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The origin of death is a theme in the myths of many cultures. Death is a universal feature of human life, so stories about its origin appear to be universal in human cultures. [1] As such it is a type of origin myth, a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. No one type of these myths is universal, but ...
In Scandinavia, Norse mythology personified death in the shape of Hel, the goddess of death and ruler over the realm of the same name, where she received a portion of the dead. [9] In the times of the Black Plague , Death would often be depicted as an old woman known by the name of Pesta, meaning "plague hag", wearing a black hood.
In Greek mythology, Thanatos (/ ˈ θ æ n ə t ɒ s /; [2] Ancient Greek: Θᾰ́νᾰτος, Thánatos, pronounced in Ancient Greek: "Death", [3] from θνῄσκω thnēskō "(I) die, am dying" [4] [5]) was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appearing in person.
The mythology or religion of most cultures incorporate a god of death or, more frequently, a divine being closely associated with death, an afterlife, or an underworld. They are often amongst the most powerful and important entities in a given tradition, reflecting the fact that death, like birth , is central to the human experience.
The origin of death is a theme or myth of how death came to be. It is present in nearly all cultures across the world, as death is a universal happening. [120] This makes it an origin myth, a myth that describes how a feature of the natural or social world appeared. [121] [122] There can be some similarities between myths and cultures.
A myth about the origin of a specific part of the world assumes the existence of the world itself, which often relies on a cosmogonic myth. [3] Therefore, origin myths can be seen as expanding upon and building upon their cultures' cosmogonic myths. In traditional cultures, it is common for the recitation of an origin myth to be preceded by the ...
Death has been personified as a figure or fictional character in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. Because the reality of death has had a substantial influence on the human psyche and the development of civilization as a whole, the personification of Death as a living, sentient entity is a concept that has ...
In Buddhism, the symbol of a wheel represents the perpetual cycle of death and rebirth that happens in samsara. [6] The symbol of a grave or tomb, especially one in a picturesque or unusual location, can be used to represent death, as in Nicolas Poussin's famous painting Et in Arcadia ego. Images of life in the afterlife are also symbols of death.