Styx- Greek GodDeity · Nymph"Eldest of the Oceanids"

The River of Hatred

Styx is both a goddess and a river — the eldest of the three thousand Oceanid daughters of Oceanus and Tethys, and the dark waters she personifies that flow through the underworld. Her name means 'hatred,' and her waters are cold, black, and terrible. The River Styx cascades from a high rock face down into the underworld, forming the primary boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Even the gods shudder at its waters.

The First to Swear

When Zeus called upon the gods to join him against the Titans, Styx was the first immortal to answer. Following the advice of her father Oceanus, she brought her four children by the Titan Pallas — Nike (Victory), Zelus (Zeal), Kratos (Strength), and Bia (Force) — to fight for Zeus. For answering first, Zeus made oaths sworn upon her waters unbreakable, even for the gods. Her children never left his side: Nike flew before the armies he favored, and Kratos and Bia became his enforcers — it was they who dragged Prometheus to the crag in the Caucasus and held him while Hephaestus drove in the chains.

The Unbreakable Oath

When a god swears by the River Styx, Iris fetches a golden pitcher of her icy waters. The god pours a libation and speaks the oath. If the god proves forsworn, they fall into a year-long coma, unable to breathe nectar or taste ambrosia. For nine more years after waking, they are banished from the councils and feasts of the gods. No Olympian dares break an oath sworn on Styx.

The Dip of Achilles

In a later tradition preserved by Statius, Achilles's mother Thetis dipped the infant in the River Styx to make him invulnerable. Its dark waters hardened his skin against all weapons — except for the heel by which she held him, which remained dry. Paris's arrow found that heel during the Trojan War.