Hades vs Valhalla

Cattle die, kindred die, 

Every man is mortal: 

But the good name never dies 

Of one who has done well.

Cattle die, kindred die, 

Every man is mortal: 

But I know one thing that never dies, 

The glory of the great dead.

Edda Poética. Ditos do Grande Odin [76-77].

I shall leave my scrolls, like the potter's cup and the sculptor's marble, for what they're worth. Marble can break, the cup is a crock thrown in the well; paper burns warm on a winter night. I have seen too much pass away. So when they come to me, as they do from King Hieron down, asking about the days before they were begotten, I tell them what deserves remembrance, even if it keeps me up when I crave for bed. The true songs are still in the minds of men.

Mary Renault. The Praise Singer.The Pitman Press (1979)