The Acheron (; grc, Ἀχέρων ''Acheron'' or Ἀχερούσιος ''Acherousios''; ell, Αχέροντας ''Acherontas'') is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

located in the

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

region of northwest

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. It is long, and its drainage area is . Its source is near the village Zotiko, in the southwestern part of the Ioannina regional unit, and it flows into the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...

in Ammoudia, near

Parga Parga ( el, Πάργα ) is a town and municipality located in the northwestern part of the regional unit of Preveza in Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Kanallaki. Parga lies on the Ionian coast between the ...

. The Acheron also features prominently in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...

, where it is often depicted as the entrance to the

Greek Underworld In mythology, the Greek underworld, or Hades, is a distinct realm (one of the three realms that makes up the cosmos) where an individual goes after death. The earliest idea of afterlife in Greek myth is that, at the moment of death, an individu ...

where souls must be ferried across by

Charon In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (; grc, Χάρων) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of Hades, the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the ...

(although some later sources, such as

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

poets, assign this role to the river

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, ...

Mythology

Ancient

saw the Acheron, sometimes known as the "river of woe", as one of the five rivers of the

Greek underworld In mythology, the Greek underworld, or Hades, is a distinct realm (one of the three realms that makes up the cosmos) where an individual goes after death. The earliest idea of afterlife in Greek myth is that, at the moment of death, an individu ...

. The name is of uncertain etymology. Most classical accounts, including Pausanias (10.28) and later

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...

's ''Inferno'' (3.78), portray the Acheron as the entrance to the Underworld and depict

ferrying the souls of the dead across it. Ancient Greek literary sources – such as

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

, and

Callimachus Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide varie ...

– also place Charon on the Acheron. Roman poets, including

Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of '' Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the poets Gallu ...

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

, and

Statius Publius Papinius Statius ( Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; ; ) was a Greco-Roman poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving Latin poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid''; a collection of occasional poetry, ...

, name the river as the Styx, perhaps following the geography of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

's underworld in the ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of ...

,'' where Charon is associated with both rivers. The

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

ic poems describe the Acheron as a river of

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

, into which Cocytus and Phlegethon both flowed. The Roman poet

called the Acheron the principal river of

Tartarus In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; grc, , }) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's ''Gorgias'' (), souls are judg ...

, from which the

and the Cocytus both sprang. The newly dead would be ferried across the Acheron by

in order to enter the Underworld. The

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souida ...

describes the river as "a place of healing, not a place of punishment, cleansing and purging the sins of humans". According to later traditions, Acheron had been a son of

Helios In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

and either

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthen ...

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, ...

, who was turned into the Underworld river bearing his name after he refreshed the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...

with drink during their contest with

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek relig ...

. By this myth, Acheron is also the father of

Ascalaphus The name Ascalaphus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀσκάλαφος ''Askalaphos'') is shared by two people in Greek mythology: * Ascalaphus, son of Acheron and Orphne. * Ascalaphus, son of Ares and Astyoche.Homer, ''Iliad'' 13.518 Notes Refere ...

by either

Orphne In Greek mythology, Orphne (; grc, Ὀρφνή, Orphnḗ, from ), also known as Styx (; ) or Gorgyra (; , from ), was a nymph that lived in Hades. With Acheron, she mothered Ascalaphus. Orphne also seems to be one translation of the name of the ...

Gorgyra In Greek mythology, Orphne (; grc, Ὀρφνή, Orphnḗ, from ), also known as Styx (; ) or Gorgyra (; , from ), was a nymph that lived in Hades. With Acheron, she mothered Ascalaphus. Orphne also seems to be one translation of the name of the ...

. The river called Acheron with the nearby ruins of the Necromanteion (oratory of the dead) is found near

on the mainland of Greece opposite

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

. Another branch of Acheron was believed to surface at the Acherusian cape (now

Karadeniz Ereğli Karadeniz Ereğli (or Ereğli) is a city and district in Zonguldak Province of Turkey on the Black Sea shore. Population of the city proper is 121,237 as of 2020. The mayor of the city is Halil Posbıyık. Mehmet Yapıcı is the District Governor ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

) and was seen by the

Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo ...

according to

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the '' Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and ...

. Greeks who settled in Italy identified the Acherusian lake into which Acheron flowed with Lake

Avernus Avernus was an ancient name for a volcanic crater near Cumae (Cuma), Italy, in the region of Campania west of Naples. Part of the Phlegraean Fields of volcanoes, Avernus is approximately in circumference. Within the crater is Lake Avernus (' ...

in his ''Phaedo'' identified Acheron as the second greatest river in the world, excelled only by

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus (; grc-gre, , Ancient Greek pronunciation: , also Ὠγενός , Ὤγενος , or Ὠγήν ) was a Titan son of Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys, and the father of the river gods and ...

. He claimed that Acheron flowed in the opposite direction from Oceanus beneath the earth under desert places. The word is also occasionally used as a

synecdoche Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy: it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole ('' pars pro toto''), or vice versa ('' totum pro parte''). The term comes from Greek . Examples in common E ...

for Hades itself.

mentions Acheron with the other infernal rivers in his description of the underworld in Book VI of the ''

''. In Book VII, line 312 he gives to Juno the famous saying, ''flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo'': 'If I cannot bend the will of Heaven, I shall move Hell.' The same words were used by

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...

as the dedicatory motto for his seminal book ''

The Interpretation of Dreams ''The Interpretation of Dreams'' (german: Die Traumdeutung) is an 1899 book by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, in which the author introduces his theory of the unconscious with respect to dream interpretation, and discusses wha ...

'', figuring Acheron as psychological underworld beneath the conscious mind. The Acheron was sometimes referred to as a lake or swamp in Greek literature, as in

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his ...

' ''

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' ( grc-gre, Βάτραχοι, Bátrakhoi, Frogs; la, Ranae, often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus i ...

'' and

' ''

Alcestis Alcestis (; Ancient Greek: Ἄλκηστις, ') or Alceste, was a princess in Greek mythology, known for her love of her husband. Her life story was told by pseudo-Apollodorus in his '' Bibliotheca'', and a version of her death and return from t ...

''. In

's '' Inferno'', the Acheron river forms the border of

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

. Following Greek mythology,

ferries souls across this river to Hell. Those who were neutral in life sit on the banks.

In culture

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon t ...

's play, '' The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus,'' Acheron is mentioned in Act I, scene iii, wherein Doctor Faustus conjures Mephistophiles: ''Sint mihi dei Acherontis propitii,'' or "May the gods of Hell (Acheron) be propitious unto me." In Shakespeare's play, ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'', Acheron is referenced as a euphemism for the gates of hell by

Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depict ...

in Act III, scene v: "Get you gone, and at the pit of Acheron meet me i' th' morning."

Modern references in popular culture

The name Acheron was used as a reference within the ''

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

'' film franchise for the planet LV426 (where the crashed alien vessel containing the face-huggers was originally found). Known solely by its alphanumeric designation during the first film, the planet was named as Acheron during the sequel ''

Aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

'' (1986). Robert E. Howard used Acheron as the name of an ancient kingdom, ruled by evil sorcerers a few thousand years before

The Hyborian Age "The Hyborian Age" is an essay by Robert E. Howard pertaining to the Hyborian Age, the fictional setting of his stories about Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in the 1930s but not published during Howard's lifetime. Its purpose was to main ...

. In ''

The Hour of the Dragon ''The Hour of the Dragon'', also known as ''Conan the Conqueror'', is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert E. Howard featuring his sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian. It was one of the last Conan stories published before Howard's ...

'', the only novel-length

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and ''Conan the Destroyer''), ...

story by Howard, the wizard Xaltotun, formerly of Acheron, is resurrected by necromancy and is Conan's main antagonist. It was used again, in the same sense, by the movie ''

''. ''Acheron'' was the French privateer ship that Captain Jack Aubrey pursued in the epic period war-drama film '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' (2003). The name Acheron is used for the Lawful (Neutral) Evil Outer Plane in ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

'', however it is described as consisting of a huge number of iron cubes of varying size, instead of a river. The River Acheron makes multiple appearances in the ''

Percy Jackson & the Olympians ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' is a series of five fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the ''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles''. The novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st cent ...

'' series. There are multiple references to Acheron in the lore of the ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

'' video games, including a weapon called the "Acheron SR5". Acherus The Ebon Hold is an undead floating necropolis in ''

World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the '' Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azer ...

'' and is the starting area for all death knights. It is the headquarters of the Knights of the Ebon Blade formerly known as Death Knights of Acherus in service of the '' Lich King''. This river was also the site of the battle between Acheron Charon and Pegasus Seiya and Andromeda Shun, when the Bronze Saints descended into the Underworld during the Hades arc in ''

Saint Seiya , also known as ''Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac'' or simply ''Knights of the Zodiac'' (translated from the French title ''Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque''), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It w ...

'' It is also the episode title of the two-part season eleven

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its fi ...

of the AMC post-apocalyptic horror television series '' The Walking Dead''. Acheron is used as the name of the setting of the

Warp Riders ''Warp Riders'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band the Sword. Recorded at Wire Recording in Austin, Texas with producer Matt Bayles, it was released by Kemado Records in August 2010. ''Warp Riders'' was written and recorded as ...

album by

The Sword The Sword was an American heavy metal band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2003, the band was composed of vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III for most of its t ...

Namesake

Acheron Lake Acheron Lake ( bg, езеро Ахерон, ezero Aheron, ) is the B-shaped 315 m long in southwest-northeast direction and 186 m wide lake on President Beaches, Byers Peninsula on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. I ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

is named after the mythical river. Several ships have been named '' HMS Acheron''. There is a stream named the ''Dry Acheron'' in Canterbury, New Zealand.

Gallery

File:Acheron 2.jpg, Acheron river File:Acheron 3.jpg, Acheron river (another view) File:Baileybridge over the Acheron river in Gliki - Greece.jpg,

Truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

bridge over the Acheron river

References

External links

L'Achéron, Viol Consort
{{Authority control Potamoi Rivers of Greece Rivers of Hades Geography of ancient Epirus Epirotic mythology Landforms of Ioannina (regional unit) Rivers of Epirus (region) Landforms of Preveza (regional unit) Drainage basins of the Ionian Sea