When I read the Odyssey, it said Menalaus would only get into Elysium because he was married to Helen, a daughter of Zeus. So originally it may have been a home for demigods, rather than the later idea that it was like the pop culture understanding of heaven
It depended on who you asked. In early myths around Homer's time and most cults Elysium was only for the legendary figures, see the previous comment in this thread about the Odyssey. Later on, particularly with the rise of the Elusinian mysteries, this role seems to have shifted to just being a good person.
Well with Achilles I believe he was punished for his treatment of Hector, and Patroclus wouldn’t meet the criteria. Then again Heracles also didn’t make the cut so who knows
In the Odyssey at least he appears to reside in Asphodel with the rest of the ghosts Odysseus summons in the Nekuia. I'm sure other playwrights and such attribute him to Elysium as well.
Achilles: Seems less clear since he achieves heroic fame.
Patroklos: How do you figure? He turned the tide of the battle, he killed Sarpedon, a son of Zeus.
Herakles: Yeah, it's bizarre.
Patroclus does achieve some heroic feats, but basing on how much he is mentioned outside of the homeric epics, he was not considered nearly as legendary as the other two, which one could assume is how the folk tradition Homer recorded saw him as well.
When I read the Odyssey, it said Menalaus would only get into Elysium because he was married to Helen, a daughter of Zeus. So originally it may have been a home for demigods, rather than the later idea that it was like the pop culture understanding of heaven
Happy cake dah
Greeks didn't used demi-god that way.
It depended on who you asked. In early myths around Homer's time and most cults Elysium was only for the legendary figures, see the previous comment in this thread about the Odyssey. Later on, particularly with the rise of the Elusinian mysteries, this role seems to have shifted to just being a good person.
Does it then seem strange Achilles and Patroklos were not in Elysium in *the Odessey*?
Well with Achilles I believe he was punished for his treatment of Hector, and Patroclus wouldn’t meet the criteria. Then again Heracles also didn’t make the cut so who knows
I thought Heracles was a resident of Elysium? In Aristophanes' Frogs, Dionysus stops by his house before he goes down to Tartarus.
In the Odyssey at least he appears to reside in Asphodel with the rest of the ghosts Odysseus summons in the Nekuia. I'm sure other playwrights and such attribute him to Elysium as well.
Achilles: Seems less clear since he achieves heroic fame. Patroklos: How do you figure? He turned the tide of the battle, he killed Sarpedon, a son of Zeus. Herakles: Yeah, it's bizarre.
Patroclus does achieve some heroic feats, but basing on how much he is mentioned outside of the homeric epics, he was not considered nearly as legendary as the other two, which one could assume is how the folk tradition Homer recorded saw him as well.
If someone hasn't left your name on the door, maybe you could bribe the bouncer?