The article deals with representations of the ancient Greeks about the afterlife and the concept of contamination associated with death and the transition into the other world. The purpose of article is to show that the ideas of the afterlife does not change under the influence of religious attitudes and are a result of changes in the social, economic and cultural life of Greek society. The analysis of sources allows to conclude a close relationship between life and the existence of the living dead, that is confirmed by the ancient authors – Homer, Plutarch, Demosthenes, Cicero. It is concluded that the formulation of the theoretical questions in the semantic plane promoted the formation of the Greek identity in the absence of a political, economic, cultural and religious unity of the Greeks.