THE ERINYES

The Erinyes a.k.a. the Furies were Greek goddesses of retribution. They avenged crimes against the natural order, particularly homicide, unfilial conduct, crimes against the gods, and perjury. If you were seeking justice you called upon the Erinyes to place a curse on the criminal. They sound like mythic superheros.

Born from the blood of Ouranos after being castrated by his son Kronos, Tisiphone, Megaera, and Alecto wore long black robes of mourners and wielded whips. They had wings with hair, arms and waists entwined with poisonous serpents. They were servants of Haides and Persephone and oversaw the torture of criminals consigned to the Dungeons of the Damned.

Their wrath manifested in a number of ways. The most severe of these was the tormenting madness inflicted upon a patricide or matricide. Murderers suffered illness or disease. If you and/or your village harbored a criminal, you suffered a lack of supplies and with it hunger and disease. There was way to rectify the situation. A person would have to perform the rite ritual purification and an assigned task for atonement.

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