Charon



Charon is the ferryman for the River Styx.

Role

He works for Hades, god of the Underworld. If you drowned, if you were killed, if you died, then you would be escorted by Charon into the Underworld. Where the wind swirled into the dead's resting place, their souls would whirl around like a whirlpool of bodies circling the heart of the Underworld. Charon took those who had passed from life to death so they could receive a proper burial, if they had a coin.

If you find yourself or others near the River Styx or the River Acheron, STAY AWAY OR YOU'LL BE TAKEN AS DEAD EVEN IF YOU AREN'T! Charon is described as a 'psychopomp' (someone who ferries the dead).

Creation and family.

Charon's mother was Nyx (Night), and his father Erebus (Darkness). He had two brothers. Thanatos and Hypnos. You might recognise them from Who Let The Gods Out? by Maz Evans and they are the bad guys. Charon was born before Zeus! Zeus' father, Cronos, probably created Charon just in case anyone died. So Charon was a useful tool to the gods! Contorted and withered, crooked and pale, his skin yearned for sunlight, forming a larger hunched back as his insides pushed their way up to the surface. He was part demon so could chant and mutter horrible spells. Some imagine Charon had the face of a crinkled bear with boar tusks sprouting from his drooping jaw. His eyes had turned black over the years due to spending his life in the piercing darkness and his nose was a crumpled stump. His hair had withered and curled round his pointy ears which were covered in scabs. His skin had shriveled up and was coated in moss.

Behaviour.

Charon was very strong and would use his ferry pole as a weapon if necessary. He was also very strict and those who could not pay his fee would have to wander the shores like children lost in a desert for eternity. His fee was a single coin left in the mouth of the dead before burial. Orpheus is the only being to have been able to cross without paying the fee as he hypnotised Charon with his beautiful music on his lyre.