Ἔρις Eris

By

Hannah Sames

Contents . . .~ Introduction

~Also known as

~The symbol

~Power

~ Control

~Hannah’s thought

~Family of Eris

~ Family of Eris (continued)

~ Major myth

~ Major myth (continued)

~Eris’ role

~What we can learn from Eris and the myth

~Resources

~ Click on title to go straight to that page

IntroductionEris is known as the

goddess of strife, discord, conflict and rivalry. She is often represented as the patron of war, who haunted the battlefield and delighted in human suffering

In many stories, when Eris causes a dispute she appears to be quite insignificant, but as events stem from her subtle actions, more and more trouble occurs.

From the way Eris acts and the disaster she causes, we can see Eris has a powerful personality. She is very head-strong and never likes to let someone else win a battle or dispute, or feel like she is the weaker opponent.

“Discord is the last of the Gods to close an argument” - Aeschylus, ‘Seven Against Thebes’, 1057

However, it is said that when Eris leaves a scene, the previous harmony enjoyed always returns.

Modern drawing of the evil looking Eris -

Also known asEris, in Greek means

“strife” , and when translated into Latin, is

“Discordia” or

“discord” which can both be used to represent her.

Due to her love of battle and fighting, her epithet is

“Nurse of War”.

According to Homer, Eris is closely linked to the war goddess, Enyo, so he uses both this and Eris throughout the myths.

Did you know… Eris was the inspiration for the naming of the 10th planet discovered in 2005 as it caused much debate and a huge astronomical argument.

Eris from the vase of painter Carlsruhe, 440 B.C.

NASA image of Eris on 1st August, 2005

The SymbolEris is associated

with the symbol of

the ‘Golden Apple’, which she stole from Hera when she was given Golden Apples of Immortality by Gaia. Once Eris had taken one of the apples she turned it into

the ‘Apple of Discord’.

My thought of comparison…It is interesting how mythology has focused on an apple to be Eris’ symbol, because when we look at the biblical story of temptation,

it is an apple that is used to represent sin, which after Eve was persuaded to

eat, allowed war, sickness and hardship to break out into the perfect world.

Eris witnessing the judgement of Paris, just after throwing her golden apple.

Modern representation of Eris’ Apple of Discord

Power

According to many myths, if the body and mind are in a state of harmony then health and happiness prevail.

However…When the mind is most vulnerable, torn apart by opposite opinions or desires, Eris will choose to interfere and have control of a mortal’s mind or body, allowing disease and madness to ravage, turning men against each other.

Eris has the power to ‘whisper’ in someone’s ear, and without hesitation, persuade them to obey her orders such as to ruin or betray their relationships with family and friends. She does this by making the task look attractive and convinces them they will gain rewards of whatever they desire.

It is said… Discord among humans upsets Zeus.

Eris, Athenian black-figure, 6th century B.C.

ControlIf Justice, who fosters Harmony, is sent away, Eris and her children immediately take her place.

Lawlessness occurs

Small arguments end in murder

Fights are filled with lies

Battles feel never ending

From this we can see how much

control Eris has over human actions in a negative way.

She teaches us in the modern world, not to let people take control of us and to not be easily persuaded into trouble.

Greek battle, vase of the Tyszkiewicz Painter, 480 B.C.

An example of the wars Eris created

Hannah’s

Eris shows that discord can not be avoided in every day life.

No matter where you are, there are always terrible things happening in the world. Although this is dreadful, it is actually what teaches us the difference between good and bad, right and wrong.

Most of us learn from the negative experiences and choose paths that lead differently.

thought

If there was no bad in the world, there would be no feelings of peace or relief because these feelings usually occur after a disaster, fight or event has ended or been resolved.

You can’t understand

the good without

understanding the bad.

Family of ErisParents… In Hesoid’s Theogony, Eris appears as the daughter of Nyx (Goddess of night).

However, according to Homer’s Iliad she is one of the daughters of Zeus (King of the Gods) and Hera (Olympian Queen and goddess of women and marriage).

"Eris (Hate) whose wrath is relentless, she is the sister and companion of murderous Ares.“ ~Homer’s Iliad

Homer also states Eris is the sister of Ares.

Painting of Nyx by Burne-Jones

Zeus, Athenian red-figure, 5th century B.C.

Ares – God of war

Family of Eris

~ continued

Children…In Hesoid’s Theogony it states Eris had 14 offspring. These included –

Horkos (brings pain to any man who falsely swears to an oath)

Ate (brings ruin)

Dysnomia (creates lawlessness)

Amphilogiai (causes disputes)

Pseudo-Logoi (creates lies)

Neikea (makes

quarrels)

Androktasiai (responsible for man-slaughter)

Phonoi (causes murders)

Makhai (encourages battles)

Hysminai (loves fighting)

Algea (responsible for pain)

Limos (causes starvation)

Lethe (for forgetfulness)

Ponos (loves to toil)

Major Myth

Because of Eris’ disagreeable nature she was the only goddess that was not invited to Peleus and Thetis’ wedding. Despite this, she turned up and demanded to be let in. She was refused, and as she is known for her mayhem, acted quickly and threw a golden apple amongst three goddesses.

It was inscribed

“for the fairest”, which going according to plan, caused a major dispute over who deserved the apple.

The three goddesses involved were Hera (queen of the Olympians), Athena (goddess of wisdom) and Aphrodite (goddess of love and beauty).

Image of Peleus catching Thetis, 500 B.C. by Peithinos

Hera, Attic Red-figure, 500 B.C.

Athena, bronze bust

Aphrodite, Paestan Red-figure, 360 B.C.

Major Myth ~ continued

They all attempted to get the answer from Zeus, but were sent with Hermes (messenger god) to Mount Ida (near Troy). There they would go to Paris, a young mortal who would judge the three goddesses and

choose who was the most beautiful.

Hermes, Paestan Red-figure, 360 B.C.

To have a better chance at winning the competition, each goddess offered Paris a bribe.

Athena offered him everlasting wisdom, and victory in war; Hera promised wealth and to make him a powerful king; And Aphrodite would give him the marriage of the most beautiful woman, Helen.

Paris, drawn in 1997

Major Myth ~ continued

Aphrodite’s offer appealed to Paris the most, so she was chosen to be the ‘fairest’.

So determined to gain his prize, Paris travelled to Sparta and took Helen while her husband was out.

Menelaus returned to find his wife missing, so he and his brother Agamemnon, sent an army to Troy.

This was the beginning of the war that lasted ten years, and a lifetime in history.

Aphrodite had failed to mention Helen was already married to Menelaus, in Sparta.

Helen, daughter of Zeus and Leda Paris is seated, with Hera

(holding mirror), Athena (with spear and helmet) and Aphrodite behind him. Attic Red-figure 420 B.C.

Eris’ roleEris played a significant role in this myth, with the throw of a small insignificant object such as the golden apple.

As mentioned before, at the beginning of a scene, Eris’ actions seem small, but the consequences of her moves always fulfill her wish of causing destruction.

Because of Eris, no matter who Paris had chosen, a war would have been unavoidable.

He would have made enemies with the two goddesses he did not choose, and Zeus would have created a war if Paris had taken either of the other two bribes.

Eris’ goal in this myth, to get revenge for not being invited to the wedding, turned out in her favour and caused one of the biggest wars in Greek mythology.

Modern art representing Eris and Golden Apple

What we can learn

~ from Eris and the myth

Eris has a character that is so devious, that from her we can learn

the lesson of consequences when we act impulsively upon our negative emotions.

This moral is shown in the myth where she quickly throws in the golden apple causing a small argument, which grows into a big competition and then into a full-scale war.

This story shows us that no matter what we do in our every day lives, there will always be repercussions. We have to be careful of what we say and do to make sure we don’t cause trouble like Eris.

She also teaches us the

importance of ethics and morals. Her lack of these values shows us how important they really are, and what happens when they are absent.

Resources

http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Eris.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(mythology)http://hoomepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Eris.htmlhttp://www.goodchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=Eris

http://www.logia.com/myth/eris.htmlhttp://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/achilles/graphicshttp://ancienthistory.about.com/od/troyilium/g/Eris.htm

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

The end