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Today I was talking to my grandmother about my fuckup younger brother who had stolen forty dollars from her and she said, "He would steal the quarters off a dead man's eyes" and I had to kind of smile because that's an awesome saying.
They used to put quarters over the eyes of dead people back in the day. Can't remember which culture or time period but I remember hearing about it or reading about it somewhere..
It is a very old tradition to put coins over dead people's eyes, in their mouth, or in their pockets. I think it dates at least as far back as Ancient Greece, where the dead had to cross the Styx river in order to enter the underworld. The deceased would give the coins to Caron, who manned the boat that would get them across this river. If they didn't have a coin, they would be stuck on the wrong side of the water.
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[–] NorthSouthPosition [S] 0 points 5 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago (edited ago)
Today I was talking to my grandmother about my fuckup younger brother who had stolen forty dollars from her and she said, "He would steal the quarters off a dead man's eyes" and I had to kind of smile because that's an awesome saying.
They used to put quarters over the eyes of dead people back in the day. Can't remember which culture or time period but I remember hearing about it or reading about it somewhere..
[–] Chutney 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
It is a very old tradition to put coins over dead people's eyes, in their mouth, or in their pockets. I think it dates at least as far back as Ancient Greece, where the dead had to cross the Styx river in order to enter the underworld. The deceased would give the coins to Caron, who manned the boat that would get them across this river. If they didn't have a coin, they would be stuck on the wrong side of the water.
[–] Kithsander 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
If I'm not mistaken, it's attributed to Assyrian burial customs that the Greeks adopted, but I could be wrong. Also, it's Charon or Kharon, typically.
[–] NorthSouthPosition [S] 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
That is awesome dude. I forgot how much I loved reading about ancient Greek mythology. That stuff has interesting stories for days.
[–] Guide 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Back in the day! Haha! A few days ago...