Styx

For other uses, see Styx.
River Styx.

River Styx.

Styx was a goddess and a location in Greek mythology, one of five rivers in the underworld Hell of the planet Earth. She was mentioned by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey and by Virgil in the Aeneid.

History[]

Dante Alighieri also included the Styx in his Divine Comedy poem Inferno. In his version, she was a river in the Fourth Circle of Hell that could be traversed to enter the Fifth Circle. The souls of those who had been overcome by bitterness or anger were trapped in the river.

In 2286, Lieutenant Castille projected mass illusions of USS Enterprise-A personnel descending through Dante's version of Hell. William Bearclaw was among those trapped in the river, and he tried to pull Captain James T. Kirk down with him. Instead the bridge crew officers were ferried across the river by Phlegyas, boatman of the River Styx, and they disembarked at the entrance to the city of Dis. (TOS - Who Killed Captain Kirk? comic: "Hell in a Handbasket")

Later that year, Leonard McCoy jokingly said burning keratin smelled like the Styx. (TOS novel: Unspoken Truth)

In 2368, Data described the mythical crossing of Styx as a cleansing of ties to the real world. (TNG - The Amazing Stories short story: "Last Words")

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Connections[]

Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy
Characters AchillesDante AlighieriAntaeusAttila the HunBeatriceBertran de BornMarcus Junius BrutusCentaursCerberusCharonCleopatraEuclidEurydiceFuriesGeryonUgolino della GherardescaHarpiesJudas IscariotJasonLuciferMedusaMinotaurMinosOrpheusPhlegyasPlatoSocratesUlyssesRuggieri degli UbaldiniVirgil
Locations Abominable SandsDisGarden of EdenHeavenLimboNeutral ZoneNine Circles of HellPurgatoryRiver of AcheronRiver of CocytusRiver of PhilegethonRiver StyxunderworldWood of the Suicides

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