Thanatos and scythes

When looking at pictures of the Greek god Thanatos, I often see him holding a scythe. However, in all mythological/mythographical documents of Ancient Greek literature we have where Thanatos is mentioned, not a single one desribes him using a scythe as his weapon. If any, he is depicted with a sword, e.g. in Euripides' 'Alcestis'.
So why do people draw him with a scythe? I think I'm pretty sure I know why. Because they are all influenced by the picture of our modern days' Grim Reaper, a skeleton with a coat and a scythe. Heck, I've even seen pictures of Thanatos as a skeleton, which contradicts any archaic picture as well.
And by the way, I wouldn't say that Thanatos even equals the Grim Reaper. Sure, both are personifications of death, however it's not sure if Thanatos even was the person who was responsible for death. Some sources said so, others don't.
Anyway, what I wanted to say was that if you want to draw a figure from an older, different culture, it would be more plausible to not let you influence by modern day culture.