Ancient Wisdom Atlas

Motif

Blessed island with painless divine death in old age

blessed_island_with_painless_divine_death_in_old_age

A motif of the Otherworld and Enchanted Realm family. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.

1 occurrences

1 traditions


greek

  • The Odyssey ULYSSES LEAVES SCHERIA AND RETURNS TO ITHACA. / BOOK XIV / ULYSSES IN THE HUT WITH EUMAEUS. / BOOK XV; lines 6834-6930 confidence: high

    Eumaeus describes Syra as an island with good pasture, wine, wheat, no dearth, and no sickness; when people grow old, Apollo and Diana kill them with painless shafts; his father Ctesius ruled both communities.

    Syra is described as fertile, free of famine and sickness, and as a place where Apollo and Diana give painless death to the elderly.

    read in the book