Greek Mythology Coloring Pages
Charon Coloring Pages


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Charon (pronounced "KAIR-on") was the ferryman of the dead in Greek mythology. When someone died, their spirit traveled to the edge of the underworld, where Charon rowed them across the river Styx to the land of Hades. The fare was a coin, and the Greeks really did place a coin in the mouth of the dead so the spirit could pay. Spirits with no coin, or whose bodies were never buried, were said to wander the shore for a hundred years.

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detailed Greek mythology children's coloring page of Charon
Charon in his ferry
preschool Greek mythology coloring page of Charon
preschool Charon coloring page
Greek mythology coloring page of Charon in his ferry
Charon coloring page
monsters and creatures - Charon coloring page with information
Charon(with info)
Greek mythology coloring page of Virgil's Charon
Virgil described Charon as old but strong, with an unkempt beard and eyes like fire.
Greek mythology coloring page of Charon, ferryman of the dead
Charon, ferryman of the dead
Greek mythology coloring page of Charon
Charon was the son of darkness and night (Erebus and Nyx)
Greek mythology coloring page of an Etruscan style Charon
The Etruscans made him terrifying. Their version, Charun, had a hooked nose and a big hammer, and he was more like a death demon than a ferryman.
Greek mythology coloring page of Charon
Charon
otherworldly coloring page of Charon
Pluto's largest moon is named after Charon
Greek mythology coloring page of a coin for the ferryman
coin for the ferryman
Greek mythology coloring page of a coin for the ferryman
coin for the ferryman
Greek mythology coloring page of Charon's obol
The fare was an obol, a small Greek coin. It was sometimes placed in the mouth of the dead, and it's called "Charon's obol."
Greek mythology coloring page of the Ferry over the river Styx
Ferry over the river Styx
Greek mythology coloring page of the Ferry over the river Styx
Ferry over the river Styx
Greek mythology coloring page of the bearded boatman with a pole and a simple hood
On funeral vases from Athens Charon is a bearded boatman with a pole and a simple cap.
Greek mythology coloring page of the Ferry over the river Styx
Ferry over the river Styx
Greek mythology coloring page of the Ferry over the river Styx
Ferry over the river Styx

 

Charon, the Ferryman

I was not afraid on the shore. That actually surprised me more than anything.

The river was called the Styx. It was black and very still, and a low mist lay over the water so that the far side was only a rumor. Other souls stood around me, quiet and gray, all of us just waiting. Silently.

A boat slid out of the mist. It was long and narrow, and it made no sound at all. It didn't even seem to make a ripple in the water. At the back stood an old man with a stubbly gray beard and a cloak the color of wet stone if you can call that a color. This was Charon, the ferryman of the dead. Everyone knew his name, even the ones who had never seen him. He did not smile and he did not frown. He'd done this job longer than anyone could count and he looked it.

I felt the coin under my tongue. My family had placed it there before they laid me to rest... small and cold, with a faint taste of metal. That was the toll. Charon carries only the dead who have been buried properly, and only the ones who can pay.

I stepped to the edge of the water. He held out his hand, and I put the coin in it. He looked at it, nodded once, and pointed to a seat. No conversation or explanation.

A few souls at the back of the crowd didn't step forward. No one had given them a coin or maybe no one had buried them. So Charon didn't take them. Those sad souls would wander up and down the bank of the river Styx for a hundred years. I looked back once, and they just watched us go.

The boat pushed off. His oar dipped and rose... still as silent as ever, and the black water barely rippled. On the far bank I could just make out a tall seat where a judge waited and beside it a huge dog with three heads, lying across the path.

Charon's work ended at the shore. I stepped out onto the far bank and behind me the silent oar dipped once more. The boat slid back into the mist, already on its way to gather the next soul.