The Afterlife in World Mythologies: Hades, Valhalla, Xibalba, and Yomi
Every culture has drawn its own map of the afterlife. When placed side by side, they reveal both surprising similarities and entirely different fears and hopes.
Ezostylia Editorial Team · facts checked in sources · updated 31.10.2026
Greece: Hades
The realm of the dead was ruled by Hades, brother of Zeus. Charon ferried souls across the River Styx in exchange for a coin placed in the mouth of the deceased, and the entrance was guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus. Most souls wandered the Asphodel Meadows, heroes went to the Elysian Fields, and the worst sinners were sent to Tartarus.
Scandinavia: Valhalla and Hel
Warriors who fell in battle were taken, according to the myths, to Valhalla, the hall of Odin, where they feasted and trained in preparation for the final battle of Ragnarök. However, half of the slain were chosen by the goddess Freya for her own realm, Fólkvangr. Those who died of old age or illness went to Hel, a cold realm ruled by a goddess of the same name.
Mesopotamia: The Land of No Return
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the afterlife is a dark house in which the dead eat dust and clay and are dressed in feathers like birds. There is neither reward nor punishment there, only greyness. It is one of the most bleak conceptions in history, and perhaps that is why Gilgamesh so desperately sought immortality.
The Maya: Xibalba
In the sacred Mayan book the Popol Vuh, Xibalba is an underground "place of fear" ruled by lords of death. The heroic twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque descend there, pass through houses of darkness, knives, and cold, and defeat the lords of the underworld through cunning.
Japan: Yomi
In Japanese myth, the god Izanagi descends to Yomi, the land of darkness, to recover his deceased wife Izanami. When he breaks the prohibition and looks at her, he sees a decomposing body, flees, and seals the entrance with a boulder. It is almost the same story as that of the Greek Orpheus, who looked back at Eurydice.
What They Have in Common
- a river or crossing that separates the world of the living from the dead,
- a guardian or ferryman who must be paid or outwitted,
- a prohibition against looking back or eating in the afterlife,
- a division of the fate of the dead according to their deeds or the manner of their death.
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You will find all 30 topics in the section Mysteries of life and death.
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Sources
Frequently asked questions
Who Went to Valhalla?
According to Norse myths, half of the warriors who fell in battle; the other half were chosen by the goddess Freya for her own realm, Fólkvangr.