In the ancient Greek cosmogony the River Oceanus was a great, fresh-water stream which encircled the flat disc of the earth. It was the source of all of the earth's fresh-water--from the rivers and springs which drew their waters from it through subterranean aquifers to the clouds which dipped below…
The River Phlegethon (or River Pyriphlegethon or Phlegyans) is called the River of Fire because it is said to travel to the depths of the Underworld where land is filled with fire—specifically, the flames of funeral pyres. River Phlegethon leads to Tartarus, which is where the dead are judged and…
Lethe is the river of oblivion or forgetfulness. Upon entering the Underworld, the dead would have to drink the waters of Lethe to forget their earthly existence. Lethe is also the name of the goddess of forgetfulness who was the daughter of Eris. She watches over the River Lethe. Lethe…
Charon delivers the newly deceased soul from the world of the living to the world of the dead via the river Styx. In ancient tradition, a coin would be placed in the mouth of the recently deceased as a forward payment to Charon for his service. Else, it was believed…
Best known, the river Styx is the principal river of Hades, circling the Underworld seven times thus separating it from the land of the living. The Styx flowed out of Oceanus, the great river of the world. In Greek, the word Styx means to hate or abhor, and it was…
In Greek mythology, the Acheron is one of the five Underworld rivers that fed from a swampy lake called Acherousia or Acherousian lake. The Acheron is the River of Woe or the River of Misery; and in some tales it is the principal river of the Underworld, displacing the Styx,…
The River Cocytus (or Kokytos) is also called the River of Wailing, a river of cries and lamentation. For the souls that Charon refused to ferry over because they had not received a proper burial, the river bank of Cocytus would be their wandering grounds. According to Homer's Odyssey, Cocytus,…