An Epithet of the River Styx?

Question

I have a question that falls under literature, but I remember that Dante, Greek mythology, and Milton were required reading in my English courses in high school and university. It's about an epithet that was, I think, made popular only by the book series *Percy Jackson and the Olympians* by Rick Riordan. In the series, the River Styx has been described and portrayed as the "*River of Lost Dreams and Hopes*." This, it would seem, has been picked up and applied by some people on the Net. But I can't find any other case when the Styx was previously described as such. Of course I imagine the Styx must be a very barren and desolate place but, still, I would like to check if there are any other lines from perhaps Dante or another writer that could've inspired such a title. Or is it one writer's completely fresh and unique version, an employment of his artistic license?

Answer 1

You're on the right track when you mention Greek mythology. The River Styx is the river that souls must cross to enter the underworld. It marks the transition from the living to the dead. In that sense, it represents the giving up of all of a living person's hopes and dreams.

Early in Dante's Inferno these famous lines appear: "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate" or, in English, "Abandon all hope, you who enter here."

So Riordan's use of that epithet isn't all that original. It's drawing on a well-known literary reference.