Why Do Rivers Symbolize Life and Death?

Across many cultures, the dead have to cross a river. The image is so common that “crossing over” has become a figure of speech. This article looks at several of these rivers and what we know about the idea.

What is the Greek river of the dead?

The Styx, and sometimes the Acheron. Wikipedia calls the Styx the most prominent and familiar of the underworld rivers, and says that in later traditions it often serves as the entrance to the underworld, over which Charon, the ferryman, carries souls. In some accounts Charon rows the dead over the Acheron instead. The Collector says the Roman poet Virgil wrote that those who had not been buried properly had to wait on the shore of the Styx for a hundred years before Charon would take them across. Greek Reporter notes that Charon was paid with a low-value coin, and that archaeological finds confirm the Greek custom of burying the dead with a coin under the tongue.

What about the Norse and Hindu rivers?

Both have close parallels. Wikipedia says Gjöll is the river that separates the living from the dead in Norse myth, and that the dead must cross the bridge over it, Gjallarbrú, to reach Hel. It notes a parallel with the Greek Styx and the Hindu Vaitarani. Vaitarani is a river of the dead in Hindu and Buddhist tradition.

Is there a real river of the dead?

For many Hindus, the Ganges. Smithsonian Magazine says pilgrims have long hoped to die at Varanasi, believing that if they die there and their ashes are scattered into the river, it will end their cycle of rebirth. National Geographic says Hindus believe that if a person’s ashes are laid in the Ganges at Varanasi, the soul will be carried to heaven and escape rebirth, a state called moksha. A religion professor quoted by Smithsonian says most Hindus see the river as having transformative power, and as a goddess.

What about Egypt?

The river runs through the underworld. The Global Egyptian Museum says the Amduat, a funerary text, describes the sun god’s night journey through the earth along a river that flows through its center, comparable with the Nile.

Why a river?

The sources I found do not say why so many cultures chose a river. A reasonable reading is that a river is a real boundary that flows in one direction and cleanses, but that is interpretation, not a documented origin. For related ideas, see Why Is Water Associated With Life, Death, and Rebirth?, Viking Funerals, and Sky Burial.