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| The Styx by Doré |
Styx is the ancient name of the Mavro Nero River in North Eastern. Arcadia, Greece. It plunges over a cliff 600 ft. high and then flows through a wild and rugged glen; its surroundings suggested to the ancient Greeks, who regarded its waters as poisonous, the gloomy entrance to the lower world. In Greek mythology, the Styx was one of the five rivers of the underworld, the others being Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, and Phlegethon. The Styx was often described as the boundary river over which the aged ferryman Charon transported the shades of the dead. As the personification and goddess of the river, Styx was described as the oldest daughter of the Titan Oceanus; she aided Zeus, god of the sky, in his struggle against the Titans and was rewarded by being made guardian of the sacred oaths which bound the gods. No god dared to swear falsely by the river Styx.
