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Welcome shade, to the river Styx
Sooner or later, all mortals come to visit Hades. Lead by Hermes, the fleet footed messenger of the gods, a deceased person (or shade) would find himself at the banks of the river Styx.
Although some versions of greek mythology claim the existance of up to five rivers surrounding Hades, the river Styx was always the most well known, and the most sacred. In the Iliad it is the only river of the underworld; in the Odyssey it is coupled with Cocytus and Pyriphlegethon, which flow into the chief river Acheron. There was also the river Lethe in the underworld, and its waters made shades forget all of their memories. Hesiod 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.
With it's firey descriptions, and it's location in the underworld, the river Styx bore a resemblance to the lake of fire mentioned in other, less interesting, mythologies.
But Hades, or the underworld, was not a place for evil men. Instead, it was a great omnibus, a place for everyone. While the Greeks viewed Hades as a dismal depressing place, it did have it's paradise, the Elysian Fields, where heros went when their time came. It also had its punishments for those, such as Tantalus, who upset the Gods.
Those who were burried properly would find a coin called an obol under their tongue, which they would present to Charon, the ferryman of the river Styx. Charon was known for being taciturn, and would ferry his clients accross the river without saying a word.
Those who were not burried with coins in their mouths were doomed to wander the river's edge until they found the pauper's entrance to Hades. Although when Heracles went to Hades to bring back Cerberus, he gave Charon such a menacing glance, that the ferryman took him across without payment.
Why don't you cross over and see what's on the other side?
Charon's waiting for you
