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The History of Hell
A survey of four thousand years of belief in Hell reveals how religious leaders, poets, painters, and ordinary people--including Homer, Dante, Blake, and Freud--have visualized the den of the Devil. National ad/promo. Tour.
275 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
September 2, 2016
PEEP BOOTHS IN HEAVEN
“Abominable fancy” is the Christian theological idea that one of the pleasures of the blessed in Heaven is the contemplation of the torments of the sinners in Hell. I was thinking about that, and it seemed to me that it might be considered a little embarrassing to be seen guffawing at someone having a hot poker shoved up their fundament, so I imagine, in consideration of the feelings of the blessed, they will have arranged these viewings to be held in a series of booths, like a peep show. You would go in to your booth and switch on the viewing screen and you would see the ongoing grisly tortures. (This would not be allowed here on Earth, or at least you would have to pay a lot of dough, like in that movie Hostel. But in Heaven, it's free.)
But I’m also thinking that seeing random people being tortured will get tiresome after, say, a few thousand years, so there must be a way to spice it up a bit, and what better than to watch someone you actually knew on Earth being tortured. So I think there must be a kind of request system – you fill in a form giving the name of the person you want to see, could be your son’s games instructor or the old bat who lived at No 37 and threw boiling water on your cat, or it could be Saddam Hussain, and then it would be like ordering a dvd from Lovefilm, you’d build up a list of torturees and you might have to wait quite a while for the more popular ones (Heinrich Himmler, Myra Hindley) but no one else would be interested in your brother-in-law, so you’d get to see him writhing and howling in agony any time you wanted.
Hell was a popular subject in religious books for centuries and Alice Turner comments
It is not going too far to say that the Hell scenes of early apocalypses are a form of self-righteous pornography.
ABANDON LOGIC ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE
The whole idea of Hell being everlasting gets Christians into all kinds of logical conundrums.
What, after all, was the point of Hell after the Last Judgement? Punishment can be deterrent, corrective, curative or vindictive… But infinite pain at the end of time for those whose sins were, after all, finite? This would be neither curative nor deterrent. How could it be other than vindictive?
You know, Alice Turner is right. So the idea seems to be that God creates millions of human beings knowing that only a tiny minority of them will escape the infinite tortures of Hell. What kind of dear Lord and Father of mankind is that? The idea is horrendous. It’s sadistic is what it is.
The little child is in the red hot oven. Hear how it screams to come out! See how it turns and twists itself about in the fire. It beats its head against the roof of the oven. It stamps its little feet on the floor.
From The Sight of Hell by the Reverend Joseph Furniss, 1882. A book written specifically for young people. Best seller too.
So horrendous that, eventually, thoughtful Christians became very uncomfortable with the doctrine and they began taking it apart. They replaced it with annihilationism and universalism. The first says that bad people just die when they die and simply don’t get an afterlife. The second says that bad people do go to Hell but that eventually they will be purged of their sins and forgiven and released from Hell. That gave rise to other Christians saying well, if God eventually forgives everyone, what’s the flooking point of the whole flooking shebang anyway? What a lot of botheration – creating a whole universe, creating the human race, sending Jesus, heaven, hell, if everyone end up the same, playing Yes We’ll Gather at the River on the autoharp and gazing raptly? Was the game worth the candle?
Don’t ask me, pal. I just review here.
HELL 2.0
Let’s try and figure this thing again. When you have the person of Jesus as Saviour, and you have the idea of Hell as the thing he is saving us all from, certain ineluctable deductions then follow. Iddy bitty babies and white-bearded Jewish patriarchs gave Christians a big but strangely similar problem. What happened to them if the babies died before being baptised (as often happened in plague times) or the good patriarchs lived and died way before Jesus? Could we really have a hard-line no-baptism no-heaven system? Meaning that if Heaven was not your destination, you were hellbound, and the itty babies and the patriarchs would get the hot oven treatment for all of eternity? You wouldn't get Moses supposing that his toeses were roses in Hell, of that I assure you. You know, that even seemed harsh to the stern Christians of the 4th century. But as Alice turner puts it (p82)
Either baptism is a solemn and holy sacrament washing away Original Sin or it is not; you cannot have it both ways.
So eventually to resolve this the idea of Purgatory grew up. Purgatory was a kind of de-coking plant for souls where all the black gungy sins are burned off with a few quick centuries of eye gouging and red hot poking - then they run you through a sinometer and if you score 90% pure or over then okay, you’re done.
The Sopranos Season 2, From Where to Eternity
Christopher Moltisanti is getting concerned about the awful things he has been doing lately. He consults with his spiritual adviser Paulie (Walnuts) Gualtieri who says nah, he won’t go to hell, he’ll go to purgatory :
Christopher: How long do you think we've got to stay there?
Paulie: That's different for everybody. You add up all your mortal sins and multiply that number by 50. Then you add up all your venial sins and multiply that by 25. You add that together and that's your sentence. I figure I'm gonna have to do 6,000 years before I get accepted into heaven and 6,000 years is nothin' in eternity terms. I can do that standing on my head.
HELL ON EARTH
I saw Before Midnight yesterday, highly recommended, and Julie Delpy playing Celine threw out a definition of Hell, but it was a description of our own world:
The only upside for a woman in being over 35 is you don’t get raped so much.
In Christopher Marlowe’s renowned Doctor Faustus, the devil Mephistopheles agrees with Celine :
Faust. Where are you damn’d?
Meph. In hell.
Faust. How comes it then that thou art out of hell?
Meph. Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.
Yes, the idea that this world is actually Hell can seem very convincing if you turn on the news at any time in the last, say, 3000 years.
I KNOW WHERE I AM GOING
My Muslim friend thinks I am going to Hell. I say come on, what did I ever do? I smoked a little dope and I didn’t return a couple of library books? It was years ago! He says no, it’s not that, it’s because you aren’t a Muslim, Sorry and all, but I don’t make the rules. I say - That's a bit harsh, don't you think? He says he's sorry but the solution is in my hands.
“Abominable fancy” is the Christian theological idea that one of the pleasures of the blessed in Heaven is the contemplation of the torments of the sinners in Hell. I was thinking about that, and it seemed to me that it might be considered a little embarrassing to be seen guffawing at someone having a hot poker shoved up their fundament, so I imagine, in consideration of the feelings of the blessed, they will have arranged these viewings to be held in a series of booths, like a peep show. You would go in to your booth and switch on the viewing screen and you would see the ongoing grisly tortures. (This would not be allowed here on Earth, or at least you would have to pay a lot of dough, like in that movie Hostel. But in Heaven, it's free.)
But I’m also thinking that seeing random people being tortured will get tiresome after, say, a few thousand years, so there must be a way to spice it up a bit, and what better than to watch someone you actually knew on Earth being tortured. So I think there must be a kind of request system – you fill in a form giving the name of the person you want to see, could be your son’s games instructor or the old bat who lived at No 37 and threw boiling water on your cat, or it could be Saddam Hussain, and then it would be like ordering a dvd from Lovefilm, you’d build up a list of torturees and you might have to wait quite a while for the more popular ones (Heinrich Himmler, Myra Hindley) but no one else would be interested in your brother-in-law, so you’d get to see him writhing and howling in agony any time you wanted.
Hell was a popular subject in religious books for centuries and Alice Turner comments
It is not going too far to say that the Hell scenes of early apocalypses are a form of self-righteous pornography.
ABANDON LOGIC ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE
The whole idea of Hell being everlasting gets Christians into all kinds of logical conundrums.
What, after all, was the point of Hell after the Last Judgement? Punishment can be deterrent, corrective, curative or vindictive… But infinite pain at the end of time for those whose sins were, after all, finite? This would be neither curative nor deterrent. How could it be other than vindictive?
You know, Alice Turner is right. So the idea seems to be that God creates millions of human beings knowing that only a tiny minority of them will escape the infinite tortures of Hell. What kind of dear Lord and Father of mankind is that? The idea is horrendous. It’s sadistic is what it is.
The little child is in the red hot oven. Hear how it screams to come out! See how it turns and twists itself about in the fire. It beats its head against the roof of the oven. It stamps its little feet on the floor.
From The Sight of Hell by the Reverend Joseph Furniss, 1882. A book written specifically for young people. Best seller too.
So horrendous that, eventually, thoughtful Christians became very uncomfortable with the doctrine and they began taking it apart. They replaced it with annihilationism and universalism. The first says that bad people just die when they die and simply don’t get an afterlife. The second says that bad people do go to Hell but that eventually they will be purged of their sins and forgiven and released from Hell. That gave rise to other Christians saying well, if God eventually forgives everyone, what’s the flooking point of the whole flooking shebang anyway? What a lot of botheration – creating a whole universe, creating the human race, sending Jesus, heaven, hell, if everyone end up the same, playing Yes We’ll Gather at the River on the autoharp and gazing raptly? Was the game worth the candle?
Don’t ask me, pal. I just review here.
HELL 2.0
Let’s try and figure this thing again. When you have the person of Jesus as Saviour, and you have the idea of Hell as the thing he is saving us all from, certain ineluctable deductions then follow. Iddy bitty babies and white-bearded Jewish patriarchs gave Christians a big but strangely similar problem. What happened to them if the babies died before being baptised (as often happened in plague times) or the good patriarchs lived and died way before Jesus? Could we really have a hard-line no-baptism no-heaven system? Meaning that if Heaven was not your destination, you were hellbound, and the itty babies and the patriarchs would get the hot oven treatment for all of eternity? You wouldn't get Moses supposing that his toeses were roses in Hell, of that I assure you. You know, that even seemed harsh to the stern Christians of the 4th century. But as Alice turner puts it (p82)
Either baptism is a solemn and holy sacrament washing away Original Sin or it is not; you cannot have it both ways.
So eventually to resolve this the idea of Purgatory grew up. Purgatory was a kind of de-coking plant for souls where all the black gungy sins are burned off with a few quick centuries of eye gouging and red hot poking - then they run you through a sinometer and if you score 90% pure or over then okay, you’re done.
The Sopranos Season 2, From Where to Eternity
Christopher Moltisanti is getting concerned about the awful things he has been doing lately. He consults with his spiritual adviser Paulie (Walnuts) Gualtieri who says nah, he won’t go to hell, he’ll go to purgatory :
Christopher: How long do you think we've got to stay there?
Paulie: That's different for everybody. You add up all your mortal sins and multiply that number by 50. Then you add up all your venial sins and multiply that by 25. You add that together and that's your sentence. I figure I'm gonna have to do 6,000 years before I get accepted into heaven and 6,000 years is nothin' in eternity terms. I can do that standing on my head.
HELL ON EARTH
I saw Before Midnight yesterday, highly recommended, and Julie Delpy playing Celine threw out a definition of Hell, but it was a description of our own world:
The only upside for a woman in being over 35 is you don’t get raped so much.
In Christopher Marlowe’s renowned Doctor Faustus, the devil Mephistopheles agrees with Celine :
Faust. Where are you damn’d?
Meph. In hell.
Faust. How comes it then that thou art out of hell?
Meph. Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.
Yes, the idea that this world is actually Hell can seem very convincing if you turn on the news at any time in the last, say, 3000 years.
I KNOW WHERE I AM GOING
My Muslim friend thinks I am going to Hell. I say come on, what did I ever do? I smoked a little dope and I didn’t return a couple of library books? It was years ago! He says no, it’s not that, it’s because you aren’t a Muslim, Sorry and all, but I don’t make the rules. I say - That's a bit harsh, don't you think? He says he's sorry but the solution is in my hands.
February 4, 2021
I enjoyed the hell out of this book. In a casual style, it explores the concept of Hell throughout history, in both religion and popular culture. It begins with early takes on the world of the dead, including the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greek. A lot of the geographical features that came to be associated with underworlds first showed up in Mesopotamian mythology, while the Egyptian world of the dead was very complicated, with multiple zones and dangers. Tartarus was originally a prison for the Titans, but came to be a place of punishment for dead mortals as well. Hades has multiple rivers, and was inhabited by monsters. Christian thought struggled with working together the various ideas of the afterlife presented by what became the New Testament: Jesus' mentions of a fiery place of punishment, the parable of Lazarus (not the guy who came back from the dead) ending up in the bosom of Abraham while the rich man who ignored him went to Hell, the Kingdom of Heaven, and the upcoming resurrection and Last Judgment. It's been a common question as to what the need is for immediate reward and punishment after death when that's going to happen at the end of the world anyway, and whether eternal damnation is really in line with Jesus saving the world from sin. Another common theme in early Christianity was Jesus' harrowing of Hell, which had its antecedents in the tales of Inanna, Orpheus, and others. Purgatory was devised to provide a way for people to pay for their sins in a finite way. Jesus' mother Mary came to be regarded as the ruler of Purgatory, who would intercede with her son to get people out of Purgatory. The Protestants, who wanted to remove most Catholic trappings, threw out Purgatory with the rest. Religiously themed plays often depicted Hell, and the Hellmouth from Anglo-Saxon art became a common prop. Dante's Inferno placed Hell underneath Jerusalem, with Satan in the center of the Earth. It was thoroughly laid out into nine circles, each with its own sorts of sinners, and also incorporated the rivers from the Greek Hades and a city that was home to fallen angels. The city of Dis came to be seen as a medieval citadel. The Jesuits regarded Hell as a ridiculously crowded place full of squalor. And John Milton wrote of the place as a separate part of the universe from Earth, and that the city of Pandemonium was incredibly opulent. There's even a mention in the book of Tobias Swinden claiming in 1714 that Hell would have to be located in the Sun. Turner reports more modern versions of Hell being less literal, more symbolic and often satirical. She doesn't go into that much detail on most of what she mentions, making a lot of them tantalizing inducements to further reading. There's a lot of fascinating art as well, and it's disappointing that most of it is small, at least in the edition of the book I got from the library; but it's cool that it's there.
January 19, 2011
This is not a new book; I dug it from my shelves just to write this review. It's not a scholarly-looking book; the oversize cover, glossy pages, and color pictures on every other page make it look more like a children's book than a theological treatise. It's not the work of a notable scholar; Ms. Turner is better known for her fiction and as an editor for Playboy. So what is this review doing on my blog today?
Against all odds, this is an important book about an important topic. Is it Alice's fault that she manages to turn it into a fun read as well?
The History of Hell begins at the beginning, with the earliest religious beliefs of an underworld. You'll explore the Egyptian Book of the Dead and Zoroastrianism. You'll move forward in time to the Greek understanding of Hades, the Platonic description of Hell, and the Hebrew teachings of Sheol. As these ideas merge into one, you begin to see glimpses of today's Christian version of Hell emerging.
In time, Purgatory arrives. Christian ideas continue to evolve through the centuries, giving birth to artwork and stories like Dante's Inferno, as imaginations let loose. Satan, once destined to chains in a dark netherworld transforms before your eyes into an evil taskmaster. Now, trident in hand, he gleefully tortures lost souls in a lake of fire forever and ever, amen.
You continue to travel through the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, through the 19th century, and on into today's time, as Hell continues to evolve. Why is this journey important? Why put yourself through Hell? Because, as Christians, it's vitally important to our spiritual well-being to understand that we have made our own version of Hell. Ideas have evolved from the beginning of religion, and understanding this, knowing the "history of Hell," can set you free from the undertow of today's spiritually-damaging teachings.
And if you're going to take this frightful journey, you may as well make it an entertaining one. Pick up Alice's book.
Against all odds, this is an important book about an important topic. Is it Alice's fault that she manages to turn it into a fun read as well?
The History of Hell begins at the beginning, with the earliest religious beliefs of an underworld. You'll explore the Egyptian Book of the Dead and Zoroastrianism. You'll move forward in time to the Greek understanding of Hades, the Platonic description of Hell, and the Hebrew teachings of Sheol. As these ideas merge into one, you begin to see glimpses of today's Christian version of Hell emerging.
In time, Purgatory arrives. Christian ideas continue to evolve through the centuries, giving birth to artwork and stories like Dante's Inferno, as imaginations let loose. Satan, once destined to chains in a dark netherworld transforms before your eyes into an evil taskmaster. Now, trident in hand, he gleefully tortures lost souls in a lake of fire forever and ever, amen.
You continue to travel through the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, through the 19th century, and on into today's time, as Hell continues to evolve. Why is this journey important? Why put yourself through Hell? Because, as Christians, it's vitally important to our spiritual well-being to understand that we have made our own version of Hell. Ideas have evolved from the beginning of religion, and understanding this, knowing the "history of Hell," can set you free from the undertow of today's spiritually-damaging teachings.
And if you're going to take this frightful journey, you may as well make it an entertaining one. Pick up Alice's book.
November 12, 2021
Four thousand years of hell, as long as you’re largely after the Catholic/Christian variety and not any flavors of Eastern religions. It can get a little dry and hard to follow, but that might be because I encountered some of the religious concepts for the first time and my mind just doesn’t work well with them.
Two takeaways: Christians absolutely made this shit up as they went along; and most educated Christians, even clergy, didn’t really believe in hell at all, but considered it useful for the illiterate masses to do so as an incentive for good behavior.
The generous illustrations are really great.
Two takeaways: Christians absolutely made this shit up as they went along; and most educated Christians, even clergy, didn’t really believe in hell at all, but considered it useful for the illiterate masses to do so as an incentive for good behavior.
The generous illustrations are really great.
October 31, 2009
A really fun and comprehensive look at the history of Hell. Turner's writing is easy and humorous; a great introductory text!
October 26, 2019
This is an interesting and very easy to get into book which really does give you a good guide through the human vision of Hell and its origins in the religions of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece. It goes through the different European cultural eras and demonstrates how our vision changed or evolved according to the times. The way Hell is integrated into the literature of those periods is very clearly laid out.
Very good for anyone who wants a clear, clean picture of how it all fits together.
Very good for anyone who wants a clear, clean picture of how it all fits together.
March 8, 2010
Really well done. An interesting look at the evolution of Hell from the Sumerians to the Age of Freud. Also includes some amazing art. My eight-year old picked up the book and flipped through the pictures. Funny, he wasn't at all frightened by the images. He just said, "Mom, why is everyone in Hell naked?" Good Question.
June 13, 2023
I live in a pretty religious place, and the people on my street already think I’m a little bit of an odd duck, so I was positively buzzing when my neighbor approached head tilted asking “whatcha getting” as I was checking out a biblical tower of books about hell from the library (I'm researching for a story). It did feel a little weird reading this before bed with all the “gnashing of teeth” and whatnot, but at least I’m not a child. There exists a formerly popular kids’ book called The Sight of Hell (written by the appropriately named John Furniss, and still available on Amazon) that describes the dungeons of hell and reads thusly: “The little child is in the red-hot oven. Hear how it screams to come out; see how it turns and twists itself about in the fire. It beats its head against the roof of the oven. It stamps its little feet on the floor.” This is also accompanied with similarly vivid illustrations. Sweet dreams, children.
In terms of content, this book does present, as you would expect from the title, a historical view of how thought about hell changed over the years. It also summarizes influential non-Bible eschatological literature such as Dante’s Divine Comedy, and Milton’s Paradise Lost. I didn’t realize Greek views of the underworld had such a large impact on the biblical hell. It also makes a lot more sense now why there are so many paintings of Mary from the Middle Ages, as she was believed to have the ability to save souls in purgatory. I’m glad I have finally finished the book. It’s nice to be free from the clutches of eternal hellfire, at least for now.
In terms of content, this book does present, as you would expect from the title, a historical view of how thought about hell changed over the years. It also summarizes influential non-Bible eschatological literature such as Dante’s Divine Comedy, and Milton’s Paradise Lost. I didn’t realize Greek views of the underworld had such a large impact on the biblical hell. It also makes a lot more sense now why there are so many paintings of Mary from the Middle Ages, as she was believed to have the ability to save souls in purgatory. I’m glad I have finally finished the book. It’s nice to be free from the clutches of eternal hellfire, at least for now.
March 6, 2018
A pretty good history of how hell has been envisioned, from the earliest history up to the modern day. It was talkier than I expected, with a few pages each for even rather obscure strains of Christianity, and I just skimmed a lot of it because it became rather more theological than I was up for today. Lucifer/Satan is mentioned occasionally when relevant, but the book makes clear in the introduction that it's about hell, not Satan. Could've used a few more pictures, but generally satisfactory.
November 11, 2007
An interesting overview of historical perceptions of Hell from literature, art and scripture from the dawn of western civilization through the age of Freud. Beautifully illustrated with works of art from each period covered. Throughout history, ideas of Hell, its location, purpose and denizens have constantly changed. The author examines the changes and the reasons for them.
May 19, 2017
I was at Wells Fargo once to replace a debit card that I lost, and I figured I would bring a book because I didn't know how long I was going to have to wait and my parents told me that I should never waste an opportunity. Well I didn't actually have to wait because Shian told me that she could help me open an account right away. Her computer started lagging because it had to process my long name through, so she decided to ask me what I was reading.
"The Skeletons in God's Closet.... it's about how Christians can reconcile the judgment of hell with the love of God."
"Oh..." she said.
It wasn't until after about five minutes of my theological musings on hell that I realized she wasn't interested... or maybe she was uncomfortable about the subject. I wasn't sure. She was probably taught by her supervisors to be friendly at all costs. Poor lady. Since my parents told me not to waste an opportunity and I figured I would awkwardly leeway into the Gospel like one of those awkward Christians. Sure enough, the conversation died before I could even get close.
Well, anyways this book reminded me of Shian and our conversation. And I decided that I would dedicate this review to her.
Alice Turner, who writes for Playboy magazine(!), did a fantastic job in compiling an enormous amount of information into a readable book on how hell has evolved from ancient Mesopotamian "The Great Below" through the Middle Ages and its bizarre visions of monsters with spears up their butts (I'm not kidding) to hell's eventual "disappearance" in the Freudian age where hell is allegorized as repression. The History of Hell is well-rounded in its approach; combining history, literature, psychology, art, theology, and philosophy. The illustrations were fantastic (it was also a chronicle of how Western art's depictions of hell has evolved). I had to take off a star though because Turner would throw out character names left and right without any context, so I was confused at times, especially the chapter on classical Hades.
Still would recommend it though.
Cheers, Shian.
"The Skeletons in God's Closet.... it's about how Christians can reconcile the judgment of hell with the love of God."
"Oh..." she said.
It wasn't until after about five minutes of my theological musings on hell that I realized she wasn't interested... or maybe she was uncomfortable about the subject. I wasn't sure. She was probably taught by her supervisors to be friendly at all costs. Poor lady. Since my parents told me not to waste an opportunity and I figured I would awkwardly leeway into the Gospel like one of those awkward Christians. Sure enough, the conversation died before I could even get close.
Well, anyways this book reminded me of Shian and our conversation. And I decided that I would dedicate this review to her.
Alice Turner, who writes for Playboy magazine(!), did a fantastic job in compiling an enormous amount of information into a readable book on how hell has evolved from ancient Mesopotamian "The Great Below" through the Middle Ages and its bizarre visions of monsters with spears up their butts (I'm not kidding) to hell's eventual "disappearance" in the Freudian age where hell is allegorized as repression. The History of Hell is well-rounded in its approach; combining history, literature, psychology, art, theology, and philosophy. The illustrations were fantastic (it was also a chronicle of how Western art's depictions of hell has evolved). I had to take off a star though because Turner would throw out character names left and right without any context, so I was confused at times, especially the chapter on classical Hades.
Still would recommend it though.
Cheers, Shian.
July 31, 2025
An interesting and other phantasmagoric survey of the way belief in the underworld has changed from the Ancient Near East to Greco-Roman to Christian beliefs throughout time. I felt this was particularly elucidating in commenting on the beliefs of both early Christians, such as the Augustine and Tertullian, as well as mediaeval beliefs on hell. A wide selection of artwork, particularly from the mediaeval and Renaissance periods are presented as well, which adds an effective visual component. All things consider, an interesting and educational survey of netherworld beliefs in Western tradition.
June 10, 2019
4 1/2 stars—the half removed only because it ended so abruptly. The author started talking about Hell in 20th century film, briefly discussed Aliens as metaphor...I turned the page...and there were the Acknowledgements and the Bibliography. What happened? Where’s The Exorcist? Where’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose, its motifs of Mary as Intercessor and sufferer as example rampant throughout the book? And those are the easy grabs. Very odd. Otherwise a fascinating book that has lined up about ten more books for me to read, and those are the most fun nonfiction books to read, aren’t they?
October 10, 2024
Although the author claims this was not a scholarly venture, it was both informative and thought provoking. What I enjoyed most was the vast array of beliefs and how well Turner synthesized it while clearly coming across as not overly sold on the whole idea itself. I not only walk away from this book with a broader understanding of the subject itself, but also a plethora of other texts that I can explore in the future.
March 8, 2021
Dante okurken iyi bir yan okuma oldu benim için,
January 20, 2009
from page 135, footnote:
"According to The Weekly World News of August 28, 1990, Hell is nine miles beneath the surface of a point in western Siberia where Soviet engineers drilling for oil broke through. They capped their hole after smelling the smoke and hearing the cries of the damned." Pretty interesting, huh?
The History of Hell is like the textbook for a course on (as she calls it) "Infernology". I will be up front and tell you that if you are a Christian, you're going to absolutely hate this book. The author examines in chronlogical format how hell has been depicted and understood from the time of the Sumerians through the present. Hell's heyday, of course, was during the medieval period, when works of art, sermons, pulpit manuals, papal decrees etc etc made Hell a very vivid weapon of control by the Church. Turner examines the works of the "chief architects" of hell: "Homer, Virgil, Plato, Augustine, Dante, Bosch, Michelangelo, Milton, Goethe, Blake and more." (3)
Turner's work has been criticized by some reviewers as being shallow. Personally, this isn't meant either to be a definitive or scholarly history; it is more on the order of Hell for the layman. She has also been criticized for losing steam at the end and I agree with this call. IMHO, she should have ended the book with "The Romantics," and left it at that to keep the book's potency and momentum fresh.
This is a wonderful book; if you get offended by her explanations of how the whole hell/final judgment/fire & brimstone stuff was manipulated by Christians at large throughout Christian history, or, if you're offended by the fact that the early Christians probably lifted the geography & images of hell from earlier, non-Christian cultures, then just sit quietly and look at the pictures. The works of art she's chosen as illustrations are simply magnificent.
I highly recommend this one to those interested in the topic.
"According to The Weekly World News of August 28, 1990, Hell is nine miles beneath the surface of a point in western Siberia where Soviet engineers drilling for oil broke through. They capped their hole after smelling the smoke and hearing the cries of the damned." Pretty interesting, huh?
The History of Hell is like the textbook for a course on (as she calls it) "Infernology". I will be up front and tell you that if you are a Christian, you're going to absolutely hate this book. The author examines in chronlogical format how hell has been depicted and understood from the time of the Sumerians through the present. Hell's heyday, of course, was during the medieval period, when works of art, sermons, pulpit manuals, papal decrees etc etc made Hell a very vivid weapon of control by the Church. Turner examines the works of the "chief architects" of hell: "Homer, Virgil, Plato, Augustine, Dante, Bosch, Michelangelo, Milton, Goethe, Blake and more." (3)
Turner's work has been criticized by some reviewers as being shallow. Personally, this isn't meant either to be a definitive or scholarly history; it is more on the order of Hell for the layman. She has also been criticized for losing steam at the end and I agree with this call. IMHO, she should have ended the book with "The Romantics," and left it at that to keep the book's potency and momentum fresh.
This is a wonderful book; if you get offended by her explanations of how the whole hell/final judgment/fire & brimstone stuff was manipulated by Christians at large throughout Christian history, or, if you're offended by the fact that the early Christians probably lifted the geography & images of hell from earlier, non-Christian cultures, then just sit quietly and look at the pictures. The works of art she's chosen as illustrations are simply magnificent.
I highly recommend this one to those interested in the topic.
March 8, 2012
I must have thought this book was good. For about six years now I have been rather pissed that I misplaced it and can't seem to find it anywhere.
Here's what I remember. It was a rather sleek looking book that was beautifully illustrated. But its glossy appearence belied the large amount of information in the book. That's not to say it was delivered like a textbook on the subject. I seem to recall the author had a good sense of humor.
The book describes several concepts of Hell from different cultures. "Merry Hell" doesn't sound half bad. Also, the author believes that the Hell most Christians have been threatened with is a fiction of the church used to keep followers in line. I thought she made a convincing case for this point of view (though, admittedly, I didn't need convincing of this before reading the book).
History of Hell made me really want to read a couple of books cited on the topic. The first one was "Visions of Tundale" (may have the title wrong) and the second one was "The Frogs." Haven't done this yet mainly because I can't seem to find an English copy of Tundale.
I am almost certain that I will reread this book someday...if I can ever find it.
Here's what I remember. It was a rather sleek looking book that was beautifully illustrated. But its glossy appearence belied the large amount of information in the book. That's not to say it was delivered like a textbook on the subject. I seem to recall the author had a good sense of humor.
The book describes several concepts of Hell from different cultures. "Merry Hell" doesn't sound half bad. Also, the author believes that the Hell most Christians have been threatened with is a fiction of the church used to keep followers in line. I thought she made a convincing case for this point of view (though, admittedly, I didn't need convincing of this before reading the book).
History of Hell made me really want to read a couple of books cited on the topic. The first one was "Visions of Tundale" (may have the title wrong) and the second one was "The Frogs." Haven't done this yet mainly because I can't seem to find an English copy of Tundale.
I am almost certain that I will reread this book someday...if I can ever find it.
July 1, 2009
A great read, has a lot of really interesting information. The chapters at the beginning and end are a bit sparse (covering early Mesopotamian concepts of the afterlife and modern views of Hell, respectively), but the chapters on the medieval period, the renaissance, and enlightenment are suitably meaty.
There are definitely some old works that I'd like to take a look at now, though the only one I've found so far is a Victorian Poem, "The Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti. (which was claimed to be a children's story, though it clearly is not, given such passages as
"They trod and hustled her,
Elbowed and jostled her,
Clawed with their nails,
Barking, mewing, hissing, mocking,
Tore her gown and soiled her stocking,
Twitched her hair out by the roots,
Stamped upon her tender feet,
Held her hands and squeezed their fruits
Against her mouth to make her eat.")
The book also contains a modest helping of illustrations that span the history of hell that are also quite good. I'm quite enamored with Bosch now.
There are definitely some old works that I'd like to take a look at now, though the only one I've found so far is a Victorian Poem, "The Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti. (which was claimed to be a children's story, though it clearly is not, given such passages as
"They trod and hustled her,
Elbowed and jostled her,
Clawed with their nails,
Barking, mewing, hissing, mocking,
Tore her gown and soiled her stocking,
Twitched her hair out by the roots,
Stamped upon her tender feet,
Held her hands and squeezed their fruits
Against her mouth to make her eat.")
The book also contains a modest helping of illustrations that span the history of hell that are also quite good. I'm quite enamored with Bosch now.
September 3, 2008
What is Hell? We can but perceive its existence with our mortal eyes. Why should one believe something that he or she cannot sense? Such a question reminds me of peace and other ideas that we believe in. Many of these we cannot perceive but we apparently invest faith or something of the like into them. Why?Some do it for pious reasons, others for the sole satisfaction of their feelings of uncertainty, and still there are those who have alternative reasons.
The History of Hell offers a comprehensive view into the origins and evolutions of Hell. However, I must, with disappointment, say that this text offers a more Western view into Hell rather than a blend of different cultures. True, there were mentions of Zoroastrianism, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and the like, but in all, it lacked to offer a view that is as detailed as its accounts of the Western perspective of Hell. However, the information that was provided seemed valid--making this a most fascinating read.
The History of Hell offers a comprehensive view into the origins and evolutions of Hell. However, I must, with disappointment, say that this text offers a more Western view into Hell rather than a blend of different cultures. True, there were mentions of Zoroastrianism, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and the like, but in all, it lacked to offer a view that is as detailed as its accounts of the Western perspective of Hell. However, the information that was provided seemed valid--making this a most fascinating read.
August 6, 2009
It's interesting. I was actually a little surprised at how engrossing this book was. I loved the way the author traced Hell from the polytheistic influence on the Christian perception, through the various theological and political influences until we arrived at our most modern interpretation. I particularly enjoyed some of the religious theories she cited and how they altered theology in various ways. Some of the facts she included were a fascinating surprise -- the book as a whole was just a delightful journey of discovery.
I have to admit, I also liked it because I could never pin the author's theological beliefs down. There were points when I thought she was Catholic, other times when I'd decided she must be atheist, and once or twice when I was convinced she was some fringe religion like Mormonism. I really appreciated this ambiguity, because it never felt as though she was coming at the topic from a biased direction.
I have to admit, I also liked it because I could never pin the author's theological beliefs down. There were points when I thought she was Catholic, other times when I'd decided she must be atheist, and once or twice when I was convinced she was some fringe religion like Mormonism. I really appreciated this ambiguity, because it never felt as though she was coming at the topic from a biased direction.
April 3, 2008
Hahahahha... no one I know will read this book. And, as well they shouldn't. I just had to put this on my (so-far) list, 'cause this is the book I desperately needed when writing my thesis in college. Actually, I guess that doesn't make sense, 'cause if this book existed then, then there'd be no reason to write my thesis. So... now I'm just talking to myself. Umm... oh snap! I need to figure out what I'm bring to Phoenix this weekend. Note to self: bring pants. Doo-doo-doo... man, I'm kind of hungry. Maybe a sandwich? What's that noise? A DEMON??? BEGONE FROM MY HOUSE, THOU FOUL HARBINGER OF-- okay, I'm done.
February 8, 2008
This is a fascinating cultural history of Hell. Since it focuses mainly on Hell in Western popular culture, it draws most heavily on Judeo-Christian (mostly Christian), Greek, and Roman conceptions of punishment in the afterlife. I imagine if you have done a lot of reading about the history of Hell and Satan, this probably wouldn't reveal much that's new, but for the curious layperson it's an excellent overview, related with wit and charm. I've done quite a bit of reading about the history of the Devil, but there was a lot here that was new to me. It's also marvelously illustrated, with both black & white and full color plates.
May 31, 2015
With an eye always on the future, I leapt at the chance of reading about Hell. Just in case. This is a fine book on Hell. There don't seem to be many books about Hell, histories anyway. This one served my purposes well because in many ways it's very much a history of how the geography of Hell evolved. Starting with Inanna, Sumerian babe-goddess who harrowed the underworld with the best of them, this book carries the story of the development of Hell's structure and torments up to Freud. It's a fun read, succinct and clever in parts with some interesting tangents. Not as detailed as the Hell devotee might want, but sufficient for the lay Hell-gazer.
August 19, 2012
A good resource to get an overview of views of the afterlife from ancient times until today in the west (Islam and modern Eastern religions aren't really covered). At times her understanding of the nuances and variations within a religious tradition can be a bit shallow (especially within Christianity). Also, she does seem very eager to find connections between Hell traditions that aren't necessarily significant.
Still, for what it is meant to be, an overview (only about 250 pages) about the history of Hell in the thoughts of civilization, it does a good job and you can learn a lot.
Still, for what it is meant to be, an overview (only about 250 pages) about the history of Hell in the thoughts of civilization, it does a good job and you can learn a lot.
June 6, 2011
Can get pretty slow in parts, when she goes heavily into the literature about Hell. Overall, I'm glad I read the first few chapters especially, which showed that the generally accepted ideas of Hell aren't ones that came from Judeo-Christian scripture. I can have more sympathy towards the idea and its followers now that I understand the history behind it, and I can also be reassured that those beliefs don't need to align with mine.
August 25, 2016
Eh. Interesting factoids and interesting notes about the broad sweep of cultural history, but the more I knew about the subject/time period at hand the more unsatisfied I was by Turner's oversimplification and uncritical passing off of popular history as history. Fun, but should be taken with grains of salt, ideally distilled from the tears of the damned.
August 7, 2014
Fairly complete, as long as you weren't interested in Eastern ideas of hell. Dry nonetheless. I still have to laugh at anyone's notion that unbelievers would end up in a believer's hell, but I suppose it makes sense to believers.
January 23, 2009
A fascinating look at the Judea/Christian concept of hell, what it was originally, where it came from and how it developed into what it is today. A must read for comparative religion or for those interested in Christian history.
November 7, 2008
After I got over my initial shock, I enjoyed the book. It didn't change my views about the existence of hell, though.
February 27, 2009
What's not to like? If only it weren't a bit more comprehensive, with the information being provided above a ninth-grade level.
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