Momus/Querella

**Momus** is the Greek god Mockery, blame, ridicule, scorn, complaint and harsh criticism. His Roman counterpart is **Querella**.

## Basic Info

### Alias

God of Mockery, blame, ridicule, scorn, complaint and harsh criticism, The Exiled Olympian, The Jester of The Olympians

## Family Info

### Siblings

Apate, Eleos, Hesperides, The Keres, The Moirai, Nemesis, Oizys (Sisters)Hypnos, Moros, The Oneiroi, Philotes, Thanatos, Geras, (Brothers)

### Extended Family

Agatha Diaz, Juniper Noveschosch, Lilly Miller, Amelia Cappello, Clara Astilla, Natalie Smith, Isabella Thompson, Hayley Robles (Nieces)George Flores, Eustace Mizéria (Nephews)

## History

### Early Life

As a sharp-tongued spirit of unfair criticism, Momus was eventually expelled from the company of the gods on Mount Olympus. His name is related to μομφή, meaning 'blame', 'reproach', or 'disgrace'. Hesiod said that Momus was a son of Night (Nyx), "though she lay with none", and the twin of the misery goddess Oizys. In the 8th century BCE epic *Cypria*, Momus was credited with stirring up the Trojan War in order to reduce the human population. Sophocles wrote a later satyr play called *Momus*, now almost entirely lost, which may have derived from this.

### In Aesop's Fables

Two of Aesop's fables feature the god. The most widely reported of these in Classical times is numbered 100 in the Perry Index. There Momus is asked to judge the handiwork of three gods (who vary depending on the version): a man, a house and a bull. He found all at fault: the man because his heart was not on view to judge his thoughts; the house because it had no wheels so as to avoid troublesome neighbours; and the bull because it did not have eyes in its horns to guide it when charging. Because of it, Plutarch and Aristotle criticized Aesop's story-telling as deficient in understanding, while Lucian insisted that anyone with sense was able to sound out a man's thoughts.

### God of Mocking

As another result, Momus became a by-word for fault-finding, and the saying that if not even he could criticize something then that was the sign of its perfection. Thus a poem in the Greek Anthology remarks of statues by Praxiteles that "Momus himself will cry out, 'Father Zeus, this was perfect skill'." Looking the lovely Aphrodite over, according to a second fable of Aesop's, number 455 in the Perry Index, it was light-heartedly noted that he could not find anything about her to fault except that her sandals squeaked.

## Personality

According to the stories that were told about him, Momus was the most contrary of the gods. While many of the Olympians had quick tempers and harsh personalities, Momus was known for never having a kind word for anyone. At times, the god’s mockery seemed lighthearted. To belittle Zeus, for example, he once graffitied Olympus with messages glorifying the greatness of Cronus. At other times, however, Momus could be dangerous. A source from the 8th century BC said that he had initiated the conflicts of the Trojan War for no reason other than that he disliked humanity and wished to see the population decrease. While the full story does not survive, some writers even mentioned that Momus was expelled from Olympus for his constant negativity. The gods were unwilling to endure the endless criticisms and sharp words leveled at them by the contrary god. The only one that Momus had nothing negative to say about, according to the poet Callimachus, was Aphrodite. When he could find no fault with the goddess of beauty, he resorted to saying that her sandals squeaked when she walked. The most well-known story of Momus and his sharp tongue, however, is not a true myth, but instead a Fable. Isaiah describes his dad as "pretty cool" and someone who likes to make jokes with him, and they are pretty close since Momus was exiled from Olympus, so Momus gets to see Isaiah

## Appearance

Momus is described as looking very similar to Isaiah, with the same curly black hair and blue eyes, that always shine with mischief, and light skin. Momus is often seen wearing a Greek chition and wearing a jester's hat, along with Greek sandals

## Powers and Abilities

### God Powers

Momus has the standard powers of a god

* **Blame Embodiment**: Momus, as the god of Blame, gains the ability feed off of the blame and unfairness of others or himseld in order to get stronger. He can also reflect substantial amounts of prejudice or injustice from others whether physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual.
* **Censorship Embodiment**: Momus is the act of the suppressing speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient. This allows some level of control over whatever concept he can censor, and can even outright destroy that concept all-together.
* **Detection**: Momus can sense the presence of anything/everything, including matter/energy, power, concepts, etc. and possibly gain detailed understanding about whatever they are sensing, including the amount/size of it and whether it is hidden and/or guarded.
	+ **Problem Detection**: Momus can detect/diagnose any/all problems (physical, medical, mental, technical/technological, spiritual, supernatural, etc.) via various means.
	+ **Weakness Detection**: Momus can sense the weakness of almost anything, including people and objects, possibly including more insubstantial targets such as relationships, societies, organizations or laws of nature.
* **Empathic Mimicry**: Momus, as the god of Mockery, can duplicate the powers of those around him by channeling an emotion that are connected to the powers and reproduce them at will.
* **Irony Inducement**: Momus can make any situation ironic, causing a certain level of Unpredictability, making the least expected conclusion occur.
* **Literature Embodiment**: As the god of Satire, Momus can become the embodiment of literature - written works and publishing, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit.
	+ **Literary Manipulation**: He can create, shape and manipulate all forms of physical literary objects that are printed, written or drawn (books, comics, magazines, etc.), including their physical forms/materials and anything written, printed, illustrated, or drawn in them.
* **Mockery Physiology**: As the god of Mockery, he can use this power or can transform himself or others into mockeries - grotesque, exaggerated, monstrous versions of themselves or others.
* **Poetry Embodiment**: As the god of Satire, Momus can become the embodiment of poetry - the form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language - such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre - to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning.
* **Shape-shifting**: Momus, as a trickster god, can change their shape, size, color, density, texture, cellular composition, and/or atomic composition to mimic qualities, impersonate entities, amplify abilities, and/or traverse environments
* **Treachery Embodiment**: He is the embodiment of treachery, he is only loyal to himself or have other reasons use this power to get around and infiltrate enemy lines so he can destroy them from the inside. He may also manipulate others into fighting each other for the sake of accomplishing his own goals. Then at the proper opportunity He can eliminate any loose ends.
* **Voice Manipulation**: As the god of Mockery, Momus is freely capable of manipulating his voice, allowing him to control his voice to imitate sounds of creatures such as animal noises and explosions or increase or decrease the tone of his voice.

## Etymology

His name is related to μομφή, meaning **'blame'**, **'reproach'**, or **'disgrace'.**

## Trivia

1. Oizys, Momus’s twin, was a misery goddess. She was known for being the goddess of anxiety, worry, and distress. She played a part in inciting many wars, feuds, and disputes.
2. It was Momus’s goal to find fault in anything and everything so that he could ridicule it.
	1. When Prometheus made mankind, Momus criticized him for not creating a door in man’s chest so that his thoughts could be seen and dishonesty could be prevented.
	2. Athena was mocked by Momus for having built a home without wheels because it could not be relocated away from unwanted neighbors.
	3. Momus criticized Poseidon's handiwork when he built a bull because Momus believed it should have eyes in its horn to make it gore more effectively.
	4. Some believe that Aphrodite annoyed Momus because he could find nothing to criticize in her perfect form. Other literary sources though say that Momus criticized her for having creaky sandals and for talking too much.
	5. Momus even had the audacity to mock the king of the gods, Zeus, for being violent and for lusting after so many women. Zeus would eventually be the one to banish Momus from Mount Olympus.
3. Momus is typically depicted as a man lifting a mask from his face. In more modern art, he is depicted as a fool or king’s jester.
4. Two of Aesop’s fables feature Momus as a character.
5. Momus also is to blame for Zeus’s decision to start the Trojan war as a way of reducing the population.
6. Being from the realm of the Underworld, Momus also has a dark side. He would often instill in men feelings of failure in regards to new ideas or new ventures.
7. Greek tragedian Sophocles wrote a satyr play called Momus. Satyr plays were tragicomedies with choruses of satyrs. The plays were often full of drunkenness, sexuality, sight gags, and other forms of merriment. The play itself is now almost entirely lost.
8. Momus is associated with writers and poets because he is also known as the god of censure and the god of satire. Censure means harsh criticism, strong disapproval, or strong condemnation, explaining its connection to Momus.