Unless you were favored by the gods and sent to Elysium, the afterlife did not hold much promise for mortals. Ordinary people didn't have much to look forward to in death — and evildoers had much to fear.

Religious rites and cults were created to address the bleakness of the afterlife. For example, several cults concentrated on individual deities (such as Demeter or Dionysus). Worshipers hoped that these deities would share the secrets of the Underworld — including a map of the Underworld that warned of its dangerous places — so that they could gain entry to Elysium.

For example, the Eleusinian Mysteries, secret rites celebrated every year in honor of Demeter and Persephone, promised participants union with the gods and rewards after death.