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 ...

, the Hysminai or Hysminae (, from the plural of ) are collectively the

personification Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, National personification, countries, an ...

of combat. In

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

's ''

Theogony The ''Theogony'' () is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogy, genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Homeric Greek, epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contains 1,022 lines. It is one ...

'', the Hysminai are listed among the children of Eris (Strife). Like all of the children of Eris given by Hesiod, the Hysminai are a personified abstraction, allegorizing the meaning of their name, and representing one of the many harmful things which might be thought to result from discord and strife, with no other identity. The ''

Posthomerica The ''Posthomerica'' () is an epic poem in Greek hexameter verse by Quintus of Smyrna. Probably written in the 3rd century AD, it tells the story of the Trojan War, between the death of Hector and the fall of Troy, Ilium (Troy). The poem is an ab ...

'' of

Quintus Smyrnaeus Quintus Smyrnaeus (also Quintus of Smyrna; , ''Kointos Smyrnaios'') was a Greek epic poet whose ''Posthomerica'', following "after Homer", continues the narration of the Trojan War. The dates of Quintus Smyrnaeus' life and poetry are disputed: by ...

describes the images decorating the shield of

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

, which, among others such as Eris, the

Furies The Erinyes ( ; , ), also known as the Eumenides (, the "Gracious ones"), are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take v ...

, and the war-goddess Enyo, also included the Hysminai, alongside

Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; , ''Thánatos'', pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the Personifications of death, personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referre ...

(Death): The Roman mythographer

Hyginus Hyginus may refer to: People *Hyginus, the author of the '' Fabulae'', an important ancient Latin source for Greek mythology. *Hyginus, the author of the ''Astronomia'', a popular ancient Latin guide on astronomy, probably the same as the author ...

has "Fighting", the similar singular personification of the meaning of the Latin word ''pugna'' (fight, battle, combat) as the offspring of Ether 'Aether''and Earth 'Terra''

Associations

Hesiod's ''Theogony'', line 228, lists four personified plural abstractions, the (Combats), the (Battles), the (Murders), and the (Slaughters), as being among the offspring of Eris (Strife):
228
These four abstractions were associated in other ancient poetry. The nearly identical line, listing the same four (without capitalizations, and with different case endings), in the same order, occurs in Homer's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'', where

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

describes the decorations on Heracles' golden belt: The abstraction (combats) was also associated with (battles) in the ''

Homeric Hymn The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three ancient Greek hymns and one epigram. The hymns praise deities of the Greek pantheon and retell mythological stories, often involving a deity's birth, their acceptance among the gods ...

'' 5 ''To Aphrodite''.''

'' 5 ''To Aphrodite''
11
For the association between (Murder) and (Slaughter), see ''

Shield of Heracles The ''Shield of Heracles'' (, ''Aspis Hērakleous'') is an archaic Greek epic poem that was attributed to Hesiod during antiquity. The subject of the poem is the expedition of Heracles and Iolaus against Cycnus, the son of Ares, who challenged ...

'
155
and between (battles) and (manslaughters), see

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'
7.23724.548

Notes

References

* Caldwell, Richard, ''Hesiod's Theogony'', Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company (June 1, 1987).
Internet Archive
* Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). * Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004,
Google Books
*

, ''Iliad, Volume I: Books 1-12'', translated by A. T. Murray, revised by William F. Wyatt,

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

No. 170, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

, 1999
Online version at Harvard University Press
. *

, ''Iliad, Volume II: Books 13-24'', translated by A. T. Murray, revised by William F. Wyatt,

No. 171, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 1999
Online version at Harvard University Press
. *

, ''Odyssey, Volume I: Books 1-12'', translated by A. T. Murray, revised by George E. Dimock,

No. 104, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1998 (first published 1919).
Online version at Harvard University Press
* ''

'' 5 ''To Aphrodite'', in ''Homeric Hymns. Homeric Apocrypha. Lives of Homer'', edited and translated by Martin L. West,

No. 496, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 2003.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius, ''

Fabulae The ''Fabulae'' is a Latin handbook of mythology, attributed to an author named Hyginus, who is generally believed to have been separate from Gaius Julius Hyginus. The work consists of some three hundred very brief and plainly, even crudely, told ...

'' in ''Apollodorus' ''Library'' and Hyginus' ''Fabulae'': Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology, Translated, with Introductions by R. Scott Smith and Stephen M. Trzaskoma'', Hackett Publishing Company, 2007. . * Hyginus, Gaius Julius, ''

''
Latin text at packhum.org
* Liddell, Henry George, Robert Scott, ''

A Greek-English Lexicon A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

'', revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie,

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Oxford, 1940
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Most, G.W. (2018a), ''Hesiod, Theogony, Works and Days, Testimonia,'' Edited and translated by Glenn W. Most,

No. 57, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 2018.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Most, G.W. (2018b), ''Hesiod: The Shield, Catalogue of Women, Other Fragments'',

, No. 503, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 2007, 2018.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*

, ''

'', edited and translated by Neil Hopkinson,

No. 19, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 2018.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* West, M. L. (1966), ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press. . {{Authority control Children of Eris (mythology) War goddesses Greek war deities Greek goddesses Personifications in Greek mythology