Megaera ( ; ) is one of the
Erinyes, Eumenides or "Furies" in
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
. ''
Bibliotheca Classica'' states "According to the most received opinions, they were three in number,
Tisiphone, "Megaera ... daughter of
Nyx and
Acheron", and
Alecto".
In other versions, she and her sisters, as well as the
Meliae, were born of the blood of
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a Supercritical fluid, supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or Volatile ( ...
when
Cronus castrated him.
In modern French (), Portuguese (), Modern Greek (), Italian (), Polish (), Russian (), Ukrainian () and Czech (), this name denotes a jealous or spiteful woman. She is not to be confused with
Megara, the wife of
Heracles
Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...
.
Cultural depictions
Minor planet
464 Megaira is named in her honour.
The 1964 Hammer horror film ''
The Gorgon'' revolves around the re-emergence of Megaera in a Central European village circa 1910.
Magaera is one of the main characters in the ''
Twilight Zone'' episode "
Ye Gods", which depicts her as the true love of
Cupid.
Megaera is a major character in the video game ''
Hades
Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...
''. She is a boss and a potential romance partner to
Zagreus, the main character.
Megaera is one of the three antagonists in the video game ''
God of War: Ascension'' where she is portrayed as a deformed humanoid with spider like appendages.
See also
*
Family tree of the Greek gods
*
Shrew (archetype)
References
Erinyes
{{Greek-deity-stub
Jealousy