ch dates ages before
Abraham is said to have lived, is found this epitaph: "May thy soul
attain to the Creator of all mankind." Sculptures and paintings in these
grand receptacles of the dead, as translated by Champollion, represent
the deceased ushered into the world of spirits by funeral deities, who
announce, "A soul arrived in Amenti."[388:6]

The Hindoo idea of a subtile invisible body within the material body,
reappeared in the description of Greek poets. They represented the
constitution of man as consisting of three principles: the soul, the
invisible body, and the material body. The invisible body they called
the ghost or shade, and considered it as the material portion of the
soul. At death, the soul, clothed in this subtile body, went to enjoy
paradise for a season, or suffer in hell till its sins were expiated.
This paradise was called the "Elysian Fields," and the hell was called
Tartarus.

The paradise, some supposed to be a part of the lower world, some placed
them in a middle zone in the air, some in the moon, and others in
far-off isles in the ocean. There shone more glorious sun and stars than
illuminated this world. The day was always serene, the air forever pure,
and a soft, celestial light clothed all things in transfigured beauty.
Majestic groves, verdant meadows, and blooming gardens varied the
landscape. The river Eridanus flowed through winding banks fringed with
laurel. On its borders lived heroes who had died for their country,
priests who had led a pure life, artists who had embodied genuine beauty
in their work, and poets who had never degraded their muse with subjects
unworthy of Apollo. There each one renewed the pleasures in which he
formerly delighted. Orpheus, in long white robes, made enrapturing music
on his lyre, while others danced and sang. The husband rejoined his
beloved wife; old friendships were renewed, the poet repeated his
verses, and the charioteer managed his horses.

Some souls wandered in vast forests between Tartarus and Elysium, not
good enough for one, or bad enough for the other. Some were purified
from their sins by exposure to searching winds, others by being
submerged in deep waters, others by passing through intense fires. After
a long period of probation and suffering, many of them gained the
Elysian Fields. This belief is handed down to our day in the Roman
Catholic idea of _Purgatory_.

A belief in the existence of the soul after death was indicated in all