Hey YouTube, Jim here!
Welcome to Top10Archive!
Do you fear death?
No matter what religion you practice and what belief system you base your life upon, chances
are there's a version of death looking down upon you day after day.
The Grim Reaper is the iconic representation of death, but there have been many, many iterations
of the personification of death.
We've read through ancient texts, looking to introduce you to ten different versions
of the pale rider.
Before we meet the reaper, leave your legacy in the form of a subscription to Top10Archive!
If you survive your encounter with the Grim Reaper, be sure to give this video a like
and comment with at least one verse from Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper."
... what?
I just really like that song.
10.
Hel In Norse mythology, Hel was the goddess that
presided over the underworld of the same name.
This goddess of the dead was the daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, so don't
take everything you learned from Thor: Ragnarok to heart.
She was the sister of Fenrir and Jormungand, two vital aspects of the Nordic end of the
world.
She's greedy and unloving and though she's well-known beyond Norse mythology, the bulk
of what's known of her comes from The Death of Baldur, where the god Baldur was slain
by Loki. 9.
Veliona Said to be the goddess of Earth, water, and
the subterranean regions, Veliona also ruled over the spirits of the dead, or the Veles.
Pulled from ancient Baltic mythology, Veliona lives within the Earth, holding dominion not
only over the land of the dead, but also the fertility of land, people, and animals.
As a guardian of the deceased, when a warrior falls during battle, their soul is personally
welcomed into the subterranean realm.
8.
Yama To followers of Hinduism, Yama is known as
the god of the dead.
He earned this title after becoming the first man who died, creating the concept of mortality.
Guardian of the south, or the region of death, and overseer of the dead's resting place,
Yama was thought to be cheerful.
Uncharacteristic for a death god, he was simply a judge that weighs the good and evil deeds
of the dead to determine their path after passing.
He wasn't filled with rage, hate, or contempt and didn't bring death to people.
Buddhists in Tibet, Japan, and China may also believe in Yama.
7.
Mot In the Hebrew scriptures, the word for death
is "mot," which is also the name of the West Semitic god of death.
Also the god of infertility and drought, Mot is not one to bring happiness and joy to his
people.
Son of El and antagonist to the rain god, Baal, Mot ruled over the underworld but may
have best been known for his long-standing feud with Baal.
In the land of Canaan, a dry and arid part of the world, it was believed Mot and Baal
were forever entangled in battle where the two continuously slay one another, only to
be restored to continue their quarrel.
6.
Santa Muerte Even if you're not proficient in Spanish,
chances are you may have already recognized this goddesses name to mean "Holy Death" or
"Saint Death."
Despite the saintly name, she's not a force that the people of Mexico, and parts of Central
America tend to worship.
In fact, the Vatican is so against her existence that an official condemned any devotion to
her, claiming it to be the same as celebrating hell and tragedy.
Surprisingly, her popularity didn't tip until around 2001, but when it did, she became a
poster-child for gangs, drug lords, and the dregs of society as a holy force to pray to
when calling to God seemed inappropriate.
5.
Shinigami Try not to confuse these overseers of the
damned with the popular video game Shin Megami.
Shinigami are the equivalent of Western society's angels of death, though their method is far
less forceful than the traditional belief that death steals life.
The Shinigami, or "death god," invite mortals to their death, providing them a decision.
The introduction of the concept of Shinigami came after Japan came into contact with the
West and was likely inspired by the concept of the Grim Reaper.
The Shinigami are thought to only appear when it's a person's time to die, though they still
approach the situation politely and simply invite the individual to let go.
4.
Ankou If you've ever played RuneScape, chances are
you may recognize the name Ankou, but you certainly don't know the mythological being
in this way.
In Breton folklore, Ankou is a personification of death, a "henchman of Death," as written
by 19th-century writer Anatole Le Braz.
Much like the classical representation of the Grim Reaper, Ankou is often depicted as
a skeleton donning a cloak and wielding a scythe.
Other iterations claim him to be human in appearance or look like a shadow.
Some versions state he was the first child of Adam and Eve while others say he was the
first dead human.
His eternal task is to collect souls of the dead before he can cross over into the afterlife.
3.
Thanatos Greek mythology is one of the more fascinating
and widely explored ancient texts.
Within those historic folklores were tales of Thanatos, the god of non-violent death.
Unlike some depictions of the reaper, Thanatos was thought to be gentle in nature while his
sisters, the Keres, oversaw violent death and slaughter.
Winged and bearded, Thanatos' most popular depiction is in the Iliad, carrying the body
of Sarpedon with his brother, Hypnos.
In Roman sculptures, he was depicted as a young man with a down-turned torch and a butterfly
to symbolize the soul.
2.
Anubis People tend to love Ancient Egypt and Anubis
is arguably one of the more easily-recognized gods.
With the head of a Jackal, Anubis was thought to oversee the mummification process and was
present during the embalming of Osiris after his murder.
Anubis resides in the underworld, serving as the guide for souls of the deceased.
Overseeing the Duat, or the realm of the dead, Anubis weighed the hearts of the dead against
a feather.
Should the heart be the heaviest of the two, it would be devoured by Ammit and the soul
denied entry into Aaru, or a heavenly paradise.
1.
Grim Reaper As the Black Death ravaged Europe during the
14th century, those that lived through the spread of the plague found a way to personify
the death that was taking so many loved ones and fellow countrymen.
The Grim Reaper sports a pitch black cloak, which is believed to represent the funeral
clothes worn by religious figures, and a deadly scythe, which represents the "harvesting"
of dead souls.
The Grim Reaper has become the universal symbol of death, popularized through years of use
in media and texts.
That's our list!
What other versions of death do you know about?
Let us know in the comment section below and be sure to check out one of these two videos
right now!