Michelangelo's rendition of Charon.

In Greek mythology, Charon (in Greek, Χάρων — the bright^[1]) was the ferryman of Hades. He was the son of Erebus and Nyx. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Michelangelo (disambiguation). ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... The ferryboat Dongan Hills, filled with commuters, about to dock at a New York City pier, ca. ... Hades, Greek god of the underworld, enthroned, with his bird-headed staff, on a red-figure Apulian vase made in the 4th century BC. For other uses, see Hades (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology Erebus (Έρεβος Erebos, Deep blackness/darkness or shadow from Ancient Greek Έρεβος) was the son of a primordial God, Chaos, the personification of darkness and shadow, which filled in all the corners and crannies of the world. ... In Greek mythology, Nyx (, Nox in Roman translation) was the primordial goddess of the night. ...

Charon took the newly dead across the river Acheron or Styx 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 or burned with 2 gold coins, called an aureus on their eyes to pay the fare. Acheron river near the village of Glyki. ... Styx may refer to: Styx (band), an American rock band popular in the 1970s and 1980s Styx (album), the first album released by the band Styx in 1972 Styx forest, a forest in Tasmania, Australia Styx (Game), a 1983 game by Windmill Software Styx (MUD), a text-based game Styx... The obolus (or obol) is a Greek silver coin worth a sixth of a drachma. ...

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. Alcides redirects here. ... For other uses, see Orpheus (disambiguation). ... Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598. ... This article is about the ancient deity. ... The Abduction of Psyche by William Bouguereau The tale of Cupid and Psyche first appeared as a digressionary story told by an old woman in Lucius Apuleius novel, The Golden Ass, written in the second century AD. Apuleius probably used an earlier folk-tale as the basis for his story... For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ... Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598 Galleria Borghese, Rome The Aeneid (IPA English pronunciation: ; in Latin Aeneis, pronounced — the title is Greek in form: genitive case Aeneidos) is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC (between 29 and 19 BC) that tells the legendary story... Michelangelos rendering of the Cumaean Sibyl The Cumaean Sibyl was the priestess presiding over the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, a Greek colony located near Naples, Italy. ... Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598. ... For other uses, see Orpheus (disambiguation). ...

Charon 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. This article is about the 5-4th century BC dramatist. ... Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Frogs Frogs (Βάτραχοι (Bátrachoi)) is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. ... A Roman Catholic monk wearing a cowl The cowl (from the Latin, cuculla) is a long, outer garment, with wide sleeves, worn by Catholic monks when participating in the liturgy. ... Death, personified is an anthropomorphic figure or a fictional character who has existed in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. ... The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in 1982 animated version of A Christmas Carol. ...

Most accounts, including Pausanias (x.28) and, later, Dante's Inferno (book 3, line 78), associate Charon with the swamps of the river Acheron. Nevertheless, it is a popular notion that he ferried souls across the river Styx. This is suggested by Virgil in his Aeneid (book 6, line 369): Pausanias (Greek: ) was a Greek traveller and geographer of the 2nd century A.D., who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. ... Dante in a fresco series of famous men by Andrea del Castagno, ca. ... In Greek mythology, Styx (Στυξ) is the name of a river which formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld, Hades. ...

There Charon stands, who rules the dreary coast -

A sordid god: down from his hoary chin

A length of beard descends, uncomb'd, unclean;

His eyes, like hollow furnaces on fire;

A girdle, foul with grease, binds his obscene attire.

Dante Alighieri also described Charon in 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. Hermes Psykhopompos: sitting on a rock, the god is preparing to lead a dead soul to the Underworld, Attic white-ground lekythos, ca. ... Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1874) (Tate Gallery, London In Greek mythology, Persephone (Greek Περσεφόνη, Persephónē) was the Queen of the Underworld of epic literature. ... Hades, Greek god of the underworld, enthroned, with his bird-headed staff, on a red-figure Apulian vase made in the 4th century BC. For other uses, see Hades (disambiguation). ... Front face of the MINOS far detector. ... In Greek mythology, Aeacus (Greek: Aiakos, bewailing or earth borne) was king in the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf. ... In Greek myths, Rhadamanthus (Ῥαδαμάνθυς; also transliterated as Rhadamanthys or Rhadamanthos) was a wise king, the son of Zeus and Europa. ... Heracles and threatened Cerberus, Attic black-figure neck-amphora, ca. ... Acheron river near the village of Glyki. ... Cocytus, meaning the river of wailing (from the Greek κωκυτός, lamentation), is a river in the underworld in Greek mythology. ... This article is about the deity and the place in Greek mythology. ... In Classical Greek, Lethe (LEE-thee) literally means forgetfulness or concealment. The Greek word for truth is a-lethe-ia, meaning un-forgetfulness or un-concealment. In Greek mythology, Lethe is one of the several rivers of Hades. ... For other uses, see Elysium (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology, Styx (Στυξ) is the name of a river which formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld, Hades. ... In Greek mythology, the river Phlegethon (lake of fire) was one of the five rivers of the underworld, along with the rivers Styx, Lethe, Cocytus, and Acheron. ... The Asphodel Meadows is a section of the Ancient Greek underworld where indifferent and ordinary souls were sent to live after death. ... In Greek mythology Erebus (Έρεβος Erebos, Deep blackness/darkness or shadow from Ancient Greek Έρεβος) was the son of a primordial God, Chaos, the personification of darkness and shadow, which filled in all the corners and crannies of the world. ... This article is about the Greek myth. ... For the genus of dung beetle, see Sisyphus (beetle). ... Tantalos, by Goya In Greek mythology Tantalus (Greek Τάνταλος) was a son of Zeus[1] and the nymph Plouto (riches)[2] Thus he was a king in the primordial world, the father of a son Broteas whose very name signifies mortals (brotoi)[3] Other versions name his father as Tmolus wreathed... This article is about the race of Titans in Greek mythology. ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... Greek religion is the polytheistic religion practiced in ancient Greece in form of cult practices, thus the practical counterpart of Greek mythology. ... Dante in a fresco series of famous men by Andrea del Castagno, ca. ... Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, in Michelinos fresco. ... Look up inferno, Inferno, infernal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

See also

• Charun - an Etruscan counterpart to Charon
• Psychopomp - the general word for a guide of the dead

A typical depiction of Charun. ... This is an article about the mythology of the Psychopomp. ...

References

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

External links

• Media related to Charon (mythology) from the Wikimedia Commons.