Who Pays the Ferryman

[boxstergirl]

Could anyone explain this saying to me. My husband says it is from the Trojans who put coins on the eyes of their deceased

[andy hughes]

The ancient Greeks believed that the souls of the dead had to be ferried accross the river Styx by Charon the Ferryman. For payment, the relatives would place coins on the eyes of the deceased, or sometimes under the tongue ,and the ferryman, who never spoke, would take the soul to the underworld. Failure to pay would mean the sould wandering the shorers for eternity. 

[boxstergirl]

Thanks for your answer Andy.  Once again my husband was nearly right!

[andy hughes]

You are most welcome.

[lampgb]

The basis of the story was covered in a History programme on SKY recently. The River Styx existed. It is an underground stream leading to a burial place used in ancient Greece with candle holding niche's along it's route. I seem to recall that the passageway was very narrow wide enough only for a very thin boat. 

[Hippy]

At the time of the Tojan War (1,200 BC) coins were not in use. Metal currency tokens were use for the first time in Anatolia (Modern Turkey) in the 5th century BC. The Greek coin on eyes custom seems to have a much more recent origin, around 1st Century BC.

The Ferryman Charon and River Styx theme exists in several ancient beliefs, and funery offerings buried with the deceaced predates written and extant oral records.