Greece

Did you know that a custom from Greek mythology still lives on today when burying a person? A coin is placed in the deceased's hand.

The coin in the hand (or mouth) of the deceased stems from a very ancient Greek death cult: it symbolically serves as "travel money" for the passage to the realm of the dead. In Greek mythology, the soul had to cross the River Styx or Acheron after death. Charon demanded a small fee (usually depicted as an obol), and so a coin was placed in the mouth, hand, or near the body of the deceased to pay for the passage. The coin thus functions as "travel money" or viaticum: a material sign that the deceased is prepared for the final journey and is granted access to the afterlife. At the same time, the coin acquired a symbolic meaning as protection or a seal, to guide the soul and prevent it from lingering in the world of the living.

Although the original polytheistic context has disappeared, variations of this custom persist in parts of Greece and other countries as folkloric or family traditions. The coin then expresses respect, remembrance, and "giving for the journey" rather than a literal belief in Charon, but the symbolism of guidance to the afterlife remains essentially the same.

Pascal Brackman