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Styx and Charon. The meaning of the word charon in the directory of characters and cult objects of Greek mythology

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, there were countries on the globe 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 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"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, Rhadamanth - 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 the 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 - underworld Aida.

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 live 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 realm 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 the torture they were subjected to in 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, stabbed his own son Pelops and prepared a dish from Pelops, thinking that the gods would not know what a terrible dish was before 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. 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 benefactions left a memory of themselves, and all they are crowned with the snow-white bandage of the sinless.

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

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 payment for this in one obol (according to funeral rite found 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 places of worship Greek mythology. 2012

The meaning of the word charon

charon in the crossword dictionary

New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

Charon

m. An old carrier ferrying the shadows of the dead to Hades through the underground rivers Styx and Acheron (in ancient mythology).

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

Charon

in Greek mythology, 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.

Mythological dictionary

Charon

(Greek) - the son of Erebus and Nikta, a carrier in the kingdom of the dead, ferrying the souls of the dead in a shuttle through the rivers of the underworld. It was believed that X. took a fee for transportation, so a small coin (obol) was put in the mouth of the deceased.

Charon

in ancient Greek mythology, the carrier of the dead through the rivers of the underworld to the gates of Hades. To pay for transportation, a coin was placed in the mouth of the deceased.

Wikipedia

Charon (satellite)

Charon(from; also (134340) PlutoI) is a satellite of Pluto discovered in 1978 (in another interpretation, it is a smaller component of a binary planetary system). With the discovery in 2005 of two other satellites - Hydra and Nikta - Charon was also referred to as Pluto I. Named after the character of ancient Greek mythology, Charon, the carrier of the souls of the dead across the river Styx. In July 2015, the American New Horizons probe reached Pluto and Charon for the first time in history and explored them from a flyby trajectory.

Charon

Charon:

Charon - in Greek mythology, the carrier of the souls of the dead across the river Styx to Hades.
Charon is Pluto's largest moon.
Charon of Lampsak (5th century BC) is an ancient Greek historiographer-logographer.

Charon is the browser of the Inferno operating system.
Charon is a Finnish gothic metal band.

Charon (mythology)

Charon in Greek mythology - the carrier of the souls of the dead across the river Styx (according to another version - through Acheron) to Hades. Son of Erebus and Nyukta.

Depicted as a gloomy old man in rags. Charon transports the dead along the waters of underground rivers, receiving for this a payment (navlon) of one obol. It transports only those dead whose bones have found peace in the grave. Only a golden branch plucked in the grove of Persephone opens the way for a living person to the kingdom of death. Under no circumstances will it be returned.

Examples of the use of the word charon in the literature.

This sport also had its own religious touch: the slaves who pulled the dead bodies out of the arena with hooks put on the masks of the transporter of souls in the underworld, Charon.

It's time, apparently, brothers, to move from the Cossack saddle to the canoe Charon.

Thousands of eyes turned to the great gate, which was approached by a man dressed Charon, and in general silence he struck them three times with a hammer, as if calling to death those who were behind them.

But then the prefect gave a sign: immediately the old man came out again, dressed up Charon, the same one that called the gladiators to death, and, with a leisurely tread, passed through the entire arena, in the dead silence that reigned, again struck the door with a hammer three times.

After that, the unfortunate follower Charon for some time he worked as a uniform operator of the Tsaritsyno circus, a seller of a beer stall, a loader in a furniture store and a packer in a sugar-packing shop.

Jacob Silvius, who never reconciled with the rebellious student, forded the Styx in order to save an extra obol, not to give it to the greedy Charon.

For a long time we did not believe that these tragic events are somehow connected with your city - unless the relationship of Bourget with the rest Charon beneficial to both parties?

On Charone people also enjoyed hunting and fishing, and the inhabitants of Montlay and Bourget bought semi-finished meat products and were tormented by moral feelings no more than the inhabitants of the jungle.

Judging by the clash in Bourges, you have nothing to fear - common people Charon will eventually prevail.

Charon (Χάρων), in Greek myth-making and history:

1. The son of Nikta, a gray-haired carrier who shuttled across the Acheron River to the underworld of the shadow of the dead. For the first time the name Charon is mentioned in one of the poems of the epic cycle - Miniade; this image has received special distribution since the 5th century BC, as evidenced by the frequent mention of Charon in Greek dramatic poetry and the interpretation of this plot in painting. In the famous painting by Polygnotus, painted by him for the Delphic Forest and depicting the entrance to the underworld, along with numerous figures, Charon was also depicted. Vase painting, judging by the finds recovered from the graves, used the figure of Charon to depict a stereotypical picture of the arrival of the dead on the shore of Acheron, where a gloomy old man was waiting for the newcomers with his canoe. The idea of Charon and the crossing awaiting every person after death is also reflected in the custom of putting a copper coin worth two obols into the mouth of the deceased between the teeth, which was supposed to serve as a reward to Charon for his efforts on the crossing. 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 today.

Charon, Dante and Virgil in the Waters of the Styx, 1822
artist Eugene Delacroix, Louvre

Charon - carrier of souls
dead on the waters of Hades

Later, the attributes and features of the Etruscan god of death were transferred to the image of Charon, who, in turn, took the Etruscan name Harun. With the features of an Etruscan deity, Virgil presents Charon to us in the VI song of the Aeneid. In Virgil, Charon is an old man covered with mud, with a disheveled gray beard, fiery eyes, in dirty clothes. Protecting the waters of Acheron, 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. Only a golden branch plucked in the grove of Persephone opens the way for a living person to the kingdom of death. Showing Charon the golden branch, Sibylla forced him to transport Aeneas.

So, according to one legend, Charon was chained for a year because he transported Hercules, Pirithous and Theseus through Acheron, who forcibly forced him to transport them to Hades (Virgil, Aeneid, VI 201-211, 385-397, 403- 416). In Etruscan paintings, Charon is depicted as an old man with a curved nose, sometimes with wings and bird-like legs, and usually with a large hammer. As a representative of the underworld, Charon later turned into 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 horseman pursuing air crowd of the dead. As for the origin of the word Charon, some authors, led by Diodorus Siculus, consider it borrowed from the Egyptians, others bring the word Charon closer to the Greek adjective χαροπός (having fiery eyes).

2. The Greek historiographer from Lampsak, belonged to the predecessors of Herodotus, the so-called logorifs, from which only fragments have come down to us. Of the numerous works attributed to him by the Byzantine encyclopedist Svyda, only "Περςικα" in two books and "Ωροι Ααμψακηών" in four books, that is, the chronicle of the city of Lampsak, can be considered authentic.

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, is a variant of Ku-en-wa. The dead had to pay an obol, a small amount of money, to this relentless ferryman of Styx and Acheron, so the ancients always put a coin under the tongue of the deceased. This custom has survived to this day, for most of the lower classes in Russia put copper coins in a coffin under the head of the deceased for posthumous expenses.

Source: "Theosophical Dictionary"

Synonyms:

See what "Charon" is in other dictionaries:

- (Charon, Χάρων). Son of Erebus and Night, an old, dirty ferryman in the underworld who transports the shadows of the dead across hellish rivers. For transportation, he received one obol, which was placed in the mouth of the deceased. (Source: Concise Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities.... ... Encyclopedia of mythology

In Greek myth., the son of Erebus and Night, the carrier of the shadows of the dead through the Styx, the river of the underworld. Dictionary foreign words included in the Russian language. Pavlenkov F., 1907. CHARON Greek. Charon. Among the ancients: carrier dead souls through the rivers of hell... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

CHARON, a satellite of PLUTO, discovered in 1978. Its diameter is 1270 km, in relation to the accompanied planet (Pluto) it is the largest of the satellites in solar system. According to various estimates, the mass of Charon is from 8% to 16% of the mass of Pluto. Charon… … Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

Charon: Charon (satellite) Pluto's largest moon Charon (mythology) in Greek mythology is the carrier of the souls of the dead across the River Styx to Hades. Charon: Charon (browser) browser of the Inferno operating system. Charon (band) ... ... Wikipedia

Carrier Dictionary of Russian synonyms. charon n., number of synonyms: 3 carrier (15) ... Synonym dictionary

In Greek mythology, the carrier of the dead through the rivers of the underworld to the gates of Hades; to pay for the transportation, a coin was put in the mouth of the deceased ... Big encyclopedic Dictionary

In the myths of the ancient Greeks, the carrier of the dead along the waters of underground rivers to the gates of Hades; he received for this a payment of one obol (according to the funeral rite, located under the tongue of the dead). Depicted as a gloomy old man in rags ... Historical dictionary

Charon- (Greek Χάρων Charon) in Greek mythology, the son of Erebus and Night, an old man, a carrier of the souls of the dead across Acheron, a river in the kingdom of the dead. The Greeks had a custom to put a small coin in the mouth of the deceased so that he could pay off X. The Etruscans considered ... Antique world. Dictionary reference.

CHARON Dictionary-reference book on Ancient Greece and Rome, on mythology

CHARON- In Greek mythology, the carrier of the souls of the dead across the Acheron River in Hades; at the same time, a funeral rite and a payment of one obol (small coin), placed under the tongue of the deceased, had to be observed. Charon was known to Homer, but by the end of the 6th c. BC… … List of ancient Greek names

Carrying the souls of the dead across the Acheron River. (Greek myth.) Cf. Who will carry my Word into the darkness of Pluto to her? The boat of Charon is always moving, But he takes only shadows. Zhukovsky. Ceres Complaints. Wed A desperate husband puts his snout into vodka, which he ... ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary

Books

Kharon, Bochkov Valery Borisovich. They say that Charon - the carrier of the souls of the dead to Hades - is distinguished by ferocious blue eyes. American commando Nick Summers, aka Russian orphan Nikolai Korolev, also blue-eyed and ferocious, and also ...

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