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River Styx

The famous band Styx named their band after the mythological River Styx and compiled a song called "Boat on a River" that I assumed was about the River Styx itself (though I am not sure). I had provided this in the first collaboration and decided to include it again (more examples follow this video).

Lyrics can be found by clicking here.

Another video I found I think combines all the requirements into one. It includes music from a group called "I Am A Ghost" and their song is conveniently called "Crossing the River Styx." The user who had compiled the graphics in this video put on a disclaimer of the effects this video may have (it is pretty gory and graphic that some may find uncomfortable). I believe, however, that the sources he used as his graphics overall present a contemporary feel to the River Styx and how such a concept can be interpreted. The River Styx, though understandably gloomy, is interpreted in the same ominous feel today and this can be found in the video provided below.

You could also listen to the song by itself by clicking here.
You could also view the lyrics by clicking here.

Another contemporary example that I find appropriate is the example used in one of the Harry Potter movies: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. There is a scene towards the end where Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, is struck by a fatal curse and thus sent through this "veil" that is a portal between the living and the dead. Though it is not exactly the same as the concept as that of the River Styx, the fact, understanding, and realization that a place exists for both living and the dead is somewhat of a connection of both ideas. The River Styx implies that there is a place for us to go after we die, and so does J.K Rowling when she had made Sirius Black enter this veil to the after life once he passed. J.K. Rowling's version of an existing after life can pose as a contemporary idea of the concept of the River Styx. A clip of the scene is provided below:



Compiled by: Eivette Manzana
Last Updated: April 22, 2008

Previous collaboration information below.
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River Styx - PhilWikiWiki

Charon on the River Styx

The River Styx is a mythological river that supposedly separates the living from the dead. "Styx" comes from the Greek word Stugein meaning "hate," thus being the River of Hate.

There is actually a compilation of five (5) rivers that separate the underworld (Hades) from the the world of the living:

1. Acheron - the river of woe.
The name of one of the five rivers (occasionally also regarded as a lake) that flow through the realm of Hades. This river is often metaphorically used for Hades itself. Here the shades are ferried across by Charon. The river (Acheron) is identified with the Epirus river in Greece that flows underground in several places.
2. Cocytus - the river of lamentation. One of the five rivers of Hades, which flows into the Acheron.The unburied were doomed to wander about its banks for hundred years.
3. Phlegethon - the river of fire. The river that flows with fire which burns and does not consume. It is one of the five principal rivers in the realms of Hades.
4. Lethe - the river of forgetfulness. In Greek mythology, the Lethe is one of the rivers that flow through the realm of Hades. Called the River of Oblivion, the shades of the dead had to drink from this river to forget about their past lives on earth.
5. Styx - the river of hate. The most well-known of the five rivers and is considered by the Gods of Greek mythology to be the most sacred.

River Styx - PhilWikiWiki




The gatekeeper of the Rivers, also referred to as the boatman or ferryman, goes by the name of Charon whose job is to ferry the living souls into the underworld of Hades. In order to be transported into the underworld via the River Styx, one must have the proper payment, much like paying a toll. The payment is actually somewhat of a ritual that must be done at one's burial. A gold coin, or an obol, must be placed in their mouth during burial (and to one source, on the eyes of the dead) to be presented to Charon in exchange for transport into the underworld. According to some sources, presenting a golden bough to Charon could also be accepted if a soul did not have an obol. If a soul had neither of the two types of payment, then they must consequently wander around the river or on earth for 100 years.



River Styx - PhilWikiWiki






Hesiod--a Greek poet usually paired with Homer--says that Styx was a goddess and daughter of Ocean, and that, when Zeus (the king of the Gods) summoned the gods to Olympus to help him to fight the Titans, Styx was the first to come and her children with her;
hence as a reward Zeus ordained that the most solemn oath of the gods should be by her and that her children should always live with him. To the Gods, there was no oath more sacred than to swear by the river Styx. Some said the river was so foul that to drink of it brought instant death. Some said it bubbled with fire. By some accounts, Achilles was dipped into the river styx to wash away his mortality.




Styx, etching by Gustave Doré, representing Dante's Divine Comedy journey, 1861




Bibliography and Suggested Links:
Styx (River)
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/styx_river.html
Ferryman
http://www.thecattbox.com/ferryman.htm
What is the river Styx?
http://www.theriverstyx.net/river.shtml
Does any body know the story of paying the ferryman? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071022071550AAAzO0m
YouTube - Styx - Boat On The River
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rRvSwKCCPY





Compiled by: Eivette Manzana



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