Man is the only creature who are aware of the finiteness of existence.
Every mythological system was a place for the God of death. In different cultures, in different corners of the earth he was portrayed in different ways, but all these deities were similar.

Torn thread

Functions of the God of death varied: it could be a creature that takes the human soul at the moment of dying, the guide that accompanies the soul in the realm of the dead, and directly ruler of this Kingdom. It should be noted that the human lifespan is usually determined by other gods, which can be called the gods of fate. The most famous ancient Greek Moira, one of which, kloto, spinning the thread of human destiny, the other, Lachesis, determines the length of this thread, and the third, Atropos - cut it with scissors at the right time.

Thus, the God of death is not decide who shall live and who shall die, he is just a performer. But his power is often so great that even the Supreme God is unable to impose its will.

Death and dream

Since ancient Greek mythology well-known to modern man, we will shortly tell about her gods of death. This is the ruler of the Kingdom of the dead aid, lead souls to the afterlife Hermes (he is the God of trade, swindling, deception, theft and eloquence, in General, is rather multifunctional deity), and also directly to the God of dying - Thanatos. Among other gods Thanatos not respected, it is also believed that he is indifferent to the sacrifices made by man, for death, as you know, relentless. Thanatos - the brother of Hypnos, the God of sleep. The Greeks often portrayed them is death and the dream is close to you, in the form of black and white youths. Black was holding extinguished the torch, symbol of life ended.

"Dark fields of Hades, grown pale colors of asphodel, running ethereal light the shadows of the dead. They complain about their bleak life without light and without desires. Quietly heard their groans, subtle, like the rustle of withered leaves blown by the autumn wind. No one's return from this Kingdom of sorrow" - describes the Kingdom of Hades Nikolai Kuhn in his book "legends and myths of Ancient Greece". Unpleasant place, in which cheerful Greeks did not want to go.

The gods of smartsense on the scales

The ancient Egyptians worshipped Anubis, God, who is portrayed as a man with the head of a Jackal. I wonder why Jackal became a symbol of such a deity? Jackal - small predator, in appearance like a wolf. We cannot say that it is very dangerous for the human animal. However, there are features that make this beast is one of the symbols of death. First, in the diet of the Jackal prominent place carrion, secondly, this beast issues a sharp howl, resembling a cry of despair, and thirdly, Jackal unusually clever and daring.

Anubis - lead souls of the dead to the afterlife, as well as member of the court of Osiris. It Anubis holds the scales of Truth, on one of the bowls of which lies the heart of the deceased, and on the other - the pen of the goddess Maat, the symbol of justice. If a man's heart is as light as a feather, the dead goes to heaven is a beautiful and fertile fields of the IARU. If the heart is harder pen Maat, the deceased waiting for the unenviable fate - it shall devour Amat, monstrous lion with the head of a crocodile, i.e. happen death after death, this time a final and irrevocable.

Blue-and-white Hel

The ancient Scandinavians world of the dead rules Hel, daughter insidious God Loki and the giantess Agrariy of Iron forest. Hel looks quite unpresentable - tall, half body is black and blue, half - deathly pale. In some versions of the myth, there is a mentioning about what thighs and legs Hel covered corpse spots. Obviously, appearance Hel - as, for example, the view of death in the form of a skeleton is the transfer characteristics of the corpse on the image of the God of death.

The Kingdom Hel - HELHEIM - the place is quite sad: it's dark and cold. However, not all the dead are in the Kingdom of blue-and-white Hel. Norse mythology created the image of the so-called Valhalla - a kind of Paradise for valiant warriors. Under the leadership of One every day they are fighting, killing each other. But only ends the battle - and the fallen rise to, sitting at the same table with their winners, to begin the feast. The soldiers of the people, bringing death, but themselves at risk of their lives, in the end, how would defeat death forever dying and rising.

Love and death

In the Shinto is the traditional religion of Japan about the afterlife explains the following. Izanagi and Izanami then divine spouse - created the earth and all who inhabited it. Izanami then given a birth to other gods: the goddess of the sun Amaterasu, the moon God, Zukami, God of wind susanoo. But when it came to light the fire God Kagutsuchi, it singed his mother, and she fell seriously ill, and then, leaving her husband and children, went to the Yomi, a country of eternal darkness.

Izanagi was inconsolable. He went after his wife, to find and return it in the world of the living. The way was long, and the farther God went, the less seen around the darkness thickened. Finally, when his eyes could not distinguish in the darkness, he heard the voice of Izanami then. And that voice said that he came too late. Izanagi wanted a last look at his wife, and, though she had asked him not to do it and lit a fire. What he saw made him Izanagi shudder: his once beautiful wife turned into a monster, which was surrounded by no less ugly creature. These emit Yomi rushed at him, so poor God took away his legs barely. Back in the world, where the sun shone, Izanagi held a cleansing ritual to the realm of the dead no longer had power over him.

This Japanese myth, reminiscent of the plot the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, shows us the faith of the ancient man in the omnipotence of death - even God is not able to free his beloved from the Kingdom of darkness. Moreover, the stay in the Hame makes the goddess in the monster - like death and decay turn beauties in disgusting corpses.

Interestingly, a similar myth about going into the underground Kingdom of the goddess is, and the aborigines of New Zealand Maori. Obviously, the theme spouse searches in the Kingdom of death is one of the universal mythological plots generated bitter reality that death is often put asunder loving.

"Stylish" to hell

If we fast forward to the other end of the world - in America, we can see that local deity of death in many ways similar to the above. In Aztec mythology Mictlantecutli - the Lord of the underworld Mictlan is depicted in the form of a bloody skeleton or a person with a skull for a head. This hideous creature is not alien peculiar aesthetics: his head is decorated with feathers owl, and a necklace of the human eye.
The companions of God - the bat, spider, owl... and wife, Mictlantecuhtli.

It is also depicted in the form of a skeleton or women with a skull for a head. This extravagant lady dressed in a skirt of rattlesnakes. Live couple in a house with no Windows, located at the very bottom, the ninth underworld Mictlan.

To get to visit them, the dead man had done the hard way, which lasted four days. He had need to go between two mountains that could fall on him at any moment, to escape from the snake and crocodile that goes with it, eight cross deserts, climb eight mountains, to endure the cold wind, casting stones at him and acute obsidian blades.

And only then, reaching the coast of the underground river, the deceased met Explorer - little dog with ruby eyes.

On her back he crossed the river, which was started ownership of Mictlantecutli. The dead man was brought to the God of death gifts - what relatives laid in his grave. Mictlantecutli evaluated the generosity of the deceased and determined its place in one of the nine Underworlds.

And none of them any good of the deceased were not expecting.

This fate avoided only died in battle warriors (and sacrificed prisoners), who fell in world, reminiscent of the Scandinavian Valhalla. In addition, a separate peace with good housing conditions existed for drowning, regarded as the elect of God of water. Special dwelling - house maize" - was the women who died in childbirth.

At night they returned to earth in the form of ghosts, disturbing the living and the heralding trouble.
Alas, those who have gone forever, in the earthly world is not particularly eager to see.