Rite of Charon's Obol

The myth

There was no Greek rite for calling up Cerberus; the card's ritual is a MYTHENOR creation. It rests on a real custom: many Greeks were buried with a small coin, sometimes placed in the dead person's mouth, to pay the ferryman Charon for the crossing of the river into Hades. Aristophanes jokes about this fare in The Frogs. On the far bank, Cerberus received the souls and kept them from leaving. The rite brings together the figures of the road of the dead: the ferryman, the wandering shade and Lamia, the hungry spirit of the night.

Why it has this power

An Uncommon ritual: with Charon, the Ferryman, the Wandering Shade of Hades and Lamia on your field, all three are offered and Cerberus, the Three-Headed Hound, rises in their place. Three souls from the road of the dead pay the fare, and the hound comes up to collect the rest: 2900 attack.

Did you know

Ancient lexicographers record that the coin given to the dead was also called a danake.

Connections

Where to get it

• Daily Offering: 0.45% per pack (Uncommon 33% per card)
• Welcome Pack: 1.1% per pack (Uncommon 30% per card)
• Traveler's Pack: 0.96% per pack · 5.6% in the themed pack (Uncommon 29% per card)
• Bronze Reliquary: 0.94% per pack · 5.5% in the themed pack (Uncommon 29% per card)
• Silver Reliquary: 0.96% per pack · 5.6% in the themed pack (Uncommon 33% per card)
• Golden Reliquary: 0.94% per pack · 5.5% in the themed pack (Uncommon 35% per card)
• Daily Showcase: Shows up on about 0.98% of days · 400 gold
• Craft with card dust: 100 dust

Sources

1. Charon: The Ferryman to the Dead in Greek Mythology (World History Encyclopedia) — Mark Cartwright
2. CHARON (Kharon) - Ferryman of the Dead, Underworld Daemon of Greek Mythology — Aaron J. Atsma, Theoi Project
3. CERBERUS (Kerberos) - Three-Headed Hound of Hades of Greek Mythology — Aaron J. Atsma, Theoi Project