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[5] [6] [7] The Classical Greek term was ἡ νέκυια , from the episode of the Odyssey in which Odysseus visits the realm of the dead souls, and νεκρομαντεία in Hellenistic Greek; necromantīa in Latin, and necromancy in 17th-century English. [8]
The Nekromanteion (Greek: Νεκρομαντεῖον) was an ancient Greek temple of necromancy devoted to Hades and Persephone. According to tradition, it was located on the banks of the Acheron river in Epirus, near the ancient city of Ephyra. This site was believed by devotees to be the door to Hades, the realm of the dead.
The Shade of Tiresias Appearing to Odysseus during the Sacrifice (c. 1780-85), painting by Johann Heinrich Füssli, showing a scene from Book Eleven of the Odyssey. In ancient Greek cult-practice and literature, a nekyia or nekya (Ancient Greek: νέκυια, νεκυία; νεκύα) is a "rite by which ghosts were called up and questioned about the future," i.e., necromancy.
Famous examples of katabases in Greek mythology include Orpheus, who enters the underworld in order to bring Eurydice back to the world of the living, and Odysseus, who seeks to consult with the prophet Tiresias for knowledge. In Roman mythology, Aeneas seeks out his father Anchises to learn of prophecies of his fate and that of the Roman Empire.
The deity in question may be good, evil, or neutral and simply doing their job, in sharp contrast to a lot of modern portrayals of death deities as all being inherently evil just because death is feared. Hades from Greek mythology is an especially common target.
The Greek word κήρ means "the goddess of death" or "doom" [2] [3] and appears as a proper noun in the singular and plural as Κήρ and Κῆρες to refer to divinities. Homer uses Κῆρες in the phrase κήρες θανάτοιο, "Keres of death". By extension the word may mean "plague, disease" and in prose "blemish or defect".
In Roman literature, Erichtho (from Ancient Greek: Ἐριχθώ) is a legendary Thessalian witch who appears in several literary works. She is noted for her horrifying appearance and her impious ways. Her first major role was in the Roman poet Lucan's epic Pharsalia, which details Caesar's Civil War.
Fresco of Odysseus (Etruscan: Uθuste) and the Cyclops (Etruscan: Cuclu) in the Tomb of Orcus, Tarquinia, Italy.. The origins of Orcus may have lain in Etruscan religion.The so-called "Tomb of Orcus", an Etruscan site at Tarquinia, is a misnomer, resulting from its first discoverers mistaking a hairy, bearded giant for Orcus; it actually depicts a Cyclops.