Charon: Gate of Hell, Inferno 3   In the classical underworld (Hades), which Dante knew best from book 6 of Virgil's Aeneid, Charon is the pilot of a boat that transports shades of the dead--newly arrived from the world above--across the waters into the lower world. Like Virgil's Charon (Aen. 6.298-304; 384-416), Dante's ferryman is an irascible old man--with white hairs and fiery eyes-- who at first objects to taking a living man (Aeneas, Dante) on his boat. In each case, the protagonist's guide--the Sybil for Aeneas, Virgil for Dante--provides the proper credentials for gaining passage on Charon's boat.