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[[Image:Deux furies.png|thumb|upright|Two Furies, from an ancient vase.]] |
[[Image:Deux furies.png|thumb|upright|Two Furies, from an ancient vase.]] |
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{{redirect|Furies}} |
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In [[Greek mythology]] the '''Erinyes''' (Ἐρινύες, pl. of Ἐρινύς, Erinys; literally "the angry ones") |
In [[Greek mythology]] the '''Erinyes''' (Ἐρινύες, pl. of Ἐρινύς, Erinys; literally "the angry ones") or '''Dirae''' in [[Roman mythology]], were female [[chthonic]] [[deity|deities]] of [[revenge|vengeance]], or supernatural personifications of the anger of the dead. A formulaic oath in the ''[[Iliad]]'' invokes them as "those who beneath the earth punish whosoever has sworn a false oath".<ref>''Iliad'' iii.278ff; xix.260ff</ref> [[Walter Burkert|Burkert]] suggests they are "an embodiment of the act of self-[[cursing]] contained in the oath".<ref>Burkert 1985, p. 198</ref> |
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When the Titan [[Cronus]] castrated his father [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes emerged from the drops of blood, while [[Aphrodite]] was born from the crests of seafoam. According to variant accounts,<ref>Aeschyluls Eumenides 321</ref><ref>Lycophron 432</ref><ref>Virgil Aeneid 6.250</ref> <ref>Ovid Metamorphoses 4.453</ref> they emerged from an even more primordial level—from [[Nyx (mythology)|Nyx]], "Night". Their number is usually left indeterminate. [[Virgil]], probably working from an [[Alexandria]]n source, recognized three: [[Alecto]] ("unceasing", who appeared in Virgil's ''[[Aeneid]]''), [[Megaera]] ("grudging"), and [[Tisiphone]] ("avenging murder"). [[Dante]] followed Virgil in depicting the same three-charactered [[triptych]] of Erinyes; in Canto IX of the [[Inferno (Dante)|''Inferno'']] they confront the poets at the gates of the city of [[Dis (Divine Comedy)|Dis]]. The heads of the Erinyes were wreathed with [[snake|serpent]]s (compare [[Gorgon]]) and their eyes dripped with blood, rendering their appearance rather horrific. Other depictions show them with the wings of a bat or bird and the body of a dog. |
When the Titan [[Cronus]] castrated his father [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes emerged from the drops of blood, while [[Aphrodite]] was born from the crests of seafoam. According to variant accounts,<ref>Aeschyluls Eumenides 321</ref><ref>Lycophron 432</ref><ref>Virgil Aeneid 6.250</ref> <ref>Ovid Metamorphoses 4.453</ref> they emerged from an even more primordial level—from [[Nyx (mythology)|Nyx]], "Night". Their number is usually left indeterminate. [[Virgil]], probably working from an [[Alexandria]]n source, recognized three: [[Alecto]] ("unceasing", who appeared in Virgil's ''[[Aeneid]]''), [[Megaera]] ("grudging"), and [[Tisiphone]] ("avenging murder"). [[Dante]] followed Virgil in depicting the same three-charactered [[triptych]] of Erinyes; in Canto IX of the [[Inferno (Dante)|''Inferno'']] they confront the poets at the gates of the city of [[Dis (Divine Comedy)|Dis]]. The heads of the Erinyes were wreathed with [[snake|serpent]]s (compare [[Gorgon]]) and their eyes dripped with blood, rendering their appearance rather horrific. Other depictions show them with the wings of a bat or bird and the body of a dog. |
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Revision as of 04:36, 5 September 2011
In Greek mythology the Erinyes (Ἐρινύες, pl. of Ἐρινύς, Erinys; literally "the angry ones") or Dirae in Roman mythology, were female chthonic deities of vengeance, or supernatural personifications of the anger of the dead. A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "those who beneath the earth punish whosoever has sworn a false oath".[1] Burkert suggests they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath".[2]
When the Titan Cronus castrated his father Uranus and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes emerged from the drops of blood, while Aphrodite was born from the crests of seafoam. According to variant accounts,[3][4][5] [6] they emerged from an even more primordial level—from Nyx, "Night". Their number is usually left indeterminate. Virgil, probably working from an Alexandrian source, recognized three: Alecto ("unceasing", who appeared in Virgil's Aeneid), Megaera ("grudging"), and Tisiphone ("avenging murder"). Dante followed Virgil in depicting the same three-charactered triptych of Erinyes; in Canto IX of the Inferno they confront the poets at the gates of the city of Dis. The heads of the Erinyes were wreathed with serpents (compare Gorgon) and their eyes dripped with blood, rendering their appearance rather horrific. Other depictions show them with the wings of a bat or bird and the body of a dog.
Aeschylus's Eumenides
In Aeschylus's "Eumenides", the Erinyes chase Orestes to avenge Clytemnestra, his mother. Orestes killed Clytemnestra to avenge the murder of his father, Agamemnon. The Erinyes chase Orestes to Athens where Athena then intervenes. She and the Athenians judge whether Orestes deserves the wrath of Erinyes and rule in favor of Orestes. Athena, in order to appease the Erinyes, gives them the love of Athens and the play ends with them accompanied by a processional escort who now address them as "Semnai" (Venerable ones). They are given red robes to replace the black robes they wore for most of the play.
Notes
| Greek deities series |
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| Chthonic deities |