Megaera

Megaera (pronounced: məˈdʒɪərə; Ancient Greek: Μέγαιρα, English translation: "the jealous one"Related to μεγαίρω "to grudge, envy" from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh2- "great" (see Robert S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009, p. 917).) is one of the Erinyes, Eumenides or "Furies" in Greek mythology. Lamprière's Classical Dictionary states "According to the most received opinions, they were three in number, Tisiphone, "Megaera ... daughter of Nox and Acheron",Lamprière's Classical Dictionary of Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors, 1949, p. 366 and Alecto".Lamprière's Classical Dictionary of Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors, 1949, p. 234
Megaera is the cause of jealousy and envy, and punishes people who commit crimes, especially marital infidelity. Like her sisters Alecto and Tisiphone, as well as the Melian Nymphs, she was born of the blood of Uranus when Cronus castrated him.
In modern French (mégère), Portuguese (megera), Modern Greek (μέγαιρα), Italian (megera) and Russian (мегера), this name denotes a jealous or spiteful woman - Google translates all five as "shrew".
== Modern reception ==
Thorne Smith includes a character Megaera (mostly referred to as "Meg") in The Night Life of the Gods (1931). Despite the presence in the story of Neptune, Mercury, Venus and other immortals, she does not date from Classical times, was born around 1000, and has a character almost diametrically opposed to that cited for her namesake in the previous paragraph.
==See also==
* Family tree of the Greek gods
== References ==
Category:Greek Mythology
Category:Deities