Death in Venice

However strange, this man in a straw hat lures Aschenbach into a trip to Venice.
             Aschenbach's spree into Venice is implies the famous crossing of the River Styx into the Underworld taken by many classical heroes, such as Hercules, Odysseus, and Theseus. These figures entered the world of the dead by crossing the River Styx led by the skeletal boatman Charon, which in this case is an escaping criminal. However, what I don't get, or perhaps it's meant to be opposite to show Aschenbach's decline, is that the classical heroes' crossings were proof of their power and grit, and Aschenbach's trip is a start for his lack thereof. .
             Upon his arrival, Aschenbach stumbles across a young dangerously beautiful young boy named Tadzio. Tadzio is especially linked to mythological levels as he is compared to a Greek sculpture, to Eros the god of love, to Hyacinth and Narcissus" smile (curiously worried), and to Plato's character Phaedrus. In Greek myth, Hyacinth (Hyacinthus?) is a handsome boy loved by Apollo, the god of the sun, and Zephyrus, the god of the west wind. I don't know which version is true, as I read two different interpretations, but either way, he was either killed inadvertently by Apollo or intentionally by Zephyrus, who was jealous of the boy's love for Apollo. This relationship between Tadzio and Hyacinth hints that Aschenbach's love may be unfortunate and harmful to the boy, especially since Aschenbach could be described as Apollo. Tadzio being Narcissus is much in the same way: Narcissus" great beauty attracted the nymph Echo; But Narcissus cruelly rejects her, which is Aschenbach's deepest fear, she died from grief, leaving behind only her voice (Aschenbach's writings?). To punish Narcissus, the gods made him fall in love with his own reflection in a pool, and he slowly died on the shore. Thus, the allusion to Narcissus again hints at an ill-fated love, however, this time more harmful to Aschenbach than the boy.