After Plato had the brilliant idea to use a hypothetical reward system in an equally hypothetical afterlife as the ethical foundation of a functioning society, it didn’t take long until picturesque ideas about how the rewards might look like started to spread.
Unsurprisingly, the focus was not so much on positive rewards like eternal bliss, but rather on the peculiarities of punishments.
The Seltún Geothermal Area near Reykjavik provides at least the mandatory ambience of heat and stench.
There are even indications of horned minions ready to pull you under. Clearly, the ground is treacherous here.
Why is it that we take delight in all this unpleasantness?
The Inner Frame 