Immortality

==Religious views==
{{Main|Afterlife|Soul}}
As late as 1952, the editorial staff of the ''[[A Syntopicon: An Index to The Great Ideas|Syntopicon]]'' found in their compilation of the [[Great Books of the Western World]], that "The philosophical issue concerning immortality cannot be separated from issues concerning the existence and nature of man's soul."<ref name="Syntopicon I 788">{{cite book |title=The Great Ideas: A Syntopicon of Great Books of the Western World |author=Adler, Mortimer J., ed. |author-link=Mortimer Adler |display-authors=etal |date=1952 |page=788 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |location=Chicago|title-link=Syntopicon }}</ref> Thus, the vast majority of speculation on immortality before the 21st century was regarding the nature of the afterlife.

===Abrahamic religion===

The viewpoints of [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], and [[Judaism]] regarding the concept of immortality diverge as each [[faith]] system encapsulates unique [[theological]] interpretations and doctrines on the enduring [[human nature]] [[soul]] or [[Spirituality|spirit]].

====Christianity====
{{main|Eternal life (Christianity)|Christian conditionalism|Christian mortalism|Universal resurrection}}
[[File:Holbein Danse Macabre 3.jpg|thumb|Adam and Eve condemned to mortality. [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], ''Danse Macabre'', 16th century]]

[[Christianity|Christian theology]] holds that [[Adam and Eve]] lost physical immortality for themselves and all their descendants through [[Fall of man|the Fall]], although this initial "imperishability of the bodily frame of man" was "a preternatural condition".<ref name="Syntopicon I 784">{{cite book |title=The Great Ideas: A Syntopicon of Great Books of the Western World |author=Adler, Mortimer J., ed. |author-link=Mortimer Adler |display-authors=etal |date=1952 |page=784 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |location=Chicago|title-link=Syntopicon }}</ref>

Christians who profess the [[Nicene Creed]] believe that every dead person (whether they believed in Christ or not) will be resurrected from the dead at the [[Second Coming]]; this belief is known as [[universal resurrection]].{{sfn|Perkins|1984|pp=17–18}} [[Paul the Apostle]], in following his past life as a [[Pharisees|Pharisee]] (a Jewish social movement that held to a future physical resurrection<ref>{{Bibleref|Acts|23:6–8|ESV}}</ref>), proclaims an amalgamated view of resurrected believers where both the physical and the spiritual are rebuilt in the likeness of post-resurrection Christ, who "will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body" (ESV).<ref>{{Bibleref|Philippians|3:20–21|ESV}}</ref> This thought mirrors Paul's depiction of believers having been "buried therefore with him [that is, Christ] by baptism into death" (ESV).<ref>{{Bibleref|Romans|6:4|ESV}}</ref>

[[N.T. Wright]], a theologian and former [[Bishop of Durham]], has said many people forget the physical aspect of what Jesus promised. He told [[Time (magazine)|Time]]: "Jesus' resurrection marks the beginning of a restoration that he will complete upon [[Second Coming of Christ|his return]]. Part of this will be the [[Universal resurrection|resurrection of all the dead]], who will 'awake', be embodied and participate in the renewal. Wright says [[John Polkinghorne]], a physicist and a priest, has put it this way: 'God will download our software onto his hardware until the time he gives us new hardware to run the software again for ourselves.' That gets to two things nicely: that the period after death (the [[Intermediate state (Christianity)|Intermediate state]]) is a period when we are in God's presence but not active in our own bodies, and also that the more important transformation will be when we are again embodied and administering [[World to Come|Christ's kingdom]]."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1710844,00.html|magazine=Time |title=Christians Wrong About Heaven, Says Bishop |date=7 February 2008 |access-date=5 May 2010 |first=David |last=Van Biema|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209101034/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1710844,00.html |archive-date=9 February 2008 }}</ref> This kingdom will consist of [[World to Come|Heaven and Earth "joined together in a new creation"]], he said.

Christian apocrypha include immortal human figures such as [[Cartaphilus]]<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Wendover|first1=Roger of|title=Roger of Wendover's Flowers of history, Comprising the history of England from the descent of the Saxons to A.D. 1235; formerly ascribed to Matthew Paris.|series=Bohn's antiquarian library|date=1849|publisher=London|hdl=2027/yale.39002013002903}}</ref> who were cursed with physical immortality for various transgressions against Christ during the Passion. The medieval [[Waldensians]] believed in the immortality of the soul.<ref name="Taylor & Francis 2021 p. 5-PA48">{{cite book | title=Routledge Library Editions: Sociology of Religion | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2021 | isbn=978-0-429-65793-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMeEEAAAQBAJ&pg=RA5-PA48 | access-date=2023-05-04 | page=5-PA48}}</ref> Leaders of sects such as [[John Asgill]] and [[John Wroe]] taught followers that physical immortality was possible.<ref name="Coleridge Coburn Winer 2019 p. 233">{{cite book | last1=Coleridge | first1=S.T. | last2=Coburn | first2=K. | last3=Winer | first3=B. | title=The Collected Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Volume 14: Table Talk, Part I | publisher=Princeton University Press | series=Bollingen Series | year=2019 | isbn=978-0-691-20069-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCCmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA233 | access-date=2023-01-23 | page=233}}</ref><ref name="Newport Gribben 2006 p. 222">{{cite book | last1=Newport | first1=K.G.C. | last2=Gribben | first2=C. | title=Expecting the End: Millennialism in Social and Historical Context | publisher=Baylor University Press | series=Millennium (Eschatology) | year=2006 | isbn=978-1-932792-38-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h3lsZkm6qxcC&pg=PA222 | access-date=2023-01-23 | page=222}}</ref>

Many Patristic writers have connected the immortal rational soul to the image of God found in Genesis 1:26. Among them is Athanasius of Alexandria and Clement of Alexandria, who say that the immortal rational soul itself is the image of God.<ref name=":0">Zakhary, Beniamin (2023). "Imago Dei in Early Christian Anaphoras". ''Studia Liturgica''. '''53''' (1): 24–36. [[Doi (identifier)|doi]]: [[doi:10.1177/00393207221144062|10.1177/00393207221144062]] [[ISSN (identifier)|ISSN]] 0039-3207.</ref> Even Early Christian Liturgies exhibit this connection between the immortal rational soul and the creation of humanity in the image of God.<ref name=":0" />

====Islam====

Islamic beliefs bears the concept of spiritual immortality within it; following the death of a certain individual, it will be arbitrated consistent with its beliefs as well as actions and will embark on the ever-lasting place where they will abate.
The [[Muslim]] who holds the [[five pillars of Islam]] will make an entrance into the [[Jannah]], where they will inhabit indefinitely.

''[[Al-Baqarah]]'' (2:25):
"But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say, 'Why, this is what we were fed with before,' for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions pure (and holy); and they abide therein forever."

In contrast, the [[kafir|''kafir'']] hold the contradictory notion that they abide in ''[[Jahannam]]'' perpetually.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.myreligionislam.com/detail.asp?Aid=5972 | title=Disbelievers Will Go to Hell - My Religion Islam }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://islamqa.info/en/answers/27075/degrees-and-levels-of-paradise-and-hell | title=Degrees and Levels of Paradise and Hell - Islam Question & Answer }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://islamqa.info/en/answers/45804/the-people-of-hell-will-abide-therein-forever | title=The people of Hell will abide therein forever - Islam Question & Answer }}</ref>

[[Angels in Islam]] are reckoned as immortals from the perspective of Islam but most people believe is that the angels will die and that the Angel of Death will die, but there is no clear text concerning this. Rather there are texts which may indicate this, and there is the well known ''hadeeth'' (narration) about the "trumpet", which is a ''munkar hadeeth'' (rejected report).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://islamqa.info/en/answers/96306/gender-of-angels-and-do-they-die | title=Gender of Angels and do They Die? - Islam Question & Answer }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zdxdqhv/revision/4# | title=Angels - Key beliefs in Islam - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize }}</ref> alternatively, ''[[Jinn]]'' have a long lifespan between 1000 and 1500.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ahmedhulusi.org/en/article/the-make-up-of-the-jinn-and-their-common-attributes | title=The Make-Up of the Jinn and Their Common Attributes }}</ref> In some Muslim [[Sufi]] mystics, ''[[Khidr]]'' is given a long life but not immortality or there is more than a little argument stated about the demise of ''khidr''; however, it is the matter of debate,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://islamqa.info/en/answers/20505/is-al-kihdr-living-on-the-face-of-the-earth | title=Is al-Kihdr living on the face of the earth? - Islam Question & Answer }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://fiqh.islamonline.net/en/who-was-al-khadir/ | title=Who Was Al-Khadir? - Fiqh | date=30 August 2022 }}</ref> and there is a fabrication point that goes around the Khidr drank from the [[fountain of Life]], which is thoroughly invalid. [[Jesus in Islam]] was summoned to the sky by Allah's sanction to preserve him from the cross<ref>{{cite web | url=https://quran.com/4/157?translations=17,19,20,21,85,18,22,95,84,101 | title=Surah An-Nisa - 157 }}</ref> and endow him with long life until the advent of the ''[[Dajjal]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-about-islam/jesus-return-born-virgin-sky/ | title=How Will Jesus Return? Born of a Virgin or from the Sky? }}</ref> ''Dajjal'' is, additionally, given a long life. Jesus Christ dispatches the ''Dajjal'' as he stays after 40 days, one like a year, one like a month, one like a week, and the rest of his days like normal days.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://islamqa.info/en/answers/8806/who-is-the-dajjal-comprehensive-answer | title=Who is the Dajjal? (Comprehensive Answer) - Islam Question & Answer }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://whatisquran.com/1095-how-long-will-dajjal-live-on-earth.html | title=How long will Dajjal live on earth? – Your Guide to get to know the Quran | date=31 December 2015 }}</ref> The [[holy Qur'an|Qur'an]] states that it is the ultimate fate of all life, [[Ultimate fate of humanity|including humans]], to die eventually.
{{Block quote|text=كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ (Every soul will taste death)|author=[[Quran]] 3:185}}<blockquote></blockquote>[[File:Kullu nafsin ja lekatul maut new ringtone 2023 Arabic ringtone Arabic Allah sa daro virl arabic.wav|thumb|It symbolize the transient nature of life and challenge the concept of immortality in the physical world. This phrase reflects the impermanence of all things.]]

====Judaism====
{{primary sources|date=June 2015}}
The traditional concept of an immaterial and immortal soul distinct from the body was not found in Judaism before the [[Babylonian exile]], but developed as a result of interaction with [[Persian philosophy|Persian]] and [[Hellenistic philosophy|Hellenistic philosophies]]. Accordingly, the Hebrew word ''[[nephesh]]'', although translated as ''"soul"'' in some older English-language Bibles, actually has a meaning closer to "living being".<ref>{{cite book |publisher=Biblical Studies Press |year=2006 |title=New English Translation |section=Notes |at=Note 23, for {{bibleverse||Gen|2:7}} }}</ref>{{request quotation|date=February 2020}} ''Nephesh'' was rendered in the [[Septuagint]] as {{mvar| {{lang|grc|ψυχή}} }} (''psūchê''), the Greek word for 'soul'.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

The only Hebrew word traditionally translated "soul" (''nephesh'') in English language Bibles refers to a living, breathing conscious body, rather than to an immortal soul.{{efn|
"Even as we are conscious of the broad and very common biblical usage of the term ''"soul"'', we must be clear that scripture does not present even a rudimentarily developed theology of the soul. The creation narrative is clear that all life originates with God. Yet the Hebrew scripture offers no specific understanding of the origin of individual souls, of when and how they become attached to specific bodies, or of their potential existence, apart from the body, after death. The reason for this is that, as we noted at the beginning, the Hebrew Bible does not present a theory of the soul developed much beyond the simple concept of a force associated with respiration, hence, a life-force."<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia 
 |last = Avery-Peck  |first = Alan J.
 |year = 2000
 |title = Soul
 |editor = Neusner
 |display-editors = etal 
 |encyclopedia = The Encyclopedia of Judaism
 |page=1343
}}
</ref>{{full citation needed|date=September 2021|reason=full editors' names, publisher, etc.; ISBN would be nice}}
}}
In the New Testament, the Greek word traditionally translated "soul" ({{lang|grc|ψυχή}}) has substantially the same meaning as the Hebrew, without reference to an immortal soul.{{efn|
In the ''[[New Testament]]'', "soul" (orig. {{mvar| {{lang|grc|ψυχή}} }}) retains its basic Hebrew sense of meaning. "Soul" refers to one's life: Herod sought Jesus' ''soul'' ({{bibleverse||Matt.|2:20}}); one might save a ''soul'' or take it ({{bibleverse||Mark|3:4}}); death occurs when God "requires your ''soul''" ({{bibleverse||Luke|12:20}}).
}}
''"Soul"'' may refer either to the whole person, the self, as in "three thousand ''souls''" were converted in {{bibleverse||Acts|2:41}} (see {{bibleverse||Acts|3:23}}).

The [[Hebrew Bible]] speaks about ''[[Sheol]]'' (שאול), originally a synonym of the grave – the repository of the dead or the cessation of existence, until the [[Techiyat hamaysim|resurrection of the dead]]. This doctrine of resurrection is mentioned explicitly only in {{bibleverse||Daniel|12:1–4|ESV}} although it may be implied in several other texts. New theories arose concerning Sheol during the [[intertestamental period]].

The views about immortality in Judaism is perhaps best exemplified by the various references to this in [[Second Temple period]]. The concept of resurrection of the physical body is found in {{nobr|[[2 Maccabees]]}}, according to which it will happen through recreation of the flesh.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Maccabees|7.11, 28}}</ref> Resurrection of the dead is specified in detail in the extra-canonical books of [[Book of Enoch|Enoch]],<ref>{{cite book |title=1&nbsp;Enoch |title-link=Book of Enoch |at=61.2, 5}}</ref> and in [[Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch|Apocalypse of Baruch]].<ref>{{cite book |title=2&nbsp;Baruch |title-link=Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch |at=50.2, 51.5}}</ref> According to the British scholar in ancient Judaism [[Philip R. Davies|P.R. Davies]], there is "little or no clear reference ... either to immortality or to resurrection from the dead" in the [[Dead Sea scrolls]] texts.<ref>
{{cite book
 |first=P.R. |last=Davies  |author-link=Philip R. Davies
 |year=2000
 |section=Death, resurrection and life after death in the Qumran Scrolls
 |editor1-first=Alan J. |editor1-last=Avery-Peck
 |editor2-first=Jacob   |editor2-last=Neusner
 |title=Judaism in Late Antiquity
 |volume=Part Four: Death, life-after-death, resurrection, and the World-to-Come in the Judaisms of antiquity
 |page=209
 |place=Leiden
}}
</ref>
Both [[Josephus]] and the [[New Testament]] record that the [[Sadducees]] did not believe in an [[afterlife]],<ref>
{{cite book |author=[[Josephus]] |title=[[Antiquities of the Jews]] |at=18.16 |postscript=;}}
{{bibleverse||Matthew|22.23}}; {{bibleverse||Mark|12.18}}; {{bibleverse||Luke|20.27}}; {{bibleverse||Acts|23.8}}
</ref>
but the sources vary on the beliefs of the [[Pharisees]]. The New Testament claims that the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, but does not specify whether this included the flesh or not.<ref>{{bibleverse||Acts|23.8}}</ref> According to [[Josephus]], who himself was a Pharisee, the Pharisees held that only the soul was immortal and the souls of good people will be [[reincarnation|reincarnated]] and "pass into other bodies", while "the souls of the wicked will suffer eternal punishment."<ref>
{{cite book |author=[[Josephus]] |title=[[The Jewish War|Jewish War]] |at=2.8.14 |postscript=;}} cf.<br/>
{{cite book |author=[[Josephus]] |title=[[Antiquities of the Jews]] |at=8.14–15}}
</ref>
The [[Book of Jubilees]] seems to refer to the resurrection of the soul only, or to a more general idea of an immortal soul.<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Book of Jubilees]] |at=23.31}}</ref>

[[Rabbinic Judaism]] claims that the righteous dead will be resurrected in the [[Messianic Age]], with the coming of the [[messiah in Judaism|messiah]]. They will then be granted immortality in a perfect world. The wicked dead, on the other hand, will not be resurrected at all. This is not the only Jewish belief about the afterlife. The [[Tanakh]] is not specific about the afterlife, so there are wide differences in views and explanations among believers.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

===Dharmic religions===

The perspectives on immortality within [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]] exhibit nuanced differences, with each [[Spirituality|spiritual]] [[tradition]] offering distinctive [[theological]] interpretations and doctrines concerning the [[Eternity|eternal]] essence of the [[human soul]] or [[consciousness]].

====Hinduism====
{{See also|Chiranjivi|Naraka (Hinduism)}}
[[File:Reincarnation AS.jpg|thumb|Representation of a soul undergoing ''[[Reincarnation|punarjanma]]''. Illustration from ''Hinduism Today'', 2004]]

[[Hinduism|Hindus]] believe in an immortal soul which is [[Reincarnation|reincarnated]] after death. According to Hinduism, people repeat a process of life, death, and rebirth in a cycle called ''[[samsara]]''. If they live their life well, their ''[[karma]]'' improves and their station in the next life will be higher, and conversely lower if they live their life poorly. After many life times of perfecting its karma, the soul is freed from the cycle and lives in perpetual bliss.  There is no place of eternal torment in Hinduism, although if a soul consistently lives very evil lives, it could work its way down to the very bottom of the cycle.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

There are explicit renderings in the [[Upanishad]]s alluding to a physically immortal state brought about by purification, and sublimation of the 5 elements that make up the body. For example, in the [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]] (Chapter 2, Verse 12), it is stated "When earth, water, fire, air and sky arise, that is to say, when the five attributes of the elements, mentioned in the books on yoga, become manifest then the yogi's body becomes purified by the fire of yoga and he is free from illness, old age and death."

Another view of immortality is traced to the Vedic tradition by the interpretation of [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]]:
<blockquote>
That man indeed whom these (contacts)<br>do not disturb, who is even-minded in<br>pleasure and pain, steadfast, he is fit<br>for immortality, O best of men.<ref name="Maharishi-Mahesh-Yogi">Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita, a New Translation and Commentary, Chapter 1–6. Penguin Books, 1969, pp. 94–95 (v 15)</ref></blockquote>

To Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the verse means, "Once a man has become established in the understanding of the permanent reality of life, his mind rises above the influence of pleasure and pain. Such an unshakable man passes beyond the influence of death and in the permanent phase of life: he attains eternal life&nbsp;... A man established in the understanding of the unlimited abundance of absolute existence is naturally free from existence of the relative order. This is what gives him the status of immortal life."<ref name="Maharishi-Mahesh-Yogi"/>

An Indian Tamil saint known as [[Vallalar]] claimed to have achieved immortality before disappearing forever from a locked room in 1874.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vallalar.org |title=vallalar.org |publisher=vallalar.org |date=7 July 2010 |access-date=4 November 2010}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=February 2012}}<ref>{{cite book|title=In the Fabled East: A Novel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1RgQC-hw1MC&q=Vallalar+immortality+1874&pg=PA174|author=Adam Schroeder|publisher=[[Douglas & McIntyre|D & M Publishers]]|page=174|isbn=978-1553656159|date=6 March 2010}}</ref>

====Buddhism====
{{Expand section|date=June 2019}}
One of the three marks of existence in Buddhism is [[anattā]], "non-self". This teaching states that the body does not have an eternal soul but is composed of five [[skandhas]] or aggregates. Additionally, another mark of existence is impermanence, also called [[anicca]], which runs directly counter to concepts of immortality or permanence. According to one [[Tibetan Buddhist]] teaching, [[Dzogchen]], individuals can transform the physical body into an immortal [[body of light]] called the [[rainbow body]].{{sfn|Rangdrol|Matthieu|2001|page=153}}

===Ancient religions===

Within the intricate tapestry of ancient religious ideologies, delve into a profound contemplation of the concept of immortality. Simultaneously, broaden the expanse of this intellectual exploration, allowing for a more comprehensive examination of the subject matter.

====Ancient Greek religion====
Immortality in [[ancient Greek religion]] originally always included an eternal union of body and soul as can be seen in [[Homer]], [[Hesiod]], and various other ancient texts. The soul was considered to have an eternal existence in Hades, but without the body the soul was considered dead. Although almost everybody had nothing to look forward to but an eternal existence as a disembodied dead soul, a number of men and women were considered to have gained physical immortality and been brought to live forever in either [[Elysium]], the [[Islands of the Blessed]], heaven, the ocean or literally right under the ground.
Among those humans made immortal were [[Amphiaraus]], [[Ganymede (mythology)|Ganymede]], [[Ino (Greek mythology)|Ino]], [[Iphigenia]], [[Menelaus]], [[Peleus]], and a great number of those who fought in the Trojan and Theban wars. [[Asclepius]] was killed by Zeus, and by [[Apollo]]'s request, was subsequently immortalized as a star.<ref name="ReferenceA">Emma and Ludwig Edelstein, ''Asclepius: Collection and Interpretation of the Testimonies, Volume 1, Page 51</ref><ref name="Sabine G p.47">[[Sabine G. MacCormack]] ''Concise Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology'' p.47</ref><ref name="Theony Condos p.141">Theony Condos, ''Star Myths of the Greeks and Romans'', p.141</ref>

In [[ancient Greek religion]] a number of men and women have been interpreted as being resurrected and made [[#Ancient Greek religion|immortal]]. [[Achilles]], after being killed, was snatched from his funeral pyre by his divine mother [[Thetis]] and brought to an immortal existence in either Leuce, the [[Elysium|Elysian plains]] or the [[Fortunate Isles|Islands of the Blessed]]. [[Memnon (mythology)|Memnon]], who was killed by Achilles, seems to have received a similar fate. [[Alcmene]], [[Castor and Pollux|Castor]], [[Heracles]], and [[Melicertes]], are also among the figures interpreted to have been resurrected to physical immortality. According to [[Herodotus]]'s [[Histories (Herodotus)|''Histories'']], the seventh century BC sage [[Aristeas of Proconnesus]] was first found dead, after which his body disappeared from a locked room. He would reappear alive years later.<ref>Endsjø, ''Greek Resurrection Beliefs'', 54-64; cf. Finney, ''Resurrection, Hell and the Afterlife'', 13-20.</ref> However, Greek attitudes towards resurrection were generally negative, and the idea of resurrection was considered neither desirable nor possible.<ref>[[N.T. Wright]], ''The Resurrection of the Son of God'' (2003), p.53</ref> For example, [[Asclepius]] was killed by Zeus for using herbs to resurrect the dead, but by his father [[Apollo]]'s request, was subsequently immortalized as a star.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="Sabine G p.47"/><ref name="Theony Condos p.141"/>

Writing his ''Lives of Illustrious Men'' ([[Parallel Lives]]) in the first century, the [[Middle Platonism|Middle Platonic]] philosopher [[Plutarch]] in his chapter on [[Romulus]] gave an account of the king's mysterious disappearance and subsequent deification, comparing it to Greek tales such as the physical immortalization of Alcmene and Aristeas the [[Proconnesian]], "for they say Aristeas died in a fuller's work-shop, and his friends coming to look for him, found his body vanished; and that some presently after, coming from abroad, said they met him traveling towards Croton". Plutarch openly scorned such beliefs held in ancient Greek religion, writing, "many such improbabilities do your fabulous writers relate, deifying creatures naturally mortal."<ref>''[[Parallel Lives]], Life of Romulus 28:4-6''</ref> Likewise, he writes that while something within humans comes from the gods and returns to them after death, this happens "only when it is most completely separated and set free from the body, and becomes altogether pure, fleshless, and undefiled."<ref>Collins, Adela Yarbro (2009), ''"Ancient Notions of Transferal and Apotheosis"'', pp 46,51</ref>

The parallel between these traditional beliefs and the later resurrection of Jesus was not lost on early Christians, as [[Justin Martyr]] argued:
: "when we say ... Jesus Christ, our teacher, was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, we propose nothing different from what you believe regarding those whom you consider sons of Zeus."<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Justin Martyr]] |title=First Apology |at=21}}</ref>

The philosophical idea of an immortal soul was a belief first appearing with either [[Pherecydes of Syros|Pherecydes]] or the [[Orphics]], and most importantly advocated by [[Plato]] and his followers. This, however, never became the general norm in Hellenistic thought. As may be witnessed even into the Christian era, not least by the complaints of various philosophers over popular beliefs, many or perhaps most traditional Greeks maintained the conviction that certain individuals were resurrected from the dead and made physically immortal and that others could only look forward to an existence as disembodied and dead, though everlasting, souls.{{sfn|Rohde|1925}}

====Zoroastrianism====
[[Zoroastrian]]s believe that on the fourth day after death, the human soul leaves the body and the body remains as an empty shell. Souls would go to either heaven or hell; these concepts of the afterlife in Zoroastrianism may have influenced Abrahamic religions. The Persian word for "immortal" is associated with the month "Amurdad", meaning "deathless" in Persian, in the [[Iranian calendar]] (near the end of July). The month of Amurdad or [[Ameretat]] is celebrated in Persian culture as ancient Persians believed the "Angel of Immortality" won over the "Angel of Death" in this month.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hoshang |first=J. Bhadha, Dr. |date=nd |title=Effect of wearing cap on Zarathustri Urvaan |website=Zoroastrianism |id=topic&nbsp;33 |url=http://tenets.zoroastrianism.com/topi33.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727145155/http://tenets.zoroastrianism.com/topi33.html |archive-date=27 July 2017 }}</ref>

===Philosophical religions===

Within the realm of philosophical religious paradigms, engage in a profound exploration of the concept of immortality. Simultaneously, expand the breadth and depth of this intellectual inquiry to afford a more intricate examination of the subject matter.

====Taoism====
{{See also|Chinese alchemy|Taoism and death|Xian (Taoism)}}

It is repeatedly stated in the ''[[Lüshi Chunqiu]]'' that death is unavoidable.<ref>{{cite book|last=Creel|first=Herrlee G.|title=What is Taoism?: and other studies in Chinese cultural history|date=1982|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0226120478|page=17}}</ref> [[Henri Maspero]] noted that many scholarly works frame Taoism as a school of thought focused on the quest for immortality.<ref>Maspero, Henri. Translated by Frank A. Kierman, Jr. Taoism and Chinese Religion (University of Massachusetts Press, 1981), p. 211.</ref> Isabelle Robinet asserts that Taoism is better understood as a ''way of life'' than as a religion, and that its adherents do not approach or view Taoism the way non-Taoist historians have done.<ref>Robinet, Isabelle. ''Taoism: Growth of a Religion'' (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997 [original French 1992]), p. 3–4.</ref> In the Tractate of Actions and their Retributions, a traditional teaching, spiritual immortality can be rewarded to people who do a certain amount of good deeds and live a simple, pure life. A list of good deeds and sins are tallied to determine whether or not a mortal is worthy. Spiritual immortality in this definition allows the soul to leave the earthly realms of afterlife and go to pure realms in the Taoist cosmology.<ref>Translated by Legge, James. ''The Texts of Taoism.'' 1962, Dover Press. NY.</ref>