The Erinyes, also known as Eumenides or Furies, are three underworld goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek myth.
History
Daughters of the goddess of the night Nyx,[4] the Erinyes are called "Eumenides" in Hell, "Furiae" on Earth, and "Dirae" in Heaven.[1]
When the male Gods gained the upper hand, Zeus imprisoned them in Erebus, halfway between Hades and the upper world.[5]
They are invoked to pursue and torment those who have committed terrible crimes, especially those done against women[5] — like when Prince Orestes of Mycenae killed his own mother Clytemnestra to avenge the betrayal and murder of his father Agamemnon and was only freed from the Furies' persecution when the Gods of Olympus judged him innocent of the crime.[3]
The Erinyes granted 15-year-old Helena Kosmatos a portion of their power so that she could seek revenge on the Nazis who had killed many of those she loved in her Greek village—and especially on her brother Michael, an ally of the Nazis and responsible for the death of their mother. Escaping to the United States at 16, she used her powers as the Fury, a member of the Young All-Stars. However, the Erinyes had not told her of the price of her power—when she became angered, she would be taken over by one of the monstrous Furies.[5]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Godly Physiology
- Claws
- Immortality
- Power Distribution: They empowered Helena Kosmatos as Fury.[5]
- Wings[6][5]
Abilities
Miscellaneous
Representatives:
Notes
- These characters are an adaptation of the Erinyes, characters in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore. More information on the original can be found at Wikipedia.org.
- These characters were later established by Neil Gaiman in The Sandman as an aspect of the Triple Goddess.
See Also
Links and References
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