Megaera ( ; ) is one of the

Erinyes 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 tak ...

, 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 The ''Bibliotheca Classica'' (Reading, November, 1788), or ''Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors'', is the best-known work of John Lemprière, an English classical scholar. Edited by ...

'' states "According to the most received opinions, they were three in number,

Tisiphone Tisiphone (, "Avenger of murder"),Tisiphone
Encyclopedia Britannica, Retrieved 4 February 2025; from '' ...

, "Megaera ... daughter of

Nyx In Greek mythology, Nyx (; ) is the goddess and personification of the night. In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', she is the offspring of Chaos, and the mother of Aether and Hemera (Day) by Erebus (Darkness). By herself, she produces a brood of children ...

and

Acheron The Acheron ( or ; ''Acheron'' or Ἀχερούσιος ''Acherousios''; ''Acherontas'') is a river in the Epirus (region), Epirus region of northwest Greece. It is long, and has a drainage area of . The river's source is located near the vil ...

", and

Alecto Alecto () is one of the Erinyes or Furies in Greek mythology. Family and description According to Hesiod, Alecto was the daughter of Gaea fertilized by the blood spilled from Uranus when Cronus castrated him. She is the sister of Tisiphone a ...

". In other versions, she and her sisters, as well as the

Meliae In Greek mythology, the Meliae (also called Meliads) (; 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) were born from the dr ...

, 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 In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or ; ) was the leader and youngest of the Titans, the children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky). He overthrew his father and ruled dur ...

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 Megara (; , ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken ...

, 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 464 Megaira ('' prov. designation:'' ''or'' ) is a dark and large background asteroid, approximately in diameter, located in the central region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg Observatory in sou ...

is named in her honour. The 1964 Hammer horror film ''

The Gorgon ''The Gorgon'' is a 1964 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Richard Pasco and Barbara Shelley. The screenplay was by John Gilling and Anthony Nelson Keys. It was produced by Keys for ...

'' 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 ''The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series), The Twilight Zone'' (1985) is the first of three Revival (television), revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1959–64 television series of the The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), same name. It ran for two se ...

", which depicts her as the true love of

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

. 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 In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Zagreus () was a god sometimes identified with an Orphic Dionysus who was dismembered by the Titans and reborn. In the earliest mention of Zagreus, he is paired with Gaia and called the "highest" god, th ...

, 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.

References

Erinyes {{Greek-deity-stub Jealousy

Cultural depictions

See also

References