Thanatos versus The Grim Reaper

Mortal, I am the embodiment of death! Call me Thanatos.

I am feared and loathed by mankind, but the gods pay me no heed—for they are immortal and cannot die. I am not a god, but a daemon. The ancient Greeks refer to daemons as nature spirits that possess the same characteristics as mortals and gods. I have existed since the beginning of all things. For everything that is born and lives, must also someday cease and die. My sole function is rather simple as I bring the end of days to humans. I guide their lifeless spirits to the underworld in the role of a psychopomp, like Hermes, by bringing them to Charon. If these souls can pay Charon the proper tribute, then he will ferry them across the river Styx—closer to Hades.


I do not distinguish between the good and the bad, the strong and the weak, or the holy and the blasphemous. I merely carry out the orders of the three Moirai sisters, The Fates, who rule and determine the destinies of all mortals. I come in times of great sadness and in times of much tribulation. I am present on the battlefields and by the bedsides of the terminally ill. I come suddenly to the foolish; I walk slowly toward the wise. I am the beginning of your end. I am silence. I am quietus.

I wish to speak of my displeasure—of a pretender who has assumed my role and has become more popular (or infamous) to mortals than I. I speak of the malevolent, cloaked, skeletal figure known as "The Grim Reaper," who uses his sharp scythe to harvest souls. Who is this daemon? How dare he intrude on my turf? I can no longer tolerate this usurper. I must appeal to you, mortal, who would you trust your pitiful soul to—a brash, bony, human anatomy model or me, Thanatos, the benevolent guide of the dead?

Take a good look at the Grim Reaper. Does he truly frighten you, mortals? Does his feeble skeletal frame remind you of the fleshless fate your body will achieve after death? Does his large curved scythe spark fear in your soul as you imagine one fatal swing across your soft, frail body? He is a caricature of me. He does not possess the power over mortals that I do. He merely operates out of fear. This imposter comes out of the shadows to reveal himself. But I am real. I am hidden. I perform my duties with the utmost professionalism of an undertaker, yet I ask for no praise or reward. I am a winged youth, like Eros (Aphrodite's son), and I carry a sword. My symbol is the inverted torch. And when I come for you, I come to take you in peace—not violently.

Leave a comment as to whom you prefer as the epitome of death. If you choose me, then you will receive a special reward. Some fateful day, when the Moirai sisters send me to collect your soul, I promise to take the long, meandering, scenic route to meet you. So until then, mortal, live well.