Charon

~ 0 min
2020-01-03 14:12

Charon

                The ferryman of the River of Styx, Charon guides these souls across the river and led them to the land of the dead.  Charon is the man who will show you the ‘other side’, he is commonly shown in old Greek art, primarily on lecythi, or ground vases that were white.  Charon, of course had to be paid for his services, this would be done by placing a silver coin under the corpse’s tongue or between its teeth.  Unfortunately, those who couldn’t pay the fare were haunted by the deceased person, hopelessly wandering for some kind of freedom.  Charon, according to Dante’s Divine Comedy, is quite a frightening figure ‘Charon, the demoniac form, with eyes of burning coal, gathers them all: beckoning, strikes with his oar whoever lingers’ and Michelangelo’s Last Judgement depicts just that. Charon truly is a demonic and frightening figure that carries these souls to their final resting place; the land of the dead.

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