Charon

Charon is the ferryman of Hades in Greek mythology who carries souls across the rivers Styx and Acheron to the land of the dead. Perhaps a morbid thought, but occasionally I have wondered if anesthesiologists are similar (but distinctly different) mariners. We dare to cross that threshold with the faith that our trips are not one-way. We take those, coin in eye, who have some need of transient depth, who trust us as navigators and cartographers. Are patients the modern day Heracles and Orpheus? Do we carry them across some mythical river and return them safely from their katabasis?

Image is Gustave Dore's illustration to Dante's Inferno, in the public domain, from Wikipedia.