Gates of hell unearthed by Italian archaeologists is said to be the entry gate to the Underworld; it is linked to the Greco-Roman mythology and tradition. Rivers Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon and Styx were also entrances to the Underworld. The god Hades kidnapped the goddess Persephone from a field in Sicily and led her to the Underworld through a cleft in the earth so he could marry her. Into the medieval period, Mount Etna on Sicily was considered to be an entryway to hell. The gates of hell were commonly depicted as jaws, forming the Hellmouth, which was simultaneously the entrance to hell and
Hell Is the Absence of God novelette is set in a world where the existence of God, souls, heaven, and hell are obvious and indisputable, and where miracles and angelic visitations are commonplace—albeit not necessarily benevolent. The wife of Neil, the main protagonist, is killed by the collateral damage of an angel's visitation. Knowing that his wife has ascended to heaven, the previously non-devout protagonist struggles to achieve the required love of God to join her. The story also follows Janice, a woman born without legs who is made able-bodied in an angelic visitation, and Ethan, who cannot discern the meaning of an angelic encounter he