River Lethe in popular culture River Lethe in popular culture In Classical Greek, Lethe (Λήθη; , ) literally means "forgetfulness" or "concealment" and is related to the Greek word for "truth": "a-lethe-ia" (αλήθεια), meaning "un-forgetfulness" or "un-concealment". The River Lethe in Greek Mythology has appeared many times in popular culture since the times of ancient Greece. Walter Savage Landor transforms into substance the metaphor that time takes flight when he places a few drops of Lethe's waters on wing: On love, on grief, on every human thing, Time sprinkles Lethe's water with his wing. In "The Divine Comedy", the stream of Lethe flows to the
Day of the Dead year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the three-day period families usually clean and decorate graves; most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with "ofrendas" (altars), which often include orange Mexican marigolds ("Tagetes erecta") called "cempasúchil" (originally named "cempoaxochitl", Nāhuatl for "twenty flowers"). In modern Mexico the marigold is sometimes called "Flor de Muerto" (Flower of Dead). These flowers are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings. It is also believed the bright petals with a strong scent can guide the souls from cemeteries to