Alecto (mythology)

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Alecto ( ancient Greek Ἀληκτώ "never Resting" Latinized Alecto or Allecto ) is the name of a deity in the Greek and Roman mythology . She and her two sisters Megaira ("envy") and Tisiphone ("murder avenger") form a trio, the Erinyes (lat. Furia ). They have also been referred to as eumenids since classical times .

The Erinyes in Mythology

In literature, the Erinyes, like the Moiren , are often invoked in certain situations, but rarely intervene directly as actors in the action. Their function is the fulfillment of curses, the guarantee of oaths and oaths, the punishment of crimes, especially in the case of family offenses, or the instigation of madness. The Erinyes are best known for their appearance towards Orestes , whom they drive insane after the murder of his mother, and for the appearance of Allecto in the Aeneid of Virgil .

Origin and attributes

The origin of the Erinyes has been handed down in several variants:

  1. From Gaia born, conceived by the drops of blood of Uranus , like that of his son Kronos was castrated
  2. Daughters of the night
  3. Daughters of Gaia and Skotos
  4. Personified souls of the deceased who return to avenge a crime against them when it has not been avenged by their relatives

They are often described with wings, snake hair, hunting boots, torches and whips. They are settled in the underworld .

Allecto in the Aeneid

In the seventh book of the Aeneid , Allecto intervenes after she was commissioned by Iuno to prevent the Latin land from falling to the Trojans . By her ability to cause strife and death, she should sow the foundations for war.

In order to carry out this assignment, she first went to Amata , who, contrary to her husband's wishes, preferred Turnus as husband for her daughter Lavinia . With a snake out of her hair, the hell demon puts the queen in a wild turmoil by sneaking into her bed and finally into her heart. Disturbed, Amata tries to convince Latinus at first , but when this does not succeed, she completely succumbs to the snake's poison and goes into a frenzy. In this madness she kidnaps her daughter into the woods in order to postpone the wedding with Aeneas .

In the next step she appears in the figure of the Juno priestess Calybe to the Rutulian king Turnus and asks him to demand the promised marriage to Lavinia and to drive out the Trojans. When the latter then mocks her, she reveals herself to him in her true form and sets his heart on fire. Furious and full of belligerence, he orders a campaign against Latinus to free Italy and drive the enemies out of the country. In its final step, Allecto turns directly to the Trojans. By setting the hunted Ascanius' dogs on the trail of a tame deer raised by the rural inhabitants, she lays the final foundation stone for the war. Ascanius, unaware of the stag's special position, wounds the stag with the bow, which is why the stag takes refuge in the local yard. The rural people summoned by Allecto take up arms, as do the Trojan youth who hastened to help. In the following skirmish, several deaths occur, whereupon Allecto withdraws and rushes to Iuno.

There she reports her successes and asks the goddess permission to bring further unrest over the country and to extend the war to the surrounding countries. Fearing Iuppiter's intervention , Iuno refuses to give his consent and sends Allecto back to the underworld.

In addition to the various well-known attributes such as the torch metaphor and the snakes, Virgil adds an exact description of the location of the residence.

In research it is controversial whether Allecto is to be regarded as the cause of the war or only as the cause. So it is indeed commissioned by Iuno, but it is a proprium laborem, which suggests a pleading, not commanding character. However, she wants to spread the war further, overzealously, but only with the consent of the Juno. The torch and fire metaphors also allow the conclusion that they were only the igniting spark, while the tinder was already there.

literature