Myths and Legends

Grim Reaper

What is Death? Well actually it should be who is death but whatever. Well death is that one thing a lot of people fear. It normally comes after a very stupid decision or mistake. Sadly it's inevitable. Every culture and religion has their own personification of Death. It gotten to the point the most recognizable figure is the grim reaper.I'll actually go into different cultures' grim reapers around Halloween and how the people see them. So until then, let's talk about the Grim Reaper. Also leave any and all comic/manga/anime knowledge by the door over there. Not all of them are accurate....Looking at you Marvel and DC

The grim reaper. Death, personified. The actual term is psychopomp. A psychopomp is basically a spirit, angel, or some other deity that guides the souls of the deceased to the afterlife...whatever it may be. They don't actually judge the souls of the dead, really don't know how that misconception got started. I blame Dante's Inferno. They're often depicted as anthropomorphic animals, such as crows, ravens, owls( wow that's a lot of birds associated with death...I smell a new chapter) deers, so and so forth.

In myths, it depends on who you ask. Ask a Greek and they'll tell you Hermes, Thanatos, and Charon...and not Hades. God , Hades just lives in the Underworld. Charon is a ferryman in Hades/ The Underworld the terms are interchangeable, his job is to take the souls of the deceased across the Styx but at a small fee that I'll explain later in his own chapter. Thanatos is Death personified and is actually in charge of collecting the souls. And Hermes has a tendency to travel between the realms of the mortals and the divine. So he can go harass uncle Hades anytime he wants, but he's often put to work. From there the souls are divided to go into the correct afterlife. Ask a Norse, they'll tell you Hel or the Valkyries...or both. In Mexico it's Santa Muerte. In Islamic mythos it's an archangel named Azrael, though I don't think they have angels. 
But where does the grim reaper originate from? Well the earliest is probably the 15th century due to Ankou, from Brittany folklore. Often portrayed as a scythe wielding skeleton wearing a black cloak. Often depicted as a force of evil, when in truth, the Grim reaper is neither good or evil. The grim reaper's job is just to collect the souls, but is often feared. He doesn't kill mortals, he just asks as a guide to the afterlife. A force of balance. And the scythe is pretty much new, not recent, but older depictions of Death is just a skeleton in a black cloak. The Scythe is actually the symbol of Kronos, the father of the Olympians, god of the harvest and time...okay mental note, do Kronos. Mostly because it symbolizes the one thing that will destroy all...time.  

Everyone fears death. It's scary. Depending on your culture, where you go is based on how you act. I'll go into details around Day of the Dead about these places. 

And the few good examples of a grim reaper staying neutral are probably the shinigami of Black Butler( well some of them....), Soul Eater, Death( Marvel), Thanatos, the Valkyries..and that's probably it. I mean yeah, there are other examples from other cultures, but again....Halloween. 

Quick Note: I'm in college...sophomore year. So updates are going to slow down a bit. I'll try to post as often as I can. Also I'm taking Anthropology so I can now get my hands on even more cultures. I'd like to thank Wistful Scribe over on tumblr for providing some mythos for me. you should check them out if you even need help righting a character. They have tons of stuff, from writing characters with autism to writing fantasy outside of fairies, elves, and dwarves.