Pratchett’s Death loved cats and curry. Bergman’s played chess. In Russia, Death is a little old lady, while in Mexico she’s personified as Santa Muerte, whose colourful image dominates Day of the Dead celebrations.
Most cultures feature an anthropomorphic death. In modern times, it’s often an angel of death, or a cloaked skeleton. From the Celtic Morrigan to Egypt’s Osiris, ancient cultures also had their own spirits, gods and goddesses of death, and many have appeared on postage stamps. Cyprus’ 1997 ‘Tales and Legends’ series, for instance, purports to show a struggle between Dighenis and Charon, although the image of the scythe-carrying figure seems more like a Grim Reaper than the legendary ferryman. San Marino’s 1965 four-stamp set features a more familiar-looking Charon, with illustrations taken from Dante’s inferno, to…
