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In Greek mythology, 'Charon' (in Greek, ''Χάρων'' — ''the bright''^[1]) was the ferryman of Hades. He was the son of Erebus and Nyx.
Charon took the newly dead from one side of the river Acheron (not Styx, as sometimes stated) to the other if they had an obolus to pay for the ride. Those who could not had to wander the banks of the Acheron for one hundred years. Corpses in some regions in ancient Greece were buried with a coin in their mouth to pay the fare.
In various myths, the heroes Heracles, Orpheus, Aeneas, Dionysus and Psyche all journeyed to and from on the boat of Charon. According to Virgil's ''Aeneid'' (book 6), the Cumaean Sibyl directs Aeneas to the golden bough necessary to cross the river while still alive and return to the world. Orpheus also made the trip to the underworld and returned alive.
He was depicted as a cranky, skinny old man or as a winged demon wielding a double hammer. Aristophanes, in ''The Frogs'', had him spewing insults regarding people's girth. In modern times, he is commonly depicted as a living skeleton in a cowl, much like the Grim Reaper or Dickens' Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
It is often said that he ferried souls across the river Styx. This is suggested by Virgil in his ''Aeneid'' (book 6, line 369). However, by most accounts, including Pausanias (x.28) and, later, Dante's ''Inferno'' (book 3, line 78), it was the swamps of the river Acheron.
Dante Alighieri incorporated Charon into his ''Divine Comedy''. He is the same as his Greek counterpart, being paid an obolus to cross Acheron. He is the first named character Dante meets in the underworld, in the third Canto of Inferno.

Contents

In popular culture

See also

References

External links

In popular culture

Main articles: Charon in popular culture

See also

★ Charun - an Etruscan counterpart to Charon

★ Charon (Pluto's moon)

★ Ian Irvine's ''The View from the Mirror''

References

1. Liddell-Scott, Greek-English Lexicon s.v. charôn and charopos

External links