Erinyes (Furies) - Mythopedia The Erinyes (“Furies”) were terrifying sisters who acted as goddesses of vengeance and retribution From their grim home in the Underworld, the Erinyes punished crimes that violated the natural order—especially offenses against family members
Eumenides - Mythopedia The Eumenides is a tragedy composed by Aeschylus around 458 BCE It is the final entry in the tragic trilogy known as the Oresteia The play depicts Orestes’ trial and eventual acquittal for the murder of his mother Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra – Mythopedia Agamemnon’s murder was soon avenged by his son Orestes, who killed both Aegisthus and his mother Clytemnestra for their crimes But Orestes was pursued afterwards by the Erinyes (also known as the “Furies”), goddesses responsible for punishing wrongdoing and blood-guilt Clytemnestra appeared frequently in ancient literature
Moirae (Fates) - Mythopedia Other sources further specified that it was the Moirae who instructed the Erinyes (the “Furies”) on which mortals were to be punished for their crimes Eventually, the Moirae became identified with Heimarmene—a concept advanced by various philosophers, from the Presocratics to the Stoics, that morphed into a kind of universal fate or
Lycurgus – Mythopedia For example, Lyssa (the personification of madness) is said to destroy Lycurgus in the anonymous Hymn to Dionysus (GLP 129 39), while Lucan ascribes Lycurgus’ downfall to one of the Erinyes, or Furies (Civil War 1 572) ↩; Homer, Iliad 6 138–40
Tartarus – Mythopedia Statius: The epic Thebaid (late first century CE) begins with Tisiphone (one of the Furies) leaving Tartarus in order to sow discord in Thebes Hyginus: The Fabulae, a Latin mythological handbook (first or second century CE), mentions the origins of Tartarus
Gorgons – Mythopedia The Gorgons were three monstrous sisters who lived at the edge of the world; they are perhaps best remembered for their snake hair and fearsome appearance Two of the Gorgons were immortal, but the third—Medusa—was mortal and eventually slain by the hero Perseus
Phineus – Mythopedia Phineus was a king of Thrace, famous for his skill as a prophet He was blinded, however, for angering the gods Phineus is best remembered for his role in the myth of the Argonauts: he gave them life-saving counsel in exchange for their help in defeating the Harpies
Minotaur - Mythopedia The Minotaur was a hybrid monster (half-bull, half-man) born of the unorthodox union between the queen of Crete and a beautiful bull The Minotaur was hidden from the world in the Labyrinth, a giant maze, where it was eventually slain by the Athenian hero Theseus
Phoebe - Mythopedia Greek Hesiod (eighth seventh century BCE): Phoebe’s genealogy is outlined in the Theogony Aeschylus (ca 525 524 BCE–456 455 BCE): In the first lines of the tragedy Eumenides, Phoebe is said to have been the one who gave the oracle at Delphi to Apollo