actually it was 1 coin in the mouth. The 2 coins on the eyes wasnt an ancient greek custom.
In greek mythology (since i'm greek i know better :P) the river Acheron (of that i think but aint 100% sure) led to the lake Acherousia (i have absolutely no clue how its called in english, i just made a word-by-word translation) where the ferryman Charon took the dead to the Underworld.
The waters of Acheron also were supposed to be poisoned.
*edit*
we're both right after all, according to Wikipedia
i got to read the mythology again to refresh my memories, its been years since i last read it
In greek mythology (since i'm greek i know better :P) the river Acheron (of that i think but aint 100% sure) led to the lake Acherousia (i have absolutely no clue how its called in english, i just made a word-by-word translation) where the ferryman Charon took the dead to the Underworld.
The waters of Acheron also were supposed to be poisoned.
*edit*
we're both right after all, according to Wikipedia
i got to read the mythology again to refresh my memories, its been years since i last read it
actually it was more like THE river. It was the one that led to the lake the dead needed to pass to get to the Underworld
feels weird to see them in english, i'm used to them in their original forms (Greek/Ancient Greek).