Epilogue

Abstract This Epilogue examines the later reception of ancient Greek Underworld scenes across time and cultural contexts and reaffirms the methodology of treating Underworld scenes as hypertextual commentaries. This chapter shows the persistence and stability of Greek Underworld scenes as a locus of embedded authorial commentary. Using examples from Vergil’s Underworld scene in Aeneid 6 and Lucian’s satirical dialogues involving the dead (e.g., the True History, Dialogues of the Dead, and Downward Journey), this Epilogue reflects on the long use of Underworld scenes to give sharp social and political commentaries by couching criticism and propaganda in mythological and literary term. The book concludes with a reflection on how Underworld scenes and their hypertextual poetics have been used for millennia to reinforce values, stoke revolutions in thought, and influence the reception of different ideologies and artistic products.