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{{infobox demon
|name=Styx,Stix,Stygal
|image=Doré - Styx.jpg
|title=Brings Death
|symbol=Stygal.svg
}}
{{from wikipedia}}

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Styx''' ({{IPAc-en|'|s|t|ɪ|k|s}}; {{lang-grc|Στύξ}} {{IPA-el|stýks|}}{{citation_needed|reason=I have not seen any Greek reconstruction besides Wiktionary argue for a pronunciation of double consonants ψ and ξ as aspirates /pʰs/ and /kʰs/. Shouldn't they pronounce as in Modern Greek, /ps, ks/? They were alternatively spelled φσ/χσ ''and'' πσ/κσ. It would seem to me, and Horrocks's ''Greek: A history of the language and its speakers'' would agree, that /s/ would block aspiration.|date=April 2013}}) is a [[deity]] and a river that forms the boundary between Earth and the [[Greek underworld|Underworld]], often called "[[Hades]]", which is also the name of its ruler. The rivers Styx, [[Phlegethon]], [[Acheron]], [[Lethe]], and [[Cocytus]] all converge at the center of the underworld on a great [[swamp|marsh]], which sometimes is also called the Styx. According to [[Herodotus]], the river Styx originates near [[Feneos]].<ref>[[Herodotus]], Histories 6. 74. 1, http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/PotamosStyx.html</ref> Styx is also a goddess with prehistoric roots in Greek mythology as a daughter of [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]], after whom the river is named and because of whom it had miraculous powers.

== Symbol ==
The symbol for Styx comes from the [[Standard Set]] and has no recognizable origin otherwise.

=== In Media ===
[[File:Don't Knock Twice symbol.jpg|thumb|right|180px|From "Don't Knock Twice", printed out from the internet when Chloe does research.]]
The [[sigil]] appears in the movie "Don't Knock Twice" as the symbol used by [[Baba Yaga]] to mark a human slave to do her bidding in the material world. Note that this doesn't correspond to the legend of Baba Yaga, nor does it play any significant role in the movie; it's later revealed that a different sigil is actually used.

== Significance ==
The [[deities]] of the [[Greek pantheon]] swore all their oaths upon the river Styx because, according to [[Greek mythology|classical mythology]], during the [[Titanomachy|Titan war]], Styx, the goddess of the river, sided with [[Zeus]]. After the war, Zeus declared that every oath must be sworn upon her.<ref>[[Hesiod]], Theogony 383 ff (trans. Evelyn-White)</ref> [[Zeus]] swore to give [[Semele]] whatever she wanted and was then obliged to follow through when he realized to his horror that her request would lead to her death. [[Helios]] similarly promised his son [[Phaethon|Phaëton]] whatever he desired, also resulting in the boy's death. Myths related to such early deities did not survive long enough to be included in historic records, but tantalizing references exist among those that have been discovered.

According to some versions, Styx had miraculous powers and could make someone invulnerable. According to one tradition, [[Achilles]] was dipped in the waters of the river by his mother during his childhood, acquiring invulnerability, with exception of his heel, by which his mother held him. The only spot where Achilles was vulnerable was therefore that heel, where he was struck and killed by [[Paris (mythology)|Paris's arrow]] during the Trojan War. This is the source of the expression ''[[Achilles' heel]]'', a metaphor for a vulnerable spot.

Styx was primarily a feature in the [[Afterlife|afterworld]] of classical Greek mythology, similar to the [[Christianity|Christian]] area of [[Hell]] in texts such as ''[[The Divine Comedy]]'' and ''[[Paradise Lost]]''. The ferryman [[Charon]] often is described as having transported the [[soul]]s of the newly dead across this river into the underworld. Dante put [[Phlegyas]] as ferryman over the Styx and made it the [[fifth circle of Hell]], where the wrathful and sullen are punished by being drowned in the muddy waters for eternity, with the wrathful fighting each other. 
In ancient times some believed that a coin ([[Charon's obol]]) placed in the mouth of a dead person<ref>No ancient source says that the coins were placed on the dead person's eyes; see [[Charon's obol#Coins on the eyes?]].</ref>  would pay the toll for the ferry across the river to the entrance of the underworld. It was said that if someone could not pay the fee, they would never be able to cross the river. The ritual was performed by the relatives of the dead.

The variant spelling '''Stix''' was sometimes used in translations of Classical Greek before the 20th century.<ref>[[Iliad]](1-3), [[Homer]];  H. Travers, 1740</ref> By [[w:metonymy|metonymy]], the adjective ''stygian'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|t|ɪ|dʒ|i|ən}}) came to refer to anything dark, dismal, and murky.

== Goddess ==
Styx was the name of an [[Oceanid]] nymph, one of the three thousand daughters of [[Tethys]] and [[Oceanus]], the goddess of the River Styx. In classical myths, her husband was [[Pallas]] and she gave birth to [[Zelus]], [[Nike]], [[Kratos]], and [[Bia]] (and sometimes [[Eos]]). In these myths, Styx supported Zeus in the [[Titanomachy]], where she was said to be the first to rush to his aid. For this reason, her name was given the honor of being a binding oath for the deities. Knowledge of whether this was the original reason for the tradition did not survive into historical records following the religious transition that led to the pantheon of the classical era.

== See also ==
* [[Barastyr]]

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
{{wiktionary|Styx}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Styx}}
{{Commons category|Styx}}

[[Category:Deities]]
[[Category:Oceanids]]
[[Category:Naiads]]