Megaera Explained

Type:Greek
Megaera
Deity Of:Goddess of jealousy and envy
Member Of:The Erinyes
Parents:Uranus or Nyx
Siblings:Alecto and Tisiphone

Megaera (; Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Μέγαιρα|Mégaira|the jealous one[1]) is one of the Erinyes, Eumenides or "Furies" in Greek mythology. Bibliotheca Classica states "According to the most received opinions, they were three in number, Tisiphone, "Megaera ... daughter of Nyx and Acheron",[2] and Alecto".[3]

In other versions, she and her sisters, as well as the Meliae, were born of the blood of Uranus when Cronus castrated him.[4]

In modern French (French: mégère), Portuguese (Portuguese: megera), Modern Greek (Greek, Modern (1453-);: μέγαιρα), Italian (Italian: megera), Polish (Polish: megiera), Russian (Russian: мегера), Ukrainian (Ukrainian: меґера) and Czech (Czech: megera), this name denotes a jealous or spiteful woman. She is not to be confused with Megara, the wife of Heracles.

Cultural depictions

Minor planet 464 Megaira is named in her honour.[5]

The 1964 Hammer horror film The Gorgon revolves around the re-emergence of Megaera in a Central European village circa 1910.

Magaera is one of the main characters in the Twilight Zone episode "Ye Gods", which depicts her as the true love of Cupid.

Megaera is a major character in the video game Hades. She is a boss and a potential romance partner to Zagreus, the main character.

Megaera is one of the three antagonists in the video game where she is portrayed as a deformed humanoid with spider like appendages.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Related to μεγαίρω "to grudge, envy" from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh2- "great" (see Robert S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009, p. 917).
  2. Lamprière's Classical Dictionary of Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors, 1949, p. 366
  3. Lamprière's Classical Dictionary of Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors, 1949, p. 234
  4. Book: The Greek Myths . registration . Penguin Books . Graves, Robert . 1960 . London . 37 . 9780140171990.
  5. Book: (464) Megaira In: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . 52. Springer . 2003 . 978-3-540-29925-7 . 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_465. (464) Megaira.