# Etymology of "Alesian Fields" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-alesian-fields/185574 "2003-07-01T14:11:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-alesian-fields/185574/1 "2003-07-01T14:11:59Z")
I watched Caesar the last two nights on TNN (excellent movie by the way) and in it, the story featured Caesar’s Siege of Alesia during his Gaul campaign. This got me to thinking… is this Alesia related somehow to the phrase “Alesian Fields?” I thought Alesian Fields was somewhere heros went when they died in Ancient Greece, though I wasn’t sure. I did an online search using most of the standard etymology search sites to no avail. Apparently there is an Alesian Fields RPG about horses or some such nonsense. Here’re my questions… To what does “Alesian Fields” refer? Is it related to the Gaul stronghold of Alesia? Li’l help? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-alesian-fields/185574/2 "2003-07-01T14:14:18Z")
I’m familiar with Elysian Fields, not the one you mention. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-alesian-fields/185574/3 "2003-07-01T14:21:10Z")
try “Elysian (or Elysium)” From [http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/elysian\_fields.html](http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/elysian_fields.html) > [@](#): > > Paradise of the heroes, either in the Underworld or in the far West. Here the likes of Achilles lived on in splendid company, in pleasant surroundings, in heroic pursuits of the hunt and banquet. By virtue of his spectacularly heroic achievements, Heracles was given a Home on Mount Olympus and a goddess for a wife. But part of him had come not from his father Zeus but from his mortal mother Alcmene, and that part was sent to the Underworld. As a phantasm it eternally roams the Elysian Fields in the company of other heroes. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-alesian-fields/185574/4 "2003-07-01T14:21:53Z")
bZeldar\*\* is right, though a bit brief. The Elysian Fields are the ones Greek heros purportedly went after death. > [@](#): > > Elysium, in Greek religion and mythology, happy otherworld for heroes favored by the gods. Identified with the Fortunate Isles or Isles of the Blest, Elysium was situated in the distant west, at the edge of the world. In later tradition and in Vergil, Elysium is a part of the underworld and a pleasant abode for the righteous dead. from [Bartleby.com](http://www.bartleby.com/65/el/Elysianf.html) ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-alesian-fields/185574/5 "2003-07-01T14:22:55Z")
Simulpost _and_ a coding error. This is not a good day. ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-alesian-fields/185574/6 "2003-07-01T14:27:46Z")
'Tis amazing how much time I waste due to incorrect spelling. Thanks all… Bartleby’s had what I needed.