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.
Comics and manga
In the Japanese manga Saint Seiya, written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada, the river Lethe appears in the third act, the Hades arc. The river Lethe is mentioned several times as the boundary between the Underworld and the Elysion, the paradise of the Greek deities and heroes. It also appears in the anime adaptation of the manga, depicted in the same manner as the source material.
In Marvel Comics Zeus drinks from Lethe before he is reborn, causing him to forget his life. Later Hercules uses the water to help defeat Typhon.
In the Japanese manga Sailor Moon, written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi, the "River of Forgetfulness" appears in act 56, the seventh act of the Stars arc. Sailor Lethe, guardian of the planet Lethe, is the watchman of the river. Sailor Lethe's much less aggressive sister, Sailor Mnemosyne, is the watchman of the "River of Memory." When the main character, Sailor Moon, falls into Lethe's river, she loses all sense of her memory, as do the rest of her allies when they fall in. Sailor Moon is able to regain her memory, but Princess Kakyuu must drink from Mnemosyne's River of Memory in order to snap out of Lethe's spell.
Films
In Roy Andersson's You, the Living, a quotation from Goethe's Roman Elegies "Be pleased then, you the living, in your delightfully warmed bed, before Lethe’s ice-cold wave will lick your escaping foot" is presented as an epigraph. Later, a tram is seen with "Lethe" as its destination.
Music
The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus, a men's a cappella group from Yale University, released an album in 1992 entitled "Drinking from Lethe." In Tony Banks' first solo album, A Curious Feeling, where he tells the story of a man who makes some kind of pact with the devil and finishes by losing his memory, the ninth song is called "The Waters of Lethe". In composer Thomas Adès' String Quartet, "Arcadiana," Op. 12, "Lethe" is the title of the work's seventh and final movement. Clutch, rock band from Germantown, Maryland, references the river in the song "American Sleep" on their "Pure Rock Fury" album: "Companion chimera, Lethean grazer." American rock supergroup The Company Band, also featuring Neil Fallon of Clutch, have a song called "Lethe Waters" on their eponymous debut album. The Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity, released the song "Lethe" in their album "The Gallery" in 1995. The second movement of Thomas Sleeper's concerto for trumpet is called "...the river lethe". In Nicholas Lanier's "No More Shall Meads be deckt with Flowers", there is a line, "Black Lethe shall oblivion leave, before my Celia I deceive...". The aria "Leave me loathsome light", from George Frideric Handel's Semele, contains the line "Lethe, why does thy ling'ring current cease? Oh murmur me again to peace!". Flemish folk artist Miel Cools recorded a ballad called "Lethe". Black metal bands Nightbringer recorded a song called "The River Lethe" and Nocte Obducta an album "Lethe". The Swedish/Finnish melodic death metal supergroup Solution .45 released the song "Lethean Tears" in their album "For Aeons Past" in 2010. Death Metal one-man band Mindpath did a reference to Lethe on the song Nostalgia from the album In A State Of Full Consciousness Gothic Metal band Tristania recorded a song called "Lethean River", from their album "Beyond the Veil" in 1999. Dark metal band Throes Of Dawn have a song entitled "Lethe" from their 2010 album "The Great Fleet Of Echoes". To Sail Lethe metalcore band from Independence, Missouri. Norwegian rock band Motorpsycho have an instrumental song called "La Lethe" on their album The Death Defying Unicorn. American experimental rock band Kayo Dot recorded a song entitled "Lethe," featured on their 2012 album Gamma Knife. French doom and depressive black metal band Lethian Dreams also take their name from river Lethe. Black metal band Satanochio released a song titled "Lethe" on their second full-length album, From Beyond. British rock band Radiohead took heavy inspiration from Lethe, as well as general themes of memory and forgetfulness, for their fifth studio album, Amnesiac. Kristin Hersh has a song titled "Lethe" on her album Possible Dust Clouds. Irish musician Andrew Hozier-Byrne mentions the Lethe on his track First Time, on his Dante's Inferno inspired album Unreal/Unearth.