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Most of you guys have heard of a Grim Reaper, and if not in those exact words, you at least know of a hooded skeletal figure that collects souls and transfers them into the afterlife. Sometimes, he’s shown to be carrying an hourglass, waiting for your time to run out. Just knowing this much induced a stream of chills down my body!
What exactly is he? Where did he come from? And how far back can you trace him?
The Grim Reaper, as he is often referred to, is the personification of Death. In western cultures, he is usually portrayed as a skeletal figure in a long hooded robe carrying a sickle which he uses to collect the souls of the dead and carry them to their afterlife. Just describing this dude is so cool. I would do whatever it takes to meet him - kill myself! (pun intended)
There are various versions of him from all over the world, blurred with other mythical creatures and stories. I myself, am aware of only two; Azrael (the angel of death) and Shinigami (the death god).
The Islamic belief calls our grim reaper the angel of death, otherwise known as Azrael. He never knows when people are meant to die until God tells him. He is portrayed to be a very kind angel, whose role includes helping the ones dying to make peace with God, and counseling those grieving for their loved ones who just passed away.
The Japanese belief calls our grim reaper “Death God”, commonly known as Shinigami; the mythical creature that you have all probably come across watching the all-time-famous anime, Death Note. Shinigami’s are similar to the western version of the grim reaper, except there are many of them and they like to work in pairs usually. They make sure that the individual dies when the time comes, and do not do any of the killing themselves. After the individual dies, they take them to the underworld. They are depicted to be dark and nasty and can only be seen by the ones that are about to die.
Death is usually imagined to be a personified force. In my opinion, its simply the doings of a mythical omen known as the Grim Reaper.
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