Ancient Greece question: On wikipedia is mentioned that Elysium was a place for the especially distinguished and that most accepted to Elysium were demigods or heroes. so I wonder does that mean that most people went to Tartarus?

by Stefanovici

Also what was the purpose of the laws in the underworld if it didn't matter if they were followed?

Also from what I understand only later did they believe that normal virtuous people could enter Elysium so what about before that ? (so in egyptian myth i believe with pharaohs only and then also common people)

Also wasn't a loophole where if you weren't buried you wouldn't get to be judged so you could escape the Tartarus fate?

And is it just a mess of beliefs?

Makgraf

You may find this comment from /u/Alkibiades415 helpful to answer your question.

jimmy_the_turtle_

I can only answer the very first question:

The people that didn't do anything either particularly good or bad in their lives, neither went to Elysium/-on, nor Tartarus/Tartaros (do you prefer Latin or Greek spelling?). Instead, they went to the Asphodel Meadows, where they would simply roam around for eternity. They weren't punished, nor did they enjoy any benefits. They just... were.

Homeros mentions this in the Odessey, book 24, verse 14: "αἶψα δ᾽ ἵκοντο κατ᾽ ἀσφοδελὸν λειμῶνα, ἔνθα τε ναίουσι ψυχαί" (...then they reached the Asphodel Meadows, where the souls roam,...)

I'll give you a source, but unfortunately it's a Dutch translation from Greek that I translated into English myself in the previous paragraph: https://benbijnsdorp.nl/homeros/od24_1.html#b24v1

If you want to read more about this place in the Underworld, you can do so here in an article by Steve Reece: (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/viewFile/811/891&ved=2ahUKEwjmvsrglNDrAhVMmqQKHXSlBTYQFjAWegQICxAB&usg=AOvVaw0FKDzSv4kpKJ822D4Mk_Ab)