There have been ancient writings and traditions that describe experiences remarkably similar to modern Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)—where
a person is presumed dead or near death, experiences a journey or
vision outside the body, and then returns to life. While these accounts
were not called "NDEs" in ancient times, they contain familiar elements
such as out-of-body experiences, encounters with light or divine beings, panoramic life reviews, and a reluctance to return to the body.
Here are notable examples from ancient texts and traditions:
🏛️ 1. Plato’s Republic – The Myth of Er
Date: ~4th century BCE
Source: Book 10 of The Republic
Plato tells the story of Er, a soldier who died in battle. Twelve days later, as his body was being prepared for burial, he suddenly revived and described what he had seen:
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His soul left his body and traveled through a spiritual realm.
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He observed judgments of souls, some ascending to a heavenly realm, others descending into punishment.
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He saw the cosmic structure of the universe, including the "Spindle of Necessity."
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Er was sent back to the body to tell others of what he had seen.
➡️ Modern NDE parallels: Out-of-body experience, journey through spiritual realms, vision of afterlife, and a mission to return with a message.
📜 2. Tibetan Buddhism – The Bardo Thodol ("Tibetan Book of the Dead")
Date: Composed ~8th century CE (oral traditions much earlier)
This text is a guide for the consciousness ("nam shes") navigating the bardo, the intermediate state between death and rebirth.
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It describes the soul’s departure from the body.
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The soul encounters luminous beings, deities, and experiences a life review.
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The text prepares one to recognize illusions and potentially attain liberation.
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Though not describing revival to life, many features are NDE-like.
➡️ Modern NDE parallels: Dissolution of the ego, life review, light beings, and transcendental realms.
📖 3. Islamic Writings – Visions at the Time of Death
Source: Kitab al-Ruh by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (~14th century CE)
This text collects Islamic thoughts and hadiths on the soul’s journey after death. There are anecdotes where dying individuals report:
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Seeing angels of light or darkness.
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Their souls leaving the body through the nose or mouth.
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A sense of peace or dread depending on their spiritual state.
➡️ While these are often not followed by return to life, they echo modern NDE sensations, especially in Muslim NDEs today.
✝️ 4. Early Christian and Gnostic Texts
Examples:
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The Apocalypse of Paul (3rd–4th century CE): Paul is taken to the third heaven and sees rewards and punishments. (Similar to 2 Corinthians 12:2).
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The Acts of Thomas: The apostle describes the soul's journey after death and the "robe of glory" it regains.
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The Gospel of Mary: Mary Magdalene recounts teachings from Jesus about the soul’s ascent through spiritual realms after death.
➡️ Though often metaphorical or visionary, these texts show a concept of consciousness beyond death and journeys through realms of spirit and light.
🪔 5. Zoroastrianism – Arda Viraf’s Journey
Date: ~3rd–7th century CE
Source: The Book of Arda Viraf
Arda Viraf, a devout priest, drinks a sacred wine and his soul departs his body for seven days. He journeys to the spiritual realms, observing heaven and hell, and returns to describe it.
➡️ He experiences out-of-body travel, judgment scenes, radiant beings, and cosmic order—very NDE-like.
🧘 6. Hinduism – The Upanishads and Bhagavata Purana
While not describing modern NDEs directly, several texts speak of:
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The soul (Atman) leaving the body.
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Passing through light tunnels, judgment, and return.
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Saints and sages temporarily departing and coming back with revelations.
➡️ In Srimad Bhagavatam, the story of Ajamila involves Yamadhutas (messengers of death) coming to collect his soul, only for it to be saved and returned by Vishnu’s agents.
🧠 Summary Table
| Tradition | Person/Event | Elements of NDE |
|---|---|---|
| Greek | Er (Plato's Republic) | Out-of-body, life review, spiritual realm, return |
| Tibetan Buddhism | Bardo states | Soul journey, divine light, illusions |
| Zoroastrian | Arda Viraf | Spiritual travel, judgment, return |
| Islamic | Hadith traditions | Soul separation, angelic encounters |
| Christian/Gnostic | Paul, Mary Magdalene | Soul ascent, visions of heaven/hell |
| Hindu | Ajamila’s deliverance | Soul pulled by angels, return to life |
🕊️ 1. Aristeas, 7th century BC (Greek poet)
According to Herodotus, Aristeas reportedly died suddenly in a shop, his body prepared for burial, yet was encountered alive on the road near Cyzicus—later reappearing alive years afterward—suggesting his soul left and returned, akin to an NDE (reformjudaism.org, en.wikipedia.org).
⚱️ 2. Egyptian Osirian Initiates (~1st millennium BC)
In initiation rites modeled after Osiris's death, a priest would enter a sarcophagus, simulate death, enter an ecstatic state, experience his soul’s separation and journey toward "light," and then return to the living—an early form of ritualized NDE .
✡️ 3. Jewish Tradition – Midrash & Mystical Texts
Post-biblical Jewish midrash recounts that “for three days after death the soul hovers above the body, intending to reenter” (Lev. Rabbah). Such souls might receive greetings by angels or loved ones before returning (reformjudaism.org).
📜 4. Orphic and Dionysian Mysteries (Greece, 5th–4th century BC)
Gold “Orphic tablets” placed with the deceased offer instructions for guiding the soul through the underworld, avoiding Lethe’s forgetfulness and aiding passage through obstacles—suggesting a conscious post-death journey (en.wikipedia.org).
👤 5. Greek Poet Orpheus
In myth and orphic mystery traditions, Orpheus journeys into Hades, failing to retrieve Eurydice but returning to the living, and later his own soul re-enters after bodily dismemberment or death—symbolizing profound death and return cycles (en.wikipedia.org).
🏺 6. Egyptian Duat Texts (e.g. Amduat)
New Kingdom funerary texts describe the soul’s journey through twelve underworld “hours,” facing judgment, and eventual rebirth alongside Ra at dawn—a spiritual return from beyond, evocative of NDE pathways (en.wikipedia.org).
These accounts, across Greek, Egyptian, and Jewish traditions, contain remarkable parallels to the core elements of modern NDEs:
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Apparent death or simulated death
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Soul separation from the body
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Tours of underworld/cosmic realms
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Judgment, light experiences, or divine contact
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Return to life with transformative insight
📚 Additional Ancient Testimonies of Returning from Death
1. Aridaeus (4th–3rd century BCE, Greece)
A lesser-known Greek figure, Aridaeus recounted that his spirit departed through his head, floated above his physical body, saw a cosmic panorama of the afterlife, then re-entered upon revival. This journey led him to live a more virtuous life (listverse.com).
2. Timarchus of Sinope (Hellenistic Greece)
In a documented case, Timarchus’s spirit reportedly left via his head wound, experienced a detachment from pain, witnessed afterlife regions, then returned—mirroring modern clinical NDEs where consciousness persists despite brain injury (citeseerx.ist.psu.edu).
3. Sumerian Myth: Inanna’s Descent (c. 1600 BCE)
In the Descent of Inanna, the goddess plunges into the Underworld, dies, and is revived by divine intervention—returning to life transformed and carrying wisdom. This myth predates many NDE-like narratives (en.wikipedia.org).
4. Egyptian Myth: Osiris and the Book of Gates (c. 2400 BCE)
Osiris is killed, dismembered, then reassembled and resurrected by Isis and priests. The Book of Gates describes souls passing through perilous stages into eventual rebirth, symbolic of returning from death (en.wikipedia.org).
5. Chinese Two-Soul Doctrine (Hun and P’o)
Ancient Chinese belief held that one soul (the hun) could depart and return while the body lived, whereas the p’o remained attached—suggesting a built-in return mechanism after near-death events (digital.library.unt.edu).
6. Japanese Ikiryō (Folk Tradition)
In Japan, the concept of ikiryō describes the living soul leaving one’s body—often unintentionally—manifesting elsewhere and possibly returning with no fatal consequences; sometimes preceding death (en.wikipedia.org).
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