Megaera ( ; grc, Μέγαιρα, Mégaira, the jealous one) is one of the
Erinyes, Eumenides or "Furies" in
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
. ''
Bibliotheca Classica'' states "According to the most received opinions, they were three in number,
Tisiphone, "Megaera ... daughter of
Nyx and
Acheron
The Acheron (; grc, Ἀχέρων ''Acheron'' or Ἀχερούσιος ''Acherousios''; ell, Αχέροντας ''Acherontas'') is a river located in the Epirus region of northwest Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . Its source is ...
", and
Alecto
Alecto ( grc, Ἀληκτώ, Alēktṓ, the implacable or unceasing anger) is one of the Erinyes (Furies) in Greek mythology.
Family and description
According to Hesiod, Alecto was the daughter of Gaea fertilized by the blood spilled from U ...
".
In other versions, she and her sisters, as well as the
Meliae
In Greek mythology, the Meliae (also called Meliads) (; grc, Μελίαι, or , ) were usually considered to be the nymphs of the ash tree, whose name they shared.
Mythology
According to Hesiod, the Meliae (probably meaning all tree-nymphs) w ...
, were born of the blood of
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus ( Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars), grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter) and father of ...
when
Cronus castrated him.
In modern French (), Portuguese (), Modern Greek (), Italian (), 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 ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
.
Cultural depictions
Minor planet
464 Megaira is named in her honour.
The 1964 Hammer horror film ''
The Gorgon
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' 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''. 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
Greek goddesses
Furies/Erinyes
Underworld goddesses
{{Greek-deity-stub
Jealousy