I was reading something about Greek Mythology and the character, Charon, struck me as something of a fantastic metaphor to use in something I'm writing.
I know he is the ferryman of the dead, but I was most interested in payment. I've searched all over the internet. Payment was an obolos (Greek coin) on the eyes or in the mouth of the dead.
What I found interesting is that modern day ("don't pay the ferryman" - song lyrics for example and another fiction source - Gods Behaving Badly) refers to not paying Charon until you get to the other side of the River Acheron. Nowhere that I've read about Charon did I see that Charon would trick the shades of the dead by asking for payment and then not taking them, leaving them to be ghosts on earth; only that those without proper death (burial or burn) rites or without a coin would not get ferried across.
Does anyone have another source that clarifies. I wonder where the information - and what story specifically indicated (for the more modern references) - that payment should be witheld until arrival at the other side of Archeron.
Anyone?
I know he is the ferryman of the dead, but I was most interested in payment. I've searched all over the internet. Payment was an obolos (Greek coin) on the eyes or in the mouth of the dead.
What I found interesting is that modern day ("don't pay the ferryman" - song lyrics for example and another fiction source - Gods Behaving Badly) refers to not paying Charon until you get to the other side of the River Acheron. Nowhere that I've read about Charon did I see that Charon would trick the shades of the dead by asking for payment and then not taking them, leaving them to be ghosts on earth; only that those without proper death (burial or burn) rites or without a coin would not get ferried across.
Does anyone have another source that clarifies. I wonder where the information - and what story specifically indicated (for the more modern references) - that payment should be witheld until arrival at the other side of Archeron.
Anyone?