Eumenides

1 9.9

Three fierce goddesses with snakes in their hair who pursue and punish people for murder

noun
/juːˈmɛnɪdiːz/

Literature

: Eumenides

If I didn't at first recognize the House of Atreus, I do know of Aeschylus's Oresteia, which is made up of three plays: the Agamemnon, the Libation Bearers, and the Eumenides.

Examples

Have you ever heard of the Eumenides?

The Night of the Generals (1967)
In Lyly's Endymion, when Eumenides is faced with a choice between helping his friend Endymion or winning the woman he loves, he chooses to help his friend.

Blog text (8)
The Eumenides are known in mythology as the goddesses who punish those who commit crimes without facing justice.
In the ancient play, the Eumenides were portrayed as vengeful spirits who tormented wrongdoers.
Fear of the Eumenides drove many to confess their sins and seek redemption in ancient Greece.

Synonyms

Erinyes

vsEumenides

Literature

1 9.9

Female spirits in Greek stories with snake hair who chase and punish guilty people

present them as divine female spirits who act by divine authority

Surface Forms

Eumenides singular

Eumenides plural

Etymology

Eumenides comes from Greek and literally means 'the kindly ones', with eu- meaning 'good' as in eulogy. People used this friendly name to avoid angering the fearsome goddesses who punished criminals, which is why the terrifying Furies were called by a kind word.