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In Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Elysium (Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: ) was a section of the Underworld
Greek underworld

The Greek underworld is a general term used to describe the various realms of Greek mythology which were believed to lie beneath the earth or beyond the horizon....
 (the spelling Elysium is a Latinization of the Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 word Elysion). The Elysian Fields, or the Elysian Plains, were the final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous.
ium is an obscure and mysterious name that evolved from a designation of a place or person struck by lightning
Thunderbolt

A thunderbolt is a traditional expression for a discharge of lightning or a symbolic representation thereof. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors, although this is not currently the case....
, enelysion, enelysios. This could be a reference to Zeus
Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
, the god of lightning, so "lightning-struck" could be saying that the person was blessed (struck) by Zeus (lightning).






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In Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Elysium (Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: ) was a section of the Underworld
Greek underworld

The Greek underworld is a general term used to describe the various realms of Greek mythology which were believed to lie beneath the earth or beyond the horizon....
 (the spelling Elysium is a Latinization of the Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 word Elysion). The Elysian Fields, or the Elysian Plains, were the final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous.

Etymology

Elysium is an obscure and mysterious name that evolved from a designation of a place or person struck by lightning
Thunderbolt

A thunderbolt is a traditional expression for a discharge of lightning or a symbolic representation thereof. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors, although this is not currently the case....
, enelysion, enelysios. This could be a reference to Zeus
Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
, the god of lightning, so "lightning-struck" could be saying that the person was blessed (struck) by Zeus (lightning). Scholars have also suggested that Greek Elysion may instead derive from the Egyptian term ialu (older iaru), meaning "reeds," with specific reference to the "Reed fields" (Egyptian: sekhet iaru / ialu), a paradisaical land of plenty where the dead hoped to spend eternity.

Ruler

The ruler of Elysium varies from author to author; Pindar
Pindar

Pindar , was an Ancient Greek Lyric poetry poet.Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, Pindar is the one whose work is by far the best preserved, and critics in antiquity tended to regard him as the greatest....
 names the ruler as Kronos
Cronus

Cronus or Kronos, , was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titan , divine descendants of Gaia , the earth, and Uranus , the sky....
, released from Tartarus and ruling in a palace:

Other authors claim that Kronos remained in Tartarus for all eternity, and the judge was another, sometimes Rhadamanthys.

Classical literature

Two Homer
Homer

Homer is traditionally held to be the author of the ancient Greek language epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as of the Homeric Hymns....
ic passages in particular established for Greeks the nature of the Afterlife
Afterlife

The afterlife is the concept of a continued existence for the soul, spirit or mind of a being after biological death. The major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism and metaphysics....
: the dreamed apparition of the dead Patroclus
Patroclus

In Greek mythology, as recorded in the Iliad by Homer, Patroclus, or Patroklos , son of Menoetius , was Achilles? beloved comrade and, according to some , his lover....
 in the Iliad
ILiad

The iLiad is an electronic handheld device, or e-book device, which can be used for document reading and editing. Like the Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle, the iLiad makes use of an electronic paper display....
 and the more daring boundary-breaking visit in Book 11 of the Odyssey
Odyssey

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Hellenic civilization epic poetrys attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work traditionally ascribed to Homer....
. Greek traditions concerning funerary ritual were reticent, but the Homeric examples encouraged other heroic visits, in the myth cycles centered around Theseus
Theseus

For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra , and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, with whom Aethra lay in one night....
 and Heracles
Heracles

In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles meaning "glory of Hera", or "Glorious through Hera" Alcides or Alcaeus " was a hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus....
.

The Elysian Fields lay on the western margin of the earth, by the encircling stream of Oceanus
Oceanus

Oceanus was believed to be the World Ocean in classical antiquity, which the Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece considered to be an enormous river encircling the world....
, and there the mortal relatives of the king of the gods were transported, without tasting death, to enjoy an immortality of bliss (Odyssey 4.563). Lesser spirits were not quite as fortunate: an eerie passage describes the twittering bat-like ghosts of Penelope's slain suitors, led by Hermes
Hermes

Hermes is the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. An Twelve Olympians, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and road travelers, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of general commerce, and of the cunni...
:

Hesiod
Hesiod

Hesiod was a Greek language oral poet, his date is uncertain but leading scholars agree that Hesiod lived in the latter half of the Eighth-century BCE....
 refers to the Isles of the Blessed
Fortunate Isles

In the Fortunate Isles, also called the Isles of the Blessed , heroes and other favored mortals in Greek mythology and Celtic mythology were received by the gods into a blissful paradise....
 (makarôn nêsoi) in the Western Ocean (Works and Days
Works and Days

Works and Days is a Greek poem of some 800 verses written by Hesiod . The poem revolves around two general truths: labour is the universal lot of Man, but he who is willing to work will get by....
). Walter Burkert notes the connection with the motif of far-off Dilmun
Dilmun

Dilmun is a land mentioned by Mesopotamia as a trade partner, source of raw material, copper, and entrepot of the Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Civilization trade route....
: "Thus Achilles is transported to the White Isle
Snake Island (Black Sea)

Snake Island, also known as Serpent Island , lies in the Black Sea off the coasts of Romania and Ukraine. The island is part of the Kiliya Raion of Odessa Oblast, Ukraine....
, which may refer to Mount Teide on Tenerife
Tenerife

Tenerife, a Spain island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Tenerife has an area of 2034.38 square kilometers, and 886,033 inhabitants, which make it the most populated island of the Canary Islands and Spain....
, whose volcano is often snowcapped and as the island was sometimes called the white isle by explorers, and becomes the Ruler of the Black Sea
Black Sea

The Black Sea is an inland sea sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolia and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Seas and various straits....
, and Diomedes
Diomedes

Diomedes or Diomed is a hero in Greek mythology, mostly known for his participation in the Trojan War. He was born to Tydeus and Deipyle and later became King of Argos, succeeding his grandfather, Adrastus....
 becomes the divine lord of an Adriatic island."

Pindar
Pindar

Pindar , was an Ancient Greek Lyric poetry poet.Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, Pindar is the one whose work is by far the best preserved, and critics in antiquity tended to regard him as the greatest....
 makes it a single island:

In Elysium where fields of the pale liliaceous asphodel
Asphodel

Asphodelus ramosus, also known as Branched asphodel, is a perennial herb in the Asparagales order. Similar in appearance to Asphodelus albus and particularly Asphodelus cerasiferus, it may be distinguished by its highly branched stem and smaller fruits....
, and poplar
Poplar

Populus is a genus of between 25?35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere....
s grew, there stood the gates that led to the house of Ais (in Attic dialect "Hades
Hades

Hades refers both to the ancient Greek underworld, the abode of Hades, and to the god of the underworld. Hades in Homer referred just to the god; the genitive case , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades"....
").

In Virgil's
Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works?the Bucolics , the Georgics and the Aeneid?although several Appendix Vergiliana are also attributed to him....
 Aeneid
Aeneid

The Aeneid is a Latin Epic poetry written by Virgil in the late 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Rome....
, Aeneas
Aeneas

This article is about the Roman hero. For other uses, see Aeneas .In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas was a Troy hero, the son of prince Anchises and the goddess Venus_....
, like Heracles
Heracles

In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles meaning "glory of Hera", or "Glorious through Hera" Alcides or Alcaeus " was a hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus....
 and Odysseus
Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greeks king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
 before him, travels to the underworld. Virgil
Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works?the Bucolics , the Georgics and the Aeneid?although several Appendix Vergiliana are also attributed to him....
 describes an encounter in Elysium between Aeneas
Aeneas

This article is about the Roman hero. For other uses, see Aeneas .In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas was a Troy hero, the son of prince Anchises and the goddess Venus_....
 and his father Anchises
Anchises

In Greek mythology, Anchises was a son of Capys and Themiste or Hieromneme, a naiad. His major claim to fame in Greek mythology is that he was a mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite ....
. Virgil's Elysium knows perpetual spring and shady groves, with its own sun and lit by its own stars: solemque suum, sua sidera norunt (Aeneid, 6.541).

Post-classical literature

Elysium was a pagan expression that passed into the usage of the Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 patristic writers as a synonym for paradise
Paradise

Paradise is an idealized place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness....
.

In Dante's
DANTE

DANTE is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various National Research and Education Networks in Europe and surrounding regions....
 epic The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy , written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321, is widely considered the central epic poem of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature....
, Limbo
Limbo

In Roman Catholic Church theology, Limbo is an idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned....
 is purposefully described to much resemble the Elysian Fields. This is due in large part to Limbo's being described as the resting place of, among others, virtuous pagans who lived before the time of Christ
Christ

Christ is the English language term for the Greek meaning "the anointing", which is a title given to the Reigning Messiah in the given age of the Zodiac....
. Being the first and uppermost layer of Hell, Limbo is closed off from God
God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
; the mood is one of sadness, since heaven is close yet unattainable.

In the Renaissance
Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
, the heroic population of the Elysian Fields tended to outshine its formerly dreary pagan reputation; the Elysian Fields borrowed some of the bright allure of paradise
Paradise

Paradise is an idealized place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness....
. In Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, the Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées

The Avenue des Champs-?lys?es is the most prestigious Avenue in Paris. With its movie theaters, caf?s, and luxury specialty shops, the Avenue des Champs-?lys?es is one of the most famous streets in the world, and with rents as high as $1.50 million 1000 square feet of space, it remains the most expensive strip of real estate in Europe....
 retain their name of the Elysian Fields, first applied in the late 16th century to a formerly rural outlier beyond the formal parterre
Parterre

A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedge , and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern....
 gardens behind the royal French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 palace of the Tuileries.

After the Renaissance
Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
, as images of Valhalla
Valhalla

In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field F?lkvangr....
 entered the popular European imagination, an even cheerier Elysium evolved for some poets. Sometimes it is imagined as a place where heroes have continued their interests from their lives. Others suppose it is a location filled with feasting, sport, song; Joy is the "daughter of Elysium" in Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller [johan/jo?han kr?st?f fri?t??? f?n ??l??/??l?] was a Germany poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright....
's ode "To Joy"
Ode to Joy

"To Joy" is an ode written in 1785 in literature by the German poet, playwright and historian Friedrich Schiller. The poem celebrates the ideal of unity and brotherhood of all mankind....
.

When in William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
's Twelfth Night shipwrecked Viola is told "This is Illyria, lady.", "And what should I do in Illyria? My brother he is in Elysium." is her answer: "Elysium" for her and her first Elizabethan hearers simply means Paradise
Paradise

Paradise is an idealized place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness....
. Similarly, in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute

The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
, Elysium is mentioned in Act II during Papageno's solo while he describes what it would be like if he had his dream girl: "Des Lebens als Weiser mich freun, Und wie im Elysium sein." ("Enjoy life as a wiseman, And feel like I'm in Elysium.")

The New Orleans neighborhood of Elysian Fields in Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams was an American playwright who received many of the top theatrical awards. He moved to New Orleans in 1939 and changed his name to "Tennessee", the state of his father's birth....
' A Streetcar Named Desire is the declassé purgatory where Blanche Dubois lives with Stanley and Stella Kowalski. New Orleans' Elysian Fields provides the second act setting of Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice

Elmer Rice was an American playwright. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1929 play, Street Scene ....
's The Adding Machine
The Adding Machine

The Adding Machine is a 1923 play by Elmer Rice, and is generally considered to be the first American Expressionist play. The story focuses on Mr....
.

In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, Order of the British Empire was an English people English literature, poetry, Philology, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion....
, the Elysian Undying Lands, the home of the gods, elves, and a select few others, can only be reached by crossing the western sea, much as one would have to cross the stream of Oceanus
Oceanus

Oceanus was believed to be the World Ocean in classical antiquity, which the Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece considered to be an enormous river encircling the world....
 to reach the Fortunate Isles
Fortunate Isles

In the Fortunate Isles, also called the Isles of the Blessed , heroes and other favored mortals in Greek mythology and Celtic mythology were received by the gods into a blissful paradise....
.

In his poem Middlesex
Middlesex

Middlesex , from the Old English Middelseaxe , is one of the 39 Historic counties of England of England and the List of counties of England by area in 1831....
, John Betjeman
John Betjeman

Sir John Betjeman, Order of the British Empire was an English poet, writer and Broadcasting who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack"....
 describes how the heroine Elaine hurries "... Out into the outskirt's edges, Where a few surviving hedges Keep alive our lost Elysium - rural Middlesex
Middlesex

Middlesex , from the Old English Middelseaxe , is one of the 39 Historic counties of England of England and the List of counties of England by area in 1831....
 again". The poem, considered by many to be one of his best, harks back to a time when the suburbs of modern London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 (Perivale
Perivale

Perivale is a small suburb 10 miles west of central London in the London Borough of Ealing. For most of its history, it was part of the county of Middlesex....
 and Harrow-on-the-Hill, for example) were fields and meadows, with all the pastoral imagery that they convey.

In Spring and All
Spring and All

William Carlos Williams's Spring and All is a volume published in 1923 by Robert McAlmon's Contact Publishing Co. It is a hybrid work made up of alternating sections of prose and free verse....
, William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams

William Carlos Williams was an list of American poets closely associated with Modernist poetry and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine....
 describes a dying woman's "elysian slobber/upon/the folded handkerchief".

In his poem An Old Haunt, Hugh McFadden
Hugh McFadden

Hugh McFadden is an Ireland poet, literary editor and freelance journalist.He was born in Derry, lived briefly there and in County Donegal, before moving to Dublin....
 sets an Elysian scene in Dublin
Dublin

Dublin is both the largest city and capital of Republic of Ireland. It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region....
's St. Stephen's Green
St. Stephen's Green

St Stephen's Green }} is an inner-city public park in Dublin, Ireland. The park is within the city centre, adjoining the nearby shopping area of the same name, which is located on Grafton Street, Dublin....
 park.

In David Gemmell
David Gemmell

David Andrew Gemmell was a bestselling British author of heroic fantasy. A former journalist and newspaper editor, Gemmell's first fiction work published in 1984....
's Parmennion series (Lion of Macedon and Dark Prince) and his Troy trilogy, his characters refer to Elysium as the "Hall of Heroes," a Valhalla
Valhalla

In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field F?lkvangr....
-like connotation.

In Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Loraine Sassoon, Commander of British Empire Military Cross was an English poetry and author. He became known as a writer of satire anti-war poetry during World War I....
's "Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man
Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man

Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man is a novel by Siegfried Sassoon, first published in 1928. It won both the Hawthornden Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, being immediately recognised as a classic of English literature....
", Sassoon writes "The air was Elysian with early summer". It's use in this context could be prolepsis, as the British countryside he is describing would become the burial ground of his dead comrades and heroes from World War I.

Modern Place Names

In Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, "Elysian Park" is the name of a public open space area -- the second largest park in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
 -- established in 1781, the year of the city's founding. It retains much of the idyllic natural chaparral
Chaparral

Chaparral is a shrubland or Heath plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of Lower California, Mexico....
 and coastal sage scrub present in the area since prehistoric times, in addition to hiking trails, picnic areas, barbecue pits, a small man-made lake, a children's play area, and baseball diamonds referred to as, "The Elysian Fields".

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the most prestigious avenue in Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, and one of the most famous streets in the world, is french for "Avenue of the Elysian Fields."

In Mexico City
Mexico City

Mexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the most important economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country; the most populous city with over 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008....
, Campos Eliseos (Spanish: Elysian Fields
Elysian Fields

Elysian Fields may refer to:In mythology:* Elysium, Elysian Fields were the final resting place of the blessed chosen by the gods; Part of the Greek underworld ....
) is a street in the Polanco
Polanco

Polanco is the name shared by people and places in Mexico, Spain and the Philippines, including:* Polanco , a neighborhood of Mexico City* Jes?s de Polanco, Spanish media owner...
 neighborhood where several of the city's best hotels and restaurants are located.

Elysian Fields
Elysian Fields Avenue

Elysian Fields Avenue is a broad, straight avenue in New Orleans named after the Avenue des Champs-?lys?es in Paris. It courses south to north from the Lower Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain, a distance of approximately ....
 is a street in Lakefront, a suburb of New Orleans, where the University of New Orleans, and Ben Franklin High School are located.

Science

  • Elysium is the name given to a volcanic region of Mars
    MARS

    In cryptography, MARS is a block cipher that was IBM's submission to the Advanced Encryption Standard process. MARS was selected as an AES finalist in August 1999, after the AES2 conference in March 1999, where it was voted as the fifth and last finalist algorithm....
     and one of its volcanoes.
  • Elysia
    Elysia (genus)

    Elysia is a taxonomic genus of sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks.This genus was sometimes considered to be in the family Stiligeridae, and previously was placed in the family Elysiiidae....
     is a genus of sea slugs.
  • Elysian is the name of an inter departmental multi-art form competition held at an Engineering College, Pune Institute of Computer Technology (PICT), in Pune
    Pune

    Pune ,Pune is the administrative capital of Pune district and the 7th Metro city of India.Pune is known to have existed as a town since 937 AD....
    , Maharashtra
    Maharashtra

    Maharashtra is a States and territories of India located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's List of states of India by area and List of states of India by population....
    , India
    India

    India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
    .


Classical music

  • Elysium is referenced in the Schiller poem which inspired Beethoven's Ode to Joy
    Ode to Joy

    "To Joy" is an ode written in 1785 in literature by the German poet, playwright and historian Friedrich Schiller. The poem celebrates the ideal of unity and brotherhood of all mankind....
     (9th symphony
    Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)

    The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus number 125 "Choral" is the last complete symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the choral symphony Ninth Symphony is one of the best known works of the Western repertoire, considered both an icon and a forefather of Romantic music, and one of Beethoven's greatest masterpieces....
    , 4th movement)
Approximate English Translation:


  • Elysium is also referenced in Mozart's well known Opera "Die Zauberflöte" (The Magic Flute). It is in Act II when Papageno is feeling very melancholy because he doesn't have a sweetheart or wife and he is drunk singing the song that could be called "Den Mädchen" (The Girls). The lyrics in German for the verse referring to Elysium are:
In English:


  • Elysium is the name of a female vocal ensemble for medieval music. Most well-known for their cross-over CD "Auvergne Chants" Decca 2000


Contemporary music

  • A song by the English death/doom metal band Anathema called "A Dying Wish" contains the beautiful line "A golden age turned to stone, Elysium... to dust".
  • "Elysian Fields" is the title of a song by the metal band Megadeth
    Megadeth

    Megadeth is an American Heavy metal music band led by founder, front man, guitarist, and songwriter Dave Mustaine. Formed in 1983 by Mustaine and bass player David Ellefson following Mustaine's departure from Metallica, the band has since released eleven studio albums, six live albums, two Extended play, thirty single , thirty-two music video...
     from the their album Youthanasia
    Youthanasia

    Youthanasia is the sixth studio album by United States Heavy metal music band Megadeth, released on November 1, 1994. A remixed and remastered version, featuring several bonus tracks, was released in 2004....
    . It is about souls sentenced to eternal damnation fighting to storm heaven.
  • "Elysian Fields" is a song by God Is An Astronaut
    God Is an Astronaut

    God Is an Astronaut are an instrumental/post-rock three piece band hailing from the Glen of the Downs, County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. They formed in 2002 and released their debut album The End of the Beginning on their own Revive Records label....
     from the album A Moment Of Stillness. This song is an Instrumental
    Instrumental

    An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments....
  • "Elysian Fields
    Elysian Fields (band)

    Elysian Fields is a New York dream pop/art rock band founded in 1995 by co-composers Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow . Their music has been sometimes described as "noir rock", due to its sultry, dark and mysterious inflections, be it sonically or lyrically....
    " is a New York City
    New York City

    The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
    -based rock band formed in 1995.
  • Mary Chapin Carpenter's album 'Between Here and Gone' contains the song 'Elysium', where, following a long personal journey, paradise is found in the heart of her soulmate.
  • Elizium
    Elizium

    Elizium, Fields of the Nephilim's third studio album, was released in October 1990 by Beggars Banquet Records. The record peaked at number 22 in UK album charts....
     is the title of an album by Fields of the Nephilim
    Fields of the Nephilim

    Fields of the Nephilim is a gothic rock band formed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire in 1984 in music. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Carl McCoy, saxophonist Gary Whisker, Tony Pettit on bass, guitarist Paul Wright and drummer Alexander "Nod" Wright....
    . The album contains track-titles such as '(Paradise Regained)' and lyrics including "over to the window, where the night has become Elizium for the sleepless souls" and references to "some kind of Heaven" (from 'At the Gates of Silent Memory'); whilst an overall theme of voyages towards a blissful afterlife/otherworld dominates the entire album.
  • Elysium is the title of a dance and happy hardcore music track by Scott Brown (DJ)
    Scott Brown (DJ)

    Scott Alexander Brown is a Glasgow-based Scottish DJ and music producer. Brown produces and plays a variety of genres commonly called rave. Although he is most associated with bouncy techno, his music ranges from happy hardcore, through hard trance, to gabber....
    . The chorus line lyrics have potential links to interpersonal, spiritual, and higher-order concepts or ideologies.
  • The track, Elysium
    Elysium (I Go Crazy)

    "Elysium " is the 5th single by Liverpool electronic dance music trio Ultrabeat. It was released in 2006 and played throughout the summer of that year....
    , by Scott Brown has remixed by Trance/House group Ultrabeat
    Ultrabeat (UK band)

    Ultrabeat are an electronic music production group based in Liverpool, who primarily produce club music and house music and are most famous for their 2003 massive hit Pretty Green Eyes....
     with additional lyrics and the BPM reduced. That version has then been remixed back into happy hardcore by Scott Brown.
  • Elysium is a song by the Band LostAlone
    LostAlone

    LostAlone are a 3-piece rock band based in Derby, United Kingdom. They are a rock act who are attracting much interest and support in both the UK and foreign press....
    .
  • "Devoured Elysium" is a song by Vital Remains
    Vital Remains

    Vital Remains are an United States death metal band from Providence, Rhode Island formed in 1989....
     from their album Dechristianize, released in 2003.
  • Portishead
    Portishead

    Portishead is an England musical group from Bristol. The band is named after the nearby town of Portishead, Somerset, west of Bristol....
     has a song entitled Elysium on their 1997 self-titled album.
  • Wings Of Severance has a song called Elysium on their self-titled album.
  • The Velvet Teen
    The Velvet Teen

    The Velvet Teen is an Indie Music band from Northern California.The Velvet Teen was founded by Judah Nagler and Logan Whitehurst as a side project from their other bands, Tin Circus and Little Tin Frog....
    's second full-length album was entitled Elysium.
  • In the movie Gladiator, "Elysium" is the name of the song played during Maximus's death. The film shows the character walking through fields of crops. It is ambiguous whether this is supposed to be Elysium or his family farm, it is likely that it represents both.
  • A song by the Irish Post-Rock band God is an Astronaut
    God Is an Astronaut

    God Is an Astronaut are an instrumental/post-rock three piece band hailing from the Glen of the Downs, County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. They formed in 2002 and released their debut album The End of the Beginning on their own Revive Records label....
    , is called Elysian Fields
  • The video to the song "It Means Nothing" by the Stereophonics shows the spirits of the dead in white robes walking through fields of crops to be taken away in hot air balloons
  • David Gray
    David Gray

    David Gray may refer to:*David Gray , Scottish poet*David Gray , rugby league player for the Connecticut Wildcats*David Gray , English singer-songwriter...
    's song The One I Love
    The One I Love

    The One I Love may refer to:* The One I Love , a song by R.E.M.* The One I Love * The One I Love * The One I Love , a manga series by CLAMP...
     has the lyrics "Don’t see Elysium, Don’t see no fiery Hell"
  • Hardcore band named Elysia from Sacramento, CA
  • A song titled "Elysium" appears on the album Wonderful by British 90's band Madness
  • A song titled "Elysium" appears on Phoenix, Az rock band Vayden's album - "Children of Our Mistakes"
  • A death-metal Band from Germany called "Elysium"
  • A punk-metal band from Tampa, FL is called Elysium
  • A rock band from Newton, IA is called Elysium.
  • The line "As the sands slowly turn to Elysian Fields" is featured in the song "Sahara" by Finnish metal band Nightwish
    Nightwish

    Nightwish is a Finns symphonic metal power metal band, formed in 1996 in Kitee, Finland. The band has sold more than 4 million CDs, DVDs and online material internationally....
  • The line "and cross the river of styx, you will reach elysian fields" is featured in the song "Into the light" by the Hardcore metal band John Doe.
  • The Alaskan metal/post-hardcore band 36 Crazyfists has a song entitled "Elysium" featuring Killswitch Engage singer Howard Jones on their 'Rest Inside the Flames' album.
  • The phrase "Why is it called Elysian Fields when love builds only grief" is featured in the song "The Seer", by Finnish soprano Tarja Turunen
    Tarja Turunen

    Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli is a full lyric soprano and songwriter, best known as co-founder and the former female vocalist of Finns heavy metal quintet Nightwish....
    , in the album My Winter Storm
    My Winter Storm

    My Winter Storm is the first solo studio album by Finland rock music/classical music soprano Tarja Turunen. The album was released by Universal Music on November 19, 2007....
    .
  • Swedish pop singer and former A*Teens
    A*Teens

    The A*Teens was a pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden, formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 as an ABBA tribute called ABBA Teens and later renamed to A*Teens....
     band member Amit Paul
    Amit Paul

    Amit Paul is an Indian singer from Shillong, Meghalaya. His career started by being runner up in the Indian Idol. He has become a budding Playback Singer in the Hindi Film Industry....
     has a song entitled "My Elysium" on his debut solo album "Songs in a Key of Mine."
  • UK Hardcore DJ Scott Brown has a song entitled "Elysium+", found on many Hardcore compilations.
  • Canadian Progressive Death Metal band Into Eternity
    Into Eternity

    Into Eternity is a heavy metal music band from Regina, Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada....
     have a song titled "Elysium Dream" on their 2002 album Dead or Dreaming
    Dead or Dreaming

    Dead or Dreaming is the second full-length studio album by Canada melodic death metal and progressive metal band Into Eternity. It was released by DVS Records in 2001 and re-released by Century Media Records in 2002....
    .
  • A metalcore band called Elysion Fields is from Antioch, Illinois(myspace.com/elysionfieldsband)
  • Swedish melodic death metal Arch Enemy's song "Dead Bury Their Dead" off of the first CD of Wages of Sin, contains the line ... "..I walk through Elysian Fields... the light is shining.. on me!"


Television

  • In Doctor Who
    Doctor Who

    Doctor Who is a British Science fiction on television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien Time travel known as "Doctor " who travels in his space and time-ship, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s police box....
    , Davros
    Davros

    Davros is a character from the long-running United Kingdom science fiction on television series Doctor Who. Davros is an archenemy of Doctor and is responsible for the creation of the Doctor's deadliest enemies, the Daleks....
    , creator of the Daleks, was said to have been lost at the Gates of Elysium during the first year of the Time War
    Time War

    'Time War' can refer to:* The Time War , an event in the Doctor Who fictional universe * The Temporal Cold War, a part of the ...
    , when his command ship was swallowed by the Nightmare Child.
  • In the fourth season of the anime Sailor Moon
    Sailor Moon

    is the title of a Japanese media franchise created by Naoko Takeuchi. It is generally credited with popularizing the concept of a sentai of magical girls, as well as "revitalizing" the magical girl genre itself....
    , the guardian of dreams, Helios
    Helios

    Helios is the god of sun.In Greek mythology the sun was personified as Helios . Homer often calls him simply Titan or Hyperion , while Hesiod and the Homeric Hymn separate him as a son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia or Euryphaessa and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn....
    , resides in Elysion. In the manga version of that plotline, Elysion is equally important to the arc.
  • In the third and fifth seasons of the anime Digimon
    Digimon

    is a popular Japanese series of media and merchandise, including anime, manga, toys, video games, Trading card and other media. Digimon are monsters of various forms living in a "Digital World", a Parallel universe that originated from Earth's various Telecommunications network....
    , Dukemon has an attack called "Final Elysium", where he fires a red beam from his Shield.
  • In the Hades arc of both the anime and manga of Saint Seiya
    Saint Seiya

    , also known as Knights of the Zodiac, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada, and later adapted to anime....
    , the bronze saints infiltrate Elysion to rescue Athena from Hades.
  • In the 5th season episode "Lineage" of the television show "Angel" Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
    Wesley Wyndam-Pryce

    Wesley Wyndam-Pryce is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel . Played by Alexis Denisof, Wesley first appeared in nine episodes of Buffys third season in 1999 before moving over to spin-off series Angel where he became and remained a main...
     uses the word Elysium as a password to enter his high secure vaults within his office.
  • In the final episode of the British sitcom Green Wing
    Green Wing

    Green Wing is an award-winning British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital Trust. It was created by the same team behind the Sketch comedy show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt....
    , Martin hears that Mac will be going to "Elyssian Fields", which he thinks is a place in Dorset
    Dorset

    Dorset , is a Counties of England in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester, Dorset, situated in the south of the county at ....
    . He later learns that it actually means that he is going to die.
  • In the anime series Spawn (season 3, episode 2) The Elysium Fields were mentioned by the bounty hunter Jade, asking Spawn to kill her so she would die in battle and have peace in the Fields instead of going to Hell for sparing HellSpawn.


Films

  • In Gladiator (2000 film)
    Gladiator (2000 film)

    Gladiator is a 2000 in film epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, and Richard Harris....
     Maximus: "Three weeks from now, I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so. Hold the line! Stay with me! If you find yourself alone, riding in the green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you're already dead!"
  • Phantom of the Opera (2004 film), In the opening scene of "The Masqurade" Andre sings the line "Of Elysian Peace." in reference to the Phantoms 3 month absence.


Games

  • In Anarchy Online
    Anarchy Online

    Anarchy Online is an online role playing video game published by Funcom, known for its The Longest Journey, Dreamfall, and Age of Conan titles....
    , part of the Shadowlands dimension, introduced with the Shadowlands expansion pack, is known as Elysium.
  • In earlier editions of the Dungeons & Dragons
    Dungeons & Dragons

    Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by TSR, Inc....
     role playing game, Elysium is the outer (spiritual) plane of absolute and purist good alignment - also referred to as Neutral Good - without any partisan regard towards law (as with the Seven Heavens
    Mount Celestia

    In Dungeons & Dragons, the fantasy role-playing game, Mount Celestia or more fully, the Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia, or even the Seven Heavens is a Alignment #Lawful Good-aligned Plane of existence....
    ) or chaos (as with Olympus/Arvandor/Arborea
    Arborea (Dungeons & Dragons)

    In Dungeons & Dragons, fantasy role-playing game, Arborea or more fully, the Olympian Glades of Arborea, is a Alignment #Chaotic Good-aligned Plane of existence....
    ).
  • In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
    Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

    Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a First person action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console....
    , Elysia is a stormy planet in Galactic Federation space. Its only known settlement is Skytown, a flying mechanical observatory that was built by the Chozo.
  • In RuneScape
    RuneScape

    RuneScape is a Java -based MMORPG operated by Jagex Recognised by Guiness World Records as the world's most popular free MMORPG, RuneScape has approximately fifteen million active Free-to-play and is a graphical game browser-based game with a large degree of 3d rendering....
    , the powerful and rare Elysian spirit shield is probably a reference to the Elysium.
  • In God of War
    God of War (video game)

    God of War is a video game for the PlayStation 2 video game console released on March 22, 2005. It is an action-adventure game based on Greek mythology....
    , the term Elysian Fields is used repeatedly and is even visited by Kratos
    Kratos

    Kratos may refer to:*The greek_language word "???t??", kr?tos, strength, which forms the second compound in words like democracy, aristocrat, etc....
     when he goes to fight for the gods.
  • In the Halo universe the Master Chief
    Master Chief

    Master Chief may refer to:*Master Chief , the main character in Halo media*Master Chief Petty Officer, a U.S. military rank...
    , also known as Spartan-117 or John, is born and raised to the age of six in Elysium City on an outer colony world belonging to the UNSC.
  • In Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2, a medical ward for PGS patients is called Elysium.
  • In the tabletop wargame, Warhammer 40k, the Elysians are referred to as Imperial Guardsmen specializing in a futuristic form of paratrooping using drop chutes. Forge World produces miniatures representing the Elysian Drop Troops.
  • In the Mass Effect
    Mass Effect

    Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The Xbox 360 edition was released worldwide in November 2007 and the first game to carry the Singapore rating "M18"....
     game and novels, Elysium is a human colony where Jon Grissom, the Alliance's posterboy and first human to travel through a Mass Relay, calls home. It is also the home of the Ascension Project.
  • In Vampire the Masquerade (both the RPG pen-and-paper game, and the video game Bloodlines), an Elysium is a place designated as neutral territory for vampires (i.e. a theater, nightclub, gallery etc.), where violence is forbidden. The keeper of the Elysium holds jurisdiction, preventing violence, organizing or cancelling events etc.
  • In the Game Rise of the Argonauts
    Rise of the Argonauts

    Rise of the Argonauts is a 2008 third-person action adventure video-game developed by Liquid Entertainment and published by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360....
     in a re-telling of the Classic "Jason and the Golden Fleece" in RPG form, Elysium is where the virtuous are sent and Jason must obtain the fleece to bring his Wife back from the Dead.
  • In the Last Remnant
    The Last Remnant

    is a role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The game is directed at both Japanese and Western audiences and had a simultaneous release in Japan, North America and Europe, on November 20, 2008 for the Xbox 360....
     four dead souls of the Qsiti are trapped by a Monster and mentions Elysium " That monster has kept us here for many years now we can finally move on to Elysium, thanks to you Rush"
  • In Mega Man Legends 2
    Mega Man Legends 2

    Mega Man Legends 2, known in Japan as , is the sequel to Mega Man Legends . It was released for the PlayStation in April 2000 in Japan, October 2000 in North America and August 2001 in Europe....
    , Elysium (Heaven in the Japanese Version) is a smaller planet at the orbit of Terra, where the last human, known as The Master, lived for 300 years.
  • The expansion Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
    Titan Quest: Immortal Throne

    Titan Quest: Immortal Throne is an action RPG developed by Iron Lore Entertainment. It is the first expansion pack to the 2006 RPG hit, Titan Quest....
     takes place in the Greek underworld, with one significant section taking place in Elysium itself. You have to defend Elysim from the enemy and are aided by several well known Greek heros.


Footnotes