SH+2015-16+P4+The+Acheron+River

=Sofia Jacobson: Aim- Acheron River=

Aim "Authors Purpose"- Sofia Jacobson
The Acheron River within Greek mythology was part of justifying a being's existence by validating where they go after death. Within the B.C. era, people conjectured of good and evil and the results to those actions, and the Acheron River is the “fate” for sinners. Within a website regarding the Acheron River they proclaim,“The word Acheron itself means the "river of woe". A fitting name indeed for this river. This is the river that the old ferryman Charon ferried the dead across from the land of the living to the realm of Hades” (Roemello). Within the quote it states that the Acheron River is also referred to as “the river of woe”, inkling the idea that the river itself was a place of great sorrow and distress. The Acheron River is the entrance to Hades conferring the setting as a petrifying and pessimistic surrounding. Once a person has died the Acheron River provides the solution to where they go. Greek mythology has proclaimed that once an enlightened being has died, the family member of spouse should place a gold coin on the lips of the lost one. Once the sinful soul has arrived at the Acheron River they must pay the Charon, and without money left on their lips from the land of the living, they are doomed to walk the banks of the river for eternity. Out of possession of a dedicated site on Greek mythology they expound,“Upon death, a soul was led by Hermes near the entrance of the underworld, where the ferry awaited to carry it across the Acheron. There was a single ferry run by Charon, the boatman who took the souls across the river... Hades was a greedy god, whose sole purpose was to increase the number of souls in his kingdom; at the same time, he was very reluctant to let any soul leave.”(GreekMythology). The purpose of this is to give humans a deeper understanding of how the depths of Hades can be reckon as ghoulish and ghastly. The Acheron River is not just a river, its the entrance to hell. Its serves a purpose of fear and once a human soul has entered they can not get out and is doomed for eternity. Since Hades ego is immense, he only acquires for his kingdom to triumph above by collecting the souls of the dead, creating an outcome of no one leaving his realm. The purpose of the Acheron River is to show where a person goes after death and that, anyone can enter Satan's dark abyss, although the Charon warns that once a person has entered they are impotent to leave.

Works Cited:

Agjmurati, Roemello. “The Underworld Rivers.” //Spiffy Entertainment//, 20 April 1999. Web. 25 August 2015. 

Unknown, Unknown. “The Underworld.” //Greek Mythology//. Web. 25 August 2015. 

= = =Khyra Bosworth: Acheron River and it's Audience=

Khyra- Audience
The relayers of the story might conclude that the audience has prior knowledge of Greek Mythology. In order to learn anything about the Acheron one would have to have a basic understanding of who Hades is, and what the Underworld is. In one article, an author states, “Thus we find in the Homeric poems (Od.x. 513; comp. Paus. i. 17, § 5) the Acheron described as a river of Hades, into which the Pyriphlegethon and Cocytus are said to flow” (Akheron). Another author writes, “The newly-dead would be ferried across the Acheron by Charon in order to enter the Underworld” (Mythology). According to the article “Akheron”, the river is “described as a river of Hades”. The author mentions Hades, assuming one reading the piece will know that Hades is the god of the Underworld. In the second piece, “Mythology”, the author mentions, “ in order to enter the Underworld”. The author believes that while reading, the person might know that the Underworld is where all the souls of the dead are condemned to live forever. In addition to the Underworld statement, the author mentioned in “Mythology”, a rower named, Charon. Although Charon is just a son of Erebus, hired to ferry the newly deceased souls; the reader might think that his character is something more elaborate and important.

Atsma, Aaron. “Akheron.” //Theoi//. Aaron J. Atsma, 2011. Web. 26 August 2015.

Unknown, Unknown. “Mythology.” //Wikipedia//. 2 August 2015. Web. 26 August 2015

=Jessica: Acheron River- Culture= Jessica- Culture: "How do cultural events influence the relationship between the author and audience?"

The author’s relationship with his audience was the idea of religion. Dante uses this river to make his reader on edge and give them fear of Hell, wanting them to reach out towards a religion.The Acheron River was a symbol of pain, death, and the pathway to the miserable Underworld, in comparison to Hell, in Greek mythology. “In ancient Greek mythology, Acheron was known as the river of woe, and was one of the five rivers of the Greek Underworld. In the Homeric poems the Acheron river was described as a river to Hades, into which Cocytus and Phlegethon both flowed” (Wikipedia). This created a memorable fear that changed the culture of this society by giving a new perspective on afterlife and how the choices that people made on Earth would be judged after they died, and decided their eternal fate. They may be rewarded will peace, or crushed and burned when they are punished in the fiery realm controlled by Hades.

Atsma, Aaron. “Akheron.” // Theoi //. Aaron J. Atsma, 2011. Web. 26 August 2015.

Unknown, Unknown. "Mythology." //Wikipedia//. 2 August 2015. Web. 27 August 2015
=Brianna: Acheron River- Historical=


 * Brianna- historical: “How do historical or political events influence the author/audience relationship?” **

The Acheron River is an important part of Dante’s Inferno. It is what leads Dante into the first layer of hell. In history, the river is known as the River of Pain, this made it a huge part of mythology. In this quote, you can see the dark connections to the river “  Acheron was known as the river of pain, and was one of the five rivers of the Greek underworld. In the Homeric poems the Acheron was described as a river of Hades, into which Cocytus and Phlegethon both flowed.The Roman poet Virgil called it the principal river of Tartarus, from which the Styx and Cocytus both sprang.”(Pargablog). The book Dante’s Inferno, including the river, could affect the people living in Greece to be scared of the river. So besides its already frightening connection to mythology, its significance in the book would create superstition among the people.

Unknown, Unknown. "Acheron River." //Pargablog.// 2010. Web. 27 August 2015.