Ink Pen by Phil Dunlap for December 02, 2024
December 01, 2024
December 03, 2024
Transcript:
tyr: Hamhock, this is my niece, hela. she rules the underworld. woman: hey. hamhock: uh, I thought you guys went to valhalla. tyr: that's only if you die gloriously in battle! tyr: If you die peacefully, you end up in niflheim, a dreary, awful place of death and decay! hamhock: So...you'd reward genghis khan, but punish gandhi? Woman: I'm not sure gandhi would think nonstop fighting and eating was a "reward"....
The Greeks had the fields of Elysium, not necessarily for the valiant or virtuous but it was peaceful and pleasant, and Tartarus, which was eternal punishment for the truly wicked (such as we now imagine Christian hell). But the vast majority of the dead were simply stripped of their memories and warehoused; neither good nor bad, and really boring.
In the book “Gods Behaving Badly,” Persephone (Hades’ queen) took it upon herself to find ways for the dead to occupy their time; Scrabble was a popular option, and a good Scrabble player was sure always to have a full social calendar.