Acheron, the river of dead souls

The word Acheron comes from the word “ahos” which means stress, anxiety and sighs. In historical times just uttering the river’s name caused terror and was synonymous to Hades, the Lord of the Underworld. Its length is under 50km which is considered short for a river and it hosts water volumes from other rivers (Kokitos, Vava, Periflegefon). It meets those rivers at the second stage of its flow through the valley. Its mouth can be found at Strouni Village (Laka Souli in Ioannina). Its course surges as a hunted serpent seeking shelter due to the downhill tendency of the ground. In the middle of its running course it disappears in a vast area of Souli Mountains leaving a sweet gurgling sound behind. This is the River that in ancient times was believed to supply Aherousia Lake with water. The souls of the dead were thought to inhabit the shores of Acherousia Lake. Greek mythology says that Acheron offered water to the thirsty Titans during their battle against Cronus’ sons. Zeus won the battle and punished The Titans severely. Acheron was also punished by being sent so deep in Earth as is the distance of the sky from our planet.