In Greek mythology, Dysnomia (Ancient Greek : Δυσνομία, lit. 'Lawlessness, Bad Government, Anarchy') [1] is the personification of lawlessness. According to Hesiod's Theogony , Dysnomia was the offspring of Eris (Strife), with no father mentioned. [2] Like all of the children of Eris given by Hesiod, Dysnomia is a personified abstraction, allegorizing the meaning of their name, and representing one of the many harmful things which might be thought to result from discord and strife, with no other identity. [3]
Hesiod associates Dysnomia with Ate [Recklessness]. He names both as offspring of Eris, on the same line (230) of his Theogony, and says that the two are "much like one another". [4]
The Athenian statesman Solon contrasted Dysnomia with Eunomia, the personification of the ideal government: [5]
This is what my heart bids me teach the Athenians, that Lawlessness [Dysnomia] brings the city countless ills, but Lawfulness [Eunomia] reveals all that is orderly and fitting, and often places fetters round the unjust. [6]
Solon makes Dysnomia the cause of the "countless" evils besetting Athens: greed, the injustice of the city's leaders, the slavery of the poor, and civil war. [7]
In 2005, Dysnomia was chosen as the name for the moon of the dwarf planet Eris. [8]
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord. Her Roman equivalent is Discordia, which means the same. Eris's Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Roman counterpart is Concordia, though she is also described as opposing Nike, counterpart of the Roman Victoria. Homer equated her with the war-goddess Enyo, whose Roman counterpart is Bellona. The dwarf planet Eris is named after the goddess.
Zeus is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. His name is cognate with the first syllable of his Roman equivalent Jupiter.
In Greek mythology, the Titans were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the Theogony of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth), with six male Titans—Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Cronus—and six female Titans, called the Titanides or Titanesses—Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys.
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's Theogony, the Cyclopes are the three brothers, Brontes, Steropes, and Arges, who made Zeus's weapon, the thunderbolt. In Homer's Odyssey, they are an uncivilized group of shepherds, the brethren of Polyphemus encountered by Odysseus. Cyclopes were also famous for being the builders of the Cyclopean walls of Mycenae and Tiryns.
In Greek mythology and religion, Themis is the goddess and personification of justice, divine order, law, and custom. She is one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia and Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is associated with oracles and prophecies, including the Oracle of Delphi. Her symbol is the Scales of Justice.
In Greek mythology, Ate is the personification of moral blindness and error. She could blind the mind of both gods and men leading them astray. Ate was banished from Olympus by Zeus for blinding him to Hera's trickery denying Heracles his birthright. Homer calls Ate the daughter of Zeus, while Hesiod has Ate as the daughter of Eris (Strife).
In Greek mythology, Phorcys or Phorcus is a primordial sea god, generally cited as the son of Pontus and Gaia (Earth). Classical scholar Karl Kerenyi conflated Phorcys with the similar sea gods Nereus and Proteus. His wife was Ceto, and he is most notable in myth for fathering by Ceto a host of monstrous children. In extant Hellenistic-Roman mosaics, Phorcys was depicted as a fish-tailed merman with crab-claw legs and red, spiky skin.
In Greek mythology, Erebus, or Erebos, is the personification of darkness. In Hesiod's Theogony, he is the offspring of Chaos, and the father of Aether and Hemera (Day) by Nyx (Night); in other Greek cosmogonies, he is the father of Aether, Eros, and Metis, or the first ruler of the gods.
In Greek mythology, Psamathe is a Nereid, one of the fifty daughters of the sea god Nereus and the Oceanid Doris. By Aeacus, the king of Aegina, she is the mother of a son, Phocus. When Phocus is killed by his half-brothers Peleus and Telamon, Psamathe sends a giant wolf at Peleus' herd.
In Greek mythology, dreams were sometimes personified as Oneiros or Oneiroi. In the Iliad of Homer, Zeus sends an Oneiros to appear to Agamemnon in a dream, while in Hesiod's Theogony, the Oneiroi are the sons of Nyx (Night), and brothers of Hypnos (Sleep).
In Greek mythology, Hyperion was one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky). With his sister, the Titaness Theia, Hyperion fathered Helios (Sun), Selene (Moon) and Eos (Dawn).
In Greek mythology, the Machai or Machae are collectively the personification of battle and war. In Hesiod's Theogony, the Machai are listed among the children of Eris (Strife). Like all of the children of Eris given by Hesiod, the Machai are a personified abstraction, allegorizing the meaning of their name, and representing one of the many harmful things which might be thought to result from discord and strife, with no other identity.
In Greek mythology, Ponos or Ponus is the personification of toil and stress. According to Hesiod's Theogony, "painful" Ponos was the son of Eris (Strife), with no father mentioned. Like all of the children of Eris given by Hesiod, Ponos is a personified abstraction, allegorizing the meaning of his name, and representing one of the many harmful things which might be thought to result from discord and strife, with no other identity.
In Greek mythology, Limos is the personification of famine or hunger. Of uncertain sex, Limos was, according to Hesiod's Theogony, the offspring of Eris (Strife), with no father mentioned. Like all of the children of Eris given by Hesiod, Limos is a personified abstraction allegorizing the meaning of the Greek word limos, and represents one of the many harmful things which might be thought to result from discord and strife, with no other identity.
In Greek mythology, Uranus, sometimes written Ouranos, is the personification of the sky and one of the Greek primordial deities. According to Hesiod, Uranus was the son and husband of Gaia (Earth), with whom he fathered the first generation of Titans. However, no cult addressed directly to Uranus survived into classical times, and Uranus does not appear among the usual themes of Greek painted pottery. Elemental Earth, Sky, and Styx might be joined, however, in solemn invocation in Homeric epic. Uranus is associated with the Roman god Caelus.
Ceto is a primordial sea goddess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Pontus and his mother, Gaia. As a mythological figure, she is considered to be one of the most ancient deities, and bore a host of monstrous children fathered by Phorcys, another child of Gaia and Pontus. The small Solar System body 65489 Ceto was named after her, and its satellite after Phorcys.
In Greek mythology, the Phonoi are collectively the personification of murder. In Hesiod's Theogony, the Phonoi are listed among the children of Eris (Strife). The Phonoi are named in line 228 of the Theogony, which lists four personified plural abstractions, the Hysminai (Combats), the Machai (Battles), the Phonoi (Murders), and the Androktasiai (Slaughters), as being among the offspring of Eris (Strife):
In Greek mythology, the Androktasiai are collectively the personification of the slaughter of men in battle. The Androktasiai are named in line 228 of Hesiod's Theogony, which lists four personified plural abstractions, the Hysminai (Battles), the Machai (Wars), the Phonoi (Murders), and the Androktasiai, as being among the several offspring of Eris (Strife):
Ὑσμίνας τε Μάχας τε Φόνους τ’ Ἀνδροκτασίας τε
In Greek mythology, the Hysminai or Hysminae are collectively the personification of combat. In Hesiod's Theogony, the Hysminai are listed among the children of Eris (Strife). Like all of the children of Eris given by Hesiod, the Hysminai are a personified abstraction, allegorizing the meaning of their name, and representing one of the many harmful things which might be thought to result from discord and strife, with no other identity.
In Greek mythology, Lethe is the personification of forgetfulness and oblivion. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Lethe was the daughter of Eris (Strife), with no father mentioned. Her name was also given to Lethe, the river of oblivion in the Underworld.