Styx

STIX

Στυξ

The Oath River

Styx is one of the daughters of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys which means that she is an Okeanid. She and her sisters are only a small portion of the three thousand daughters of Okeanos and Tethys but they were the first born and are called a Holy Company ... Styx is the oldest and most eminent of her sisters.

When Zeus, his brothers and sisters were fighting to gain control of all creation, their primary rivals were the haughty Titans. The war with the Titans was a long and bitter struggle but after ten years, Zeus and the Olympians finally won. During the war, Zeus promised that any Immortal who fought on his side would retain their power and position and those without power or position under Kronos (Cronos) would be rewarded justly. Styx, with her children, were the first to stand with Zeus ... for that reason, Styx is preeminent amongst the Immortals. A tenth part of the waters of Okeanos are allotted to Styx.

Styx and Pallas have three children ... Zelos, Nike, Bia and Kratos (Cratos). Zelos is Rivalry, Nike is Victory, Kratos is Strength and Bia is Force. Styx’s children are forever honored by Zeus and make their home wherever Zeus resides.

Although she is called The Oath River, Styx is actually an Okeanid. The Okeanids and the Rivers are of the same parents but the Okeanids are said to be a Race Apart or a Holy Company. Zeus gave the Okeanids, Apollon and the Rivers the special obligation of having the young in their keeping. Styx is also called The Hateful because she is the body of water in the Underworld over which the souls of the dead are ferried by Charon and by which the Immortals swear their most solemn oaths.

Styx resides near the halls of Hades and Persephone ... she lives apart from the other Immortals in a glorious house with a stone roof supported by silver columns. The messenger goddess, Iris, is the only Immortal to enter Styx’s home. When a dispute erupts on Mount Olympos (Olympus), Zeus sends wind-footed Iris to Styx for a pitcher of water. Any Immortal who pours the waters of Styx, and swears an oath, is solemnly bound to tell only the truth. The punishment for breaking such an oath is one year without ambrosia, nectar or AIR! If that’s not enough, for nine additional years, the oath-breaker is not allowed to attend the festivals or share the company of the other Immortals.

According to the historian Herodotus, Styx came to the surface of the earth in the town of Nonakris (Nonacris) which is in Arkadia (Arcadia) near the town of Pheneus. Styx manifested herself as a small stream trickling from a rock into a pool and surrounded by a dry wall.

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The Sisters of Styx

Theogony, lines 346-361

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Styx in The Iliad

(listed by book and line from four different translations)

Richmond Lattimore

• 02.755 - The river Titaressos, who into Peneios casts his bright current; yet he is not mixed with the silver whirls of Peneios, but like oil is floated along the surface above him; since he is broken from the water of Styx, the fearful oath-river
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• 08.369 - Athene tells Hera how she rescued Herakles and saved him from the Stygian water (the waters of Styx)
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• 14.271 - Hera swears on Styx’ ineluctable water that she will give Sleep Pasithea, one of the younger Graces, in marriage if he will help her trick Zeus
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• 15.037 - Hera swears to Zeus that Poseidon entered the battle between the Trojans and Danaans without her prompting; she swore with Earth as her witness and the wide heaven above and the dripping water of the Styx, which oath is the biggest and most formidable oath among the blessed immortals

Loeb Classical Library

• 02.755 - The river Titaressus pours his fair-flowing streams into Peneius; and he does not mingle with the sliver-eddies of Peneius, but flows over his waters like olive oil; for he is a branch of the water of Styx, the dread river of oath
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• 08.369 - Athena tells Hera how she rescued Heracles and saved him from the steep waters of Styx
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• 14.271 - Hera swears by the inviolable water of Styx that she will give Sleep Pasithea, one of the younger Graces, in marriage if he will help her trick Zeus
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• 15.037 - Hera swears to Zeus that Poseidon entered the battle between the Trojans and Danaans without her prompting; she swore by heaven, earth and the down-flowing water of Styx, which is the greatest and most terrible oath for the blessed gods

Robert Fagles

• 02.857 - The lovely river Titaressus runs her pure crystal currents into Peneus, never mixed with Peneus’ eddies glistening silt but gliding over the surface smooth as olive oil, branching, breaking away from the river Styx, the dark and terrible oath-stream of the gods
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• 08.422 - Athena tells Hera how she rescued Heracles and saved him from the steep cascading Styx
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• 14.326 - Hera swears by the inviolable water of Styx that she will give Sleep Pasithea, one of the younger Graces, in marriage if he will help her trick Zeus
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• 15.048 - Hera swears to Zeus that Poseidon entered the battle between the Trojans and Danaans without her prompting; she swore by Earth, vaulting Sky above and the dark cascading waters of the Styx, the greatest, grimmest oath that binds the happy gods

Robert Fitzgerald

• 02.901 - The lovely river Titaressos that runs into the Peneios with silver eddies and rides it for awhile as clear as oil; a branch of Styx, on which great oaths are sworn
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• 08.418 - Athena tells Hera how she rescued Heracles and saved him from the gorge of Styx
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• 14.307 - Hera swears by Styx’ corroding water that she will give Sleep Pasithea, one of the younger Graces, in marriage if he will help her trick Zeus
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• 15.044 - Hera swears to Zeus that Poseidon entered the battle between the Trojans and Danaans without her prompting; she swore by Earth, the open sky and the oozing water of Styx, the greatest, grimmest oath that binds the happy gods

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Styx in The Odyssey

(listed by book and line from four different translations)

Richmond Lattimore

• 05.185 - Kalypso swears to Odysseus that she will allow him to leave her island; she swears by earth, the wide heaven above and the dripping water of Styx, which oath is the biggest and most formidable oath among the blessed immortals
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• 10.514 - Kirke tells Odysseus that the rivers Pyriphlegethon and Kokytos are an off-shoot of the water of the Styx

Loeb Classical Library

• 05.185 - Calypso swears to Odysseus that she will allow him to leave her island; she swears by Earth, the broad Heaven above and the down-flowing water of the Styx, which is the greatest and most fearful oath for the blessed gods
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• 10.514 - Circe tells Odysseus that the rivers Pyriphlegethon and Cocytus are a branch of the water of the Styx

Robert Fagles

• 05.205 - Calypso swears to Odysseus that she will allow him to leave her island; she swears by Earth, the vaulting Sky above and the dark cascading waters of the Styx, the greatest, grimmest oath that binds the happy gods
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• 10.565 - Circe tells Odysseus that the River of Fire and River of Tears are branches of Styx

Robert Fitzgerald

• 05.196 - Kalypso swears to Odysseus that she will allow him to leave her island; she swears by earth and sky and the dripping, by which the gay gods cannot swear more seriously
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• 10.570 - Kirke tells Odysseus that the Sorrowing Water and the streams of Wailing run out of Styx

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Other Text References

Theogony

• line 361 -The Holy Company of daughters brought forth by Tethys and Okeanos (Ocean) included Styx, who is the most eminent of them all
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• line 383 - Styx, the daughter of Okeanos (Ocean), was joined to Pallas and bare Zelos (Rivalry), Nike (Victory), Kratos (Cratos) (Strength) and Bia (Force)
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• line 389 - Just as she had planned Styx and her children live with Zeus because they joined the Olympians in the war with the Titans
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• line 397 - Zeus honors Styx because she and her children were the first to come to his assistance when he called for the Immortals to fight the Titans; Zeus appointed Styx to be the great oath of the gods
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• line 776 - Near the House of Hades and Persephone, dwells the goddess loathed by the Immortals, terrible Styx, daughter of Okeanos (Ocean)
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• line 805 - The great oath taken on the eternal and primeval water of Styx was appointed by the Immortals (preceding this entry are the punishments for breaking such an oath)

Hymn to Demeter II

• line 259 - When Demeter was caught bathing a young boy named Demophoon in fire, she swore to the child’s mother by the relentless water of Styx that she was trying to make the boy immortal
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• line 423 - Styx was one of the daughters of Okeanos (Ocean) who were playing with Persephone when the young goddess was abducted by Hades (lord of the Dead)

Hymn to Delian Apollon

• line 85 - Leto swears a great oath by Gaia (Earth), wide Ouranos ( the Heavens) and the dropping water of Styx that Apollon will build a fragrant altar and not desert Delos’ island

Hymn to Hermes IV

• line 519 - Apollon asks Hermes to swear, either by nodding his head or by the potent water of Styx, that he will never steal from him again

The Argonautika

• 2.291 - Iris promises the sons of Boreas, Zetes and Kalais (Calais), that the Harpies will no longer harass Phineus if they do not use their swords on the winged women, the hounds of mighty Zeus; Iris swears by the waters of Styx, which to all the gods is the most dread and awful oath

The Histories

• 6.74 - The exiled Spartan Kleomenes ( Cleomenes) was trying to raise to Arcadians against Sparta and took the chief men to Nonakris (Nonacris) to make them swear their allegiance to him by the water of Styx; it was a small stream which flowed from a cliff into a pool; a wall of stones runs round the pool

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