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In Greek mythology, the coins were so the souls could pay the cost for Charon to ferry them across the River Styx.
Different cultures have different reasons for doing this. It is a custom in some cultures to place coins on the eyelids of the dead to keep their eyes closed.
The custom is thought to have begun for cosmetic reasons. When a person dies, in a short time their eyes sink far back into their head as they dehydrate, causing the face to present an appearance that many people find disturbing. Placing coins over the eye sockets covered the eyes and made the visage less unpleasant for the bereaved. Nowadays morticians slip plastic fillers behind the eyelids to eliminate this effect.
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoIt's an old tradition in which Greeks would put coins on the eyes of dead people so they could pay Charon to take them across the River Styx to the underworld without disturbance. Like a safe passage.
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