Charon, in Greek mythology, the son of Erebus and Nyx (Night), whose duty it was to ferry over the Rivers Styx and Acheron those souls of the deceased who had received the rites of burial. In payment he received the coin that was placed in the mouth of the corpse. In art, where he was first depicted in an Attic vase dating from about 500 BCE, Charon was represented as a morose and grisly old man. Charon appears in Aristophanes’ comedy Frogs (406 BCE) Virgil portrayed him in Aeneid, Book VI (1st century BCE); He is also a common character in the dialogues of Lucian (2nd century CE). OIn Etruscan mythology he was known as Charun and appeared as a death demon, armed with a hammer. Eventually he came to be regarded as the image of death and of the world below. As such he survives in Charos, or Charontas, the angel of death in modern Greek folklore. Dante's Inferno describes the nine circles of hell, each for different sins and punishments. Each circle of hell gets worse, with the ninth circle for those who betray others. The journey through hell and back is a lesson on sin, redemption, and moral choices.
"And lo! towards us coming in a boat An old man, hoary with the hair of eld, Crying: 'Woe unto you, ye souls depraved!'"