Hello historians! I am writing an essay on the development of hell throughout history. The main scope of my essay will cover Western hell (so Greek, Roman, early Christian, modern Christian). I am looking for information on the development of the idea of hell, from early pagan descriptions of a unified, negative afterlife of all, to the bifurcation of Christian afterlife, to the introduction of purgatory. I would also like to know what cultural ideas/specific people caused these changes in doctrine. Many thanks to all who can help!
Edit: I hope this doesn't violate the homework rule. I am not looking for someone to write an essay for me, I am just struggling to find solid information and I would appreciate some help and some sources if possible! Perhaps it would be better if I asked a couple more specific questions, so I will.
-The Bible is vague about hell. The Jews had a similar view to the Greeks (a vaguely negative afterlife everyone goes to, regardless of morality.) Where did this idea of heaven/hell come from? Does it have anything to do with Elysium in Roman religion? -What cultural ideas influenced the addition of purgatory? I know it was introduced by Augustine of Hippo but I'm curious about how the social climate of the time affected this. I understand it has something to do with protestantism? Is there any connection to Zoroastrianism and the waiting period? -Were there any changes in Greek Hades/Roman Dis throughout the time of those religions? Is the similarity of their afterlives an Indo-European trait? -Is there a cultural reason that Western religions developed a physical afterlife while most Eastern religions didn't?
Basically, I know most of the changes that happened throughout history, I am looking mostly for the cultural reasons why they happened. I am also looking for the cultural differences that caused the differences between cultures' afterlives. I have not formed a complete thesis yet as it will hinge on these reasons (once I figure them out). Again, any help or sources you can offer are very welcome.
I can't answer your question directly but I do want to respond to one thing you say:
Is there a cultural reason that Western religions developed a physical afterlife while most Eastern religions didn't?
You may be interested to know that the idea of the wheel of reincarnation is just one of the afterlives proposed by Buddhism (Buddhism of course encompassing a tremendous diversity of beliefs and practices spread out over many countries and centuries.) In medieval Buddhism in Japan - and I believe China as well, though I'm no expert - concepts analogous to heaven (tengoku, "Celestial Kingdom," also called the "Eastern Paradise") and hell (jigoku) were very prominent, and in the latter case at least very reminiscent of the Christian hell developing around the same time, with demons (of sorts) subjecting sinners to all kinds of physical torment, like being flayed alive, beaten with heavy iron rods, etc. One interesting distinction is that while the Christian hell lasts forever, the Buddhist is technically finite, with punishments going on, say, "one year for each grain of sand on all the beaches in the world." So you will eventually get out, purified (at least a little bit), and reborn - though probably still as something pretty lowly.
There's also a whole genre of painting called the "Hell Screen" (jigokuhen) where these torments were vividly depicted, presumably (as in medieval Europe) to remind the illiterate why they should behave. Here are some (probably NSFW) examples from a single series: 1 2 3 and 4.
If you'd like more information, try Buddhist hell : visions, tours and descriptions of the infernal otherworld by Eileen Gardiner. Or in a more creative vein, here's a translated copy of Akutagawa Ryunosuke's short short story, "The Spider's Thread," a 20th Century take on the notion of the Buddhist hell.
