Alecto
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Alecto (Ancient Greek: Ἀληκτώ, romanized: Alēktṓ, lit. 'the implacable or unceasing anger') is one of the Erinyes (Furies) in Greek mythology.
Family and description
[edit]According to Hesiod, Alecto was the daughter of Gaea fertilized by the blood spilled from Uranus when Cronus castrated him. She is the sister of Tisiphone and Megaera. These three Furies had snakes for hair and blood dripped from their eyes, while their wings were those of bats.[1] Alecto's job as a Fury is castigating the moral crimes (such as anger) of humans, especially if they are against others.
Alecto's function is similar to Nemesis, with the difference that Nemesis's function is to castigate crimes against the gods, not mortals. Her punishment for mortals was Madness.
In mythology
[edit]igniting the war, Allecto asks Juno if she can provoke more strife by drawing in bordering towns. Juno replies that she will manage the rest of the war herself: "You're roving far too freely, high on the heavens' winds, and the Father, king of steep Olympus, won't allow it. You must give way. Whatever struggle is still to come, I'll manage it myself."[2]
In culture
[edit] |
Literature
[edit]- Alecto appears in Book VII of Virgil's Aeneid.
- Alecto appears in the medieval Irish epic Táin Bó Cúailnge where she is equated with the Mórrígan, the Irish mythological figure associated with battle and death.[3]
- She briefly appears in Canto IX of Dante's Inferno with her sisters before the gates of Dis, threatening to unveil the Medusa.[4]
- Alecto is invoked in John Dryden's adaptation of Oedipus Rex.[5]
- She is mentioned multiple times in Miklós Zrínyi's The Siege of Sziget.[6]
- Alecto is the name of a character in Tamsyn Muir's The Locked Tomb gothic science-fiction-fantasy series.
- Alecto appears in Percy Jackson and the Olympians disguised as a pre-algebra teacher.
Music
[edit]- The musical piece "Music for a While" by Purcell is based on the aforementioned passage from Dryden's Oedipus.
- She is mentioned in Handel's [[Rinaldo (opera)|
Astronomy
[edit]- Minor planet 465 Alekto is named in her honor.[7]
Video games
[edit]- In the video game God of War: Ascension, she is one of the three main antagonists, the Furies.[8]
- In the video game Hades, she is one of three possible area bosses preventing Zagreus from leaving Tartarus.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "The Furies in Greek Mythology". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- ^ Virgil. Aeneid. Translated by Fagles, Robert. II.646-649.
- ^ O'Rahilly, Cecile (ed.) (1976) Táin Bó Cúailnge. Recension I, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, p. 30
- ^ Aligheri, Dante (1888). Cary, Henry Francis (ed.). Inferno. United Kingdom: William Clowes and Sons, Ltd. p. 44.
- ^ Dryden, John; Lee, Nathaniel (1724). Oedipus, A Tragedy. London. p. 38.
- ^ Zrínyi, Miklós, gróf (2011). The Siege of Sziget. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. pp. xviii, 11–14. ISBN 9780813218618.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "(465) Alekto". (465) Alekto In: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer. 2003. p. 52. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_466. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7.
- ^ "God of War: Ascension Walkthrough Part 30 - Alecto's Chamber". IGN. 14 March 2013.
- ^ Castello, Jay (16 March 2019). "Hades' updates reflect the shifting nature of mythology". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 12 May 2022.