Charon

Jewel made entirely by hand by the Italian craftsman Gianmarco Fontana. Ring made of 925 Silver depicting Charon, which is part of the "SPECIAL" collection.

In Greek religion and Roman religion, Charon (in ancient Greek: Χάρων, Chárōn, "enlightened ferocity" [no source]) was the ferryman of Hades. As a psychopomp, he carried the souls of the dead from one bank of the Acheron River to the other, but only if their corpses had received the ritual funeral honors (or, in another version, if they had an offering to pay for the trip); whoever did not receive them (or did not have the offering) was forced to wander forever without peace in the mists of the river (or, according to some authors, for a hundred years).

In ancient Greece there was the tradition of putting a coin under the tongue of the corpse before burial. The tradition remained alive in Greece until fairly recent times and is probably of ancient origin. Some authors argue that the price was two coins, placed above the eyes of the deceased or under the tongue.

No living soul has ever been transported to the other side, with the sole exceptions of the goddess Persephone, of the heroes Aeneas, Theseus, Piritous and Hercules, Odysseus, of the poet Orpheus, of the Cumaean sibyl Deifobe, of Psyché and, in literature and traditions subsequent to the ancient Greek one, by Dante Alighieri.