Swearing by the Styx

Gods can take an irrevocable oath in the form of swearing by the waters of the underworld river Styx, which is what the goddess Hērā is asked to perform here at I.14.271–276 and wh ... Continue reading

When gods swear by the waters of the underworld river Styx, as the goddess Hērā does here, I.15.037, their oath must be irrevocable and therefore absolute. The basis for the absolu ... Continue reading

analysis of aphthito- as conveying both immortality/permanence and sacredness, and here specifically swearing by Styx (designated as aphthito- in Hesiod) as the most sacrosanct act ... Continue reading