First Prison

The First Prison, or Limbo, is the first area of the Underworld. Souls who have newly arrived, after departing Charon's boat, must all pass through this region, which is the location of the Hall of Judgment (Sabaki no Yakata (裁き の 館)). Here the dead are judged by the Three Judges of the Underworld, who decide which part of the Underworld a soul must descend to, and assign the appropriate punishment for the souls of the wicked. Lying to the Judges is not possible; they can see through all deception. Depending on the nature of the judged soul, they are either sent to another area of the Underworld for punishment or, in the case of a righteous soul, on to Elysion.

The Hall is a huge palace with a long wide staircase, which ascends to a porch full of columns supporting a gable roof, all made of white stone. Beyond the columns is a large set of wooden double doors and sides with large windows bearing the same design as the door. Stairs lead up to a throne upon which the guarding Specter judges the dead. No one is permitted to speak out of turn once inside.



This building is usually under the guardianship of Griffin Minos, the chief Judge, but this position was handed over to Balron Lune. To aid him, Lune was given a special book belonging to Minos, which chronicles the life of every human, and is used to determine where the souls of the dead go. Surprisingly, when Lune browses the pages of the registry for the sins of Seiya and Shun, the pages are written in French.

Trivia

 * This circle's name, Limbo, is taken from Dante's Divine Comedy. In Dante's work, Limbo was the first circle of Hell and held the souls of the dead who were righteous, but who were either never baptized or did not worship God; they lived in a splendid hall filled with light. The only punishment they must suffer, due to their good nature is, having not known God in life, they are left out of God's presence and can never see Him. Additionally, beyond this circle is the mythic Minos, reimagined as a monster, who judges the dead by wrapping a tail around himself; the number of times the tail wraps around is the number of the circle the judged soul must descend to.
 * This circle has a partial resemblance to the Fields of Asphodel in Greek Mythology. Here, the dead gathered to be judged by Minos, Aiacos and Rhadamanthys.

Appearances

 * Saint Seiya (debut)