Mother goddess figures from the Late Minoan era.

Where Western Civilization Took a Wrong Turn

Putting God in the sky and hell underground has worsened our climate mess

We owe a lot to the ancient Greeks. From art and politics to mathematics and architecture, there is little in Western culture that does not carry at least a trace of their fingerprints. But there are two Greek contributions that have had pernicious consequences: the pantheon of sky gods, led by Zeus, and the notion of a chancy afterlife in the underworld.

For staunch Christians, it might seem abhorrent that their visions of heaven and hell could be influenced by a half-naked guy throwing thunderbolts and a pitiless Hades lurking in the shadows of his dark imperium. But it’s hard to reject the historical connections when even Satan’s pitchfork is a rip-off of Hades’ two-pronged staff.

That’s not to say that early Christians didn’t add their own variable to the hell hypothesis. In their most telling contribution, they rejected the Greek concept of hell as a neutral zone where bored spirits wandered around in a daze of regret, or if heroes, in the satisfaction of their deeds. Instead, hell was a place of immediate and eternal punishment, governed by a demon with superpowers.

It’s no secret that the threat of fiery damnation proved a potent control mechanism for those making…