Although most people no longer believe that Hell is a physical place, that hasn’t always been the case. Scattered around the world, there are five locations that have traditionally been considered the gateway to the underworld.
He Daily Mail collects in a report what these places are and where they are located.
Gehenna (Israel)
In his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned that anyone who allows his hand or eye to sin will be thrown into “hell.” However, biblical experts believe that is not really what Jesus said. In the oldest version of the text, the word used by Jesus It is not “hell” but “Gehenna.”
Rather than referring to a place of eternal torment, Gehenna is an actual righteous place outside the walls of ancient Jerusalem. Gehenna, a contraction of the name Valley of Hinnom or Ge-Hinnom, is one of the deep gorges found southwest of the ancient city.
At the time Jesus lived, many Jews believed this was a particularly evil place. According to the Bible, this was the place where The ancient Israelites practiced child sacrificemaking offerings of their own young to the god Baal.
For many years, Gehenna was synonymous with hell and in fact, the Dictionary of the Royal Academy collect this term with this same meaning.
Hierapolis, Türkiye
It is perhaps no surprise that passing through the gates of the underworld can be dangerous to your health. But in Hierapolis, in present-day Türkiyetrying to get through this ancient portal could really cost you your life.
The ancient Roman city of Hierapolis was built during the reign of Emperor Tiberius between 14 and 37 BC. C. In the ruins of this once bustling city, archaeologists have found large baths, a gymnasium, an agora or meeting place and even a Byzantine church.
But Hierapolis also harbors a dark secret: a passage that leads directly to the underworld. Discovered in 2011, the entrance to hell is a small door that leads to a cave-like grotto built on one of the walls of an open arena.
According to the ancient philosopher Strabocastrated priests of the underworld carried sacrificed animals through the gate, known as Plutonium.
To the surprise of the assembled spectators in the surrounding amphitheater, The animals died on the spot as if struck down by an invisible assailant, while the priests remained unharmed.
Years later, scientists discovered that the gate sits atop an active volcanic fault. In addition to warming the springs that attracted tourists to the city, This geological activity produced thick clouds of CO2 that rose from the cave.
At night, CO2 accumulates in a dense cloud of enveloping fog that the ancient Romans attributed to the breath of Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog of hell.
Even today these vapors are still emitted in concentrations that today kill insects, birds and mammals and reach concentrations during the night that easily They would kill a human being in a minute.
Hekla, Iceland
Another of the traditional entrances to hell is Hekla, in Iceland, and it is also a volcano. This peak measures 1,491 meters and rises over southern Iceland.
The mountain’s demonic reputation first emerged around the year 1104, when Hekla emerged from its slumber with a massive eruption. Based on geological studies, the eruption is believed to have been category VEI 5, the same classification as the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
The explosion was so violent that 55,000 square kilometersmore than half of Iceland, were bombarded by rocks and ash.
According to accounts written at the time, people could see the explosion of lava, scorching ash and toxic gases from the sea while lava bombs of up to 12 tons fell on the country.
The eruption was so violent that news of the Hekla’s diabolical force soon spread throughout the ancient world. In 1180, a Cistercian monk named Herbert of Clairvaux He boasted that Helka was even deadlier than Mount Etna in Italy.
Actun Tunichil Muknal, Belize
While legends about hell vary greatly from culture to culture, a common thread that unites these stories is that it is often believed that Hell is in the depths of the Earth.
One of the best contenders for an entrance to the underground underworld can be found in Belize within the caves of Actun Tunichil Muknal, which means ‘Stone Sepulcher Cave’.
Actun Tunichil Muknal remained undiscovered and undisturbed for more than 1,000 years after the collapse of the Mayan Empire. The cave extends more than five kilometers beneath the Earth and archaeologists have found artifacts that They date from around 800 AD. c.
The most shocking thing of all is that the cave is full of the horrible remains of victims of human sacrifice.
When the cave was first discovered in 1989, archaeologists were surprised to find the remains of individuals up to four years old who They had been beaten to death.
The most famous of these remains is so old that the bones have crystallized in bright calcite, earning it the name ‘The Crystal Maiden’. Researchers now believe that the cave was revered as an entrance to Xibalbá, the Mayan underworld and the domain of the gods of death.
St. Patrick’s Purgatory, Ireland
On a little-known Irish island lies a supposed entrance to hell that has had a huge impact on Christian understanding of life after death.
He Saint Patrick’s Purgatorylocated on Station Island, in the northwest of Ireland, was considered by the people of the Early Middle Ages as the end of the known world.
While today St. Patrick might be better associated with shamrocks and green hats, he once had a reputation much scarier.
According to a 12th century text written by a monk named H. de Saltrey, Saint Patrick prayed to God to find a way to convert the pagan Irish. Their efforts were rewarded with a vision of a ‘pit of purgatory’.
This chasm filled the minds of anyone who entered with visions of hellfire and monsters, essentially providing first-hand experience of the consequences of rebuke Christianity.
The cave was filled in and replaced by a more conventional chapel in 1790, but St Patrick’s vision of a temporary hell would have a much wider influence. Today, pilgrims from all over the world visit the island to know hell firsthand.
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