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Replies: 6 / Views: 30,438 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
749 Posts |
In the movie Troy, it is done and said one is to put coins on the eyes of the recently departed..for the boatman.(I think they said boatman) What is its significance? I have often wondered about this little tid bit seeing as I have watched the movie many, many times. And now...a forum in which to ask and get answered 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
914 Posts |
I'd assume the coins were to pay Phlegyas for passage across the river Styx Directly from Wikipedia... quote: In Greek mythology, the "River Styx" (Sigma;tau;upsilon;xi;) is a river which formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld (Hades). It circles Hades nine times. The rivers Styx, Phlegethon, Acheron and Cocytus all converge at the center of Hades on a great marsh. The other important rivers of Hades are Lethe and Eridanos. Styx is guarded by Phlegyas, who passes the souls from one side to another of the river. In other versions, Phlegyas guards Phlegethon, another of the main rivers of Hades. Sometimes the ferryman is called Charon.
The gods respected the Styx and swore binding oaths by it. Zeus swore to give Semele whatever she wanted and was then obliged to follow through, resulting in her death. Helios similarly promised Phaėton whatever he desired, also resulting in his death. Gods that did not follow through on such an oath had to drink from the glass, causing them to lose their voices for nine years. According to some versions, Styx had miraculous powers and could make someone immortal/invunerable. Achilles may have been dipped in it in his childhood, acquiring invulnerability, with exception of his heel, which was held by his mother in order to submerge him. His exposed heel thus became known as Achilles' heel, a metaphor for a weak spot in modern meaning.
Styx was primarily a feature in the afterworld of Greek mythology, but has been described as a feature present in the hell of Christianity as well, notably in The Divine Comedy and also "Paradise Lost". The ferryman Charon is in modern times commonly believed to have transported the souls of the newly dead across this river into the underworld, though in the original Greek and Roman sources, as well as in Dante, it was the river Acheron that Charon plied. Dante put Phlegyas over the Styx and made it the fifth circle of Hell, where the wrathful and sullen are punished by being drowned in the muddy waters for eternity.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
749 Posts |
Thanks Vaslin. I will have to watch it again and hear for the word Charon. Interesting to know about Achilles as well 
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Moderator
 Australia
16872 Posts |
Two things to note here:
1. This scene is one of the many anachronisms in this movie. According to legend, the Trojan wars happened sometime around 1200 BC. But coins weren't invented until sometime around 600 BC. I don't know if the "paying the ferryman" tradition predates coinage, but they would have had to find something besides coins to pay him with. Perhaps the iron ingots the Greeks used to use for money before they invented coins?
2. In all probability, we ancients collectors owe many of our most prized possessions to this tradition, though it's something we try not to think about too much. Many of the large bronze coins in our collections would have originally come from the eye-sockets of skulls, obtained from unearthing ancient graves.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
749 Posts |
Thanks for the input Sap. This also answers another question I have been wondering.. When were coins invented? Answer..Around 600 BC 
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
2830 Posts |
G'day, taking Vaslin's answer a little further: the journey across the River Styx is the journey from life to the afterlife. The journey is accomplished in a ferry or boat. The ferryman, or boatman, has to be paid. The basic coin of that era was an "obol"; plural "oboloi": not gold; not silver; very basic. You might translate this as "penny". The fare was two oboloi. So, as part of the funerary ritual, someone - a loved one, rellie, friend - would put a penny on each eye, by way of preparation for the soul's journey. "Hades" in Greek mythology is not the negative concept of "Hell". In Australia, an insult directed to the subject's lack of moral scruple and honesty in money matters, even at the most basic level, is: "He'd steal the pennies from dead men's eyes."
Thanks to Vaslin, I am now enlightened: I never realized that Hades had so much geography.
Peter in Oz
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
749 Posts |
Thanks Peter 
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Replies: 6 / Views: 30,438 |
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