„Who pays the Ferryman?“

Abstract

Summary This paper proposes to analyse different features of the well-known Greco-Roman myth of Charon, the ferryman, who transported souls from this life to the underworld. The popularity of the boatman in ancient times can be demonstrated in the literary sources which evocate his figure through 12 centuries (from the 6th century BC to the 6th century AD). The research is focused on the analyses of written sources (Greek and Latin authors and some epigraphic evidence) supplemented by figural representations, in order to penetrate the collective mentality of the society, to understand the imaginary world of the ordinary people and the relationship between myth, superstition and ritual acts. The works of 55 ancient authors were sorted in six chronological and cultural sequences aiming to follow the changes which took place in the approach of the topic through the centuries: 1. Pre-classical and classical authors (6th-5th century BC); 2. Hellenistic authors; 3. Authors from the 1st century BC; 4. Authors from the 1st century AD. 5. Authors from the 2nd century AD; 6. Late Roman authors 4th-6th centuries AD.