Do not pass by my epitaph wayfarer,
But stand, listen, and when you have heard, go on your way.
There is no boat in Hades, no ferryman Charon …
All of us who have died and gone below
Are bones and ashes, nothing else.
Ancient Greek epitaph from After Lives: A Guide Heaven, Hell and Purgatory by John Carey quoted in LRB 14 April 2011 p.7.