Otherworld

For other uses, see Otherworld (disambiguation).
Otherworld depicted by Arthur Rackham in Irish Fairy Tales (1920).

In historical Indo-European religion, the concept of an otherworld, also known as an otherside, is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of orbis alius (Latin for "other world/side"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherworld.

Comparable religious, mythological or metaphysical concepts, such as a realm of supernatural beings and a realm of the dead, are found in cultures throughout the world.[1] Spirits are thought to travel between worlds or layers of existence in such traditions, usually along an axis such as a giant tree, a tent pole, a river, a rope or mountains.[1][2][3]

  1. ^ a b Gods, goddesses, and mythology, Volume 11, C. Scott Littleton, Marshall Cavendish, 2005, ISBN 0-7614-7559-1, ISBN 978-0-7614-7559-0. Pp. 1286-1287
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference davidson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 439.