Who Is Styx?
Underworld river by which the gods swear
Styx is the goddess of a river that flows through the underworld in Greek mythology. She is said to be the foremost of the daughters of Oceanus and Tethys.
With the Titan Pallas she bore Zelos (Rivalry), Nike (Victory), Kratos (Power), and Bia (Force). When Zeus called on the gods, promising honors to all who would fight beside him, Styx followed her father's advice, brought her children, and came to Olympus before anyone else. To reward her, Zeus made Styx the great oath of the gods and kept her children by his side forever.
Elsewhere in the Theogony, any god who breaks an oath sworn on the water of Styx is said to suffer a heavy punishment. The story that the hero Achilles was dipped in this river as a baby is a later tradition.
