The 'underworld' is Dante's Hell, where the Elysian Fields correspond to Limbo, a sort of neutral zone for non-sinners who were of pagan faith. In Dante's world, only those who embrace Christianity will experience a divine life eternal.