Underworld Spirit

Charon

Χάρων

Roman: Charon

Overview

Ferryman who carries the dead across the waters of the Underworld.

Chthonic tradition

Boat, oar, coin

His precise genealogy is not consistently preserved in early Greek sources.

Unknown or primordial.

No children recorded.

Beyond Antiquity

Charon still appears in the modern world through language, science, medicine, astronomy or culture.

Today: Pluto's largest moon.

Charon is named after the mythological ferryman who carried the dead across the river Styx into the Underworld.