Charon's obol en · NOUN
Meanings
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(Greek, Roman) A coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charon, the ferryman of Hades.
In Pieria, particularly, gold coins or pseudo-coins were employed as lamellae, also being inscribed and on at least two occasions deposited in the burial in the same way as a Charon's obol.
2022, Glenn W. Most, editor, Studies on the Derveni Papyrus, Volume II, →ISBN, page 318:Also, the Charon's obol of classical tradition was a low-value coin, a symbol that death makes rich and poor equal.
2018, Rory Naismith, editor, Money and Coinage in the Middle Ages, →ISBN, page 337:However, in tombs all over the cemetery the use of "Charon's obols" was widely practiced, primarily in the form of the local Kolkhidki minted after the Persian weight standard.
2020, Franco De Angelis, editor, A Companion to Greeks Across the Ancient World, →ISBN, page 445:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charon's obols | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (11)
pl obol Charona (coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charo) · cs obol mrtvých (coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charo) · fr obole de Charon (coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charo) · th เหรียญของแครอน (coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charo) · pt óbolo de Caronte (coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charo) · uk обо́л Харо́на (coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charo) · pl obol zmarłych (coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charo) · es óbolo de Caronte (coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charo) · ru обо́л Харо́на (coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charo) · it obolo di Caronte (coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charo) · de Charonspfennig (coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charo)