Charon

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” — Charon

Charon was the ferryman of the Damned who appeared as an anthropomorphic barge with a giant ship for a body. His sworn duty was to ferry the souls of the Damned across the infernal River Acheron to Limbo beyond.

Overview[]

Although he was physically incapable of directly attacking people due to his lack of any actual limbs save for the head, Charon was able to summon various demons to fight Dante. He was later killed after Dante used an Asterian Beast to tear his head off. His severed head ended up within the Citadel of Limbo, still repeating the inscription from the Gates of Hell. Once approached, the player was prompted with a quick time event to push him back into the abyss. Doing so will unlock the Burning Eyes Achievement/trophy. His head was later shown in the River Styx, serving as a nest for Pests.

Loot[]

Charon's Oar - After falling to the Damned Climb, keep moving left and jump the gap to find the relic.
Silver Judas Coin - Push the crate all the way to the left side of the room and you'll be able to reach a hidden ledge with a fountain containing the coin. (Silver Piece 4).
Orpheus - Jump on the crate and then onto the high platform at the end of the room (above the jail cells).

Trivia[]

In Greek mythology, Charon was the ferryman of the Underworld, whose duty was to ferry the souls of the dead across the River Acheron.
- The original Charon was a humanoid being on a ferryboat rather than a colossal head.
According to Hesiod's Theogony, Charon is considered to be a child of Erebus (primordial embodiment of Darkness) and Nyx (the primordial embodiment of Night). He is also related to other figures in Greek Mythology, including Thanatos (Death personified) and Hypnos (the personification of Sleep, and the twin of Thanatos).
In Greek burial customs, the dead were buried with a single coin, a drachma, placed upon their tongue. Archaeologists believe this was placed so as to pay the ferryman for passage across the river (This could be why the developers placed a Judas coin aboard Charon). If they could not pay him, those dead souls would be trapped on the shores, even being able to wander back to the living world as angry ghosts. In myth, many Greek heroes would undergo an Apotheosis, which allowed them to enter and leave the Underworld while alive. In this case they would bring 2 coins for Charon, the second being for the return trip to the living world.
In "The Inferno", Dante also placed Charon as the ferryman of Acheron. His job was to ferry the souls of the damned across Acheron, and into Limbo in Dante's composition.
Charon's Ferry appears as an arena in the Trials of St. Lucia DLC.
Charon's voice is acted by Bart McCarthy, the same actor who voiced Virgil.
According to Virgil in the animated film, Charon took the form of a massive ship to compensate for the massive amount of souls entering Hell over the thousands of years.
Charon is the first character to give a clue about what really happened to Dante at Acre. When Dante demands to know where Beatrice is, offering his very life and soul for her, Charon retorts, "You fool. Those belong to us already", shortly before Dante is forced to board the infernal vessel. Charon also mentions that Beatrice "made a very foolish wager", in regards to how she came to be abducted by Lucifer.
Charon's head winding up in the Styx is a possible reference to the usual error of associating him with the Styx rather than the Acheron; the Styx was never stated to have a ferryman, and was known in original myth in its traditional role for sacred oaths that must never be broken.
A more classical incarnation of Charon is featured in the similarly-themed game God of War: Chains of Olympus. This incarnation is also defeated by the game's protagonist, Kratos.