THE GODDESS STYX By Adriana Daniel FAMILY LIFE

THE GODDESS STYX By Adriana Daniel

FAMILY LIFE • Styx was the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, thus being one of the Oceanid sisters. • Her husband was Pallas (god of Battle and Warcraft), and with him she had four children: Zelus (Rivalry), Nike (Victory), Cratos (Strength), and Bia (Force).

FIGHTING THE TITANS • When Zeus summoned all the gods to help him fight against the Titans, Oceanus told his daughter Styx to join Zeus. She and her children immediately went to Zeus’s aid and helped him fight in the Titanomachy.

AFTER VICTORY • As a reward for Styx ‘s help, Zeus allowed her children to dwell in his house. To her, he gave the honor of being the on whose name the solemn oaths were taken. That's why she was feared by gods, because oaths sworn on her name could not be taken lightly. Zeus had a habit of swearing on the waters of the Styx whenever he got in trouble with Hera because of his love affairs (which was pretty often).

SERIOUS OATHS • When such a solemn oath was broken, there was a severe punishment for the gods: for one year, they could not breathe or feed on nectar and ambrosia. They would just lay on a bed, in a kind of coma. After that, for nine more years, they could not take part in the other activities of the gods, counsels or banquets

ZEUS AND SEMELE • Zeus swore on the river Styx to grant Semele (one of his affairs) whatever she wanted. That's why, when she asked him to appear in all his glory, he had to do it. He showed her the smallest of his thunder bolts and the smallest storm, but mortals can't see them without being incinerated, so Semele died. Zeus had tried to make her change her mind, but in the end he had to comply, because he was bond by the oath on the waters of the river Styx.

THE RIVER STYX • The river Styx was considered the boundary between our world and the underworld. That's why sometimes the name Styx was used instead of "Hades". It was a branch of the river Oceanus and it was said to circle the world.

ACHILLES & THE RIVER • In this river, the great hero Achilles was submerged when he was an infant by his mother Thetis, thus making him invincible; however, as she held him by his heel, that was the only spot on his body that was vulnerable. This is how the phrase Achilles' heel was created to signify a vulnerable spot.

CROSSING THE RIVER • The river had to be crossed to reach life after death, and the only way to cross it was in a ferryboat rowed by a terrible old boatman named Charon. Souls that did not pay Charon’s fare were left to wander up and down the banks of the river Styx for 100 years as restless spirits. The river was said to be filled with lost hopes, dreams, and wishes that never came true.

SOURCES • http: //www. greekmythology. com/Titans/Styx/styx. html • http: //www. greek-gods-and-goddesses. com/river-styx. html • http: //www. theoi. com/Khthonios/Potamos. Styx. html