A c h e ʀ o n / S т y x . . T ɑ ʀ т ɑ ʀ u ʂ

The species names atropos, lachesis and styx are all from Greek myth and related to death. The first refers to the member of the three Moirai who cuts the threads of life of all beings; the second to the Moira who allots the correct amount of life to a being; and the last refers to the river of the dead. In addition the genus name Acherontia is derived from Acheron, a river of Greek myth.

Atropos is related to death, derived from atropos that may not be turned, from a -tropos (Greek: τρόπος) from trepein to turn. Atropos was one of the three Moirai, goddesses of fate and destiny. In addition the genus name Acherontia is derived from Acheron, a river in Greece, which in Greek mythology was known as the river of pain, and was one of the five rivers of the Greek underworld.