Erinyes (Greek)

Erinyes (Greek)

Alternative Names:
에리네스, 에리녜스, Furies, 퓨리에

In Greek mythology the Erinýes (Ἐρινύες, pl. of Ἐρινύς, Erinýs; literally "the angry ones") or Eumenídes (Εὐμενίδες, pl. of Εὐμενίς; literally "the gracious ones" but also translated as "Kind-hearted Ones" or "Kindly Ones") or Furies or Dirae in Roman mythology were female chthonic deities of vengeance or supernatural personifications of the anger of the dead. They represent regeneration and the potency of creation, which both consumes and empowers. A formulaic oath in the Iliad (iii.278ff; xix.260ff) invokes them as "those who beneath the earth punish whosoever has sworn a false oath". Burkert suggests they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath".

When the mighty 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 a variant account, they issued 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, whom the two poets met in Canto IV, were wreathed with serpents (compare Gorgon) and their eyes dripped with blood, rendering their appearance rather horrific. Sometimes they had the wings of a bat or bird and the body of a dog.

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 renames them the Eumenides. The Eumenides are given red robes to replace the black robes they wore for most of the play, drawing an end to the red color scheme that is evident throughout the play.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erinyes

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Chthonic deities

Demeter, Erinyes, Gaia, Hades, Hecate, Iacchus, Melinoe, Persephone, Triptolemus, Trophonius

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Greek goddesses | Triune gods | Vengeance goddesses

Sekhmet (Egyptian)

Sekhmet

Often fused with Bast and Het-heru, the great lioness goddess and wife of Ptah was the bloodthirsty embodiment of the fire of Ra. She was the agent of vengeance and swift justice. In one legend, Ra created her to destroy mankind after it turned away from morality and the gods, but later relented and changed her to the only slightly less destructive guise of Het-heru, love.

The more violent aspect of Het-heru, Sekhmet is often depicted as the lioness-goddess of the slaughter.
Myth has it that Ra created Sekhmet to kill all the unfaithful worshippers in the Khem, and she did. Then she got out of hand, and began killing the faithful as well. Ra was at a loss of what to do. Finally, he filled a lake full of red wine. Sekhmet, thinking the wine was blood, drank it all and fell into a drunken stupor. While she was asleep, Ra changed her into Het-heru, the equally dangerous but in a different way goddess of love.

Horus (Egyptian)

Horus (Egyptian)
God of the king, the sky and vengeance

Major cult center: Nekhen, Behdet Edfu
Symbol: The wedjat eye,
Parents: Osiris and Isis
Siblings: Anubis (in some accounts)
Consort: Hathor (in one version)

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Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists. These various forms may possibly be different perceptions of the same multi-layered deity in which certain attributes or syncretic relationships are emphasised, not necessarily in opposition but complementary to one another, consistent with how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the multiple facets of reality. The earliest recorded form is Horus the Falcon who was the patron deity of Nekhen in Upper Egypt and who is the first known national god, specifically related to the king who in time became to be regarded as a manifestation of Horus in life and Osiris in death. The most commonly encountered family relationship describes Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris but in another tradition Hathor is regarded as his mother and sometimes as his wife. Horus served many functions in the Egyptian pantheon, most notably being the god of the Sky, god of War and god of Protection.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horus

Deities of vengeance

Deities by association (gods or goddesses of vengeance)

Erinyes	Greek	♀	The Erinyes (Ερινύες) or Eumenides (or Furies in Roman mythology) were female personifications of vengeance.
Invidia	Roman	♀	Invidia was the sense of envy or jealousy, who might be personified for strictly literary purposes, as a goddess, a Roman equivalent to Nemesis in Greek mythology.
Nemesis	Greek	♀	Nemesis (in Greek, Νέμεσις), also called Rhamnousia/Rhamnusia ("the goddess of Rhamnous"), at her sanctuary at Rhamnous, north of Marathon, in Greek mythology was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris, vengeful fate personified as a remorseless goddess.
Poena	Roman	♀	Poena (also Poine) is the spirit of punishment and the attendant of punishment to Nemesis, the goddes of divine retribution. The Latin word poena, "pain, punishment, penalty", gave rise to English words such as subpoena.

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Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Deities_by_association