Definition of "chthonian" [chtho•ni•an]

• Pertaining to the underworld; being beneath the earth. (adjective)

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• "In early times the Greek worship was most earnestly directed to that set of deities who resided at the gloomy centre of the earth, and who were called the chthonian gods. 66 The hope of immortality first sprung up and was nourished in connection with this worship."
• "Perhaps the smell of blood, dark and chthonian, at the precise moment that the bird screamed, awakened something deep and intrinsic in what remained of Pan's consciousness."
• "Hall, Etruscan Italy 1996, p.70: "In the Near East, eggs were considered symbols of fertility, life-giving power, and, ultimately, resurrection; and the Etruscans' paintings and artifacts suggest that they, too, viewed the egg as a chthonian motif.""