Block, SkipCaptcha, apieditor, Automoderated users, Bots, edit, ratelimit-exempt
58,520
edits
Changes
→top: clean up & uniformity
'''Styx''' (from the Greek verb signifying “to abhor”) in [[Greek mythology]] was one of the principal [[river]]s of the [[netherworld]], where it flowed sluggishly round seven times; and is properly the river of death, which all must cross to enter the unseen world, and of which, in the [[Greek mythology]], [[Charon (mythology)]] was the [[ferryman]] (although in some accounts, it is the river [[Acheron]] which must be crossed to enter [[Hades]]). In their solemn engagements it was by this [[river]] the gods took oath to signify that they would forego their godhood if they swore falsely. The Styx was a branch of the Great Ocean which girds the universe.<ref>{{Nuttall|Styx}}</ref>
[[Image:Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_006.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Dante and Virgil are ferried across the River Styx ([[Inferno]], Canto VIII) (Illustration by [[Eugene Delacroix]]).]]
'''Styx''' (from the Greek verb signifying “to abhor”) in [[Greek mythology]] was one of the principal [[river]]s of the [[underworld]], where it flowed sluggishly round seven times; and is properly the river of death, which all must cross to enter the unseen world, and of which, in the [[Greek mythology]], [[Charon (mythology)]] was the [[ferryman]] (although in some accounts, it is the river [[Acheron]] which must be crossed to enter [[Hades]]). In their solemn engagements it was by this [[river]] the gods took their oaths to signify that they would forego their godhood if they swore falsely. The Styx was a branch of the Great Ocean which girds the universe.<ref>{{Nuttall|Styx}}</ref>
In [[Dante's Inferno]], the Styx is a marsh which forms the fifth circle of [[Hell]], where the [[sin]] of [[anger]] is punished. [[Dante]] answers the question of which river must be crossed to enter Hell by using both Styx and Acheron: [[Charon]] ferries souls across Acheron to reach Hell, while the [[Greek]] king Phlegyas ferries Dante and [[Virgil]] across Styx to reach lower Hell.
In [[Dante's Inferno]], the Styx is a marsh which forms the fifth circle of [[Hell]], where the [[sin]] of [[anger]] is punished. [[Dante]] answers the question of which river must be crossed to enter Hell by using both Styx and Acheron: [[Charon]] ferries souls across Acheron to reach Hell, while the [[Greek]] king Phlegyas ferries Dante and [[Virgil]] across Styx to reach lower Hell.
The largely obsolete custom of placing coins over a dead person's eyes or in their mouth was done to provide the deceased with money to pay Charon for his services.
According to Greek myth, Thetis dipped her son [[Achilles]] into the river Styx soon after his birth, an act which rendered him invulnerable to injury, save for a small spot on his heel, covered by Thetis's thumb and forefinger when she held his hand to dip him into the river.
Styx is also the name of a prominent U.S. rock band, which produced hits such as "Come Sail Away" and "Mr. Roboto".
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Rivers]]
{{DivineComedy}}
[[Category:Mythical Rivers]]
[[Category:Greek Mythology]]
[[Category:Greek Mythology]]
[[Category:Bands]]