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 the Book's lesson was that "virtue isn't always rewarded"? In interviews Chiang has explicitly stated that "Hell Is the Absence of God" is "straight fantasy", because it takes place in a universe "in which the scientific method doesn't work". He said it is about "innocent suffering", and the way people devoted to God deal with it. He also said that the novelette examines the role of faith in religion, and suggests that if God undeniably existed, then faith would no longer be applicable. Robert J. Sawyer and David G. Hartwell described "Hell Is the Absence of God" as the "best