Styx (mythology)
Encyclopedia
The Styx (adjectival form: Stygian, icon) is a river
in Greek mythology
that formed the boundary between Earth
and the Underworld (often called Hades
which is also the name of this domain's ruler). It circles the Underworld nine times. The rivers Styx, Phlegethon
, Acheron
, and Cocytus
all converge at the center of the underworld on a great marsh
, which is also sometimes called the Styx. The other important rivers of the underworld are Lethe
, Eridanos
, and Alpheus.
The gods were bound by the Styx and swore oaths on it. Zeus
swore to give Semele
whatever she wanted and was then obliged to follow through when he realized to his horror that her request would lead to her death. Helios
similarly promised his son Phaëton
whatever he desired, also resulting in the boy's death. According to some versions, Styx had miraculous powers and could make someone invulnerable. According to one tradition, Achilles
was dipped in it in his childhood, acquiring invulnerability, with exception of his heel, by which his mother held him. This is the source of the expression Achilles' heel
, a metaphor for a vulnerable spot.
Styx was primarily a feature in the afterworld
of Greek mythology, and was adopted into the Christian mythology
of Hell
of Christianity
, notably in The Divine Comedy
and "Paradise Lost
". The ferryman Charon
is believed to have transported the souls of the newly dead across this river into the underworld, though in the original Greek and Roman sources, as well as in Dante
, it was the river Acheron that Charon plied. Dante put Phlegyas over the Styx and made it the fifth circle of Hell, where the wrathful and sullen are punished by being drowned in the muddy waters for eternity, with the wrathful fighting each other.
In ancient times some believed that placing a coin
in the mouth of the deceased, would help pay the toll for the ferry to help cross the Styx river which would lead one to the entrance of the underworld
. If some could not pay the fee it was said that they would never be able to cross the river. This ritual was performed by the relatives.
The variant spelling Stix was sometimes used in translations of Classical Greek before the 20th century. By synecdoche
, the adjective stygian came to refer to anything dark, dismal, and murky.
and Tethys
. She was wife to Pallas
and bore him Zelus
, Nike
, Kratos and Bia
(and sometimes Eos
). Styx supported Zeus in the Titanomachy
where she was the first to rush to his aid. For this reason her name was given the honor of being a binding oath for the gods.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends 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. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
that formed the boundary between Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and the Underworld (often called Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
which is also the name of this domain's ruler). It circles the Underworld nine times. The rivers Styx, Phlegethon
Phlegethon
In Greek mythology, the river Phlegethon or Pyriphlegethon was one of the five rivers in the infernal regions of the underworld, along with the rivers Styx, Lethe, Cocytus, and Acheron...
, Acheron
Acheron
The Acheron is a river located in the Epirus region of northwest Greece. It flows into the Ionian Sea in Ammoudia, near Parga.-In mythology:...
, and Cocytus
Cocytus
Cocytus or Kokytos, meaning "the river of wailing" , is a river in the underworld in Greek mythology. Cocytus flows into the river Acheron, across which dwells the underworld, the mythological abode of the dead. There are five rivers encircling Hades...
all converge at the center of the underworld on a great marsh
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
, which is also sometimes called the Styx. The other important rivers of the underworld are Lethe
Lethe
In Greek mythology, Lethe was one of the five rivers of Hades. Also known as the Ameles potamos , the Lethe flowed around the cave of Hypnos and through the Underworld, where all those who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness...
, Eridanos
Eridanos (mythology)
The river Eridanos or Eridanus is a river mentioned in Greek mythology. Virgil considered it one of the rivers of Hades in his Aeneid VI, 659.-Ancient references:...
, and Alpheus.
The gods were bound by the Styx and swore oaths on it. Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
swore to give Semele
Semele
Semele , in Greek mythology, daughter of the Boeotian hero Cadmus and Harmonia, was the mortal mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. In another version of his mythic origin, he is the son of Persephone...
whatever she wanted and was then obliged to follow through when he realized to his horror that her request would lead to her death. Helios
Helios
Helios was the personification of the Sun in Greek mythology. Homer often calls him simply Titan or Hyperion, while Hesiod and the Homeric Hymn separate him as a son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia or Euryphaessa and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn...
similarly promised his son Phaëton
Phaëton
In Greek mythology, Phaëton or Phaethon was the son of Helios and the Oceanid Clymene. Alternate, less common genealogies make him a son of Clymenus by Merope, of Helios and Rhode or of Helios and Prote....
whatever he desired, also resulting in the boy's death. According to some versions, Styx had miraculous powers and could make someone invulnerable. According to one tradition, Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
was dipped in it in his childhood, acquiring invulnerability, with exception of his heel, by which his mother held him. This is the source of the expression Achilles' heel
Achilles' heel
An Achilles’ heel is a deadly weakness in spite of overall strength, that can actually or potentially lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, metaphorical references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to downfall are common.- Origin :In Greek...
, a metaphor for a vulnerable spot.
Styx was primarily a feature in the afterworld
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
of Greek mythology, and was adopted into the Christian mythology
Christian mythology
Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. In the study of mythology, the term "myth" refers to a traditional story, often one which is regarded as sacred and which explains how the world and its inhabitants came to have their present form.Classicist G.S. Kirk defines a...
of Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, notably in The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...
and "Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
". The ferryman Charon
Charon (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. A coin to pay Charon for passage, usually an obolus or danake, was sometimes placed in or on...
is believed to have transported the souls of the newly dead across this river into the underworld, though in the original Greek and Roman sources, as well as in Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
, it was the river Acheron that Charon plied. Dante put Phlegyas over the Styx and made it the fifth circle of Hell, where the wrathful and sullen are punished by being drowned in the muddy waters for eternity, with the wrathful fighting each other.
In ancient times some believed that placing a coin
Charon's obol
Charon's obol is an allusive term for the coin placed in or on the mouth of a dead person before burial. According to Greek and Latin literary sources, the coin was a payment or bribe for the ferryman who conveyed souls across the river that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead...
in the mouth of the deceased, would help pay the toll for the ferry to help cross the Styx river which would lead one to the entrance of the underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
. If some could not pay the fee it was said that they would never be able to cross the river. This ritual was performed by the relatives.
The variant spelling Stix was sometimes used in translations of Classical Greek before the 20th century. By synecdoche
Synecdoche
Synecdoche , meaning "simultaneous understanding") is a figure of speech in which a term is used in one of the following ways:* Part of something is used to refer to the whole thing , or...
, the adjective stygian came to refer to anything dark, dismal, and murky.
Goddess
Styx was also the name of the daughter of OceanusOceanus
Oceanus ; , Ōkeanós) was a pseudo-geographical feature in classical antiquity, believed by the ancient Greeks and Romans to be the world-ocean, an enormous river encircling the world....
and Tethys
Tethys (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Tethys , daughter of Uranus and Gaia was an archaic Titaness and aquatic sea goddess, invoked in classical Greek poetry but not venerated in cult. Tethys was both sister and wife of Oceanus...
. She was wife to Pallas
Pallas (son of Crius)
Pallas is a Titan, associated with war, killed by Athena in the contest to fight for Zeus . Most sources indicate that he was the son of Crius and Eurybia, the brother of Astraeus and Perses, and the husband of Styx. He was the father of Zelus, Nike, Kratos, and Bia. In addition, he has been named...
and bore him Zelus
Zelus
In Greek mythology, Zelus was the son of Pallas and Styx. Zelus and siblings Nike , Kratos and Bia were winged enforcers who stood in attendance at Zeus' throne and formed part of his retinue....
, Nike
Nike (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Nike was a goddess who personified victory, also known as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The Roman equivalent was Victoria. Depending upon the time of various myths, she was described as the daughter of Pallas and Styx and the sister of Kratos , Bia , and Zelus...
, Kratos and Bia
Bia (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Bia was the personification of force, daughter of Pallas and Styx. She was the sister of Nike, Kratos, and Zelus; she and her siblings were constant companions of Zeus. They achieved this honour after supporting Zeus in the war against the Titans along with their mother...
(and sometimes Eos
Eos
In Greek mythology, Eos is the Titan goddess of the dawn, who rose from her home at the edge of Oceanus, the ocean that surrounds the world, to herald her brother Helios, the Sun.- Greek literature :...
). Styx supported Zeus in the Titanomachy
Titanomachy
In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy or War of the Titans , was the ten-year series of battles fought in Thessaly between the two camps of deities long before the existence of mankind: the Titans, based on Mount Othrys, and the Olympians, who would come to reign on Mount Olympus...
where she was the first to rush to his aid. For this reason her name was given the honor of being a binding oath for the gods.