Eleos
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| Eleos | |
|---|---|
Personification of Mercy and compassion | |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Nyx and Erebus[1] |
| Siblings | Moros, Keres, Thanatos, Hypnos, Oneiroi, Momus, Oizys, Hesperides, Moirai, Nemesis, Apate, Geras, Eris, Philotes, Styx, Dolos, Ponos, Euphrosyne, Epiphron, Continentia, Petulantia, Pertinacia |
| Equivalents | |
| Roman | Clementia, Misericordia |
In ancient Athens, Eleos (Ancient Greek Ἔλεος m.) or Elea was the personification of mercy, clemency, compassion and pity – the counterpart of the Roman goddess Clementia. Pausanias described her as "among all the gods the most useful to human life in all its vicissitudes."[2]
Family
Eleos was the daughter of the primordial gods, Nyx (Night) and Erebus (Darkness)[3].
"From Nox/ Nyx (Night) and Erebus [were born]: Fatum/ Moros (Fate), Senectus/ Geras (Old Age), Mors/ Thanatos (Death), Letum (Dissolution), Continentia (Moderation), Somnus/ Hypnos (Sleep), Somnia/ Oneiroi (Dreams), Amor (Love)--that is Lysimeles, Epiphron (Prudence), Porphyrion, Epaphus, Discordia/ Eris (Discord), Miseria/ Oizys (Misery), Petulantia/ Hybris (Wantonness), Nemesis (Envy), Euphrosyne (Good Cheer), Amicitia/ Philotes (Friendship), Misericordia/ Eleos (Compassion), Styx (Hatred); the three Parcae/ Moirai (Fates), namely Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos; the Hesperides."[3]
Mythology
Pausanias states that there was an altar in Athens dedicated to Eleos,[4][2] at which children of Heracles sought refuge from Eurystheus' prosecution.[5][failed verification] Adrastus also came to this altar after the defeat of the Seven against Thebes, praying that those who died in the battle be buried.[citation needed] Eleos was only recognized in Athens, where she was honored by the cutting of hair and the undressing of garments at the altar.[6][7]
Statius in Thebaid (1st century) describes the altar to Clementia in Athens (treating Eleos as feminine based on the grammatical gender in Latin): "There was in the midst of the city [of Athens] an altar belonging to no god of power; gentle Clementia (Clemency) [Eleos] had there her seat, and the wretched made it sacred".[citation needed]
See also
- (Goddesses of Justice): Astraea, Dike, Themis, Prudentia
- (Goddesses of Injustice): Adikia
- (Aspects of Justice): (see also: Triple deity/Triple Goddess (Neopaganism))
- (Justice) Themis/Dike/Justitia (Lady Justice), Raguel (the Angel of Justice)
- (Retribution) Nemesis/Rhamnousia/Rhamnusia/Adrasteia/Adrestia/Invidia
- (Redemption) Eleos/Soteria/Clementia, Zadkiel/Zachariel (the Angel of Mercy)
Notes
- ^ Hyginus, Fabulae Preface
- ^ a b Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Cited in "Eleos". Theoi Project. Aaron J. Atsma.
- ^ a b Hyginus, Fabulae Preface
- ^ Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio 1.17.1
- ^ Apollodorus, 2.8.1
- ^ Patricia Monaghan, PhD (2014). Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines. p. 238. ISBN 9781608682188. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ Scholia to Sophocles's Oedipus at Colonus, 258
References
- Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
- Gaius Julius Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. ISBN 0-674-99328-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
- Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
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