In ours, we have already mentioned a gloomy figure, which is necessary for the disembodied entity to cross the Edge of the Worlds. Many peoples saw the Edge of the Worlds in the form of a river, often a fiery one (for example, the Slavic Currant River, the Greek Styx and Acheron, etc.). In this regard, it is clear that the creature that takes souls across this line was often perceived in the form boatman-carrier .
This river is Oblivion River, and the passage through it means not only the transfer of the soul from the world of the living to the world of the dead, but also the breaking of any connection, memory, attachment to the Supermundane world. That is why it is a River of no return, because there are no more motives for crossing it. It is clear that the function Carrier, carrying out this rupture of bonds, is critically important for the process of disincarnation. Without his work, the soul will be drawn again and again to places and people dear to it, and, therefore, will turn into utukku- a wandering dead.

Being a manifestation of the Carrier of Souls, it is a necessary participant in the drama of death. It should be noted that the Carrier is unilateral engine - it only takes souls to the realm of the dead, but never (with the exception of rare mythological incidents) does not return them back.

The first to discover the need for this character were the ancient Sumerians, in whom the function of such a conductor was performed by Namtarru- the ambassador of the queen of the kingdom of the dead, Ereshkigal. It is on his orders that the Gallu demons take the soul to the kingdom of the dead. It should be noted that Namtarru was also the son of Ereshkigal, that is, he occupied a rather high position in the hierarchy of the gods.

The Egyptians also made extensive use of the ferryman in stories about the journey of the soul after death. This function, among others, was attributed Anubis— Lord of the Duat, the first part of the underworld. There is an interesting parallel between the dog-headed Anubis and the Gray Wolf - the Guide to the other world of Slavic legends. In addition, not without reason, and, the God of the Open Gates, was also depicted in the guise of a Winged Dog. The appearance of the Watchdog of the worlds is one of the most ancient experiences of a collision with the dual nature of the Threshold. The dog was often the guide of the soul, and it was often sacrificed at the tomb to accompany the deceased on the road to the next world. This function of the Guard was adopted from the Greeks Cerberus.

Among the Etruscans, at first the role of the Carrier was performed by Turmas(the Greek Hermes, who retained this function of the psychopomp - the driver of souls in later mythology), and then - Haru (Harun), who, apparently, was perceived by the Greeks as Charon. The classical mythology of the Greeks shared ideas about the Psychopomp (the “guide” of souls, responsible for the souls leaving the manifested world, the importance of which we have already discussed) and the Carrier, which acts as a guardian - the Gatekeeper. Hermes Psychopomp in classical mythology seated his wards in Charon's boat.

Elder Charon (Χάρων - "bright", in the sense of "Sparkling eyes") - the most famous personification of the Carrier in classical mythology. For the first time the name of Charon is mentioned in one of the poems of the epic cycle - Miniada.
Charon transports the dead along the waters of underground rivers, receiving for this a payment of one obol (according to the funeral rite, located under the tongue of the dead). This custom was widespread among the Greeks not only in the Hellenic, but also in the Roman period of Greek history, was preserved in the Middle Ages and is even observed to the present. Charon transports only those dead, whose bones found rest in the grave. Virgil Charon is an old man covered with mud, with a disheveled gray beard, fiery eyes, in dirty clothes. Protecting the waters of the river Acheron (or Styx), with the help of a pole, he transports shadows on a canoe, and he takes some into the canoe, others, who have not received burial, drives away from the shore. According to legend, Charon was chained for a year because he transported Hercules across Acheron. As a representative of the underworld, Charon later came to be considered a demon of death: in this sense, he passed, under the names of Charos and Charontas, to modern Greeks, who represent him either in the form of a black bird descending on his victim, or in the form of a rider pursuing in the air crowd of the dead.

Northern mythology, although it does not focus on the river surrounding the worlds, nevertheless knows about it. On the bridge over this river Gjoll), for example, Hermod meets with the giantess Modgud, who lets him go to Hel, and, apparently, Odin (Harbard) refuses to transport Thor across the same river. Interestingly, in the last episode, the Great Ace himself assumes the function of the Carrier, which once again emphasizes the high status of this usually inconspicuous figure. In addition, the fact that Thor was on the opposite bank of the river indicates that, besides Harbard, there was another boatman for whom such crossings were commonplace.

In the Middle Ages, the idea of ​​the Transportation of Souls was developed and continued. Procopius of Caesarea, a historian of the Gothic War (6th century), gives a story about how the souls of the dead are sent by sea to the island of Brittia: “ Fishermen, merchants and farmers live along the coast of the mainland. They are subjects of the Franks, but do not pay taxes, because from time immemorial they have had a heavy duty to transport the souls of the dead. Carriers wait in their huts every night for a conventional knock on the door and the voices of invisible creatures calling them to work. Then people immediately get up from their beds, impelled by an unknown force, go down to the shore and find boats there, but not their own, but others', completely ready to go and empty. Carriers get into the boats, take up the oars and see that, from the weight of numerous invisible passengers, the boats are sitting deep in the water, a finger from the side. In an hour they reach the opposite shore, and meanwhile, in their boats, they could hardly have managed to overcome this path in a whole day. Having reached the island, the boats are unloaded and become so light that only the keel touches the water. Carriers do not see anyone on their way and on the shore, but they hear a voice that calls the name, rank and kinship of each arrival, and if this is a woman, then the rank of her husband ».

We have already mentioned the gloomy figure, which is necessary for the disembodied entity to cross the Edge of the Worlds. Many peoples saw the Edge of the Worlds in the form of a river, often a fiery one (for example, the Slavic Currant River, the Greek Styx and Acheron, etc.). In this regard, it is clear that the creature that takes souls across this line was often perceived in the form boatman-carrier .
This river - Oblivion River, and the passage through it means not only the transfer of the soul from the world of the living to the world of the dead, but also the breaking of any connection, memory, attachment to the Supermundane world. That is why it is a River of no return, because there are no more motives for crossing it. It is clear that the function Carrier, carrying out this rupture of bonds, is critically important for the process of disincarnation. Without his work, the soul will be drawn again and again to places and people dear to it, and, therefore, will turn into utukku- the wandering dead.

Among the Etruscans, at first the role of the Carrier was performed by Turmas(Greek Hermes, who retained this function of the psychopomp - the driver of souls in later mythology), and then - Haru (Harun), who, apparently, was perceived by the Greeks as Charon. The classical mythology of the Greeks shared the idea of ​​the Psychopomp (the “guide” of souls, responsible for the souls leaving the manifested world, the importance of which we have already discussed) and the Carrier, which acts as a guardian - the Gatekeeper. Hermes Psychopomp in classical mythology seated his wards in Charon's boat.

Elder Charon (Χάρων - "bright", in the sense of "Sparkling eyes") - the most famous personification of the Carrier in classical mythology. For the first time the name of Charon is mentioned in one of the poems of the epic cycle - Miniade.
Charon transports the dead along the waters of underground rivers, receiving for this a payment of one obol (according to the funeral rite, located under the tongue of the dead). This custom was widespread among the Greeks not only in the Hellenic, but also in the Roman period of Greek history, was preserved in the Middle Ages and is even observed to the present. Charon transports only those dead, whose bones found rest in the grave. Virgil Charon is an old man covered with mud, with a disheveled gray beard, fiery eyes, in dirty clothes. Protecting the waters of the river Acheron (or Styx), with the help of a pole, he transports shadows on a canoe, and he takes some into the canoe, others, who have not received burial, drives away from the shore. According to legend, Charon was chained for a year because he transported Hercules across Acheron. As a representative of the underworld, Charon later came to be considered a demon of death: in this sense, he passed, under the names of Charos and Charontas, to modern Greeks, who represent him either in the form of a black bird descending on his victim, or in the form of a rider pursuing in the air crowd of the dead.

Northern mythology, although it does not focus on the river surrounding the worlds, nevertheless knows about it. On the bridge over this river Gjoll), for example, Hermod meets with the giantess Modgud, who lets him go to Hel, and, apparently, Odin (Harbard) refuses to transport Thor across the same river. Interestingly, in the last episode, the Great Ace himself assumes the function of the Carrier, which once again emphasizes the high status of this usually inconspicuous figure. In addition, the fact that Thor was on the opposite bank of the river indicates that, besides Harbard, there was another boatman for whom such crossings were commonplace.

In the Middle Ages, the idea of ​​the Transportation of Souls was developed and continued. Procopius of Caesarea, historian of the Gothic War (6th century), gives a story about how the souls of the dead are sent by sea to the island of Brittia: “Along the coast of the mainland live fishermen, merchants and farmers. They are subjects of the Franks, but do not pay taxes, because from time immemorial they have had a heavy duty to transport the souls of the dead. Carriers wait in their huts every night for a conventional knock on the door and the voices of invisible creatures calling them to work. Then people immediately get up from their beds, impelled by an unknown force, go down to the shore and find boats there, but not their own, but others', completely ready to go and empty. Carriers get into the boats, take up the oars and see that, from the weight of numerous invisible passengers, the boats are sitting deep in the water, a finger from the side. In an hour they reach the opposite shore, and meanwhile, in their boats, they could hardly have managed to overcome this path in a whole day. Having reached the island, the boats are unloaded and become so light that only the keel touches the water. Carriers do not see anyone on their way and on the shore, but they hear a voice that calls the name, rank and kinship of each arrival, and if this is a woman, then the rank of her husband.

To explain the moment of disincarnation under consideration, Christianity introduces the image of the Angel of Death, often known under the name Azrael (Hebrew "God helped"). In Christianity, the angel of death is sometimes called the archangel Gabriel. In any case, the need for a being to help bridge the threshold between life and death is recognized.

Thus, in addition to a Guide helping the soul to go from life to death, this path requires a figure that makes this process irreversible. It is this function of the Soul Carrier that makes him the darkest character in the disincarnation process.

Charon is a satellite of Pluto

Charon (134340 I) (eng. Charon from Greek Χάρων) is a satellite of Pluto discovered in 1978 (according to another version, it is a smaller component of the Pluto-Charon binary planetary system). With the discovery in 2005 of two other moons - Hydra and Nikta - Charon was also referred to as Pluto I. Named after Charon, the carrier of the souls of the dead across the river Styx in ancient Greek mythology. The New Horizons mission is expected to reach Pluto and Charon in July 2015.

Charon should not be confused with Chiron, a centaur planetoid.

Pluto and Charon (drawing).

Charon is traditionally considered a moon of Pluto. However, there is an opinion that since the center of mass of the Pluto-Charon system is outside Pluto, Pluto and Charon should be considered as a binary planetary system.

According to the draft Resolution 5 of the XXVI General Assembly of the IAU (2006), Charon (along with Ceres and the object 2003 UB 313) was supposed to be assigned the status of a planet. Notes to the draft resolution indicated that Pluto-Charon would then be considered a double planet.

However, the final version of the resolution contained a different solution: the concept of a dwarf planet was introduced. Pluto, Ceres, and the object 2003 UB 313 have been assigned to this new class of objects. Charon was not included among the dwarf planets.

Characteristics

Charon is located 19,640 km from the center of Pluto; the orbit is inclined 55° to the ecliptic. Diameter of Charon is 1212±16 km, mass is 1.9×1021 kg, density is 1.72 g/cm³. One rotation of Charon takes 6.387 days (due to tidal braking, it coincides with the rotation period of Pluto), so Pluto and Charon are constantly facing each other with the same side.

Charon's discovery allowed astronomers to accurately calculate Pluto's mass. Features of the orbits of the outer satellites show that the mass of Charon is approximately 11.65% of the mass of Pluto.

Charon is noticeably darker than Pluto. It seems that these objects differ significantly in composition. While Pluto is covered in nitrogen ice, Charon is covered in water ice and has a more neutral color. It is now believed that the Pluto-Charon system was formed as a result of the collision of independently formed Pluto and proto-Charon; modern Charon was formed from fragments thrown into orbit around Pluto; some of the Kuiper belt objects could also have formed in the process.

Styx, the mythical river of the dead, is known not only for being a link between the world of the living and the otherworldly kingdom of Hades. A large number of myths and legends are associated with it. For example, Achilles received his strength when he was dipped into the Styx, Hephaestus came to its waters to temper Daphne's sword, and some heroes swam across it while still alive. What is the River Styx and what power do its waters have?

Styx in Greek mythology

Ancient Greek myths tell us that Styx is the eldest daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. Her husband was the titan Pallant, from whom she bore several children. Also, according to one version, Persephone was her daughter, born of Zeus.

Styx took the side of Zeus in his battle with Kronos, taking an active part in it. She made a significant contribution to the victory over the titans, for which she received great honor and respect. Since then, the river Styx has become a symbol of a sacred oath, breaking which was considered unacceptable even for a god. Those who violated the oath by the waters of the Styx were severely punished. However, Zeus was always supportive of Styx and her children because they always helped him and were faithful.

River in the realm of the dead

What is the River Styx? The mythology of the ancient Greeks says that there are places on earth where the sun never looks, so eternal darkness and gloom reign there. It is there that the entrance to the possessions of Hades - Tartarus is located. Several rivers flow in the realm of the dead, but the Styx is the darkest and most terrible of them. The river of the dead goes around the kingdom of Hades nine times, and its waters are black and muddy.

According to legend, Styx originates far in the west, where night reigns. Here is the magnificent palace of the goddess, the silver columns of which, which are streams of a spring falling from a height, reach the heavens. These places are uninhabited, and even the gods do not visit here. An exception can be considered Iris, who occasionally arrived for the sacred water of Styx, with the help of which the gods made their oaths. Here, the waters of the source go underground, where horror and death live.

There is one legend that says that once the Styx flowed in the northern part of Arcadia, and Alexander the Great was poisoned with water taken from this river. Dante Alighieri in his "Divine Comedy" used the image of a river in one of the circles of hell, only there it appeared as a dirty swamp in which sinners get bogged down forever.

Carrier Charon

The crossing to the kingdom of the dead is guarded by Charon, a ferryman on the river Styx. In the myths of ancient Greece, he is depicted as a gloomy old man with a long and unkempt beard, and his attire is dirty and shabby. Charon's duties include transporting the souls of the dead across the River Styx, for which he has a small boat and a single oar at his disposal.

It was believed that Charon rejected the souls of those people whose bodies were not properly buried, so they were forced to wander forever in search of peace. Also in antiquity, there was a belief that it was necessary to pay the ferryman Charon to cross the Styx. To do this, during burial, the relatives of the deceased put a small coin in his mouth, which he could use in the underworld of Hades. By the way, a similar tradition existed among many peoples of the world. The custom of putting money in a coffin is observed by some people to this day.

Analogues of Styx and Charon

The River Styx and its guardian Charon are quite characteristic images describing the transition of the soul to another world. Having studied the mythology of different peoples, one can see similar examples in other beliefs. For example, among the ancient Egyptians, the duties of an escort to the afterlife, which also had its own river of the dead, were performed by the dog-headed Anubis, who brought the soul of the deceased to the throne of Osiris. Anubis looks very much like a gray wolf, which, according to the beliefs of the Slavic peoples, also accompanied souls to another world.

In the ancient world, there were many legends and traditions, sometimes they could not correspond or even contradict each other. For example, according to some myths, the ferryman Charon transported souls not through the Styx, but through another river - Acheron. There are also other versions regarding its origin and further role in mythology. Nevertheless, the River Styx today is the personification of the transition of souls from our world to the afterlife.

The section is very easy to use. In the proposed field, just enter the desired word, and we will give you a list of its meanings. I would like to note that our site provides data from various sources - encyclopedic, explanatory, word-building dictionaries. Here you can also get acquainted with examples of the use of the word you entered.

The meaning of the word charon

charon in the crossword dictionary

New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

Charon

m. An old carrier ferrying the shadows of the dead to Hades through the underground rivers Styx and Acheron (in ancient mythology).

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

Charon

in Greek mythology, the carrier of the dead through the rivers of the underworld to the gates of Hades; to pay for transportation, a coin was put in the mouth of the deceased.

Mythological dictionary

Charon

(Greek) - the son of Erebus and Nikta, a carrier in the kingdom of the dead, ferrying the souls of the dead in a shuttle through the rivers of the underworld. It was believed that X. took a fee for transportation, so a small coin (obol) was put in the mouth of the deceased.

Charon

in ancient Greek mythology, the carrier of the dead through the rivers of the underworld to the gates of Hades. To pay for transportation, a coin was placed in the mouth of the deceased.

Wikipedia

Charon (satellite)

Charon(from; also (134340) PlutoI) is a satellite of Pluto discovered in 1978 (in another interpretation, it is a smaller component of a binary planetary system). With the discovery in 2005 of two other satellites - Hydra and Nikta - Charon was also referred to as Pluto I. Named after the character of ancient Greek mythology, Charon, the carrier of the souls of the dead across the river Styx. In July 2015, the American New Horizons probe reached Pluto and Charon for the first time in history and explored them from a flyby trajectory.

Charon

Charon:

• Charon - in Greek mythology, the carrier of the souls of the dead across the river Styx to Hades.
• Charon is Pluto's largest moon.
• Charon of Lampsak (5th century BC) is an ancient Greek historiographer-logographer.

• Charon is the browser of the Inferno operating system.
• Charon is a Finnish gothic metal band.

Charon (mythology)

Charon in Greek mythology - the carrier of the souls of the dead across the river Styx (according to another version - through Acheron) to Hades. Son of Erebus and Nyukta.

Depicted as a gloomy old man in rags. Charon transports the dead along the waters of underground rivers, receiving for this a payment (navlon) of one obol. It transports only those dead whose bones have found peace in the grave. Only a golden branch plucked in the grove of Persephone opens the way for a living person to the kingdom of death. Under no circumstances will it be returned.

Examples of the use of the word charon in the literature.

This sport also had its own religious touch: the slaves who pulled the dead bodies out of the arena with hooks put on the masks of the transporter of souls in the underworld, Charon.

It's time, apparently, brothers, to move from the Cossack saddle to the canoe Charon.

Thousands of eyes turned to the great gate, which was approached by a man dressed Charon, and in general silence he struck them three times with a hammer, as if calling to death those who were behind them.

But then the prefect gave a sign: immediately the old man came out again, dressed up Charon, the same one that called the gladiators to death, and, with a leisurely tread, passed through the entire arena, in the dead silence that reigned, again struck the door with a hammer three times.

After that, the unfortunate follower Charon for some time he worked as a uniform operator of the Tsaritsyno circus, a seller of a beer stall, a loader in a furniture store and a packer in a sugar-packing shop.

Jacob Silvius, who never reconciled with the rebellious student, forded the Styx in order to save an extra obol, not to give it to the greedy Charon.

For a long time we did not believe that these tragic events were somehow connected with your city - except for the relationship of Bourget with the rest Charon beneficial to both parties?

On the Charone people also enjoyed hunting and fishing, and the inhabitants of Montlay and Bourget bought semi-finished meat products and were tormented by moral feelings no more than the inhabitants of the jungle.

Judging by the clash in Bourges, you have nothing to fear - common people Charon will eventually prevail.

Charon (Χάρων), in Greek myth-making and history:

1. The son of Nikta, a gray-haired carrier who shuttled across the Acheron River to the underworld of the shadow of the dead. For the first time the name Charon is mentioned in one of the poems of the epic cycle - Miniade; this image has received special distribution since the 5th century BC, as evidenced by the frequent mention of Charon in Greek dramatic poetry and the interpretation of this plot in painting. In the famous painting by Polygnotus, painted by him for the Delphic Forest and depicting the entrance to the underworld, along with numerous figures, Charon was also depicted. Vase painting, judging by the finds recovered from the graves, used the figure of Charon to depict a stereotypical picture of the arrival of the dead on the shore of Acheron, where a gloomy old man was waiting for the newcomers with his canoe. The idea of ​​Charon and the crossing awaiting every person after death is also reflected in the custom of putting a copper coin worth two obols into the mouth of the deceased between the teeth, which was supposed to serve as a reward to Charon for his efforts on the crossing. This custom was widespread among the Greeks not only in the Hellenic, but also in the Roman period of Greek history, was preserved in the Middle Ages and is even observed today.

Charon, Dante and Virgil in the Waters of the Styx, 1822
artist Eugene Delacroix, Louvre

Charon - carrier of souls
dead on the waters of Hades

Later, the attributes and features of the Etruscan god of death were transferred to the image of Charon, who, in turn, took the Etruscan name Harun. With the features of an Etruscan deity, Virgil presents Charon to us in the VI song of the Aeneid. In Virgil, Charon is an old man covered with mud, with a disheveled gray beard, fiery eyes, in dirty clothes. Protecting the waters of Acheron, with the help of a pole, he transports shadows on a canoe, and he takes some into the canoe, others, who have not received burial, drives away from the shore. Only a golden branch plucked in the grove of Persephone opens the way for a living person to the kingdom of death. Showing Charon the golden branch, Sibylla forced him to transport Aeneas.

So, according to one legend, Charon was chained for a year because he transported Hercules, Pirithous and Theseus through Acheron, who forcibly forced him to transport them to Hades (Virgil, Aeneid, VI 201-211, 385-397, 403- 416). In Etruscan paintings, Charon is depicted as an old man with a curved nose, sometimes with wings and bird-like legs, and usually with a large hammer. As a representative of the underworld, Charon later turned into a demon of death: in this sense, he passed, under the names of Charos and Charontas, to modern Greeks, who present him either in the form of a black bird descending on his victim, or in the form of a horseman pursuing air crowd of the dead. As for the origin of the word Charon, some authors, led by Diodorus Siculus, consider it borrowed from the Egyptians, others bring the word Charon closer to the Greek adjective χαροπός (having fiery eyes).

2. The Greek historiographer from Lampsak, belonged to the predecessors of Herodotus, the so-called logorifs, from which only fragments have come down to us. Of the numerous works attributed to him by the Byzantine encyclopedist Svyda, only "Περςικα" in two books and "Ωροι Ααμψακηών" in four books, that is, the chronicle of the city of Lampsak, can be considered authentic.