Erinyes

The **Erinyes** (Greek: Ἐρῑνύες, sing. **Erinys** Ἐρῑνύς) are female chthonic spirits of vengeance, though sometimes referred to as "infernal goddesses" (χθόνιαι θεαί). A formulaic oath in the *Iliad* invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take vengeance on humanity, whosoever hath sworn a false oath". They are thus an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath.

When the Titan Kronos castrated his father, Ouranos, and threw his genitalia into the sea, the most well-known Erinyes (along with the Gigantes and the Meliai) emerged from the drops of blood which fell on the earth (Gaia), while Aphrodite was born from those that fell on the waves, frothing up in the sea foam. The earliest Erinyes though emerged at an even more primordial time—some from Nyx and some from the union between Ouranos and Gaia. Their number is indeterminate.

The Erinyes live in Erebos and are more ancient deities than any of the Dodekatheon. Their task is to hear complaints brought by mortals against the insolence of the young to the aged, of children to parents, of hosts to guests, and of householders or city councils to suppliants—and to punish such crimes by hounding culprits relentlessly. The Erinyes are crones having snakes for hair, dog's heads, coal-black bodies, bat's wings, and bloodshot eyes. In their hands they carry brass-studded scourges, and their victims die in torment.

The Erinyes are also called the **Eumenides** (Εὐμενίδες, sing. Εὐμενίς 'the gracious/kind ones'). This is because itis considered unwise to mention them by name for fear of attracting their attention.

## Orestes

An example of their retribution is when King Agamemnon returns home from the war in Troia–Illion. He is slain by his wife, Klytemnestra, who wants vengeance for her daughter Iphigenia, who was sacrificed by Agamemnon in order to obtain favorable winds to sail to Troy. Once their son Orestes reaches manhood, he is commanded by Apollo’s oracle to avenge his father‘s murder at his mother’s hand. Returning home and revealing himself to his living sister Elektra, Orestes pretends to be a messenger bringing the news of his own death to their mother. He then slays Klytemnestra and her lover Aigisthos. Although Orestes’ actions were what Apollo had commanded him to do, Orestes still committed matricide, a grave sacrilege. Because of this, he is pursued and tormented by the terrible Erinyes, who demand yet further blood vengeance.

Orestes is then told by Apollo at Delphi that he should go to Athenai to seek the aid of the goddess Athena. In Athenai, Athena arranges for Orestes to be tried by a jury of Athenian citizens, with her presiding. The Erinyes appear as Orestes’ accusers, while Apollo speaks in his defense. The trial becomes a debate about the necessity of blood vengeance, the honor that is due to a mother compared to that due to a father, and the respect that must be paid to ancient deities such as the Erinyes compared to the newer generation of Apollo and Athena. The jury vote is evenly split. Athena participates in the vote and chooses for acquittal. Athena declares Orestes acquitted because of the rules she established for the trial.

Despite the verdict, the Erinyes threaten to torment all inhabitants of Athenai and to poison the surrounding countryside. Athena, however, offers the ancient goddesses a new role, as protectors of justice, rather than vengeance, and of the city. She persuades them to break the cycle of blood for blood (except in the case of war, which is fought for glory, not vengeance). While promising that the goddesses will receive due honor from the Athenians and Athena, she also reminds them that she possesses the key to the storehouse where Zeus keeps the thunderbolts that defeated the other older deities. This mixture of bribes and veiled threats satisfies the Erinyes, who are then led by Athena in a procession to their new abode. They are thereafter addressed as *Semnai* (Venerable Ones), as from then on they will be honored by the citizens of Athenai and will ensure the city's prosperity.

## Etymology

The word *Erinyes* is of uncertain etymology. Connections with the verb ὀρίνειν *orinein* 'to raise, stir, excite' and the noun ἔρις *eris* 'strife' have been suggested; Beekes has proposed a Pre-Greek origin. The word *Erinys* in the singular and as a theonym is first attested in Mycenaean Greek, written in Linear B, in the following forms: 𐀁𐀪𐀝, *e-ri-nu*, and 𐀁𐀪𐀝𐀸, *e-ri-nu-we*.