Death (personification)

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

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Death personified is a figure or fictional character which has existed in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. Because the reality of death has had a substantial influence on the human psyche and the development of civilization as a whole, the personification of Death as a living, sentient entity is a concept that has existed in all known societies since the beginnings of recorded history. Death is usually shown as a skeletal figure wearing a midnight black gown with a hood.

Examples of death personified are:

  • In modern-day European-based folklore, Death is known as the Grim Reaper or The grim spectre of death.
  • In Islam, Death is portrayed as Azrael, the angel of death (note that the name 'Azrael' does not appear in any versions of either the Bible or the Qu'ran).
  • Father Time is sometimes said to be Death.
  • A psychopomp is a spirit, deity, or other being whose task is to conduct the souls of the recently dead into the afterlife.

Contents

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Death in mythological portrayals

Main article: death deity

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

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Hindu Mythology

In the Hindu scriptures known collectively as 'Vedas', the lord of death is called Yama, or Yamaraja.

He rides a black buffalo and carries a rope lasso to carry the soul back to his abode called 'Yama-loka'. Here, all the accounts of the person's good and bad deeds are stored which allow Yamaraja and his followers (called 'Yamadutas') to decide where the soul has to reside in his next life, following the theory of reincarnation. It is described in the Srimad Bhagavatam that souls may experience re-birth in hellish, or heavenly worlds before returning to this Earth again, if their actions have been of a particularly selfish or pious nature in this lifetime. Yama is also mentioned in the Mahabharata as a great philosopher and devotee of Sri Krishna.

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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.

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. 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.

There are also death gods called Shinigami. The Shinigami are more commonly used in Japanese arts and fiction such as anime, and manga. Shinigami are briefly mentioned in the Shinto religion but are said to not actually exist.

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Death (angels) in religion

Image:13-XIII-arcane sans nom.jpg In the Bible, death is viewed under form of an angel sent from God, a being deprived of all voluntary power. On some occasions this described in terms fitting Azrael, and on others as fitting Samael.

The "angel of the Lord" smites 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp (II Kings xix. 35). "The destroyer" kills the first-born of the Egyptians (Ex. xii. 23), and the "destroying angel" ("mal'ak ha-mashḥit") rages among the people in Jerusalem (II Sam. xxiv. 15). In I Chronicle xxi. 15 the "angel of the Lord" is seen by King David standing "between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem."

The biblical Book of Job (xxxiii. 22) uses the general term "destroyer" ("memitim"), which tradition has identified with "destroying angels" ("mal'ake Kabbalah") and Prov. xvi. 14 uses the term the "angels of death" ("mal'ake ha-mawet").

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Form and functions

The angel of death was created by God on the first day (Tan. on Gen. xxxix. 1). His dwelling is in heaven, whence he reaches earth in eight flights, whereas pestilence reaches it in one (Ber. 4b). He has twelve wings (Pirḳe R. El. xiii). "Over all people have I surrendered thee the power," said God to the angel of death, "only not over this one which has received freedom from death through the Law" (Tan. to Ex. xxxi. 18; ed. Stettin, p. 315). It is said of the angel of death that he is full of eyes. In the hour of death he stands at the head of the departing one with a drawn sword, to which clings a drop of gall. As soon as the dying man sees the angel, he is seized with a convulsion and opens his mouth, whereupon the angel throws the drop into it. This drop causes his death; he turns putrid, and his face becomes yellow ('Ab. Zarah 20b; in detail, Jellinck, "B. H." i. 150; on putrefaction see also Pesiḳ. 54b; for the eyes compare Ezek. i. 18 and Rev. iv. 6). The expression "to taste of death" originated in the idea that death was caused by a drop of gall ("Jew. Quart. Rev." vi. 327).

The soul escapes through the mouth, or, as is stated in another place, through the throat; therefore the angel of death stands at the head of the patient (Jellinek, l.c. ii. 94, Midr.Teh. to Ps. xi.). When the soul forsakes the body its voice goes from one end of the world to the other, but is not heard (Gen. R. vi. 7; Ex. R. v. 9; Pirḳe R. El. xxxiv.). The drawn sword of the angel of death, mentioned by the Chronicler (I. Chron. xxi. 15; comp. Job xv. 22; Enoch lxii. 11), indicates that the angel of death was figured as a warrior who kills off the children of men. "Man, on the day of his death, falls down before the angel of death like a beast before the slaughterer" (Grünhut, "Liḳḳuṭim", v. 102a). R. Samuel's father (c. 200) said: "The angel of death said to me, 'Only for the sake of the honor of mankind do I not tear off their necks as is done to slaughtered beasts'" ('Ab. Zarah 20b). In later representations the knife sometimes replaces the sword, and reference is also made to the cord of the angel of death, which indicates death by throttling. Moses says to God: "I fear the cord of the angel of death" (Grünhut, l.c. v. 103a et seq.). Of the four Jewish methods of execution three are named in connection with the angel of death: burning (by pouring hot lead down the victim's throat-- similar to the drop of gall), slaughtering (by beheading), and throttling. The angel of death administers the particular punishment which God has ordained for the commission of sin.

A peculiar mantle ("idra"-according to Levy, "Neuhebr. Wörterb." i. 32, a sword) belongs to the equipment of the angel of death (Eccl. R. iv. 7). The angel of death takes on the particular form which will best serve his purpose; e.g., he appears to a scholar in the form of a beggar imploring pity (M. Ḳ. 28a). "When pestilence rages in the town, walk not in the middle of the street, because the angel of death [i.e., pestilence] strides there; if peace reigns in the town, walk not on the edges of the road. When pestilence rages in the town, go not alone to the synagogue, because there the angel of death stores his tools. If the dogs howl, the angel of death has entered the city; if they make sport, the prophet Elijah has come" (B. Ḳ. 60b). The "destroyer" ("saṭan ha-mashḥit") in the daily prayer is the angel of death (Ber. 16b). Midr. Ma'ase Torah (compare Jellinek, "B. H." ii. 98) says: "There are six angels of death: Gabriel over kings; Ḳapẓiel over youths; Mashbir over animals; Mashḥit over children; Af and Ḥemah over man and beast."

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Death and Satan

The angel of death, who is identified by some with Satan, immediately after his creation had a dispute with God as to the light of the Messiah (Pesiḳ. R. 161b). When Eve touched the tree of knowledge, she perceived the angel of death, and thought: "Now I shall die, and God will create another wife for Adam" (Pirḳe R. El. xiii., end; compare Targum Yer. to Gen. iii. 6, and Yalḳ. i. § 25). Adam also had a conversation with the angel of death (Böklen, "Die Verwandtschaft der Jüdisch-Christlichen mit der Parsischen Eschatologie," p. 12). The angel of death sits before the face of the dead (Jellinek, l.c. ii. 94). While Abraham was mourning for Sarah the angel appeared to him, which explains why "Abraham stood up from before his dead" (Gen. xxiii. 3; Gen. R. lviii. 5, misunderstood by the commentators). Samuel told Sarah that Abraham had sacrificed Isaac in spite of his wailing, and Sarah died of horror and grief (Pirḳe R. El. xxxii.). It was Moses who most often had dealings with the angel. At the rebellion of Korah, Moses saw him (Num. R. v. 7; Bacher, l.c. iii. 333; compare Sanh. 82a). It was the angel of death in the form of pestilence which snatched away 15,000 every year during the wandering in the wilderness (ib. 70). When Moses reached heaven, the angel told him something (Jellinek, l.c. i. 61).

When the angel of death came to Moses and said, "Give me thy soul," Moses called to him: "Where I sit thou hast no right to stand." And the angel retired ashamed, and reported the occurrence to God. Again, God commanded him to bring the soul of Moses. The angel went, and, not finding him, inquired of the sea, of the mountains, and of the valleys; but they knew nothing of him (Sifre, Deut. 305). Really, Moses did not die through the angel of death, but through God's kiss ("bi-neshiḳah"); i.e., God drew his soul out of his body (B. B. 17a; compare Abraham in Apocryphal and Rabbinical Literature, and parallel references in Böklen, l.c. p. 11). Legend seizes upon the story of Moses' struggle with the angel of death, and expands it at length (Tan., ed. Stettin, pp. 624 et seq.; Deut. R. ix., xi.; Grünhut, l.c. v. 102b, 169a). As Benaiah bound Ashmedai (Jew. Encyc. ii. 218a), so Moses binds the angel of death that he may bless Israel (Pesiḳ. 199, where "lifne moto" [Deut. xxxiii. 1] is explained as meaning "before the angel of death").

Solomon once noticed that the angel of death was grieved. When questioned as to the cause of his sorrow he answered: "I am requested to take your two beautiful scribes." Solomon at once charged the demons to convey his scribes to Luz, where the angel of death could not enter. When they were near the city, however, they both died. The angel laughed on the next day, whereupon Solomon asked the cause of his mirth. "Because," answered the angel, "thou didst send the youths thither, whence I was ordered to fetch them" (Suk. 53a). In the next world God will let the angel of death fight against Pharaoh, Sisera, and Sennacherib (Yalḳ., Isa. 428).

The teaching of God shields one from the power of the angel of death. The children of Israel have accepted the Torah only in order that the angel may have no power over them ('Ab. Zarah 5a). Since death results only from sin, it can not, of course, come to those who live in accordance with the Torah. Although the sentence of mortality once pronounced could never be recalled ('Ab. Zarah 5a), yet the angel of death may not visit teachers of the Law; he is rather their friend (ib. 35b), and even imparts learning to them (Ber. 51a).

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Scholars and the Angel of Death

Talmud teachers of the fourth century associate quite familiarly with him. When he appeared to one on the street, the teacher reproached him with rushing upon him as upon a beast; whereupon the angel called upon him at his house. To another he granted a respite of thirty days, that he might put his knowledge in order before entering the next world. To a third he had no access, because he could not interrupt the study of the Talmud. To a fourth he showed a rod of fire, whereby he is recognized as the angel of death (M. K. 28a). He often entered the house of Bibi and conversed with him (Ḥag. 4b). Often he resorts to strategy in order to interrupt and seize his victim (B. M. 86a; Mak. 10a).

The death of Joshua ben Levi in particular is surrounded with a web of fable. When the time came for him to die and the angel of death appeared to him, he demanded to be shown his place in paradise. When the angel had consented to this, he demanded the angel's knife, that the angel might not frighten him by the way. This request also was granted him, and Joshua sprang with the knife over the wall of paradise; the angel, who is not allowed to enter paradise, catching hold of the end of his garment. Joshua swore that he would not come out, and God declared that he should not leave paradise unless he was absolved from his oath; if not absolved, he was to remain. The angel of death then demanded back his knife, but Joshua refused. At this point a heavenly voice ("bat ḳol") rang out: "Give him back the knife, because the children of men have need of it" (Ket. 77b; Jellinek, l.c. ii. 48-51; Bacher, l.c. i. 192 et seq.).

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In Judaism

The Rabbis found the angel of death mentioned in Psalms lxxxix. 45 (A. V. 48), where the Targum translates: "There is no man who lives and, seeing the angel of death, can deliver his soul from his hand". Eccl. viii. 4 is thus explained in Midrash Rabbah to the passage: "One may not escape the angel of death, nor say to him, 'Wait until I put my affairs in order,' or 'There is my son, my slave: take him in my stead.'"

Where the angel of death appears there is no remedy (Talmud, Ned. 49a; Hul. 7b). If one who has sinned has confessed his fault, the angel of death may not touch him (Midrash Tanhuma, ed. Buber, 139). God protects from the angel of death (Midrash Genesis Rabbah lxviii.).

By acts of benevolence the anger of the angel of death is overcome; when one fails to perform such acts the angel of death will make his appearance (Derek Ereẓ Zuṭa, viii.). The angel of death receives his order from God (Ber. 62b). As soon as he has received permission to destroy, however, he makes no distinction between good and bad (B. Ḳ. 60a). In the city of Luz the angel of death has no power, and when the aged inhabitants are ready to die they go outside the city (Soṭah 46b; compare Sanh. 97a). A legend to the same effect existed in Ireland in the Middle Ages ("Jew. Quart. Rev." vi. 336).

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In Islam

Death, as of one of Allah's angels, is spoken of in the Qur'an:

The angel of death, who has been charged with you, will gather you; then to your Lord you will be returned. (32:11).

He is traditionally known by the name of 'Izrail (not to be confused with Israel, which is a name in Islam solely for Prophet Ya'qoob/Jacob), the English form of which is Azrael. He is charged with the task of separating and returning from the bodies the souls of people who are to be recalled permanently from the physical world back to the primordial spiritual world. This is a process whose aspect varies depending on the nature and past deeds of the individuals in question, and some suggest that Azrael is also accompanied by helpers or associates.

Apart from Azrael's responsibilities and the characteristics he has in common with other angels in Islam, little else concerning his personality can be derived from fundamental Muslim texts. Many references are made in various Muslim legends, however, some of which are included in books authored by Muslim poets and mystics. For instance, the following tale is in the Masnavi, written by the well-known Maulana Rumi:

When the Almighty determined to create mankind... He deputed the angel Gabriel to bring a handful of earth for the purpose of forming Adam's body. But the Earth, being apprehensive that the man so created would rebel against God and draw down God's curse upon her, remonstrated with Gabriel, and besought him to forbear... Then God deputed [the angel] Michael on the same errand, and the Earth made similar excuses to him, and he also... returned to heaven without taking a handful... Then God sent the angel Israfil on the same errand, and he also was diverted from the execution of it by a divine intimation... At last God sent 'Izrail, the angel of death, who, being of sterner disposition than the others, resolutely shut his ears to the Earth's entreaties, and brought back the required handful of earth. The Earth pressed him with the argument that God's command to bear away a handful of her substance against her will did not override the other divine command to take pity on suppliants; but 'Izrail would not listen to her, remarking that, according to the canons of theological interpretation, it was not allowable to have recourse to analogical reasoning to evade a plain and categorical injunction. He added, that in executing this injunction, painful though it might be, he was to be regarded only as a spear in the hand of the Almighty. (Book V, abridged translation by Whinfield)

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In Mexico

A popular Catholic "cult" in Mexico regards the personification of death as a saint, known as Santa Muerte. The figure is uncanonized and the Church refuses to acknowledge its existence.

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Death as a fictional character

The character of Death is typically depicted in the West as wearing a dark hooded cloak and wielding a scythe. Death is one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. In many icons of the resurrection of Jesus, death is portrayed as an almost naked man who is bound hand and foot lying amid the bones under the earth. In Eastern Orthodox theology, death is one of humanity's three enemies; the other two are sin and the devil. This figure of Death is also known as the Grim Reaper. Death, in this guise, appears also on one of the Tarot arcana. While in Germanic folklore, including English, Death is male (der Tod), in Latin folklore it is female (la muerte, la mort). In Mexico, death is sometimes referred upon as La Calaca, a skull like character that comes and takes people away when they die.

The allegorical figure of Death appears many times in the works of Albrecht Dürer and Terry Pratchett. Pratchett's Death is substantially different in that he is, as mentioned in the Discworld Compendium, "on our side" against the ruthless Auditors, personifications of cosmic Law.

To contrast with the normally dark and antagonistic classical depictions of Death, many comedies portray him as a somewhat sympathetic character, an average Joe who's simply doing a necessary and unpleasant job.

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List of works using Death as a fictional character

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Death in popular fiction

The character of Death has recurred many times in popular fiction. He has made appearances in many stories, from serious dramatic fiction to comedy, including playing roles in science fiction and fantasy stories.

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Movies

Image:Det Sjunde Inseglet Death.jpg

Woody Allen's "Love and Death" and "Deconstructing Harry" as well as his play "Death Knocks."

Death Takes a Holiday was a 1934 film directed by Mitchell Leisen, and written by Maxwell Anderson. Death (Fredric March as Prince Sirki) decides to take a holiday from his usual business to see how the mortals live. Complications ensue as those who should have died do not. Death Takes a Holiday was remade in the 1998 film Meet Joe Black, directed by Martin Brest and starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins.

While Meet Joe Black touches briefly on the consequences of a world where Death is not doing his job, its focus is on Death's experience as a human, and on the personal relationships within the family he chooses to stay with.

In 1957, Swedish director Ingmar Bergman made The Seventh Seal, an influential (and heavily symbolic) movie depicting one of the most famous moments in the fictional portrayal of Death. In the movie, a medieval knight plays a game of chess with Death, with the knight's life depending upon the outcome of the game. The concept of playing games with Death has been used (and spoofed) many times since Bergman's movie. A 1968 short film called The Dove deliberately spoofed this famous movie scene, a young couple challenge Death to a game of badminton. Woody Allen has written a short story in which Death loses a game of gin rummy after clumsily entering a man's apartment and trying to cow him into going quietly. Bob Burden's surrealist comic book, "The Flaming Carrot", features a cover in which the title character rejects Death's offer of playing chess and suggests instead Jarts. In Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, the brainless protagonists challenge Death to a series of inane games including Battleship (game), electric football, Cluedo (Clue) and Twister - all of which Death loses (each time gruffly demanding a rematch). In the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Last Action Hero, the character of Death from Bergman's Seventh Seal is brought into the real world temporarily, played by Ian McKellen. In the short-lived TV series Big Wolf on Campus the main character goes on a frantic gaming spree in which he loses several games to Death, a reverse-spoof of Bill and Ted, as well as Ingmar Bergman. Flash cartoon Weebl & Bob parodied this concept in their episode "Art". Death is portrayed by Monkey, and the characters are sitting on a chessboard, while Weebl & Bob bemoan (naturally) their lack of pie.

In Oliver Stone's 1991 film The Doors, Jim Morrison is haunted by Death, appearing in several scenes portrayed by Richard Rutowski. Death can be seen dancing behind him in orgiastic concert scenes or appearing in the background watching Morrison at bars, parties or on the street. In a scene deleted from the theatrical release, Death bumps into Morrison at an airport bar, heavily intoxicated and on his way to the ill-fated Miami show in 1969, inquiring, "how's it going?" and closing with a cryptic, "See you around, Jim."

In a number of comedy roles, the character of Death has had a Swedish foreign accent, paying homage (sometimes unintentionally) to his role in The Seventh Seal. In Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, in which he is designed by Terry Gilliam and voiced by John Cleese, he breaks up a dinner party - along with its annoying hosts and guests - prematurely.

Death makes a few cameos in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, most notably, sitting right behind the Behemoth in the town meeting.

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Television

Image:FGDeath.jpg The UK Public Information Film The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water features a Grim Reaper-like character.

In the comedy Red Dwarf, Rimmer knees Death in the groin, telling him that "only the good die young". Death, naturally surprised, notes that "that's never happened before." in a pained tone of voice.

As the Grim Reaper, Death stars in an animated series on the Cartoon Network cable channel called The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (formerly Grim and Evil). In this cartoon, the grim reaper has a Jamaican accent and is a comedic character. The Grim Reaper has also made several appearances on The Simpsons, Animaniacs, South Park, Family Guy, and even an early Mickey Mouse cartoon.

In the CBS television show Touched by an Angel, Death was sympathetically portrayed as a recurring character, played by John Dye.

Showtime's Dead Like Me portrays soul collection as a widespread organization with many different divisions and, most likely, thousands of "employees", each of whom take souls from the living upon death.

The 1959 Twilight Zone episode "One for the Angels" (the second epsiode in the series), Death visits a storefront salesman to take his life. They agree that the salesman should die only when he has pulled off a "pitch for the angels," and only then will he go. When Death finds out this is a trick, he decides to take the little girl next door instead (who's just been hit by a truck), saying he's been "forced to choose an alternative." The salesman manages to save the girl's life by distracting Death with an irresisitable sales pitch (the "pitch for the angels") and as per their agreement, Death leads the salesman to Heaven.

The 2002 Twilight Zone episode "One Night at Mercy" stars Jason Alexander as a suicidal Death.

In Charmed, The Angel of death was featured couple of times.

In the 2006 episode of Supernatural they battle a grim reaper brought on from a bonding spell.

Image:Holbein-death.png

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Literature

In Book II of Paradise Lost by John Milton, Death, along with Sin, holds the keys to the locked Gates of Hell. After God and his angels defeat Lucifer (now Satan) and banish him and his followers to Hell, God commands Sin and Death to never unlock the gates. Satan, upon hearing that God has created a new world and new beings, Adam and Eve, sets out to cause their downfall. Arriving at the Gates of Hell, Satan converses with Sin and Death and learns of Death's creation. Sin is the daughter of Satan and became pregnant with Satan's child. The birth was extremely painful for Sin; so painful that she cried out "Death!" as the unnamed entity was born. The caves of Hell echoed back "Death" and her son became known as Death. Death then raped his mother who subequently gave birth to monstrous dogs who bite and gnaw at her and travel to and fro her womb at will causing her immense pain. According to Sin, Death despises everything living and has the power to destroy anything except God. Sin warns that Death can destroy Satan and that the only reason she is spared (yet tortured) is that Death cannot exist without Sin. Satan nevertheless demands that the gates be opened. Death, unafraid of Satan, calls him a "false fugitive," (Book II, 700) commands him to retreat, and warns, "with one stroke of this Dart, strange horrors seize thee and pangs unfelt before." (Book II, 703-704) By promising Sin and Death a world where they, "shall dwell at ease," (Book II, 840-841) Satan persuades Sin and Death to open the gates to allow him passage through Chaos to Earth. When word reaches Sin and Death that Satan succeeds, they begin to construct a road connecting Hell to Earth. Satan, on his return from Earth, notes of the road being built and instructs Sin and Death to be his ambassadors on Earth.

Death is described as a, "shape had none distinguishable in member, joint, or limb, or substance...Black it stood as Night..and shook a dreadful Dart; what seemed his head the likeness of a Kingly Crown had on." (Book II, 667-673)

Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series of fantasy novels features a modernised Grim Reaper, who is the central character of On a Pale Horse, the first book in the series. In this personification, Death is an office held by a mortal. The mortal holding the office of Death is protected from aging, fire, disease and other dangers by the cloak he wears. When not wearing the cloak, the office holder is subject to any and all dangers and consequences just as any other mortal. The person holds the office of Death until they themselves die, usually because they become careless over time, and are themselves killed by someone they have come to collect. This person then takes over the office, and the cycle begins anew.

The character of Death is also a major player in the humorous Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett, where he is perhaps paradoxically seen as an ally of humanity, since he is a part of the natural order of things and often finds himself defending humanity against threats to that order. As a tongue-in-cheek allusion to The Seventh Seal, he doesn't like chess, because he cannot remember "HOW THE LITTLE HORSE-SHAPED ONES MOVE". He speaks in a hollow yet heavy voice, often expressed in small caps, and eschewing the use of quotation marks. Due to a rule of Death having to appear persoanlly to wizards who are going to die, particularly the failed wizard Rincewind, Death sometimes appears, having been snatched from some important business arrangement, most notable being appearing with a drink and hors'douevres claiming "I WAS AT PARTY". He can also be summoned directly via the Rite of Ash'Kente. Death's realm of influence is limited to the Discworld-in one book, a reference is made to Death's professional pride in his devotion to traditionalism in the use of a scythe, when the Deaths of other worlds have invested in combine harvesters. In the book Reaper Man, Death was temporarily deposed by the Auditors of Reality, who claim to Azrael, Death of Universes, that by gaining a personality he has become inefficient. During the time he spent as "Bill Door," a farmhand, numerous other Deaths emerged-one for trees, tortoises, etc. The Death of Humans, when he finally emerged, was a cloaked figure on a skeletal horse, with curling wisps of smoke instead of a face, wearing a crown. At the end of the book, Death takes up his old position and draws all the superfluous Deaths into him, save for the Death of Rats, who becomes a recurring character, and the Death of Fleas, who does not.

Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories' Death is seen as the ruler of a gloomy realm, who is, himself, always sad. In one story, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser have to steal Death's mask, and in others, Death tries to take the famous pair, only to be thwarted by their sorcerous mentors and their own uncanny good luck. He has quotas to meet, designated by their roles in life, and when the quota includes "two heroes," Fafhrd and the Mouser are first on his list. Interestingly, Leiber's version of Death is aware that at some point in the future, he himself is fated to die.

In Death and Dr Hornbook by Robert Burns, death is portrayed as an emaciated, elderly, gruff, somewhat blue-collar man exactly 6'2" in height.

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Comics

Image:Death.jpg A different personification of Death appears in The Sandman, a series of comic books written by Neil Gaiman, in which Death, one of the Endless, appears in the guise of a Goth girl wearing an Ankh around her neck, to symbolize the idea that life and death are two sides of the same reality. Gaiman's Death is cheerful and supportive, perhaps not only as a way of playing with audience expectations, but also to demistify death itself, which is seen as a moment of passage rather than a real ending.

Irregular Webcomic! has Death as a unifying "theme", or set of characters. Each very specific manner of death has an assigned Death, some of whom are not very busy. Death of Insanely Overpowered Fireballs, Death of Choking On A Giant Frog, Head Death, and Death of Being Ground By A Mars Rover Rock Abrasion Tool are some mentioned.

Jack has the main character, Jack, become a Grim Reaper in the form of the sin Wrath as punishment for his own sin.

Smax also features multiple Deaths handling different circumstances. "Lionel" handles chess games with peasants (and looks like the death in The Seventh Seal) and "Dennis", a large imposing character, handles "awesome, terrible death".

Liberty Meadows includes a Death that looks like the one from Seventh Seal. Frank (the main character) has drowned but is resuscitated by a frog. While in the underworld, Frank escapes by making Death "look". Death hounds him later, expecting a razor cut to kill him.

Marvel Universe In the Marvel Universe, Death is a robed skeleton, and referred to as female. She is often courted by Thanos of Titan who hopes to win her love by destroying the universe.

There is also a human supervillain, the Grim Reaper, that has fought Vision and Scarlet Witch on different occasions.

Death Jr. In this comic based on the Sony PSP game Death Jr., you get to see many images of Death as well as his son, Death Jr., who the comic is centered around.

Dragon Ball This series of manga and anime features Death in the form of Enma Daiou. 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 whose (temporary) fate he must decide. Enma is also mentioned in the manga/anime YuYu Hakusho, usually by his son, Koenma. One of Koenma's agents, Botan, claims the title of the Grim Reaper for herself quite whimsically.

Saint Seiya This series includes Thanathos as one of the twin guardians of the body of Hades.

Deathnote This series is about Light Yagami, who finds a death note which fell from the Shinigami (God of Death) world. This Deathnote allows him to control who dies, how, and when. When the note is bound to him, the note's original Shinigami owner appears to him.

Bleach This series follows Shinigami, who are samurai-like grim reapers. Their function is to guide the souls trapped in the human world to the Soul Society, or in some cases, hell.

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Computer and video games

In the PC game The Sims, Death will come to collect the souls of dead Sims; the player may have the option of challenging Death to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors in exchange for the life of the dead. In The Sims 2: University expansion pack the player can bring the dead back to life with a special phone; however, they will need to pay a certain price or the chosen sim will come back as a zombie.

In Grabbed By The Ghoulies for the XBox, if certain conditions for leaving a room are not met, the Grim Reaper appears-Occasionally, the condition itself is that you evade the Reaper for a certain time. Whatever background music was playing is replaced by deadly silence, broken only by the occasional toll of a bell, and the sounds of the Reaper himself. He extends one hand as he chases you, and will kill you if he touches you with it, but is indifferent as to the souls he takes-he will happily destroy any Ghoulies in the room who would love nothing more than to speed you on your way to joining him. Whenever he takes a soul, be it yours or that of a Ghoulie, he flips his scythe around and plays a guitar riff on the blade.

In Theme Hospital, when a 'bad' patient dies, the Grim Reaper appears from a hole in the ground, takes the person to Hell, then closes up again.

The Castlevania series of video games portrays Death as the right hand man of Dracula, and must be defeated in each incarnation of the series.

In Final Fantasy VI, the final boss Kefka appears as a destructive angel.

Manny Calavera, from Grim Fandango, is a travel agent to the afterlife.

Death also makes an appearance in the games based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld. The second Discworld adventure game directly centers around Death's dissatisfaction with the manner in which he is usually received compared to the service he renders-no longer satisfied to be seen as an evil being bent upon stealing every living soul, he refuses to return to his duties until Rincewind can find a way to give him a more positive image.

In HeXen II, Death appears as the 'end boss' for Mazaera, the game's second continent (or segment). The other three horseman of the Apocalypse, appear as 'end bosses' for the game's other continents.

In the NetHack computer game, Death is one of the Four horsemen of the Apocalypse, which the player meets at the very end of the game.

The Grim Reaper appeared in the Nintendo 64 game Conker's Bad Fur Day (Greg the Grim Reaper) who is very short and comical and hates cats.

Death has appeared in the MediEvil series of video games. In the very first game of the series, you must collect lost souls for him, and he will get your character, Sir Daniel Fortesque, across the water in the Pools of the Ancient Dead. In the remake, MediEvil Resurrection, Dan visits him in the level "Return to the Graveyard" and implores his help against the evil wizard, Zarok.

In the PlayStation Portable game Death, Jr. you play as the son of Death. While you don't get to see Death himself, his son is essentially him only shorter.

In the Super Famicon/PlayStation 2 game Romancing SaGa, Death appears as one of the three gods of evil. He lives in the netherworld and acts as the guardian of souls. He also makes deals with anyone that reaches him.

More recently, Death can be unlocked as a playable character in the Harmonix/RedOctane Playstation 2 game Guitar Hero.

In Mega Man X4, when going through the third stage ("special weapon") after defeating all the 8 Mavericks/Irregulars once again, either X or Zero (depending on which character the player chose at the start) will face off against their nemesis Sigma. Sigma will take on 3 forms, the first picturing him hovering cloaked in a black cape and wielding a beam scythe.

In "Yakusoku no Chi: Riviera" ("Riviera the Promised Land") for the Wonderswan Color and Gameboy Advance, Death is the final Accursed. He resides within Mireno Cemetary which is tied close to his character.

In Gauntlet Legends and its sequel Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, Death appears as an enemy that drains your character's health or experience accompanied by the narrarator's memorable saying "Use magic to kill Death!". He can only be destroyed with magic and appears various times in the game.

In the game Feel the Magic: XY/XX, Death appears as an obstacle in the "Magic touch" level. When he appears, the CPR you are performing is halted, and the girl's health lowers slowly. Death must be poked several times with the stylus to be scared off.

At Halloweentime 2005, RuneScape featured The Grim Spectre of Death, who would rise from the earth when a player died, casted a mysterious spell and them and proclaimed, "(Player's name)'s soul is now claimed as my own!" This addition was removed by the early days of November.

In the online Browser RPG Adventure Quest, whenever you die, The Grim Reaper appears and ressurects you, saying that his "Quota of souls has been filled". He also appears when you actvate the Blade Of Awe's PowerWord Die. He is also in the Void, and seen in some quests.

In Kingdom Hearts II, a Heartless named Grim Reaper is fought in Port Royal.

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Music

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Bibliography

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  • Winer, B. R. ii. 383-386;
  • Hamburger, R. B. T. i. 990-992:
  • A. Kohut, Ueber die Jüdische Angelologie und Dämonologie in Ihrer Abhängigkeit vom Parsismus, Leipzig, 1866;
  • E. Stave, Ueber den Einfluss des Parsismus auf das Judenthum, Haarlem. 1898;
  • E. Böklen, Die Verwandtschaft der Jüdisch-Christlichen mit der Parsischen Eschatologie, Göttingen, 1902;
  • F. Weber, Jüdische Theologie, Leipsic, 1897;
  • A. Dillmann, Alttestamentliche Theologie, § 37, ib. 1895;
  • Moïse Schwab, Vocabulaire de l'Angélologie d'Après les Manuscrits Hebreux de la Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1897;
  • D. Joël, Der Aberglaube und die Stellung des Judenthums zu Demselben, especially pp. 67-74, Breslau, 1881;
  • A. P. Bender, Beliefs, Rites, and Customs of the Jews Connected with Death, Burial, and Mourning, in Jew. Quart. Rev. vi. 317, 664 et seq.K. L. B.

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External links

  • [2] Images of the Grim Reaper and other personifications of death
  • [3] A comtemplative view of the Morrigan, the Celtic goddess of death
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See also

es:Muerte (personificación) fr:La Mort (mythologie) he:האנשה של המוות nl:Magere Hein ja:死神 pl:Śmierć (personifikacja) pt:Grim Reaper fi:Kuolema (henkilöitymä) sv:Liemannen

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