In this lesson, Achilles’ guide to the Underworld is the Sibyl of Cumae, a seer and prophet who read leaves for messages about the future. Read more about her importance in myth and culture here. In Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid, which details the hero Aeneas’ adventures before the founding of Rome, the titular character is given a tour of the Underworld by the Sibyl. You can read a translation of their journey here.

Guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus, the Underworld is the final resting place for mortals in Greek mythology. It is ruled by Hades and his bride Persephone – to learn about their origin story, watch this TED-Ed lesson.  

Mortals access the Underworld with the help of the Charon, the spirit ferryman who rows souls across the River Styx to their new home. To pay Charon, mourners often placed an obol coin into the mouth of their dead before burial. You can read more about this process here. 

Once souls arrived in the Underworld, they were sent to different regions. The Underworld has a complex and specific structure, with multiple resting places for different mortals, which you can read about here. And the Styx isn’t the only ghostly river in the Underworld. Learn more about Acheron (the river of pain), Lethe (the river of forgetfulness), Phlegethon (the river of fire), and Cocytus (river of wailing) here.

But perhaps the worst place to be in the Underworld is Tartarus, the subterranean abyss reserved for people who have committed heinous crimes. Some of its most notorious inhabitants include Ixion, Tantalus, and the Danaides. Another mortal who suffered a grisly fate in Tartarus is Sisyphus – explore his story in more detail in this TED-ED lesson.  

A place of eternal punishment and suffering, Tartarus is not the final resting place of the hero Achilles – but it was a powerful reminder to the Ancient Greeks of the consequences of dire actions, and the importance of keeping the Gods on your side.