In
Greek mythology, they are the three
goddesses of
revenge, sometimes called the
daughters of Night. They were brought about by
murder,
perjury,
ingratitude,
disrespect,
harshness,
violation of filial piety and the laws of
hospitality. They are
impartial and
impersonal and pursue these
wrongdoers until they are driven
mad and
die. But even in
death, the
criminal does not find rest until he shows
remorse. Then the Erinyes become the
Eumenides ("
protectors of the suppliant", "
the well-disposed ones") or the
Semnai ("
the venerable ones").
They are usually represented as
three sisters:
Alecto ("
the Unceasing"),
Megaera ("
the Grudging") and
Tisiphone ("
the Avenging"). They were created from drops of
blood, coming from the wounds of
Uranus when he was castrated by his son
Cronus and which fell upon the Earth.
Artists in those times depicted them as women with
fiery eyes and
snake hair and with attributes such as torches and whips. Sometimes they were dressed as
hunters. Amongst the
Romans they were known as
Furies ("
the furious") or
Dirae ("
the terrible").