The New York Times mini crossword is a compact version of its classic puzzle. Available online and in print formats with all of the same options as its regular NYT crossword version.
Lawyer and daughter of a judge, she enjoys crossword puzzles immensely and knows little about Greek mythology.
Styx
The River Styx is one of the rivers of the underworld in Greek mythology. It separates our world from that of the dead, with souls passing across on a ferry boat piloted by Charon and leaving their coin behind as payment for his services as a ferryman. English speakers have used its name since at least the 16th century for reference purposes – creating the word stygian, which originates with this river’s name.
Greek mythology often depicts familiar themes, including the triumph of good over evil, the triumph of the underdog over impossible odds, and tragic love stories with sad endings. Many mythological tales involve ritual and its connections to natural events (thunderstorms or seasons) or cultic sites and religious practices as part of these stories.
Greek mythology does not possess an authoritative text like the Bible, so each author could tell his/her stories however they chose. Yet Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days remain two of the most essential poems in Greek mythology; these recount cosmogonical tales about how gods emerged from chaos as well as provide a genealogy of divinities of Mount Olympus.
Eos is the Greek goddess of dawn and dawnbreak. Born to Hyperion and Theia of Titans, Hyperion and Theia are sisters to Helios and Selene, respectively. She serves as the goddess of dawnbreak with her rosy fingers, creating the first glimpses of light on Earth each morning. Although known for her faithfulness to her husband Helios, she also had lovers, such as the mortal Tithonus.
Lethe
Lethe was the daughter of Eris and the personification of forgetfulness, providing souls a river in the underworld where they could drink to forget their past lives. Orphism, a religious movement with roots in mythology, believed that those who consumed from Lethe could lose all memory of previous existences – unlike Mnemosyne (goddess of memory). Her name can be found spelled Guadalete in Spain or Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, where it is known as River of Forgetfulness – both rivers were created as metaphorical rivers by divine forces.
Greek mythology is an oral and literary tradition concerning gods, heroes, nature, and the history of the cosmos that developed alongside the Greek language and was based on historical events. Homer wrote Iliad and Odyssey about these subjects while Hesiod wrote Works and Days and Theogony; Ovid composed Metamorphoses while dramas by Aeschylus Sophocles Euripides also documented Greek mythology’s importance.
Satyrs were mythological creatures in Greek and Roman mythology with half-human, half-goat features that served the god Dionysus. Discoveries of massive mammal fossils, such as those discovered at Samos, such as Mastodon fossils, were seen as proof that such large creatures existed – later being interpreted by some scholars as Dionysus’ war elephants in his battles with Amazons.
Acheron
In Greek mythology, the Acheron River represents the gateway to Hell. Also referred to as the River of Woe or Pain, souls would be carried across its murky waters by Charon the daemon using his boat; the dead had to pay their fare by leaving coins behind in their eyes or mouths before passing over Acheron and Cerberus the triple-headed dog patrolled its far side.
Plato’s Phaedo describes Acheron as the second-greatest river, second only to Oceanus. According to Plato, Acheron flows in the opposite direction – under an earthen surface through desert areas before opening up into Acherussian Lake.
Homer described the Styx as the “dread river of oath,” where gods would swear their word on its water; any deceivers who broke their vow were forbidden to speak again. Zeus used the Styx as the court for his gods in Titanomachy, using its golden jug of water to settle any disputes among them.
The Styx and Acheron were among a group of five rivers in the Underworld that separated life from death, each playing its distinct part in how this realm operated, each having their role or reflecting an emotion or god associated with death; these included Lethe, Archeron, Cocytus, and Phlegethon.
Phlegethon
The Phlegethon (sometimes known as River Pyriphlegethon) is an underworld river of fire that winds its way through Hades’ realm, inhabiting those who commit violent crimes in life and serving as a reminder of sins committed against others. One of five rivers comprising this realm, it was one of many punishments meted out to those responsible. Furthermore, those without enough money for Charon would spend eternity here as punishment until enough funds could be raised in order to cross over into Hades’ domain and pay him off before making their journey over into Hades’ realm – forever punished.
Greek mythology depicted a river god called Phlegethon, who controlled its flow. A Potamoi, like all Potamoi in Greek mythology, represented all rivers and streams around the world. He was also revered as the God of Forgetfulness: those doomed to spend eternity within Asphodel Meadows would often visit him to forget their previous lives before joining eternity there.
Dante’s Inferno describes the River Phlegethon as an endless river of boiling blood and souls. Situated within hell’s seventh circle, this river punishes those who committed violent deeds against others – such as murderers and tyrants. How long a soul must remain there depends upon their level of violence during life, patrolled by centaurs that shoot arrows at anyone trying to rise above their allotted position within its depths.
