place gold coins over the eyes of the recently departed ???
First one with the correct answer gets points !
2007-01-18 19:34:35 · 9 answers · asked by Samantha A 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
Hey kid, they do that so the soul of the departed can go to the underworld.
He needs the coins to pay the ferryman, Charon, to let him come over his boat and cross the river of Styx.
The river is the path to the underworld.
If there is no coins to pay the ferryman, the person is doomed to wander the world for all eternity without purpose and companion.
2007-01-18 19:45:21 · answer #1 · answered by Enslaver 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It was believed that when people died, they went to Hades, the region of the dead. But to get there, they had to be ferried across the River Styx. The gold coins were to pay the ferryman (I can't remember his name, but the moon of Pluto was named after him).
2007-01-19 09:40:57 · answer #2 · answered by cross-stitch kelly 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
~The Greeks used bronze. The Egyptians used gold because theycould afford it. Styx has a toll booth at the far end.
2007-01-19 03:38:32 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It is Charon's fee for crossing the River Styx
2007-01-19 07:27:49 · answer #4 · answered by snowbaal 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's to pay the toll at the River Styx
2007-01-19 03:36:31 · answer #5 · answered by geminimale82 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
because the departed is so materialistic so the first time he open his eyes in the underworld he'll see money.
2007-01-19 03:58:47 · answer #6 · answered by TotallyME 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
to pay the boat man to take their souls to their version of heaven
2007-01-19 03:39:46 · answer #7 · answered by wendy4anri 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
To keep their eyes closed.
2007-01-19 03:40:09 · answer #8 · answered by lonetraveler 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
to pay the toll to get across the river
best answer please
2007-01-19 03:36:26 · answer #9 · answered by MiKe Drazen 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋