Mythology has taught us to see the world in a different way. This mythology has filled our day-to-day traditions with traditions, despite the fact that many have no historical basis. For example, thanks to Greek mythology we have known centuries-old traditions and how the ancient Hellenes treated, for example, their dead. When a person passed away, it was common to put coins in their eyes for a simple offering to the gods.
Where does this tradition come from that we have seen later in other later cultures? Today, there are many cultures that still put coins in the eyes of their dead, following the old belief of Greek mythology so that their dead are not left out of paradise.
In this case, the Greeks did it for a very specific reason, and that is that what they did not want was that the ferryman, Charon, did not transport his relatives because he did not carry the necessary coins. If this did not happen, the dead man was destined to spend his other life wandering the Underworld.
Payment to the boatman
According to Greek mythology, the burials and the connection of the Hellenes with the gods was always very strong. When a person died, his life ended in the earthly world, but a new journey began that passed by meeting Charon and his boat.
The ferryman demanded that the dead carry three coins: two in the eyes and one under the tongue. According to Greek tradition, it was the tax that the god Hades collected to transfer, through the river Acheron, the recently dead to the realm of the dead.
Charon collected that amount and moved the dead to a place where the souls were. If the coins were not deposited in place or not carried, they would be left at the mercy of the Underworld , wandering in the shadows for 100 years.
The ferryman from hell
There is a lot of mythology around the figure of the ferryman. Not only was the tradition of putting coins in the eyes of the dead typical of Charon, it is known that he also never let anyone pass without this premise. Only two demigods ever managed to fool him: one was Hercules and the other Orpheus.
These coins in the eyes and under the tongue were insurance for mortals, which served to regain consciousness after death. Without this toll, the soul would never wake up for 100 years . Normally, both Greeks and Romans, who also maintained this tradition, paid the boatman with the lowest value currency: vitálico.
