Thanatos (Orcus), sometimes known as Mors, was the personification of death itself. He was the son of Night and the twin brother of Hypnos (Sleep). In early accounts he was seen as a very powerful figure armed with a sword, with a shaggy beard and a fierce face. His coming was marked with pain and grief. In later eras, as the transition from life to death in Elysium became a more attractive option, Thanatos was seen as a beautiful young man. Many Roman sarcophagi show him as a winged boy, much like Cupid. Because of his ghastly task, he was very unpopular with both man and gods.

Thanatos could sometimes be outsmarted. In fact, Sisyphus did it twice. When it was time for Sisyphus to die, he succeeded in chaining Thanatos up with his own shackles. All the time that death was chained, no mortals could die; but eventually Ares released Thanatos and handed Sisyphus over to him. But Sisyphus had another trick to play: before he went to the Underworld, he instructed his wife to make no sacrifices after he was dead. Sisyphus then went to Hades to complain that he was not being properly honored after his death. This infuriated Hades, who sent Sisyphus back to Earth to scold his wife. Naturally Sisyphus stayed and lived a good while longer. For this offense, Zeus punished him by making him repeatedly push a rock up to the crest of a hill, only to see it roll back down, over and over again.

ACTIVITIES:
Thanatos activity

KEY TEST WORDS:
Thanatos (Orcus) was the personification of death. Hades was the king and ruled over the Underworld.

The Underworld

Creatures

Footnotes:
Hercules once defeated Thanatos in a wrestling match and thus saved the life of Queen Alcestis as a favor to her husband and his friend, King Admetus.

SOURCES:
Jane Smith
Edith Hamilton's Mythology
Bulfinch's Mythology
"Manual of Mythology" by Alexander S. Murray.