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Those who committed grave offenses would be hounded by the Furies, usually with no way of ending their punishment until death.

The Furies often carried whips, which they used to torment their victims. Older sources also gave them frightening features such as bats’ wings, dogs’ heads, and glowing red eyes. While many writers described the three Erinyes as withered crones, artists often showed them as more beautiful maidens. Virgil, who was probably working from an older Greek source, named them Alecto (Endless Anger), Megaera (Jealous Rage), and Tisiphone (Vengeful Destruction). Most writers claimed that there were three Furies. Some believed that they were daughters of Nyx, the primordial goddess of night, or Hades. The account was not universally accepted, however.

When he was castrated by Cronus, his blood fell to the earth and created the Erinyes, nymphs, and giants. They were goddesses whose actions were the will of Zeus as the keeper of natural law.Īccording to legend, the Furies were born from the blood of Uranus. The Furies were the embodiment of punishment, specifically for those who broke oaths, betrayed their families, offended the gods, or commited murder.Īlthough they could be terrifying, the Erinyes were not monsters. The Erinyes, or Furies, were some of the most feared creatures in Greek mythology. It was part of a broader trend that saw the idea of justice move away from pure punishment. The transition from bestial spirits of vengeance to the kinder Eumenides was not limited to a single play. They also protected the innocent, however, and could show mercy when circumstances warranted it. In a famous Greek play by the same name, they earned the title of Eumenides.Īs The Kindly Ones, the Eumenides still hounded those who had committed grave crimes. Their fury, however, was eventually softened.

These goddesses were so unrelenting and fearsome that their name is still used to describe anger and hatred today. Transgressions against the gods, men, or natural law were met with terrible, endless torment. The Erinyes were goddesses who doled out a brutal form of justice.