Erinyes and Vengeance

Perhaps one of the distinctive features of the Greek mythological world, compared to the mythological narratives of other peoples, is that the creation of the gods did not refer only to the reproduction of natural forces and phenomena that evoked in them a kind of fear and awe, such as life, death, lightning, thunder, the sea, rivers, stars, the darkness of the night, to name just a few. The Greeks also had more abstract gods that represented ethical and cultural values ​​such as justice, art, common work, commerce, etc. And, most fascinatingly, they had a group of immortal gods that symbolized various aspects of human behavior and psychology. The Erinyes belonged to this last group.

Some writers believe that the Erinyes predate the existence of the Olympians. For some, they are the daughters of Night, for others, their parents are Darkness and Mother Earth.

In Hesiod’s version, the Erinyes were born when Cronus cut off the genitals of their father Uranus and deposed him as ruler of the universe. During the castration, Cronus threw the remaining parts into the sea, and from the resulting foam Aphrodite was born. From the blood that fell on the earth (Gea), the Erinyes, Melias, and the Giants (R. Hard) were born.

The Erinyes existed in a mythical time when humans had no laws or courts. Its role was to avenge murders with terrible punishments, especially those committed between blood-related people. There were other types of serious infractions that disturbed peaceful coexistence, such as not keeping an oath or contract, infidelity, or incest. The Erinyes were said to watch over the natural order and punish anyone who tried to disturb it.

Those who committed any crime were persecuted and avenged by the Erinyes, even in death. There are stories about how the avengers punished them with whips and burned them with torches in the kingdom of Hades: Tantalus, Ixion, Phrysias, and many other famous murderers and criminals.

Aeschylus was the first writer to describe his appearance. They are described as dark, grim creatures, holding burning torches, clubs or whips, with their hair coiled in snakes, breathing rough and sinister, crawling and moving on the ground (R. Hard). They know all kinds of poisonous and venomous substances, as well as those that can cause great pain to those they consider guilty. People persecuted by these terrible avengers can easily go mad.

In the oldest texts, such as the Odyssey and the Theogony, there is no mention of the number or names of the Erinyes. In Latin mythology, they are called the Furies, and the Roman writers Virgil and Ovid identify three of them, with their names: Alecto, Tisiphena, and Meira.

Oedipus was retaliated by the Erinyes for his incest with his mother and the death of Jocasta, who hanged herself after discovering that Oedipus was both her son and her husband.

Telemachus suggests to his mother Penelope that if Odysseus does not return and abandons her, she should curse him and provoke the revenge of the Erinyes. King Amyntho of Boeotia asks the Erinyes to avenge the insult inflicted on him by his son Phoenix for falling in love with a lover.

Alcmaeon, a citizen of Argos, killed his mother Eriphyle because her ambition had led to the death of his father Amphiaraus many years before. Eriphyle tricked Amphiaraus into attacking Thebes, even though he knew he would die there. The persecution and punishment of the Erinyes drove Alcmaeon mad, and the land he traversed during his escape became a wasteland.

It is said that Hecuba, the wife of King Priam, had a disturbing dream before the birth of Prince Paris, in which she saw herself giving birth to an Erinye who breathed fire and had a hundred hands holding torches, which resulted in Paris’ defeat and the destruction of Troy. After consulting a fortune teller, when Paris was born, Priam decided to abandon the child on a nearby mountain, where he was rescued by shepherds.

Regarding the role of the Erinyes as watchdogs for the proper course of the natural order, it is said that Achilles’ mount Xanthus was beheaded by the Erinyes when he was about to reveal to his master who was responsible for the death of his beloved Patroclus. It was unnatural for horses to converse with humans, and the Erinyes existed to punish anyone who violated the laws of nature.

The Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus is also credited with exemplifying the power of the Erinyes in this regard, saying that if the Sun himself dared to go beyond his own limits or wanted to change his daily path, he would be relentlessly pursued by the Erinyes.

Robin Harder writes that in myth, the Erinyes embody the primitive spirit of revenge in the ancient individual and collective mind. They do not stop to consider the mitigating, aggravating, involuntary, accidental or force majeure circumstances that underlie their crimes. They mark faults and act cruelly without thinking deeply or listening to the accused.

It was not until Orestes was persecuted for the murder of his mother Clytemnestra that the Erinyes’ irrepressible spirit of revenge was tempered and finally defeated by the court. In the Areopagus, in a trial presided over by Athena, arguments were heard from all sides: the vengeful plaintiff on the one hand, and the defendant on the other. After deliberation, the judges were divided, and Athena cast the deciding vote, absolving the defendant of all responsibility for murder.

Some people believe that with the advent of the court, the Erinyes completely lost their reason for existence, so after the trial of Orestes, the Greek residents changed their name from Erinyes (the avenger) to Eumenides (the merciful), and they were therefore called “Erinyes”. They began to be worshipped in different places.

The feeling of revenge is one that has remained constant over time. Revenge is taken to hurt another person as an emotional retaliation for an injury or humiliation, whether real or imagined. People believe that by satisfying the desire for revenge, compensation can be obtained and the emotional balance of the offended person restored.

In addition to courts, societies have established various mediation institutions to resolve conflicts of all kinds. Their goal is to guide those who feel they are victims or have been wronged by others and prevent the primitive desire for revenge from taking over.

It is common among despotic and tyrannical characters to find their actions inspired more by the ancient Erinyes than by the spirit of gentle justice.

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