Gerald O Collins

The proponents of purgatory say it has roots that date back into antiquity. A sort of proto-purgatory called the "celestial Hades" appears in the writings of secular philosophers, including Plato, and Heraclides Ponticus, and many other Classical writers. This concept is distinguished from the Hades of the underworld described in the works of Homer and Hesiod. In contrast, the celestial Hades was understood as an intermediary place where souls spent an undetermined time after death before either…