The Furies.
The family’s unanswered blood
The Furies (Erinyes): Greek Goddesses of Vengeance and Justicepursue violations of kinship and other deep obligations. Their terrifying authority forces Greek stories to ask how a wrong can be answered without making revenge continue forever.
More than a myth.
Where the Erinyes come from
says the blood of falls upon after ’s attack, and the are born from it. gives them an association with Night instead. The birth from a wound suits powers concerned with violence inside families, but the sources should not be collapsed into an ordinary pair of biological parents.
The pursuit of Orestes
In ’s Oresteia, Orestes kills his mother Clytemnestra to avenge his father . pursue him for matricide, while supports the command that led to the killing. The conflict exposes competing obligations: carrying out one demanded act of vengeance creates another crime that also calls for an answer.
Athena and the Eumenides
establishes a trial and then persuades the angry powers to accept an honored place in . The drama does not simply declare them mistaken or erase their authority. It imagines a change in how destructive pursuit can be incorporated into civic order. Later tradition commonly names three : Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone.
Questions about The Furies
Are the Furies and the Fates the same?
No. pursue violations and vengeance; the Fates allot destiny. Both may belong to dark or ancient divine families, but their roles differ.
What does Eumenides mean?
It is a favorable title commonly rendered the Kindly Ones. In ’s play, the change of relationship with gives the title its dramatic importance.
It’s a family affair.
The stories of The Furies.
Continue with the ancient accounts.
This story collection does not yet include a full retelling centered on The Furies. Explore the cited sources below and the connected profiles for more of the surviving accounts.
Ancient voices.
Enduring stories.
Myths have many tellings. These are the ancient works behind this profile, linked to freely available English translations.
Theogony
Lines 176–187
Eumenides
The trial of Orestes and the settlement with Athena
The Erinyes
Names and alternate parentage