In Greek mythology, Charon ferried the souls of the dead across the rivers of the Underworld.
Charon was the Underworld’s boatman. He transported the dead after receiving payment, traditionally a coin placed in or on the mouth of the deceased during burial. Greek funerary customs help explain why ancient graves sometimes contain coins known as obols of Charon.
Different sources describe the waterway as the Styx or the Acheron. Charon’s role is therefore broader than a single fixed river in every version. The dead generally needed proper burial and payment to make the crossing.
Charon is not the ruler of the dead: that role belongs to Hades. He is also not Cerberus, the many-headed hound guarding the Underworld’s entrance, nor Thanatos, the personification of death. These figures have separate functions in Greek mythology.