We have already mentioned the gloomy figure, which is necessary for the disembodied entity to cross the Edge of the Worlds. Many peoples saw the Edge of the Worlds in the form of a river, often a fiery one (for example, the Slavic Currant River, the Greek Styx and Acheron, etc.). In this regard, it is clear that the creature that takes souls across this line was often perceived in the form boatman-carrier .
This river - Oblivion River, and the passage through it means not only the transfer of the soul from the world of the living to the world of the dead, but also the breaking of any connection, memory, attachment to the Supermundane world. That is why it is a River of no return, because there are no more motives for crossing it. It is clear that the function Carrier, carrying out this rupture of bonds, is critically important for the process of disincarnation. Without his work, the soul will be drawn again and again to places and people dear to it, and, therefore, will turn into utukku- the wandering dead.

Among the Etruscans, at first the role of the Carrier was performed by Turmas(Greek Hermes, who retained this function of the psychopomp - the driver of souls in later mythology), and then - Haru (Harun), who, apparently, was perceived by the Greeks as Charon. The classical mythology of the Greeks shared the idea of ​​the Psychopomp (the “guide” of souls, responsible for the souls leaving the manifested world, the importance of which we have already discussed) and the Carrier, which acts as a guard - the Gatekeeper. Hermes Psychopomp in classical mythology seated his wards in Charon's boat.

Elder Charon (Χάρων - "bright", in the sense of "Sparkling eyes") - the most famous personification of the Carrier in classical mythology. For the first time the name of Charon is mentioned in one of the poems of the epic cycle - Miniade.
Charon transports the dead along the waters of underground rivers, receiving for this a payment of one obol (according to the funeral rite, located under the tongue of the dead). This custom was widespread among the Greeks, not only in the Hellenic, but also in the Roman period. Greek history, was preserved in the Middle Ages and is even observed to the present. Charon transports only those dead, whose bones found rest in the grave. Virgil Charon is an old man covered with mud, with a disheveled gray beard, fiery eyes, in dirty clothes. Protecting the waters of the river Acheron (or Styx), with the help of a pole, he transports shadows on a canoe, and he takes some into the canoe, others, who have not received burial, drives away from the shore. According to legend, Charon was chained for a year for transporting Hercules across Acheron. As a representative of the underworld, Charon later came to be considered a demon of death: in this sense, he passed, under the names of Charos and Charontas, to modern Greeks, who present him either in the form of a black bird descending on his victim, or in the form of a rider pursuing in the air crowd of the dead.

Northern mythology, although it does not focus on the river surrounding the worlds, nevertheless knows about it. On the bridge over this river Gjoll), for example, Hermod meets with the giantess Modgud, who lets him go to Hel, and, apparently, Odin (Harbard) refuses to transport Thor across the same river. Interestingly, in the last episode, the Great Ace himself assumes the function of the Carrier, which once again emphasizes the high status of this usually inconspicuous figure. In addition, the fact that Thor was on the opposite bank of the river indicates that, besides Harbard, there was another boatman for whom such crossings were commonplace.

In the Middle Ages, the idea of ​​the Transportation of Souls was developed and continued. Procopius of Caesarea, historian of the Gothic War (6th century), gives a story about how the souls of the dead are sent by sea to the island of Brittia: “Along the coast of the mainland live fishermen, merchants and farmers. They are subjects of the Franks, but do not pay taxes, because from time immemorial they have had a heavy duty to transport the souls of the dead. Carriers wait in their huts every night for a conventional knock on the door and the voices of invisible creatures calling them to work. Then people immediately get up from their beds, impelled by an unknown force, go down to the shore and find boats there, but not their own, but others', completely ready to go and empty. Carriers get into the boats, take up the oars and see that, from the weight of numerous invisible passengers, the boats are sitting deep in the water, a finger from the side. In an hour they reach the opposite shore, and meanwhile, in their boats, they could hardly have managed to overcome this path in a whole day. Having reached the island, the boats are unloaded and become so light that only the keel touches the water. Carriers do not see anyone on their way and on the shore, but they hear a voice that calls the name, rank and kinship of each arrival, and if this is a woman, then the rank of her husband.

To explain the moment of disincarnation under consideration, Christianity introduces the image of the Angel of Death, often known under the name Azrael (Hebrew "God helped"). In Christianity, the angel of death is sometimes called the archangel Gabriel. In any case, the need for a being to help bridge the threshold between life and death is recognized.

Thus, in addition to a Guide helping the soul to go from life to death, this path requires a figure that makes this process irreversible. It is this function of the Soul Carrier that makes him the darkest character in the disincarnation process.

Charon is a satellite of Pluto

Charon (134340 I) (eng. Charon from Greek Χάρων) is a satellite of Pluto discovered in 1978 (according to another version, it is a smaller component of the Pluto-Charon binary planetary system). With the discovery in 2005 of two other moons - Hydra and Nikta - Charon was also referred to as Pluto I. Named after Charon, the carrier of the souls of the dead across the river Styx in ancient Greek mythology. The New Horizons mission is expected to reach Pluto and Charon in July 2015.

Charon should not be confused with Chiron, a centaur planetoid.

Pluto and Charon (drawing).

Charon is traditionally considered a moon of Pluto. However, there is an opinion that since the center of mass of the Pluto-Charon system is outside Pluto, Pluto and Charon should be considered as a binary planetary system.

According to the draft Resolution 5 of the XXVI General Assembly of the IAU (2006), Charon (along with Ceres and the object 2003 UB 313) was supposed to be assigned the status of a planet. Notes to the draft resolution indicated that Pluto-Charon would then be considered a double planet.

However, the final version of the resolution contained a different solution: the concept of a dwarf planet was introduced. Pluto, Ceres, and the object 2003 UB 313 have been assigned to this new class of objects. Charon was not included among the dwarf planets.

Characteristics

Charon is located 19,640 km from the center of Pluto; the orbit is inclined 55° to the ecliptic. Diameter of Charon is 1212±16 km, mass is 1.9×1021 kg, density is 1.72 g/cm³. One rotation of Charon takes 6.387 days (due to tidal braking, it coincides with the rotation period of Pluto), so Pluto and Charon are constantly facing each other with the same side.

Charon's discovery allowed astronomers to accurately calculate Pluto's mass. Features of the orbits of the outer satellites show that the mass of Charon is approximately 11.65% of the mass of Pluto.

Charon is noticeably darker than Pluto. It seems that these objects differ significantly in composition. While Pluto is covered in nitrogen ice, Charon is covered in water ice and has a more neutral color. It is now believed that the Pluto-Charon system was formed as a result of the collision of independently formed Pluto and proto-Charon; modern Charon was formed from fragments thrown into orbit around Pluto; some of the Kuiper belt objects could also have formed in the process.

CHARON

In Greek mythology, the carrier of the dead in Hades. Depicted as a gloomy old man in rags; Charon transports the dead along the waters of underground rivers, receiving for this a payment of one obol (according to the funeral rite, located under the tongue of the dead). He transports only those dead whose bones have found rest in the grave (Verg. Aen. VI 295-330). Hercules, Pirithous and Tesse and forced Charon to transport them to Hades (VI 385-397). Only a golden branch plucked from the grove of Persephone opens the way for a living person to the kingdom of death (VI 201-211). Showing Charon a golden branch, Sibylla forced him to transport Aeneas (VI 403-416).

Characters and cult objects of Greek mythology. 2012

See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what is CHARON in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

• CHARON
  (Greek) Egyptian Ku-en-wa, hawk-headed Helmsman of the barge, melting Souls through the black waters that separate life from death. Charon, Son of Erebus and Noxa, ...
• CHARON
  - the carrier of the dead through the rivers of the underworld to the gates of Hades; to pay for transportation, a coin was put in the mouth of the deceased. // ...
• CHARON
  (Charon, ?????). Son of Erebus and Night, an old, dirty ferryman in the underworld who transports the shadows of the dead across hellish rivers. Behind …
• CHARON in the Dictionary-Reference Who's Who in the Ancient World:
  In Greek mythology, the carrier of the souls of the dead across the river Acheron in Hades; at the same time, the funeral rites had to be observed and ...
• CHARON in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  
• CHARON in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  in ancient Greek mythology, the carrier of the dead through the rivers of the underworld to the gates of Hades. To pay for transportation, they put the deceased in the mouth ...
• CHARON in encyclopedic dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron:
  (?????, Charon) - in the post-Homeric folk beliefs of the Greeks - a gray-haired carrier. shuttled across the Acheron River to the underworld ...
• CHARON in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  CHARON, in Greek. mythology carrier of the dead through the rivers of the underworld to the gates of Hades; to pay for transportation, the deceased was put in ...
• CHARON in the Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron:
  (?????, Charon) ? in the post-Homeric folk beliefs of the Greeks? gray carrier. shuttled across the Acheron River to the underworld ...
• CHARON in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language:
  carrier, character, ...
• CHARON
  
• CHARON in the New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language Efremova:
  m. An old carrier transporting the shadows of the dead to Hades through the underground rivers Styx and Acheron (in ancient ...
• CHARON in the Dictionary of the Russian Language Lopatin:
  Har'on, ...
• CHARON in the Spelling Dictionary:
  har'on, ...
• CHARON in Modern explanatory dictionary, TSB:
  in Greek mythology, the carrier of the dead through the rivers of the underworld to the gates of Hades; to pay for transportation, they put the deceased in the mouth ...
• CHARON in the Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova:
  Charon m. An old carrier transporting the shadows of the dead to Hades through the underground rivers Styx and Acheron (in ancient ...
• CHARON in the New Dictionary of the Russian Language Efremova:
  m. An old carrier transporting the shadows of the dead to Hades through the underground rivers Styx and Acheron (in ancient ...
• CHARON in the Big Modern Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  m. An old carrier, transporting the shadows of the dead to Hades through the underground rivers Styx and Acheron and receiving for this a coin put in ...
• THE MOST DISTANT PLANETS; "PLUTO - CHARON" in the 1998 Guinness Book of Records:
  The Pluto-Charon system, being at an average distance of 5.914 billion km from the Sun, makes a complete revolution around it in 248.54 ...
• THE SECOND MARTIAN INVASION at the Wiki Quote.
• HADES in the Dictionary Index of Theosophical Concepts to the Secret Doctrine, Theosophical Dictionary:
  (Greek) or Hades. "Invisible", i.e. a land of shadows, one of whose regions was Tartarus, a place of absolute darkness, similar to the region of deep sleep...
• UNDERGROUND GODS in the Dictionary-Reference Myths of Ancient Greece:
  - Hades and his wife Persephone, whom he stole from her mother Demeter, rule in Erebus over all the underground gods ...
• HADES in the Dictionary-Reference Myths of Ancient Greece:
  (Hades, Pluto) - the god of the underworld and the kingdom of the dead. Son of Kronos and Rhea. Brother of Zeus, Demeter and Poseidon. Husband of Persephone. …
• HELL in the Concise Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities:
  (Hades or Hades, - Inferi, "?????). The idea of ​​the underworld, the kingdom of the dead, the dwelling of the god Hades or Pluto, which in ancient times ...

Ancient mythology is a separate part of literature that captivates the reader with its rich world and beautiful language. In addition to the most interesting plots and tales about heroes, it displays the foundations of the universe, indicates the place of a person in it, as well as his dependence on the will, in turn, they often looked like people with their passions, desires and vices. Charon occupied a special place - mythology predetermined for him the place of a carrier between the world of the living and the dead.

What did the world look like?

We will take a closer look at who Charon was and what he looked like. Mythology clearly indicates that in fact there are three lights at once: underground, aboveground and underwater. Although the underwater can be safely attributed to the terrestrial world. So, these three kingdoms were ruled by three brothers, equal in strength and significance: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades among the Greeks (Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto among the Romans). But nevertheless, Zeus the Thunderer was considered the main one, but he did not get involved in the affairs of his brothers.

People inhabited the world of the living - the kingdom of Zeus, but after death their bodies were buried, and the soul went to the abode of Hades. And the first person, if I may say so, whom the soul met on the way to hell, was Charon. Mythology considers him both a carrier and a guard, and probably because he vigilantly watched so that the living did not get into his boat, did not return back, and he took a certain payment for his work.

Ancient Mythology: Charon

The son of Erebus and Nikta, Darkness and Night, the ferryman from the underworld had a boat mangled with worms. It is generally accepted that he transported souls through but, according to another version, he sailed along the Acheron River. Most often, he was described as a very gloomy old man, dressed in rags.

Dante Alighieri, the creator of the Divine Comedy, placed Charon in the first circle of hell. Probably, it was here that the underground river that separated the world of the living and the dead carried its waters. Virgil acted as Dante's guide and ordered the ferryman to take the poet into his boat alive. What appeared before him, what did Charon look like? Roman mythology does not contradict Hellenic: the old man had a frightening appearance. His braids were disheveled, tangled and gray, his eyes burned with a fierce fire.

There is one more nuance that mythology mentions: Charon transported only in one direction and only those people who were buried in graves with the performance of all rites. And one of the prerequisites was to provide the deceased with a coin, with which he could pay the carrier. The obol was placed under the tongue of the dead, and it is likely that without money it was impossible to get into the ancient hell.

Charon and living people

Now the reader knows what Charon looked like (mythology). The photo, of course, is missing, but many artists depicted on their canvases a gloomy old god from the underworld. As you know, the carrier put in his boat without any problems dead Souls by charging a fee for it. If souls came across who did not have an obol, then they had to wait a hundred years to get to the other side for free.

However, there were also living people who, by their own will or by someone else, went to Hades before their time. Virgil's Aeneid says that only a branch from a golden tree growing in the grove of Persephone (wife of Hades) could serve as a pass for them. It was she who took advantage of Aeneas at the prompt of the Sibyl.

By cunning, Orpheus forced himself to be transported to the other side: no one from the world of the living and the dead, neither gods nor mortals, could resist the sounds of his golden cithara. Hercules, performing one of his labors, also came to Hades. But the god Hermes helped him - he ordered to deliver the dead to the ruler of the world. According to another version, the hero forced Charon to transport him by force, for which the carrier was later punished by Pluto.

Charon in art

Charon did not appear in mythology immediately. Homer did not mention him in his epics, but already at the end of the 6th century. BC e. this character appeared and firmly took his place. He was often depicted on vases, his image was used in plays (Aristophanes, Lucian, Prodik). Often, artists resorted to this character. And the brilliant Renaissance artist Michelangelo, working on the design in the Vatican, painted Charon on the canvas “The Day of the Last Judgment”. The gloomy deity of the ancient world does its job here too, only transporting the souls of sinners, and not all the dead in a row.

Rivers Aida Styx and Acheron. - Carrier Charon. - God Hades (Pluto) and goddess Persephone (Proserpina). - Judges of the kingdom of Hades Minos, Aeacus and Rhadamanthus. - The Trinity Goddess Hekate. - Goddess Nemesis. - The kingdom of the dead by the ancient Greek artist Polygnotus. - Sisyphean labor, Tantalum's torment, Ixion's wheel. - Barrel Danaid. - The myth of the Champs Elysees (Elysium).

Rivers Aida Styx and Acheron

According to the myths of ancient Greece, the globe there were countries where eternal night reigned and the sun never rose over them. In such a country, the ancient Greeks placed the entrance to Tartarus- the underground kingdom of the god Hades (Pluto), the kingdom of the dead in Greek mythology.

The kingdom of the god Hades was irrigated by two rivers: Acheron and Styx. The gods swore in the name of the river Styx, pronouncing oaths. Oaths river Styx were considered inviolable and terrible.

The River Styx rolled its black waves through the silent valley and circled the realm of Hades nine times.

Carrier Charon

Acheron, a dirty and muddy river, was guarded by a ferryman Charon. The myths of ancient Greece describe Charon in this form: in dirty clothes, with an uncombed long white beard, Charon steers his boat with one oar, in which he transports the shadows of the dead, whose bodies are already buried on earth; Charon mercilessly repels those deprived of burial, and these shadows are condemned to wander forever, not finding rest (Virgil).

Ancient art depicted the ferryman Charon so rarely that Charon's type became known only through poets. But in the Middle Ages, the gloomy carrier Charon appears on some monuments of art. Michelangelo placed Charon in his famous work "The Day of the Last Judgment", depicting Charon carrying sinners.

For transportation across the Acheron River, it was necessary to pay the carrier of souls. This belief was so rooted among the ancient Greeks that a small Greek coin was put in the mouth of the dead. obol to pay Charon. The ancient Greek writer Lucian mockingly notes: “It didn’t occur to people whether this coin was in use in the underground kingdom of Hades, and they also didn’t realize that it would be better not to give this coin to the dead, because then Charon would not want to transport them, and they might return to the living again.”

As soon as the shadows of the dead were transported through Acheron, the dog Aida met them on the other side. Cerberus(Kerberus), having three heads. Lay Cerberus so terrified the dead that it took away from them even any thought of the possibility of returning to where they came from.

God Hades (Pluto) and Goddess Persephone (Proserpina)

Judges of the Kingdom of Hades Minos, Aeacus and Rhadamanthus

Then the shadows of the dead were to appear before the god Hades (Pluto), the king of Tartarus, and the goddess Persephone (Proserpina), the wife of Hades. But the god Hades (Pluto) did not judge the dead, this was done by the judges of Tartarus: Minos, Aeacus and Rhadamanthus. According to Plato, Aeacus judged the Europeans, Rhadamanthus - the Asians (Radamanth was always depicted in an Asian costume), and Minos, at the behest of Zeus, had to judge and decide doubtful cases.

A well-preserved painting on an ancient vase depicts the kingdom of Hades (Pluto). In the middle is the house of Hades. The god Hades himself, the lord of the underworld, sits on a throne, holding a scepter in his hand. Near Hades stands Persephone (Proserpina) with a lit torch in her hand. Above, on both sides of the house of Hades, the righteous are depicted, and below: to the right - Minos, Aeacus and Rhadamanthus, to the left - Orpheus plays the lyre, below are sinners, among whom you can recognize Tantalus by his Phrygian clothes and Sisyphus by the rock that he rolls.

Trinity Goddess Hekate

According to the myths of ancient Greece, the goddess Persephone (Proserpine) was not given an active role in the kingdom of Hades. The goddess Tartarus Hecate called on the goddesses of vengeance Furies (Eumenides), who seized and took possession of sinners.

The goddess Hekate was the patroness of magic and spells. The goddess Hekate was depicted as three women joined together. This, as it were, allegorically explains that the power of the goddess Hecate extended to heaven, earth and the kingdom of Hades.

Initially, Hecate was not the goddess of Hades, but she gave Europe blush and thus, as it were, aroused the admiration and love of Zeus (Jupiter). The jealous goddess Hera (Juno) began to pursue Hekate. The goddess Hekate had to hide from Hera under the funeral clothes and thus became unclean. Zeus ordered to cleanse the goddess Hekate in the waters of the Acheront River, and since then Hekate has become the goddess of Tartarus, the underworld kingdom of Hades.

Goddess Nemesis

Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, played in the kingdom of the god Hades almost the same role as the goddess Hekate.

The goddess Nemesis was depicted with her arm bent at the elbow, which hinted at the elbow - a measure of length in antiquity: “I, Nemesis, hold the elbow. Why, you ask? Because I remind everyone not to exceed the limits.

The kingdom of the dead by the ancient Greek artist Polygnotus

The ancient Greek author Pausanias describes a painting by the artist Polygnotus depicting the realm of the dead: “First of all, you see the river Acheron. The banks of Acheron are covered with reeds; fish are visible in the water, but these are more fish shadows than living fish. There is a boat on the river, the carrier Charon is rowing in the boat. You can't really tell who Charon is transporting. But not far from the boat, Polygnot depicted the torture that a cruel son undergoes when he dares to raise a hand against his father: it consists in the fact that his own father is forever strangling him. Beside this sinner stands a wicked man who dared to plunder the temples of the gods; a woman mixes poisons, which he must drink forever, while experiencing terrible torment. In those days, people honored and feared the gods; therefore, the artist placed the wicked in the kingdom of Hades, as one of the worst sinners.

Sisyphean labor, Tantalum's agony, Ixion's wheel

Almost no depiction of the kingdom of the dead has been preserved in the art of antiquity. Only from the descriptions of ancient poets do we know about some sinners and about the tortures they were subjected to in the realm of the dead for their crimes. For example,

• Ixion (wheel of Ixion),
• Sisyphus (Sisyphean labor),
• Tantalum (Tantalum flour),
• daughters of Danae - Danaids (barrel Danaids).

Ixion offended the goddess Hera (Juno), for which in the kingdom of Hades he was tied by snakes to a wheel that always turned ( Ixion wheel).

The robber Sisyphus had to roll a huge rock to the top of the mountain in the kingdom of Hades, but as soon as the rock touched this peak, an invisible force threw it into the valley, and the unfortunate sinner Sisyphus, sweating, had to start his difficult, useless work again ( Sisyphean labor).

Tantalus, king of Lydia, decided to test the omniscience of the gods. Tantalus invited the gods to a feast, slaughtered his own son Pelops and prepared a dish from Pelops, thinking that the gods would not know what a terrible dish was in front of them. But only one goddess Demeter (Ceres), dejected by grief due to the disappearance of her daughter Persephone (Proserpina), accidentally ate a piece of Pelops' shoulder. Zeus (Jupiter) ordered the god Hermes (Mercury) to collect the pieces of Pelops, put them together again and revive the child, and make the missing shoulder of Pelops out of ivory. Tantalus for his cannibal feast was sentenced in the kingdom of Hades to stand up to his neck in water, but - as soon as Tantalus, tormented by thirst, wanted to get drunk - the water left him. Over the head of Tantalus in the kingdom of Hades hung branches with beautiful fruits, but as soon as Tantalus, hungry, stretched out his hand to them, they rose to heaven ( Tantalum flour).

Barrel Danaid

One of the most interesting tortures in the kingdom of Hades, which the rich imagination of the ancient Greeks came up with, is the one that the daughters of Danae (Danaida) were subjected to.

Two brothers, descendants of the unfortunate Jo, Egypt and Danai, had: the first - fifty sons, and the second - fifty daughters. The dissatisfied and indignant people, incited by the sons of Egypt, forced Danae to retire to Argos, where he taught the people to dig wells, for which he was elected king. Soon the sons of his brother came to Argos. The sons of Egypt began to seek reconciliation with their uncle Danai and wished to take his daughters (Danaid) as their wives. Danai, seeing this as an opportunity to immediately take revenge on his enemies, agreed, but persuaded his daughters to kill him in wedding night husbands.

All the Danaids, except for one, Hypermnestra, carried out the order of Danae, brought him the severed heads of their husbands and buried them in Lerna. For this crime, the Danaids were sentenced in Hades to forever pour water into a barrel that had no bottom.

It is believed that the myth of the Danaid barrel hints that the Danaids personify the rivers and springs of that country, which dry up there every summer. An ancient bas-relief that has survived to this day depicts the torture that the Danaids are subjected to.

The myth of the Champs Elysees (Elysium)

The opposite of the terrible kingdom of Hades are the Champs Elysees (Elysium), the seat of the sinless.

On the Champs Elysees (in Elysium), according to the description of the Roman poet Virgil, the forests are evergreen, the fields are covered with luxurious harvests, the air is clean and transparent.

Some blissful shadows on the soft green grass of the Champs Elysees exercise their dexterity and strength in wrestling and games; others, rhythmically hitting the ground with sticks, chant verses.

Orpheus, playing the lyre in Elysium, extracts harmonious sounds from it. Shadows also lie under the canopy of laurel trees and listen to the cheerful murmur of the transparent springs of the Champs Elysees (Elysium). There, in these blissful places, are the shadows of wounded warriors who fought for the fatherland, priests who have maintained chastity all their lives, poets whom the god Apollo inspired, all those who ennobled people through art, and those whose good deeds left a memory of themselves, and all they are crowned with the snow-white bandage of the sinless.

ZAUMNIK.RU, Egor A. Polikarpov - scientific editing, scientific proofreading, design, selection of illustrations, additions, explanations, translations from Latin and ancient Greek; all rights reserved.

Styx, the mythical river of the dead, is known not only for being a link between the world of the living and the otherworldly kingdom of Hades. A large number of myths and legends are associated with it. For example, Achilles received his strength when he was dipped into the Styx, Hephaestus came to its waters to temper Daphne's sword, and some heroes swam across it while still alive. What is the River Styx and what power do its waters have?

Styx in Greek mythology

Ancient Greek myths tell us that Styx is the eldest daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. Her husband was the titan Pallant, from whom she bore several children. Also, according to one version, Persephone was her daughter, born of Zeus.

Styx took the side of Zeus in his battle with Kronos, taking an active part in it. She made a significant contribution to the victory over the titans, for which she received great honor and respect. Since then, the river Styx has become a symbol of a sacred oath, breaking which was considered unacceptable even for a god. Those who violated the oath by the waters of the Styx were severely punished. However, Zeus was always supportive of Styx and her children because they always helped him and were faithful.

River in the realm of the dead

What is the River Styx? The mythology of the ancient Greeks says that there are places on earth where the sun never looks, so eternal darkness and gloom reign there. It is there that the entrance to the possessions of Hades - Tartarus is located. Several rivers flow in the realm of the dead, but the Styx is the darkest and most terrible of them. The river of the dead goes around the kingdom of Hades nine times, and its waters are black and muddy.

According to legend, Styx originates far in the west, where night reigns. Here is the magnificent palace of the goddess, the silver columns of which, which are streams of a spring falling from a height, reach the heavens. These places are uninhabited, and even the gods do not visit here. An exception can be considered Iris, who occasionally arrived for the sacred water of Styx, with the help of which the gods made their oaths. Here, the waters of the source go underground, where horror and death live.

There is one legend that says that once the Styx flowed in the northern part of Arcadia, and Alexander the Great was poisoned with water taken from this river. Dante Alighieri in his "Divine Comedy" used the image of a river in one of the circles of hell, only there it appeared as a dirty swamp in which sinners get bogged down forever.

Carrier Charon

The crossing to the kingdom of the dead is guarded by Charon, a ferryman on the river Styx. In the myths of ancient Greece, he is depicted as a gloomy old man with a long and unkempt beard, and his attire is dirty and shabby. Charon's duties include transporting the souls of the dead across the River Styx, for which he has a small boat and a single oar at his disposal.

It was believed that Charon rejected the souls of those people whose bodies were not properly buried, so they were forced to wander forever in search of peace. Also in antiquity, there was a belief that it was necessary to pay the ferryman Charon to cross the Styx. To do this, during burial, the relatives of the deceased put a small coin in his mouth, which he could use in the underworld of Hades. By the way, a similar tradition existed among many peoples of the world. The custom of putting money in a coffin is observed by some people to this day.

Analogues of Styx and Charon

The River Styx and its guardian Charon are quite characteristic images describing the transition of the soul to another world. Having studied mythology different peoples, you can see similar examples in other beliefs. For example, among the ancient Egyptians, the duties of an escort to the afterlife, which also had its own river of the dead, were performed by the dog-headed Anubis, who brought the soul of the deceased to the throne of Osiris. Anubis looks very similar to gray wolf, which, according to the beliefs of the Slavic peoples, also accompanied souls to another world.

AT ancient world there were many legends and traditions, sometimes they could not correspond or even contradict each other. For example, according to some myths, the ferryman Charon transported souls not through the Styx, but through another river - Acheron. There are also other versions regarding its origin and further role in mythology. Nevertheless, the River Styx today is the personification of the transition of souls from our world to the afterlife.