The idea of the Angel of Death has existed in Europe for a very long time, but the Grim Reaper - arguably the most famous of the personifications of death - was born during one of the most catastrophic times of human history: the Black Plague of the 14th century. Grim Reaper - Europe An early example of the Grim Reaper wielding a scythe, though conspicuously missing a robe. Or it could just be that Banshees were confused with the screeching of owls, which is a scary thing to hear in the dead of night. Death has been a very common part of Irish lives over the centuries because of war and famine, so that could be why the Banshee evolved into a more terrifying figure over time. In some places, their singing is a shrill screech, and in others, it’s low, beautiful singing. In some stories, they appear as beautiful women, and in others, they are ragged and spooky. The one universal truth of the Banshee is that hearing one is indeed an omen of death, but beyond that, the folklore varies quite a bit. The idea of the Banshee today is that it is an old, terrifying woman with silver hair and ragged clothes that screeches as an omen of death, but that’s simply the most Halloween-y version of the mythology. Thus, the Banshee was a fairy singer mourning the death of a person. Some say the myth comes from an old tradition where a woman would sing, or more specifically keen (wail in grief), during funerals. The name comes from Old Irish ben síde or baintsíde, meaning “woman of the fairy mound.” The earliest references to Banshees come from 14th century in Ireland. In Irish mythology, death is foretold by the female spirit called the Banshee. Banshee - Ireland Bunworth Banshee from Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland. Yama is not necessarily a malevolent god, especially because a person’s fate is left up to their deeds in life (which is also a feature of many other belief systems). A person’s soul can be banished to one of the 21 hells, given happy immortality in Yama’s kingdom or be reborn as another being to be given another chance at living a good life. In front of Yama, everything a person did in their life is read out so that Yama can make a decision as to whether the person is worthy of reward or punishment. In Hindu belief, when a person dies, their soul arrives in Yama’s Kalici Palace to be judged. All together, Yama’s appearance is more grandiose than scary. Yama has blue or green skin, is dressed often in red robes and has red eyes. He is also the twin brother of Yami (it’s believed that Yama and Yami come from a Sanskrit word meaning twins of both sexes). Yama’s family relations change a bit depending on the version you’re reading, but it is generally said he is the son of the sun god Vivasvat and the goddess of clouds Saranyu-Samjna. Yama is the Hindu god of death, and is the judge of souls in the afterlife. For Greeks, death was a peaceful passage into an eternal slumber. The afterlife in Greek mythology was the underworld, or Hades, and it was a very neutral place to be - not particularly good or bad. Thanatos guides people to the underworld, and thus falls in a category of death called the psychopomp, which comes from a Greek word ψυχοπομπός ( psychopompos ) meaning “guide of souls.” Most figures of death are psychopomps, and it shows a belief that death is a transition into another stage of being rather than a final ending. Thanatos, it should be noted, was the god of nonviolent death, and he was depicted as an attractive man with wings who carried an extinguished torch. The familial relations alone reveal a lot about how the Greeks thought of death. Thanatos’ name comes from θνῄσκω ( thnēskō ), meaning “to die,” and he is the son of Nyx (the Night) and Erebus (the Darkness), as well as the twin brother of Hypnos (Sleep). One of the first personifications of death comes from Greek mythology. Thanatos - Greece Thanatos (left) lifting the body of Sarpedon along with his brother Hypnos (right). There are a lot of Deaths out there to choose from, but here are a few of the most famous. But looking at the history of Death with a capital D in various cultures reveals a lot about how cultures deal with the end of life. Today, you’ll probably only see these personifications of death in the United States during Halloween, because they’re considered a spooky curiosity more than anything else. ![]() How do you understand a natural force? One option is to make death more concrete by giving it a bodily form, creating literal personifications of death. Humans have responded to death by studying it, rationalizing it or just plain old ignoring it. It’s both the one event that unites all living things, and also one of the hardest ideas to wrap your head around.
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