Eris (mythology)

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Eris on a Greek representation (approx. 550 BC)

Eris ( ancient Greek Ἔρις Éris , inscribed on a vase with the inscription Ἴρις Íris ; personification of ἔρις éris , German 'dispute, quarrel' ) is the goddess of discord and strife in Greek mythology . She is the daughter of Nyx , one of the five gods that emerged directly from the primal chaos . She is also sometimes considered the sister of Ares . Eris was adopted from Greek to Roman mythology as Discordia ("discord").

Apple of discord

She is known for the golden "apple of discord" (the proverbial " apple of contention " or "apple of Eris"), which she threw among the guests at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis , to which she was not invited. The dedication τῇ καλλίστῃ tḗ kallístē was engraved on this apple , which means “the most beautiful”. Aphrodite , Athena and Hera began to argue over the apple. On Zeus' advice , Hermes led the three to Paris ; this should give it to the most beautiful of the three goddesses. Paris chose Aphrodite, who promised him the most beautiful woman (in the world). But afterwards it turned out that she was already married: Helena , the wife of the king of Sparta Menelaus . Her kidnapping by Paris then sparked the Trojan War .

presentation

Eris often appears as a limping, shriveled, little woman. Only when it manages to arouse people's envy and hatred does it blossom into its true shape. Homer writes about her in the Iliad : “... the restlessly panting Eris ... who creeps in at first small in shape; but in a short time she bears her head high in the sky and walks on earth. This now scattered quarrel to common woe in the middle, walking from crowd to crowd, increasing the sighs of the men. "

In Works and Days of Hesiod , in addition to the quarrelsome Eris, there is also a "good" one that encourages people to work.

progeny

In Hesiod's theogony the following are mentioned as descendants of the Eris:

  • Ponos ( Πόνος Pónos , German ‚die Mühsal ' )
  • Lethe ( Λήθη Lḗthē , German 'forgetting' )
  • Limos ( Λιμός Limós , German 'the hunger' )
  • Algea ( Ἄλγεα Álgea , German 'pain' )
  • Hysminai ( Ὑσμίναι Hysmínai , German 'the battles' )
  • Makhai ( Μάχαι Máchai , German 'the fights' )
  • Phonoi ( Φόνος Phónos , German 'the murder' )
  • Androktasiai ( Ἀνδροκτασίας Androktasías , German 'the carnage' )
  • Neikea ( Νείκεα Neíkea , German 'der Hader' )
  • Pseudea ( Ψεύδεα Pseúdea , German 'the lie' )
  • Amphilogiai ( Ἀμφιλογίαι Amphilogíai , German 'der Wortstreit' )
  • Dysnomia ( Δυσνομία Dysnomía , German 'the lawlessness' )
  • Ate ( Ἄτη Átē , German 'the blindness' )
  • Horkos ( Ὅρκος Hórkos , German 'the oath' )

reception

A postmodern reception of the principle represented by Eris can be found in the religion of Discordianism , which is mainly represented by the novel trilogy Illuminatus! by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson became known.

Discord (French: La Discorde ) is a fable by Jean de La Fontaine .

The dwarf planet Eris is named after the goddess of discord , the discovery of which led to a dispute over the redefinition of the term "planet" and the controversial withdrawal of the planetary status of Pluto . The dwarf planet metaphorically turned into a bone of contention for astronomers.

In art

  • In the television series Hercules , the bone of contention is a recurring antagonist.
  • In The New 52 (the new 52) relaunched Wonder Woman Eris was renamed to "Strife". She is sarcastic, toxic, and a drinker. Both Diana and Hermes regard their mentality as that of a spiteful child.
  • In the film Sinbad: The Lord of the Seven Seas (2003), Eris is portrayed as the goddess of chaos.
  • In EVE Online , Eris is the name of the Gallente Interdictor (spaceship).
  • In the book Olympos, War of the Gods , the apple of contention is a Golden Delicious from the future. This is given by the three time traveler women, from Athena, Paris at a wedding, with the request to mediate. In an argument about which of them is allowed to wear the golden headdress at the party that evening, Paris lets the three women draw a rose. Dr. Sarah Jones, who coincidentally also saved Paris' father from an assassin shortly before, wins because she caught the rose with the longest stem. By changing the timeline, and since Paris probably passed it on a little differently, as well as because of centuries of oral tradition, the myth of the apple of contention arose in the book.

Derived terms

literature

Web links

Commons : Eris  - collection of images

Remarks

  1. ^ Friedrich Creuzer, To the gallery of the old dramatists; Selection of unedited Greek clay vessels from the Grand Ducal Baden Collection in Karlsruhe , Heidelberg 1839, p. 12.
  2. ↑ Hesiod , Works and Days 18.
  3. ↑ Homer , Iliad 4,441; Ovid , Fasti 255.
  4. ↑ "Let the most beautiful take him." Benjamin Hederich , Gründliches mythologisches Lexikon , p. 1039.
  5. ^ Hyginus Mythographus , Fabulae 92.
  6. ↑ Lukian , Dialogi Deorum 20.7; Dialogi Marini 5; Symposium 35; Charidemus 10; Apuleius , Apuleius 10.30-32.
  7. ↑ Homer, Ilias 4,440–445, translation by Johann Heinrich Voss .
  8. ↑ Hesiod, Works and Days 11-26.
  9. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 226-233.