| Acheron | |
|---|---|
 Acheron river near the village ofGlyki | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Greece |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Ioannina regional unit,Epirus |
| Mouth | |
• location | Ionian Sea |
• coordinates | 39°14′10″N20°28′34″E / 39.23611°N 20.47611°E /39.23611; 20.47611 |
| Length | 52 km (32 mi) |
| Basin size | 705 km2 (272 sq mi) |
TheAcheron (/ˈækərən/ or/ˈækərɒn/;Ancient Greek:ἈχέρωνAcheron or ἈχερούσιοςAcherousios;Greek:ΑχέρονταςAcherontas) is ariver in theEpirus region of northwestGreece.[1]
InGreek mythology, Acheron is often depicted as the entrance to theGreek Underworld where souls must be ferried across byCharon (although some later sources, such asRoman poets, assign this role to the riverStyx).
It is 52 km (32 mi) long, and has a drainage area of 705 km2 (272 sq mi).[1] The river's source is located near the villageZotiko, in the southwestern part of theIoannina regional unit. The Acheron flows into theIonian Sea inAmmoudia, nearParga.
AncientGreek mythology saw the Acheron, sometimes known as the "river of woe", as one of the five rivers of theGreek underworld.[2] The name is of uncertain etymology.[3]
Most classical accounts, includingPausanias (10.28) and laterDante'sInferno (3.78), portray the Acheron as the entrance to the Underworld and depictCharon ferrying the souls of the dead across it. Ancient Greek literary sources such asPindar,Aeschylus,Euripides,Plato, andCallimachus also place Charon on the Acheron. Roman poets, includingPropertius,Ovid, andStatius, name the river as theStyx, perhaps following the geography ofVirgil's underworld in theAeneid, where Charon is associated with both rivers.
TheHomeric poems describe the Acheron as a river ofHades, into whichCocytus andPhlegethon both flowed.[4][5]
The Roman poetVirgil called the Acheron the principal river ofTartarus, from which theStyx and the Cocytus both sprang.[6] The newly dead would be ferried across the Acheron byCharon in order to enter the Underworld.[7]
TheSuda describes the river as "a place of healing, not a place of punishment, cleansing and purging the sins of humans".[9]
According to later traditions, Acheron had been a son ofHelios and eitherGaia orDemeter, who was turned into the Underworld river bearing his name after he refreshed theTitans with drink during their contest withZeus.[10] By this myth, Acheron is also the father ofAscalaphus by eitherOrphne[11] orGorgyra.[12]
The river called Acheron with the nearby ruins of theNecromanteion (oratory of the dead) is found nearParga on the mainland of Greece oppositeCorfu. Another branch of Acheron was believed to surface at the Acherusian cape (nowKaradeniz Ereğli inTurkey) and was seen by theArgonauts according toApollonius of Rhodes. Greeks who settled in Italy identified the Acherusian lake into which Acheron flowed with LakeAvernus.Plato in hisPhaedo identified Acheron as the second greatest river in the world, excelled only byOceanus.
He claimed that Acheron flowed in the opposite direction fromOceanus beneath the earth under desert places. The word is also occasionally used as asynecdoche for Hades itself.Virgil mentions Acheron with the other infernal rivers in his description of the underworld in Book VI of theAeneid. In Book VII, line 312[13] 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 bySigmund Freud as the dedicatory motto for his seminal bookThe Interpretation of Dreams, figuring Acheron as psychological underworld beneath the conscious mind.
The Acheron was sometimes referred to as a lake or swamp in Greek literature, as inAristophanes'The Frogs andEuripides'Alcestis.
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InDante'sInferno, the Acheron river forms the border ofHell. Following Greek mythology,Charon ferries souls across this river to Hell. Those who were neutral in life sit on the banks.
Acheron Lake inAntarctica is named after the mythical river.
Several ships have been namedHMS Acheron.[15]
There is a stream named theDry Acheron in Canterbury, New Zealand.[16]
TheEocene turtle genusAcherontemys of theRoslyn Formation in North America was named in reference to the Acheron mythos.[17]
InHonkai Star Rail, a character within the story nicknames herself after the river Acheron.
Former hardestGeometry Dash level "Acheron" is named after and shares the name with the river
His [Hades'] subterranean realm was a chill and sunless place, watered by five rivers: the Styx (Hateful River), the Acheron (River of Woe), the Kokytos (River of Lamentation), the Phlegethon (River of Flame), and the Lethe (River of Forgetfulness).
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