Phlegethon
The phlegethon ( Greek Φλεγέθων , 'the flaming one'), also pyriphlegethon, is next to Styx , Acheron , Lethe and Kokytos a river and thus also a river deity in the underworld of Greek mythology . The phlegethon does not carry water, but flames that burn everything and never go out. In some representations it is said that he has boiling blood.
According to Plato's Phaedo , the Pyriphlegethon forms a lake near its source in the middle of a plain of fire, from which it carries glowing stones and boiling mud. It then flows in circles into the depths of the earth before it finally pours into the Tartaros . It runs near the Acherusian Lake formed by the Acheron River , but does not flow into it. The lava that escapes during volcanic activities is said to come from its river bed. Other myths also tell of the fact that the phlegethon heals the exiled souls in Tartaros, or rather gives them strength so that they can endure the torments.
Individual evidence
- ^ According to: Zeno.org - Plato: Phaidon. In the German translation by Friedrich Schleiermacher (1809), page 804f.