<P> In Greek mythology , Charon or Kharon ( / ˈkɛərɒn , - ən / ; Greek Χάρων ) 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 the mouth of a dead person . Some authors say that those who could not pay the fee , or those whose bodies were left unburied , had to wander the shores for one hundred years . In the catabasis mytheme , heroes -- such as Aeneas , Dionysus , Heracles , Hermes , Odysseus , Orpheus , Pirithous , Psyche , Theseus and Sisyphus -- journey to the underworld and return , still alive , conveyed by the boat of Charon . </P>
<P> In Greek mythology , Charon or Kharon ( / ˈkɛərɒn , - ən / ; Greek Χάρων ) 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 the mouth of a dead person . Some authors say that those who could not pay the fee , or those whose bodies were left unburied , had to wander the shores for one hundred years . In the catabasis mytheme , heroes -- such as Aeneas , Dionysus , Heracles , Hermes , Odysseus , Orpheus , Pirithous , Psyche , Theseus and Sisyphus -- journey to the underworld and return , still alive , conveyed by the boat of Charon . </P>
who do you pay to cross the river styx
who do you pay to cross the river styx
Charon
Charon