Editing Tartarus (section)

==Roman mythology==
In Roman mythology, sinners (as defined by the Roman societal and cultural norms of their time) are sent to Tartarus for punishment after death. [[Virgil]] describes Tartarus in great detail in the [[Aeneid#Book 6: Underworld|Aeneid, Book VI]]. He described it as expansive. It is surrounded by three perimeter walls, beyond which flows a flaming river named the [[Phlegethon]]. Drinking from the Phlegethon will not kill a mortal and it will heal while causing great pain. To further prevent escape, a [[Lernaean Hydra|hydra]] with fifty black, gaping jaws sits atop a gate that screeches when opened. They are flanked by [[adamant]]ine columns, a substance that, like diamond, was believed to be so hard that nothing can cut through it.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Inside the walls of Tartarus sits a wide-walled castle with a tall, iron turret. [[Tisiphone]], one of the [[Erinyes]], who represents vengeance, stands sleepless guard at the top of the turret lashing her whip. Roman mythology describes a pit inside extending down into the earth twice as far as the distance from the lands of the living to [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]]. The twin sons of the [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]] [[Aloeus]] were said to be imprisoned at the bottom of this pit.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}