Styx (River)
placeThe Styx was the most sacred river of the underworld — the river by which the gods swore their most binding oaths, from which no vow could be broken.
The Myth
Styx was both a river and a goddess — an Oceanid who sided with Zeus in the Titanomachy. Zeus honoured her by making her river the binding medium of divine oaths. Any god who swore by the Styx and broke the oath was stripped of speech and breath for nine years. Thetis dipped Achilles in the Styx to make him invulnerable — his heel, where she held him, remained mortal. The river formed the boundary between the world of the living and the dead. Charon's ferry crossed its waters.
Children
Nike, Zelus, Kratos, Bia
Symbols
Fun Fact
"Stygian" — meaning dark, gloomy, or infernal — comes from this river. It's one of the most evocative adjectives in English.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Achilles
heroThe greatest warrior in the Greek army at Troy, nearly invulnerable thanks to being dipped in the...
Charon
godCharon was the grim ferryman who carried the souls of the dead across the river Styx into the...
Nike
godNike was the winged goddess of victory in all domains — war, athletics, art.
Oceanus
titanThe great Titan who personified the vast river believed to encircle the entire world. Father of all...
Styx
placeThe great river that formed the boundary between the world of the living and the realm of the dead....
Tethys
titanTethys was the Titaness of fresh water — the great nurse of all life, whose thousands of river and...