In these myths, Styx supported Zeus in the Titanomachy, where she was said to be the first to rush to his aid. In classical myths, her husband was Pallas and she gave birth to Zelus, Nike, Kratos, and Bia (and sometimes Eos). Styx was the name of an Oceanid nymph, one of the three thousand daughters of Tethys and Oceanus, the goddess of the River Styx. By metonymy, the adjective stygian came to refer to anything dark, dismal, Nymph The variant spelling Stix was sometimes used in translations of Classical Greek before the 20th century. According to the myth Narcissus is still admiring himself in the Underworld, looking at the waters of the Styx. The ritual was performed by the relatives of the dead. It was said that if someone could not pay the fee, they would never be able to cross the river. In ancient times some believed that a coin (Charon’s obol) placed in the mouth of a dead person would pay the toll for the ferry across the river to the entrance of the underworld. The further down river they were carried, the longer and/or more severe would be their punishment. Dante put Phlegyas as ferryman 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. The ferryman Charon often is described as having transported the souls of the newly dead across this river into the underworld. Styx was primarily a feature in the afterworld of classical Greek mythology. Statue of Hades with Cerberus / Photo by Mark Zamoyski, Wikimedia Commons This is the source of the expression Achilles’ heel, a metaphor for a vulnerable spot. Achilles was struck and killed during the Trojan War by an arrow shot into his heel by Paris. According to one tradition, Achilles’ mother dipped him in the river during his childhood, and he thus acquired invulnerability, with the exception of the heel by which his mother held him. Myths related to such early deities did not survive long enough to be included in historic records, but tantalizing references exist among those that have been discovered.Īccording to some versions, the river Styx had miraculous powers which could make someone who bathed in the waters invulnerable. 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. After the war, Zeus declared that every oath must be sworn upon her. The deities of the Greek pantheon swore all their oaths upon the river Styx because, according to classical mythology, during the Titan war, Styx, the goddess of the river, sided with Zeus. Photo by Artemis Katsadoura, Wikimedia Commons The waters of one Styx in the Aroanian mountains.
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