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 Phonoi (, from the plural of ) are collectively the personification of murder. 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 Phonoi are listed among the children of Eris (Strife). The Phonoi are named in line 228 of the ''Theogony'', which lists four personified plural abstractions, the

Hysminai In Greek mythology, the Hysminai or Hysminae (, from the plural of ) are collectively the personification of combat. In Hesiod's ''Theogony The ''Theogony'' () is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogy, ...

(Combats), the

Machai In Greek mythology, the Machai or Machae (, from the plural of ) are collectively the personification of battle and war. In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', the Machai are listed among the children of Eris (Strife). Like all of the children of Eris given ...

(Battles), the Phonoi (Murders), and the

Androktasiai In Greek mythology, the Androktasiai ( ('Manslaughters', 'Manslayings', 'Slayings of Men'), from the plural of ) are collectively the personification of the slaughter of men in battle. The Androktasiai are named in line 228 of Hesiod's ''Theogony'' ...

(Slaughters), as being among the offspring of Eris (Strife): :Ὑσμίνας τε Μάχας τε Φόνους τ’ Ἀνδροκτασίας τε The nearly identical line, listing the same four abstractions (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: :ὑσμῖναί τε μάχαι τε φόνοι τ᾿ ἀνδροκτασίαι τε. Like all of the children of Eris given by Hesiod, the Phonoi 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.

Phonos

There are also a few examples, in ancient poetry, of Phonos (singular), as the personification of murder. The

Hesiodic Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient 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 Griffin, " ...

poem ''

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 ...

'' (lines 144–319) describes the many dozens of things depicted on Heracles' elaborately decorated shield. In one section of this long description, Phonos is mentioned along with other personifications associated with battle: Phonos is mentioned in

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

's tragedy ''

Seven Against Thebes ''Seven Against Thebes'' (, ''Hepta epi Thēbas''; ) is the third play in an Oedipus-themed trilogy produced by Aeschylus in 467 BC. The trilogy is sometimes referred to as the ''Oedipodea''. It concerns the battle between an Argive army, led by ...

''. As one of several insults that

Amphiaraus Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιάραος, Ἀμφιάρεως, "very sacred") was in Greek mythology the son of Oicles, a seer, and one of the leaders of the Seven against Thebes. Amphiaraus at first refused to go with Adr ...

casts at

Tydeus Tydeus (; Ancient Greek: Τυδεύς ''Tūdeus'') was an Aetolian hero in Greek mythology, belonging to the generation before the Trojan War. He was one of the Seven against Thebes, and the father of Diomedes, who is frequently known by the patr ...

, Amphiaraus calls him "high priest" of Phonos. Personified murder seems also to be referred to in a line from Aeschylus' tragedy ''

Libation-Bearers The ''Oresteia'' () is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of ...

'': "may the ancient murder

honos Honos () or Honor () was the Roman god personifying honor. He was closely associated with Virtus, the goddess of manliness, or bravery, and the two are frequently depicted together. Honos is typically shown wearing a chaplet of bay leaves, whi ...

breed no more in the house." In 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 ...

, "dreadful" Phonos (along with Kydoimos) "stalked" the battle field.

, ''

'
6.350–351

Notes

References

, ''

Libation Bearers The ''Oresteia'' () is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of ...

'', in ''Aeschylus: Oresteia: Agamemnon, Libation-Bearers, Eumenides'', edited and translated by Alan H. Sommerstein,

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. 146. 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 ...

, 2009.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*

, ''

'' in ''Aeschylus: Persians. Seven against Thebes. Suppliants. Prometheus Bound.'' Edited and translated by Alan H. Sommerstein.

No. 145. Cambridge, Massachusetts:

, 2009.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* 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
* 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 Personifications in Greek mythology Children of Eris (mythology) Murder