Hell has been described as a residence for souls after death and has long been a topic of discussion and debate. This notion intrigues man. It is a concept that man cannot know except through direct experience, which, once obtained, cannot be shared. But this does not prevent man from imagining its shape. Since the earliest Greek epics, such as Homer's Iliad, society has imagined an underworld, a place beneath the Earth that houses souls. Although our expectations of such a place have changed over the centuries, many of the ideas about the underworld depicted in Greek and Latin poems are still believed today. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Homer believed in an underworld called Tartarus. Some call it Hades Because a God called Hades rules Tartarus. He believed it was a prison for the gods, but it later became a prison for spirits. According to Homer there is only one afterlife. It doesn't matter if everyone tries to be good people eventually sins at some point, so everyone gets punished. Punishment of spirits is torture. But only some spirits are punished, those who have offended the gods. Hades is described as an ill-defined place. it is said that Achilles would rather be “another man's slave on earth than reign here over the breathless dead” (Iliad). Tantalus and Sisyphus are some of the many sufferers. But this torture is reserved only for offended gods, not for fellow humans. Another of the many poets has a vision similar to that of Homer. Virgil believed that people have a spirit inside them and that when you die your spirit goes to the underworld. Like Homer, Virgil believed in an afterlife, where everyone is punished. There are different types of punishments, such as birds pecking spirits. He called his hell the underworld. Virgil's hell is a realm with fields of mourning and bliss. This vision bears a resemblance to the Christian afterlife as well as that conceived by Homer. Dante's journey through Hell is largely based on Vigilio's Dis. Although Virgil's point of view is similar to Dante's, there are still clear differences. Dante believed in a place called hell, where the wicked go for their punishment. He believed that if men did not accept Christ they would go to hell. A man's punishment is decided based on what that man did while he was alive. There are ten circles in hell, each containing a different punishment depending on what that man has done. The different circles are home to hypocrites, falsifiers, witchcraft and thieves. Dante believed that “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in moments of great moral crisis” (Dante Inferno). These are the beliefs about hell of some famous writers, but now we come to the real version of hell, the biblical view. Hell, in the Bible, is described as a “fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:6, New International Version). It is a place completely without God. It is full of people who have not accepted Christ. Everyone deserves to die, but Jesus gives mercy to those who believe in Him. Those in hell must burn forever. A good metaphor is this: “If your right eye causes you scandal, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:29). Hell is a punishment for the wicked dead. The Bible states that when the time comes, the earth will be destroyed and God will cast Satan and his followers into the “Lake of fire that burns with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20). Although the Bible describes hell, it does not.