Death (personification)

:Grim Reaper redirects here. For other uses see Grim Reaper (disambiguation)

Death in mythological portrayals

Main article: death deity

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Several mythologies had gods who embodied Death or aspects of Death:

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• Ankou (Breton)
• Izanami (Shinto)
• Mictlantecuhtli (Aztec)
• The Morrigan (Irish/Celtic)
• Mors (Roman)
• Mot (Canaanite)
• Odin (Norse)
• Osiris (Egyptian)
• Shemal (Semitic)
• Sielulintu (Finnish)
• Thanatos (Greek)
• Yama (Hinduism)
• Yan Luo (Chinese)

In India

In Hindu mythology, the lord of death is called Yama and is one of the rulers of the eight sides. He rides a black buffalo and carries a rope lasso to carry the soul back to his abode. Here, all the accounts of the person's good and bad deeds are stored which allow him to decide where he has to reside, either in hell or heaven.

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In Japan

In Kojiki, after giving birth to the fire-god Hinokagutsuchi, the goddess Izanami dies from wounds of its fire and enters the perpetual night realm called Yominokuni that the gods thereto retire. After Izanagi, her husband, failed in the attempt to reclaim her from the land of Yomi, in a brief argument with Izanagi, she claimed to take 1000 lives every day signifying her position as the goddess of death.

Related Topics:
Kojiki - Hinokagutsuchi - Izanami - Izanagi

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Another popular death personification is Enma (Yama), also known as Enma Ou and Enma Daiou (Enma King, Enma Great King — translations of Yama Raja). He originated as Yama in Hinduism, later became Yanluo in China, and Enma in Japan.

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He is from Chinese Buddhism, and before that, from India. Enma rules the underworld, which makes him similar to Hades, and he decides whether someone dead goes to heaven or to hell. A common saying parents use in Japan to scold children is that Enma will cut off their tongue in the afterlife if they lie.

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He appears in many arts and anime, one of the most notable being Dragon Ball Z and its sequel Dragon Ball GT. As the human race is nearly exterminated on at least three occasions and humans subsequently regain their lives, Enma Daiou is swamped with billions of restless souls who he must decide on their fate even temporarily. He also appears in the manga/anime YuYu Hakusho. In the popular series form the 1980s, Saint Seiya the characters Hypnos and Thanathos where Twin brothers of almosst completly opposite behaviours, Demigods and protectors to the real body of the god Hades they lived in the elysian fields.

Related Topics:
Dragon Ball Z - Dragon Ball GT - YuYu Hakusho

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