Styx: The River of No Return. Pronounced: stiks, in Greek mythology the entrance to the underworld, Tartarus, the domain of Hades, across which that the souls of the dead had to cross on their journey from the realm of the living to eternity. It was a sacred river, even to the gods. If a god gave his oath upon the river Styx and failed to keep his word, Zeus forced that god to drink the river water which is so foul that the god would lose his/her voice for nine years.

The river Styx was guarded by Cerberus, a fierce three-headed dog who patrols the shores of the river Styx, devouring both living intruders and dead spirits. Cerberus allows all souls to enter but none to leave. He was born to Echidne and Typhon. is said to be so awful that his look could turn a man to stone.

Charon,(pronounced care-on) was the ferryman who carried the dead across the river Styx into Tartarus. Charon requires a coin for his services from each soul he ferried across the Styx (or can not cross for a year). A family members traditionally places a coin under the dead loved ones tongue.

• Acheron - the river of woe
• Cocytus - the river of lamentation
• Phlegethon - the river of fire
• Lethe - the river of forgetfulness
• Styx - the river of hate. Styx comes from the Greek word "stugein" which means hate.

After the battle of the Titans (old gods) against Olympians, Zeus created Tartarus to keep the Titans in (since gods can not die). Zeus was made the leader of the Olympians, the three brothers split the territory equally. Zeus took the sky, Poseidon the waters, and Hades the underworld.

Hades was also called Pluto by the Romans, as well as Dis and in mythology is as much associated with the precious metals hidden in the earth as the afterlife. The name "Hades" means "the unseen" Probably because Hades has a helmet that allowed him to see at night. Hades wasn't an evil god, he just did what had to be done who rarely left the underworld and was not allowed at Olympus. Hades is often thought as the inn keeper of Tartarus, not like the Heaven and Hell you might think.

Anyway, the soul (shade) is lead by Hermes across the Acheron where Rhadamanthus, Minos I, and Aeacus, pass sentence in a fairly just manner. The very good (like you) go to the Elysian Fields. There are a lot of lower levels like Sisyphus and Tantalus for the others. The lower parts of the underworld is not particularly unpleasant, more like a miserable place full of shadows, without sunlight or hope or joy where the dead slowly fade away.

Hades (after conspiring with her father, Zeus) abducted Persephone (AKA Proserpine) to be Queen of Tartarus, gave her pomegranate seeds that constituted their marriage. However her mother, Demeter, goddess of agriculture, found out and would not let spring happen unless her daughter was returned. So Zeus made Proserpine (Persephone) goddess of spring a third of the time, stay with her mother an other third and with Hades the other third of the time.

There was one case when Hades he fell in love with Minthe, a nymph. So Persephone found out she was insanely jealous, and she turned Minthe into the herb, mint.

There was an other special case: The river Styx was also personified as a nymph Styx, (daughter of Oceanus and Tethys) Styx was the guardian of the sacred oaths that bound the gods. Styx also was the mother of Nike (who was the goddess of Victory and only appeared when the Olympic games started).

Tartarus in the Greek mythology was in the far west over the edge of the world. Homer's writing suggest it is the Mavronori river , is in northeastern Arcadia, Greece. A river with a 600-ft fall and flows over rocky terrain. There is a river named "Styx" in the N Peloponnesus (in ancient Arcadia).