Charon's Influence On Ancient Greek Culture

Crossing the River Styx is a matter of life after death. Such an important task is handled by none other than the ferryman, Charon. Though an obscure figure in mythology, Charon has been known to play a significant role in both Greek mythology and culture. Charon also influences other ancient cultures, such as Roman, and even modern times.

Many people do not know who Charon is, which makes it hard for one to see his significance. Charon’s mother is Nyx, who is night, and his father is Erebus (Charon Encyclopaedia 1). Charon is commonly pictured as an old man in a long, voluminous, black robe (Charon 1). He is also frequently depicted as a demon with wings and has a double hammer (Lindemans 1). However, Charon is much more than the son of Nyx

Charon is the boatman in the Underworld that carries the dead’s souls across the River Styx in his boat in exchange for payment, which was typically a coin (Hades 198). The Styx is a river in the Underworld (Styx 936). Souls were brought to the Styx by Hermes (Gibson 22). The Styx serves more purpose than being just one of the five rivers in the Underworld, an ominous realm of the undead souls ruled by Zeus’ powerful brother, Hades (Hades 198).

Since crossing the Styx is necessary to enter the Underworld, Charon’s job is vital (Richardson 15). Those who could not pay the fee would not be able to cross and be stuck by the side of the river for all eternity (Gibson 22). Payment for Charon became so important in Greek culture that it became common practice for placing with those they buried became a common funerary practice to insure that Charon would be paid and the soul would reach the Underworld (Richardson 15). Besides the blantent impact on Greek culture, there are also accounts of Charon’s pleathora of contributions to traditional Greek

One of the best examples of Charon is that he plays a minor role in a Percy Jackson book (Riordan 285). Charon takes Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover across the Styx to see Hades (Riordan 289). Without Charon the trio would have never succeeded, and the first book, The Lightning Thief, would have been their last. Though the role was small and only lasted about five pages, Charon was still in the first of many of the widely popular Percy Jackson novels, which is an quite an impressive accomplishment for one so obscure. Modern literature appreciates Charon as much as Greek and roman