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What the
heck is "Thanatology"? Thanatology is the
study of death and death-related issues. The word itself comes from Greek mythology. Thanatos was the personification
of death and the god of death (His Roman mythological counterpart was Mors).
Thanatos was the son of Nyx (Night) and Erebus (Darkness) and twin brother of
Hypnos (Sleep). (This works for me: I have a twin brother! See the fun Below!) In early accounts, Thanatos was
perceived as a powerful figure armed with a sword, with a shaggy beard and a fierce face. His coming was marked by pain
and grief. But in later eras the transition from life to death became a more attractive option, and Thanatos came
to be seen as a beautiful young man, sometimes depicted as a winged boy, much like Cupid. Another portrayal
of Thanatos was as a young man carrying a butterfly (the ancient Greek word for butterfly was psyche which
in modern Greek means soul).
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