A cavern near the ancient town of Tenarus.However, some other authors inform us that there were quite a few places within the known world one could use as portals to enter the kingdom of the dead: EntrancesĪccording to Homer, the Underworld was located beyond the earth-encircling river of Ocean, at the far western end of the world. The Dead Sea: Why you should visit before it’s too late.Much of what we know about how the Ancient Greeks and Romans imagined the Underworld we know from Homer’s “Odyssey” and Virgil’s “Aeneid.” However, even these two visions are somewhat conflicting, so, sometimes, we have to resort to assumptions to reconstruct the Greek Underworld in its entirety.
#The kingdom of the dead odyssey how to#
Rome brought pomp and prosperity to this ancient outpost in Jordan.External articles to assist you on your visit to Jordan Image by Ri Butov from Pixabay Articles about Jordan published by Odyssey Travellerįor all the articles Odyssey Traveller has published for mature aged and senior travellers, click through on this link.
#The kingdom of the dead odyssey skin#
Dead Sea water and its black mud are said to have minerals that can have positive effects on the skin and the body, a boon for sufferers of psoriasis, acne, chronic back pain, and arthritis. On a tour of the Dead Sea, you can stay in a spa hotel and enjoy bathing in the lake, followed by a therapeutic mud bath. You can expect the same driving time from Jordan’s capital, Amman on your group tour. On the Israel side, a drive from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea is only about two hours, depending on traffic, giving travellers ample time to visit after a tour of the Holy Land including wonders such as the Western Wall. Jordan tours usually include this with a visit to the ancient city of Petra, located between the lake and the Red Sea. On the Jordanian side, a highway (Highway 65, located at 393 metres below sea level) runs past the lake to the port of Aqaba. View of a resort on the Jordanian shore of the Dead Sea It is advisable to find a private hotel or resort so you can have access to a shower and fresh water. The shores of the Dead Sea are rocky, so you’d be hard-pressed to find a public beach. There are small communities and a nature reserve near the lake, as well as resort hotels serving travellers. The Biblical significance of the lake extends to the Jordan River, where Jesus Christ was said to have been baptised by John the Baptist. (In modern times, you can take a tour of Masada and the desert over the Dead Sea via cable car.)The Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient manuscripts first found in archaeological digs in 1947 and dating from the 3rd century BC, were discovered in caves near Qumran, northwest of the lake. Masada was also besieged by the Roman Empire decades later. Beside the lake, in Masada, Israel, Herod the Great locked himself in a fortress during the Parthian siege in 40 BC. In the Hebrew Bible, Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed by fire, were two cities located on this lake. It has been called the Dead Sea since the Hellenistic Age, circa 323 BC. The lake also supports birds that pass through the desert during their migrations. The fish that the Jordan river carries with it dies quickly in the Dead Sea, though microorganisms such as bacteria and algae survive. This lake in the lowest place on Earth is called “dead” precisely because the high salt content prevents fish and aquatic plants from living in it.
This salinity also gives it the high density that keeps bathers floating on the water.
This amazing lake’s salinity is unusually high at around 30-35%, compared to 3% in other bodies of saltwater.