Charon, who lived in the Greek underground world, was responsible for being the smuggler, crossing the new deceased on the Achéron river. To guarantee the passage, the deceased had to pay the charges, like an obolos or a Persian Denace, which guaranteed that the appropriate funeral rites had been accomplished. Those who were unable to pay would haunt Achéron banks for a century like ghosts.

Although commonly linked to the Styx river, Charon's task mainly concerned the Achéron river. The association with the Styx, leading to the Kingdom of Hades, was a subsequent addition to the myth, because it was the most famous river of the Greek hell.