This page groups realms by the language of their very first recorded name. Wikipedia notes that "the underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths," carrying a different oldest name in each. Browsing by originates-in-language lets a visitor find every realm whose oldest name traces to the same tongue.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingOtherworlds that are neither heavens for the blessed nor underworlds for the dead. In practice the group is dominated by the nine worlds of Norse cosmology, joined by the Celtic otherworlds; it is a residual heading rather than a comparative category with a subject of its own. 2 Peoples and Traditions CoveredNorse and Celtic cosmology. The two are unrelated and the Norse material is the great majority of the group. 3 Learn More
The Worlds
This group gathers the worlds, the realms that make up the layered cosmos of the various mythologies, such as the nine worlds of Norse tradition strung upon the world-tree, or the multiple worlds and planes of other cosmologies. These are the ordered divisions of the whole of existence.
The browser will find the worlds the atlas gathers from across the traditions. The entries describe each realm's inhabitants and place in its cosmology, reporting each tradition's own scheme.
Originates In Language
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
John Lindow, Oxford University Press, 2001s.v. cosmogony and cosmologyView the Source 3. Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. CosmologyView the Source Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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