CHARON

 CHARON

"And mourning Satyrs sound the dismal reed; 

Taygetus repeats the gen'ral woe, 

Whilst Charon grumbles in the gulf below."

H.P. Lovecraft, Monody On the Late King Alcohol

"A grim ferryman watches over the rivers and streams,

Charon, dreadful in his squalor, with a mass of unkempt

white hair straggling from his chin: flames glow in his eyes"
Vergil, Aeneid

"At one end is Charun, winged, with a monstrous face, heavy brow ridges, and great tusks. His upper torso is nude."

"Charun appears much oftener; his name is evidently taken from the Greek Charon, the ferryman of the dead, but his appearance and personality are quite different. Often winged like Tuchulcha, he has a hooked nose, horrid tusks, snaky hair, and is generally armed with a hammer. He appears as the announcer of death and divider of families, the guide on the road to Hades, the porter at hell's gate. "
Emeline Richardson, The Etruscans Their Art and Civilization
 

"Most of the time, Vanth is an attractive female fiure, a welcome contrast to her ugly partner Charu. Here Charu, with his scowling, hook-nosed bestial countenance ( he even has donkey's ears in this case, is balanced by the beautiful Vanth."

"Their skin is quite revolting, bluish or greenish with one demon, Charun huths, having blisters or sores all over the skin, all are sporting wings."
Nancy Thomson de Grummond, Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend

"The Etruscans probably looked for a representable appearance for demons already existing in their concept of demonic power, guiding the deceased to the gates of the Netherworld, and they found it with some modifications, in Charon."
Nancy Thomson De Grummond, Erika Simon, The Religion of the Etruscans

"Not all the details fit by any means, and some of Tuchulcha's features are those of another Near Eastern underworld figure, the demoness Lamashtu - notably the ass's ears (which Charun also sports) and hand held snakes."
Graeme Barker & Tom Rasmussen, The Etruscans