User:Paul August/Eris (mythology)

Eris (mythology)

To Do

• Servius, Verg. Aen, 1.27
• Discordia

Sources

Ancient

Antoninus Liberalis

Metamorphoses

11

AEDON or NIGHTINGALE: Boeus tells this tale in his Origins of Birds. Pandareos dwelt in the territories of Ephesus, on the craggy headland next to the city. To him Demeter did grant the gift of never feeling full in the stomach after eating, whatever quantity he might take in. Pandareos had a daughter called Aedon. Polytechnus the carpenter, who lived at Colophon in Lydia, married her. For a long time their life together was a delight for them. They had an only child, Itys. While they honoured the gods they were happy, but one day they blurted out the needless remark that they loved each other more than did Hera and Zeus. Hera found what was said to be insupportable and sent Eris (Discord) between them to create strife in their activities.

Apollodorus

E.3.2

For one of these reasons Strife threw an apple as a prize of beauty to be contended for by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite; and Zeus commanded Hermes to lead them to Alexander on Ida in order to be judged by him. And they promised to give Alexander gifts. Hera said that if she were preferred to all women, she would give him the kingdom over all men; and Athena promised victory in war, and Aphrodite the hand of Helen. And he decided in favour of Aphrodite¹; and sailed away to Sparta with ships built by Phereclus.²

¹ As to the judgment of Paris （Alexander）, see Hom. Il. 24.25ff.; Cypria, in Proclus, Chrestom. i. （Epicorum Graecorum Fragmenta, ed. G. Kinkel, pp. 16ff.）; Eur. Tro. 924ff.; Eur. IA 1290ff.; Eur. Hel. 23ff.; Eur. And. 274ff.; Isoc. 10.41; Lucian, Dial. Deorum 20, Dial. marin. 5; Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 93; Hyginus, Fab. 92; Serv. Verg. A. 1.27; Scriptores rerum mythicarum Latini, ed. Bode, i. pp. 65ff., 142ff. (First Vatican Mythographer 208; Second Vatican Mythographer 205). The story ran that all the gods and goddesses, except Strife, were invited to attend the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, and that Strife, out of spite at being overlooked, threw among the wedding guests a golden apple inscribed with the words, “Let the fair one take it,” or “The apple for the fair.” Three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, contended for this prize of beauty, and Zeus referred the disputants to the judgment of Paris. The intervention of Strife was mentioned in the Cypria according to Proclus, but without mention of the golden apple, which first appears in late writers, such as Lucian and Hyginus. The offers made by the three divine competitors to Paris are recorded with substantial agreement by Eur. Tro. 924ff., Isocrates, Lucian, and Apollodorus. Hyginus is also in harmony with them, if in his text we read fortissimum for the formissimum of the MSS., for which some editors wrongly read formosissimum. The scene of the judgment of Paris was represented on the throne of Apollo at Amyclae and on the chest of Cypselus at Olympia （Paus. 3.8.12; Paus. 5.19.5）.

² Compare Hom. Il. 5.59ff., from which we learn that the shipbuilder was a son of Tecton, who was a son of Harmon. The names of his father and grandfather indicate, as Dr. Leaf observes, that the business had been carried on in the family for three generations. Compare Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 97.

Cypria

fr. 1 West

1 Scholiast on the Iliad, “and Zeus’ plan was being fulfilled”

Others have said that Homer was referring to a myth. For they say that Earth, being weighed down by the multitude of people, there being no piety among humankind, asked Zeus to be relieved of the burden. Zeus firstly and at once brought about the Theban War, by means of which he destroyed very large numbers, and afterwards the Trojan one, with Cavil as his adviser, this being what Homer calls the plan of Zeus, seeing that he was capable of destroying everyone with thunderbolts or floods. Cavil prevented this, and proposed two ideas to him, the marriage of Thetis to a mortal and the birth of a beautiful daughter. From these two events war came about between Greeks and barbarians, resulting in the lightening of the earth as many were killed. The story is found in Stasinus, the author of the Cypria, who says:

There was a time when the countless races <of men> roaming <constantly> over the land were weighing down the <deep->breasted earth’s expanse. Zeus took pity when he saw it, and in his complex mind he resolved to relieve the all-nurturing earth of mankind’s weight by fanning the great conflict of the Trojan War, to void the burden through death. So the warriors at Troy kept being killed, and Zeus’ plan was being fulfilled.

Euripides

Andromache

274–292

Great were the woes—I see it now—that the son of Maia and of Zeus 6 set in motion when he came to Ida’s glen with the goddesses three, a lovely team beneath a lovely yoke, helmeted for the spite-filled contest of beauty, to the shepherd lodge, the solitary young shepherd, and his lonely hearth and home.

When they came to the shady vale, they bathed their radiant bodies in the water of mountain springs. Then they went to the son of Priam vying with each other in excesses of spiteful speech. Aphrodite with deceptive words won the day, words delightful to hear but entailing bitter destruction for the luckless city and citadel of Troy.

Helen

23–30

Three goddesses, Hera, Cypris, 2 and Zeus’s maiden daughter, 3 came to a remote vale of Ida to Alexandros, and loveliness was the cause: they wanted to be judged in a beauty contest. Cypris offered marriage to my beautiful self—if what is unfortunate can be called beautiful—to Alexandros and won the contest. So Paris of Ida left his herds 4 and came to Sparta to take me as his wife.

36–41

the plan of Zeus. He brought war upon the Greeks and the poor Trojans to relieve Mother Earth of the throng and press of humankind and also make plain who was the most valiant man in Greece.⁵

⁵ Here, as at Orestes 1639–42 and Electra 1281–2, Euripides follows the story of the lost epic Cypria (fr. 1) that Zeus fomented the Trojan War in order to relieve the goddess Earth, oppressed by overpopulation.

Iphigenia in Aulis

1300–1308

To that place

there once came Pallas and Cypris with guile in her heart

and Hera, and <with them> Hermes, Zeus’s messenger,

the one, Cypris, pluming herself on love,

Pallas on the spear of war,

and Hera on sharing the royal bed of King Zeus.

They came for a quarrelsome contest

about beauty, ...

Orestes

1639–42

For it was by her [Helen's] beauty that the gods brought Greeks and Phrygians to one place and caused deaths, in order to relieve the earth of the rank growth of mortals’ boundless population.

The Trojan Women

924–931

Next, listen to what followed after that. This man judged the trio of goddesses. Pallas Athena’s bribe to Alexandros was that he would lead the Phrygians in war and lay waste to Greece. Hera promised him that he would hold sway over both Asia and the bounds of Europe if he awarded her the victory. Cypris, 32 admiring my beauty, promised she would give me to him if she defeated the other goddesses in the beauty contest.

Hesiod

Shield of Heracles

144–150

In the middle was Fear [Phobos], made of adamant, unspeakable, glaring backward with eyes shining like fire. His mouth was full of white teeth, terrible, dreadful; and over his grim forehead flew terrible Strife, preparing for the battle-rout of men—cruel one, she took away the mind and sense of any men who waged open war against Zeus’ son.

154–156

Upon it were wrought Pursuit [Proioxis] and Rally [Palioxis]; upon it burned Tumult [Homados] and Murder [Phonos] and Slaughter [Androktasia] ; upon it was Strife, upon it rushed Battle-Din [Kydoimos], upon it deadly Fate [Ker]

Theogony

211–225

Νὺξ δ’ ἔτεκε στυγερόν τε Μόρον καὶ Κῆρα μέλαιναν

καὶ Θάνατον, τέκε δ’ Ὕπνον, ἔτικτε δὲ φῦλον Ὀνείρων.

[214] δεύτερον αὖ Μῶμον καὶ Ὀιζὺν ἀλγινόεσσαν

[213] οὔ τινι κοιμηθεῖσα θεῶν τέκε Νὺξ ἐρεβεννή,

[215] Ἑσπερίδας θ’, αἷς μῆλα πέρην κλυτοῦ Ὠκεανοῖο

χρύσεα καλὰ μέλουσι φέροντά τε δένδρεα καρπόν·

καὶ Μοίρας καὶ Κῆρας ἐγείνατο νηλεοποίνους,

Κλωθώ τε Λάχεσίν τε καὶ Ἄτροπον, αἵ τε βροτοῖσι

γεινομένοισι διδοῦσιν ἔχειν ἀγαθόν τε κακόν τε,

[220] αἵ τ’ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε παραιβασίας ἐφέπουσιν,

οὐδέ ποτε λήγουσι θεαὶ δεινοῖο χόλοιο,

πρίν γ’ ἀπὸ τῷ δώωσι κακὴν ὄπιν, ὅστις ἁμάρτῃ.

τίκτε δὲ καὶ Νέμεσιν πῆμα θνητοῖσι βροτοῖσι

Νὺξ ὀλοή· μετὰ τὴν δ’ Ἀπάτην τέκε καὶ Φιλότητα

[225] Γῆράς τ’ οὐλόμενον, καὶ Ἔριν τέκε καρτερόθυμον.

Night bore loathsome Doom [Moros] and black Fate [Ker] and Death [Thanatos], and she bore Sleep [Hypnos], and she gave birth to the tribe of Dreams [Oneiroi]. Second, then, gloomy Night bore Blame [Momus] and painful Distress [Oizys], although she had slept with none of the gods, and the Hesperides, who care for the golden, beautiful apples beyond glorious Ocean and the trees bearing this fruit. And she bore (a) Destinies [Kers] and (b) pitilessly punishing Fates [Moirai], (a) Clotho (Spinner) and Lachesis (Portion) and Atropos (Inflexible), who give to mortals when they are born both good and evil to have, and (b) who hold fast to the transgressions of both men and gods; and the goddesses never cease from their terrible wrath until they give evil punishment to whoever commits a crime. Deadly Night gave birth to Nemesis (Indignation) too, a woe for mortal human beings; and after her she bore Deceit [Apate] and Fondness [Philotes] and baneful Old Age [Geras], and she bore hard-hearted Strife.

226–232

αὐτὰρ Ἔρις στυγερὴ τέκε μὲν Πόνον ἀλγινόεντα

Λήθην τε Λιμόν τε καὶ Ἄλγεα δακρυόεντα

Ὑσμίνας τε Μάχας τε Φόνους τ’ Ἀνδροκτασίας τε

Νείκεά τε Ψεύδεά τε Λόγους τ’ Ἀμφιλλογίας τε

Δυσνομίην τ’ Ἄτην τε, συνήθεας ἀλλήλῃσιν,

Ὅρκόν θ’, ὃς δὴ πλεῖστον ἐπιχθονίους ἀνθρώπους

πημαίνει, ὅτε κέν τις ἑκὼν ἐπίορκον ὀμόσσῃ·

And loathsome Strife bore painful Toil and Forgetfulness and Hunger and tearful Pains, and Combats and Battles and Murders and Slaughters, and Strifes and Lies and Tales and Disputes, and Lawlessness and Recklessness, much like one another, and Oath, who indeed brings most woe upon human beings on the earth, whenever someone willfully swears a false oath.

Works and Days

11–24

So there was not just one birth of Strifes after all, but upon the earth there are two Strifes. One of these a man would praise once he got to know it, but the other is blameworthy; and they have thoroughly opposed spirits. For the one fosters evil war and conflict—cruel one, no mortal loves that one, but it is by necessity that they honor the oppressive Strife, by the plans of the immortals. But the other one gloomy Night bore first; and Cronus’ high-throned son, who dwells in the aether, set it in the roots of the earth, and it is much better for men. It rouses even the helpless man to work. For a man who is not working but who looks at some other man, a rich one who is hastening to plow and plant and set his house in order, he envies him, one neighbor envying his neighbor who is hastening toward wealth: and this Strife is good for mortals.

Homer

Iliad

4.439–445

And the Trojans were urged on by Ares, and the Achaeans by flashing-eyed Athene, [440] and Terror [Deimos], and Rout [Phobos], and Strife who rages incessantly, sister and comrade of man-slaying Ares; she first rears her crest only a little, but then her head is fixed in the heavens while her feet tread on earth. She it was who now cast evil strife into their midst as she went through the throng, making the groanings of men to increase.

5.517–518

the toil [of war] which he of the silver bow [Apollo] was rousing, and Ares the bane of mortals, and Strife that rages without ceasing.

5.738–742

Around her shoulders she flung the tasselled aegis, fraught with terror, all around which Rout [Phobos] is set as a crown, [740] and on it is Strife, on it Valor [Alke], and on it Assault [Ioke], that makes the blood run cold, and on it is the Gorgon head of the terrible monster, terrible and awful, a portent of Zeus who bears the aegis.

11.3–14

Zeus sent Strife to the swift ships of the Achaeans, gruesome Strife, holding in her hands a portent of war. And she stood by Odysseus’ black ship, huge of hull, that was in the middle so that a shout could reach to either end, both to the huts of Aias, son of Telamon, and to those of Achilles; for these had drawn up their shapely ships at the furthermost ends, trusting in their valor and the strength of their hands. There the goddess stood and uttered a great and terrible shout, a shrill cry of war, and in the heart of each man of the Achaeans she roused strength to war and to battle without ceasing. And to them at once war became sweeter than to return in their hollow ships to their dear native land.

11.73—74

And Strife, who causes many groanings, rejoiced as she looked on; for alone of the gods she was with them in their fighting;

18.535

And among them Strife and Tumult joined, and destructive Fate

20.47—48

But when the Olympians had come into the midst of the throng of men, then up leapt mighty Strife, the rouser of armies, and Athene ...

24.27—30

Ilios at first became hateful in their eyes and Priam and his people, because of the folly of Alexander, who had insulted those goddesses when they came to his farmstead and praised her who furthered his grievous lustfulness.¹

¹ This is the only allusion in the Iliad to the judgment of Paris. M.

Hyginus

Fabulae

92

JUDGMENT OF PARIS: Jove is said to have invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis all the gods except Eris, or Discordia. When she came later and was not admitted to the banquet, she threw an apple through the door, saying that the fairest should take it. Juno, Venus, and Minerva claimed the beauty prize for themselves. A huge argument broke out among them. Jupiter ordered Mercury to take them to Mt Ida to Paris Alexander, and bid him judge. Juno promised him, if he should judge in her favour, that he would rule over all the lands and be pre-eminent wealth. Minerva promised that if she should come out victorious, he would be bravest of mortals and skilled in every craft. Venus, however, promised to give him in marriage Helen, daughter of Tyndareus, most beautiful of all women. Paris preferred the last give to the former ones, and judges Venus the most lovely. On account of this, Juno and Minerva were hostile to the Trojans. Alexander, at the prompting of Venus, took Helen from his host Menelaus form Lacedemon to Troy, and married her. She took with her two handmaids, Aethra and Thisiadie, captives, but once queens, whom Castor and Pollux had assigned to her.

Isocrates

Helen

10.41

For not much later when strife arose among the goddesses for the prize of beauty, and Alexander,^a son of Priam, was appointed judge

^a i.e. Paris

Lucian

Dialogues of the Sea-Gods 7 (5)

PANOPE AND GALENE

PANOPE

Did you see, Galene, what Discord did yesterday at the banquet in Thessaly, because she wasn’t invited?

...

PANOPE

Thetis and Peleus had already left and gone to their chamber, escorted by Amphitrite and Poseidon. Meanwhile Discord had crept in unseen by all—that was easy enough, with the guests drinking, applauding, or listening to Apollo’s playing or the Muses’ singing—and she threw a beautiful apple amongst the guests—an apple of solid gold, my dear, with the inscription “For the queen of Beauty” [ “ἡ καλὴ λαβέτω.” ]. The apple rolled, as if aimed, to where Hera, Aphrodite and Athena were at table. Then Hermes picked it up, and read out the inscription, but we Nereids held our tongues. What could we do when such august ladies were present? Each of them laid claim to the apple, insisting it should rightly be hers, and it would have come to blows, if Zeus hadn’t parted them, saying, “I won’t judge this matter myself”,—though they kept insisting he should—“but you go to Priam’s son1 on Ida. He knows how to decide between beauties, for he’s a connoisseur of beauty; his verdict is bound to be right.”

The Judgement of the Goddesses [= Dialogues of the Gods 20]

1

Zeus

Hermes, take this apple; go to Phrygia, to Priam’s son, the herdsman—he is grazing his flock in the foothills of Ida, on Gargaron—and say to him: "Paris, as you are handsome yourself, and also well schooled in all that concerns love, Zeus bids you be judge for the goddesses, to decide which of them is the most beautiful. [7] As the prize for the contest, let the victor take the apple."

Lycophron

Alexandra

93

ὡς πρόσθε, κάλλους τὸν θυωρίτην τριπλαῖς.

as once when thou wert arbiter of beauty for the three goddesses.

Nagler

[In folder]

Nonnus

Dionysiaca

2.358–359

Strife was Typhon's escort in the mellay, Victory (Nike) led Zeus into battle.

5.35–42

The dragon's death was not the end of the labours of Cadmos; but after the Serpent, and after the savage tribes of giants, he fought the champions of the Ectenes and the Aonian people, reaping a barbarian harvest of Ares, and fell on the neighbouring Temmicans: when he called for soldiers, a motley swarm of neighbours came to his help. To both armies alike Strife joined Enyo and brought forth Tumult:

Pausanias

5.19.2

There is also Melanion by whom is Atalanta holding a young deer. Ajax is fighting a duel with Hector, according to the challenge,¹ and between the pair stands Strife in the form of a most repulsive woman. Another figure of Strife is in the sanctuary of Ephesian Artemis; Calliphon of Samos included it in his picture of the battle at the ships of the Greeks. On the chest are also the Dioscuri, one of them a beardless youth, and between them is Helen.

¹Hom. Il. 7.225 foll.

Plutarch

Moralia

The Dialogue on Love 763 C

Now the philosophers believe that the gods are

Untroubled by illness or age,

Free from toil, spared the hoarse passage of Acheron.^a

For this reason they do not admit the Strifes [Ἔριδας] and the Prayers [Λιτάς ]^b of the poets, nor do they allow Fear and Panic to be gods or acknowledged as the children of Ares.^c

^a Pindar, frag. 147 Turyn; 143 Schroeder and Sandys; 131 Bowra. Cf. Mor. 167 E, 1075 A.

^b Hesiod, Works and Days, 11–26; Homer, Iliad, ix. 502–512.

^c Homer, Iliad, xiii. 299; xv. 119. Cf. Plato’s diatribe (Republic, 377 ff.) against the licence of the poets and the evil effects on the young caused by their irresponsible lore: see especially 379 e, 387 b-c, 388 b.

Proclus

Chrestomathy

Cypria 1

Zeus confers with Themis about the Trojan War. As the gods are feasting at the wedding of Peleus, Strife appears and causes a dispute about beauty among Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite. On Zeus’ instruction Hermes conducts them to Alexander on Ida for adjudication.

13–18 [Nagy]

13 Zeus, together with Themis, plans the Trojan

14 War. For Eris, while attending a feast of the gods

15 at the wedding of Peleus, instigates a feud [neikos] among Athena,

16 Hera, and Aphrodite about beauty. They, by

17 order of Zeus, are led by Hermes to Mount Ida for judgment by Alexandros. Alexandros

18 judges for Aphrodite, encouraged by a promise of Helen in marriage.

Quintus Smyrnaeus

Posthomerica

1.159

great double-headed ax given her by grim Strife

1.180

like Strife, stirrer of discord, when she rushes through an army.

1.363–366

This can not be a mere woman I see, courageous and resplendent in arms: she [Penthesileia] must be Athena or staunch Discord or Strife or Leto’s glorious daughter.

2.460

and Strife rejoiced over them both.

5.29–33

There were Fear [Phobos], Terror [Deimos] and grief-bringing Enyo, their limbs foully spattered with blood; there were hideous Strife and the formidable Furies, the one urging on the troops toward the irresistible conflict, the others inspiring it with their fatal, fiery breath.

6.359

A hideous yelling filled the air as Strife decked in bronze fell upon both sides.

8.68

spurred on by Strife herself

8.186

Strife stood by, continually urging them on

8.326

the spirits of death [Keres] and Doom [Moros] were delighted; cruel Strife frenziedly gave a loud yell

8.425

baneful Enyo rejoiced as she urged on Strife the sister of War.

9.147

the spirits of doom [Keres] rejoiced, and dire Strife yelled encouragement to both sides with loud shouts.

9.324

The armies fought on meanwhile with mutual slaughter, and Strife was delighted with the conflict.

10.53

The two armies were brought together by Strife, ruler of the conflict; made invisible by a bloody cloud which enveloped her shoulders, she went here and there, now among the Trojan army and now among the Achaeans, stirring up that great conflict; fearless Terror [Phobos] and Panic [Deimos] attended her as an honor to their father’s¹ dauntless sister.

¹ Ares

11.8

Strife and Enyo bringer of grief were moving among them like grim Furies to look at, both of them breathing from their mouths ruin and perdition. Around them the spirits of doom [Keres], whose hearts hold no shame, raged mercilessly; in another part of the field Fear [Phobos] urged on the armies, and Terror [Deimos] was their escort:

Tryphiodorus

(fl. 3rd or 4th century AD)

The Sack of Troy

559

And Enyo, revelling in the drunkenness of unmixed blood, danced all night throughout the city, like a hurricane, turbulent with the waves of surging war. And therewithal Strife lifted her head high as heaven and stirred up the Argives; since even bloody Ares, late but even so, came and brought to the Danaans the changeful victory in war and his help that is now for these and anon for those.

Tzetzes

Chiliades

5.31 (Story 24)

ToposText 5.762

(TE2.24) CONCERNING THE APPLE OF ERIS

The ones that have ripped off the Homeric Muse

And turned it into a compilation of petty stories

Say that all gods attended the wedding of Peleus and Thetis

And that Eris was the only one left uninvited.

She is, thus, filled with poisonous wrath and great anger,

Just like the Old Women of Fate, who wreath with venomous songs.

Eris was disappointed from this error

And on an apple she wrote “let the most beautiful hold it”.

ToposText 5.770

She then threw the apple from a rooftop in the middle of the wedding ceremony

Causing great confusion and the destructive war between Greeks and Trojans.

So, the proverbial phrase “Apple of Eris” came to be.

But in fact this story has an allegorical meaning.

Homer in his divine verses first made clear that it symbolizes destruction,

And I took hold of that idea and included it in my compilation of allegories.

On Lycophron

93

93 τὸν θυωριτην | ...

93 [ToposText ChatGPT:]

§ 93 "The money changer" refers to the banker, the silver assayer, the judge of Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena. For Alexander judged them when they held the apple. The table is properly called the altar because it receives the sacrifices, now metaphorically spoken of the court, when he judged the goddesses. For Alexander judged them for the sake of the apple. For at the wedding of Thetis, Eris threw a golden apple in the midst of the gods inscribed 'to the fairest', Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite quarreled with each other to receive it. Zeus, giving them to Hermes, sends them to Alexander to judge them, who decided that Aphrodite should receive the apple. By her command, Harmonides built a ship for him, and according to some, he went to Sparta, where he saw Helen and, struck by her beauty, he seized her. Or the altar is the table because it receives the sacrifices and incense, which is to guard.

First Vatican Mythographer

Pepin, p. 89

205 On the Wedding of Peleus and Thetis.

Peleus, the son of Abacus (or Aceus) married Thetis, ... All the gods were invited ... except Discord. In anger ... Discord threw a golden apple into the banquet hall. On it was inscribed: "a gift for the most beautiful goddess." ...

Second Vatican Mythographer

Pepin, p. 197

'249. The Explanation of This Story.

Men say ... Also Discord alone was not admitted ... Discord threw in the golden apple, ...

Modern

Brown

Oxford Classical Dictionary

s.v. Eris

Eris, ‘Strife’ (Discordia in Latin), often personified as a goddess in poetry. She appears in several Homeric battle scenes, e.g. Il. 4. 440–5 (where she is the sister of *Ares), 11. 3–14. *Hesiod at Theogony 225–32 makes her the daughter of Night (*Nyx) and mother of Toil, Pain, Battles, Bloodshed, Lies, Ruin, and the like. At Works and Days 11–26, however, he declares that there is not just one Eris but two, a bad Eris who fosters war and a good Eris who stimulates men to work through a spirit of competition.Eris is given a mythical role by the Cypria (see epic cycle; para. 4 (6)): at the instigation of Zeus she attended the wedding of *Peleus and *Thetis and there created rivalry between *Athena, *Hera, and *Aphrodite, which led to the Judgement of *Paris and thus to the Trojan War. Much later sources (first *Hyginus (3), Fab. ...

Caldwell

p. 40

212-232 The remaining children of Night are personifications ... The children of Eris are Hardship [Ponos], Forgetfulness (Lethe), Starvation [Limos], Pains [Algea], Battles [Hysminai], Wars [Machai], Murders [Phonoi], Manslaughters [Androktasiai], Quarrels [Neikea], Lies [Pseudea], Stories [Logoi], Disputes [Amphillogiai], Anarchy [Dysnomia], Ruin [Ate], Oath [Horkos].

Gantz

p. 4

Nyx's other children [besides Aether (Brightness), and Hemera (Day), produced without the aid of Erebos or any other [cont.]

p. 5

partner, are ...

p. 9

By contrast, Eris (Strife) is largely just a personification of her name (see, e.g. Il 4.440–43), but Zeus does send ... She also plays one crucial role in Greek mythology as instigator of the Judgement of Paris. Homer knows of this event but just barely alludes to it in Iliad (24.27-30), with no direct mention of Eris. Our epitome of the Kypria, however, clearly makes her the guilty party (though as part of the plan of Zeus and Themis), and adds that she stirred up the quarrel among the three goddesses at the wedding feast for Peleus and Thetis (pp. 38-39 PEG). That she was not invited to the feast, or used an apple marked "for the fairest," are details that may are may not have been part of the Kypria; we find them first in Loukianos (Dear 7.1), Hyginus (Fab 92) and (apple only) Apollodorus (ApE. 3.2), although the apple probably goes back to the fifth century in art (see chapter 16). Sophocles wrote a play entitled Eris, but nothing survives to indicate even the plot.

In art we find Eris first on the Chest of Kypselos, where she stands between Aias and Kektor, having a most base (aischistê) appearance (Paus 5.19.2), and then named in the Tondo of a mid-sixth-century Black-Figure cup, where she is portrayed as quite normal in appearance apart from her wings and winged sandals (Berlin:CH Fi775).¹⁴ The fifth-century (c. 430 B.C.) adds a Red-Figure calyx krater confirming the narrative of the Kypria: while the lower section presents the judgement of Paris in its usual form, the upper shows Eris with her hands on the shoulder of Themis (both named) as the two lean toward each other in animated discussion (Leningrad St 1807). Hesiod's [cont.]

p. 10

account goes on to list Eris' own children, born with no father mentioned and virtually all allegorizings: Ponos (Labor), Lethe (Forgetfulness), Limos (Famine), Algea (Pains), Hysminae (Combats), Machai (Battles), Phonoi (Slaughterings), Androktasiai (Slayings of Men), Neikea (Quarrels), Pseudea (Falsehoods), Logoi (Words), Amphillogiai (Unclear Words), Dysnomia (Bad Government), Horkos (Oath), and Ate (Folly) (226–32) Of this list only the last has any identity, [although as a daughter of Zeus with no mother mentioned]

Giroux

p. 847

1. Coupe à bande att., f. n. Berlin, Staatl. Mus. F 1775 (ex-Gerhard). - Deecke/v.Sybel 1338; de La Geniére 47 fig. 10. ~ Vers 560-5 50av. J.-C, - Dans le médaillon, E. (inscription) est représentée comme une femme ailée, vétue d'un péplos et chaussée de bottes ailées, en position schématique de course ou de vol vers la droite.

1. Cup with attached band, f. n. Berlin, Staatl. Mus. F 1775 (ex-Gerhard). - Deecke/v.Sybel 1338; de La Geniére 47 fig. 10. ~ Around 560-550 BC, - In the medallion, E. (inscription) is represented as a winged woman, dressed in a peplos and wearing winged boots, in a schematic position of running or flying to the right.

...

3. Coffre de Kypsélos. Fabriqué à Corinthe? Jones, H. S., JHS 14, 1894, 30-80; Winter, F., Oefh 7, 1904, 126-139; von Massow, W., AM 41, 1916, 1-117. - Env. 550 av. J.-C. - Paus. (5, 19, 2) mentionne une E. trés hideuse d'aspect entre Ajax et Hector (^ Hektor) combattant.

3. Kypselos chest. Made in Corinth? Jones, H. S., JHS 14, 1894, 30-80; Winter, F., Oefh 7, 1904, 126-139; von Massow, W., AM 41, 1916, 1-117. - Approx. 550 BC - Paus. (5, 19, 2) mentions a very hideous E. between Ajax and Hector (^ Hektor) fighting.

p. 849

L'identification d'E. est ici faite avec prudence. On peut la voir partout oü le sujet peut admettre sa présence. Mais d'autres auteurs pourront réclamer la méme figure, avecautant de vraisemblance, au nom de l'une ou l'autre des nombreuses personnifications de la mythologie.

Les seules représentations tout à fait assurées d'E. sont celles où une inscription l’identifie (1. 7-9). Elle est figurée comme une femme sans attribut. Pourtant la littérature ancienne et un document perdu (3) en font un monstre.

A l'exception du jugement de Pâris, E. pourrait bien apparaître dans les scènes de combat ou, plus généralement, dans une atmosphère de discorde, ou méme de concours. Aucun document grec ne l'identifie de facon certaine dans une telle situation. Les figures féminines, ailées ou non, entre des combattants Où des chars, peuvent représenter E., ou toute personnification pouvant avoir un rapport avec ces scènes, telle l'ombre de la mort (> Achlys), Enyo, etc. Il est remarquable que le seul document assuré (1) montre E. seule, sans arme, vétue d'un péplos brodé et portant des bijoux. En outre, l'idée de victoire peut être suggérée par ces scènes: ...

The identification of E. is made here with caution. She can be seen everywhere where the subject can admit her presence. But other authors will be able to claim the same figure, with as much plausibility, in the name of one or other of the numerous personifications of mythology.

The only completely certain representations of E. are those where an inscription identifies her (1. 7-9). She is depicted as a woman without attributes. However, ancient literature and a lost document (3) make her a monster.

With the exception of the judgment of Paris, E. could well appear in combat scenes or, more generally, in an atmosphere of discord, or even of competition. No Greek document identifies her with certainty in such a situation. The female figures, winged or not, between combatants or chariots, may represent E., or any personification that may have a connection with these scenes, such as the shadow of death (> Achlys), Enyo, etc. It is remarkable that the only certain document (1) shows E. alone, without weapons, dressed in an embroidered peplos and wearing jewels. Furthermore, the idea of ​​victory may be suggested by these scenes: ...

...

Dans le jugement de Páris, des inscriptions assurent la présence d'E. sur 7 et 8, mais il faut avouer que, sans elles, E. n'aurait pas été reconnaissable, en particulier sur 7. Son intimité avec Thémis sur ce document remonte aux Chants Cypriens où Zeus décide de la guerre de Troie en accord avec Thémis.

In the judgment of Paris, inscriptions assure the presence of E. on 7 and 8, but it must be admitted that, without them, E. would not have been recognizable, in particular on 7. Her intimacy with Themis on this document goes back to the Cyprien Songs where Zeus decides on the Trojan War in agreement with Themis.

Grimal

s.v. Eris

The personification of strife, generally considered to be the sister of Ares, and his companion. Hesiod's Theogony places her among the primordial forces, belonging to the generation Nyx, the Night. She gave birth to a number of abstract concepts, such as Sorrow (Ponos), Forgetfulness (Lethe), Hunger (Limnos), Pain (Algos), and finally the Oath (Horcus). In his Works and Days, Hesiod postulates two distinct and separate Strifes: the first a pernicious daughter od Night, and the second merely a spirit of emulation, placed by Zeus within the world to give it a healthy sense of competition. Eris was generally portrayed as a female winged spirit, not unlike the Erynyes. It was she who threw the apple intended for the fairest of goddesses, which PARIS had the task of awarding; and this was the origin of the Trojan War.

Hard

p. 30

We must conclude our survey of the family of Night by returning to ERIS (Strife), who was the only child of Night to produce a series of her own. She has only a single proper myth, though one of some importance, which tells how she stirred up the quarrel between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite that was settled through the judgement of Paris, and so helped to set in course the train of events that led to the outbreak of the Trojan War (see further on p. 437).⁵⁷ ... this myth can be traced back to the Cypria, the first epic in the Trojan cycle; it would seem that the author of this poem liked to assign a more stolid role to personifications of this kind than was usual in high literature. Homer refers to Eris in the Iliad along with other minor deities and personifications who stir up frenzy on the battlefield; at the beginning of the eleventh book, Zeus sends him [sic] down to inspire the the Greeks with ardor for battle, which he [sic] achieves by standing in the middle of their camp and uttering a terrible piercing cry.⁵⁸

p. 31

The children of Eris represent the many harmful and destructive things that arise from discord and strife, namely Toil (Ponos), Oblivion (Lethe), Famine, Sorrows, Fights, Battles, Murders, Manslayings, Quarrels, Lies, Disputes, Lawlessness, Delusion (Ate) and Oath (Horkos).⁵⁹ This is allegory of the most obvious kind for the most part; the last two alone require further comment.

p. 437

The culminating event of the mythical history of Greece was the Great War ... During the wedding-feast, Eris, the personification of Strife (see p. 30), provoked a furious quarrel between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite by hurling an apple in front of them marked with the inscription 'to the most beautiful'; ...

Leaf 1900

440

The three half-personified spirits of battle must not be regarded as siding with either party, but as arousing alike “τοὺς μέν” and “τοὺς δέ”. Cf. 11.73, 13.299, 15.119, 18.535, in none of which are they actual persons in the war.

Lecznar

[In folder]

McCartney

[In folder]

Nünlist

Brill's New Pauly

s.v. Eris

(Ἔρις; Éris). Personification of (often warlike) strife, Latin Discordia; in allegorical genealogy interpreted as sister of Ares (Hom. Il. 4,441) or as daughter of Nyx (Hes. Theog. 224ff., together with other negative ‘abstracta’). In the Iliad, E. (alone or in association with Ares and other personifications) triggers the fighting (Hom. Il. 11,3ff.; 4,439ff.). The post-Homeric Cypria make E. the person actually responsible for the Trojan War due to her instigating the judgement of Paris at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (Cypria argum. p. 38 Bernabé; the motif of the golden apple is Hellenistic). This negative image of E., adopted by Hesiod himself (Hes. Theog. 225), is later modified by him (Op. 11ff.) in that he contrasts it with a positive E. (‘competition’). Both aspects are inherent in the Homeric conception of E. [1] and possibly an Indo-European heritage [2]. ─ The early Greek epic refers to pictorial representations of E. with striking frequency (Hom. Il. 5,740; 18, 535 = Hes. Sc. 156; 148), probably due to the influence of oriental or orientalizing art. The identification of such representations of E. is made particularly difficult by the mythological context being absent quite often (exception: judgement of Paris).

Nünlist, René (Basle)

Bibliography

1 J. Hogan, E. in Homer, in: Grazer Beiträge 10, 1981, 21-58

2 B. Mezzadri, La double E. initiale, in: Métis 4, 1989, 51-60.

Bibliography

H. Giroux, s.v. E., LIMC 3.1, 846-850

H. A. Shapiro, Personifications in Greek Art, 1993, 51-61.

Smith

s.v. Eris （*)/Eris), the goddess who calls forth war and discord. According to the Iliad, she wanders about, at first small and insignificant, but she soon raises her head up to heaven (4.441). She is the friend and sister of Ares, and with him she delights in the tumult of war, increasing the moaning of men. (4.445, 5.518, 20.48.) She is insatiable in her desire for bloodshed, and after all the other gods have withdrawn from the battle-field, she still remains rejoicing over the havoc that has been made. (5.518, 11.3, &c., 73.) According to Hesiod (Hes. Th. 225, &c.), she was a daughter of Night, and the poet describes her as the mother of a variety of allegorical beings, which are the causes or representatives of man's misfortunes. It was Eris who threw the apple into the assembly of the gods, the cause of so much suffering and war. [PARIS.] Virgil introduces Discordia as a being similar to the Homeric Eris; for Discordia appears in company with Mars, Bellona, and the Furies, and Virgil is evidently imitating Homer. (Aen.. 8.702; Serv. Aen. 1.31, 6.280.)

Tripp

s.v. Eris

The goddess discord. Eris is little more than a personification of strife, except in the familiar tale of the golden apple. Because of her disagreeable nature she was the only one of the gods not to receive an invitation to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. She came anyway and was refused admittance. Furious, she threw a golden apple, inscribed "For the fairest," among the guests. Three goddesses claimed it and Paris was asked to judge among them. The ultimate result was the Trojan War. Eris' activities in that conflict are described by Homer [Iliad 4-4939-445, 11.3-14]. Hesiod calls Eris the mother of a long list of personified abstractions as disagreeable as herself.

West

p. 231 on 228 Μάχας τε Φόνους τ’

...

War is naturally treated as a result of Eris; cf. Op. 14, Il. 4.440-1, 11.3-4. For its personification cf. Op. 161-5.

Iconographic

Citation templates:

• For entire article:

Giroux, pp. 846–850 (images: LIMC III-2, pp. 608–609)

• For individual entry:

Giroux, p. V1-PAGE(S) (Eris ENTRYNUM)

Digital LIMC [XYZ] (Digital LIMC search)

LIMC III-2, p. V2-PAGE (Eris ENTRYNUM)

Berlin, Antikensammlung F1775

A winged Eris with winged sandals; tondo of a cup, Berlin, Antikensammlung F1775 (mid-sixth century BC).

• Gantz, p. 9

Tondo of a mid-sixth-century Black-Figure cup, where she is portrayed as quite normal in appearance apart from her wings and winged sandals (Berlin:CH F1775)

• Giroux, p. 847 (Eris 1)

1.* Coupe à bande att., f. n. Berlin, Staatl. Mus. F 1775 (ex-Gerhard). - Deecke/v.Sybel 1338; de La Geniére 47 fig. 10. ~ Vers 560-5 50av. J.-C, - Dans le médaillon, E. (inscription) est représentée comme une femme ailée, vétue d'un péplos et chaussée de bottes ailées, en position schématique de course ou de vol vers la droite.

1.* Cup with attached band, f. n. Berlin, Staatl. Mus. F 1775 (ex-Gerhard). - Deecke/v.Sybel 1338; de La Geniére 47 fig. 10. ~ Around 560-550 BC, - In the medallion, E. (inscription) is represented as a winged woman, dressed in a peplos and wearing winged boots, in a schematic position of running or flying to the right.

• Giroux, p. 849

Il est remarquable que le seul document assuré (1) montre E. seule, sans arme, vétue d'un péplos brodé et portant des bijoux.

It is remarkable that the only certain document (1) shows E. alone, without weapons, dressed in an embroidered peplos and wearing jewels.

• LIMC III-2, p. 608 (Eris 1)

• Beazley Archive 207

Technique: BLACK-FIGURE

Shape Name: CUP, LITTLE MASTER LIP

Date: -575 to -525

Inscriptions: Inscription: CHAIRE KAI PIEI SU

Named: ERIS

• Digital LIMC 33843

Chest of Cypselus

• Gantz, p. 9

In art we find Eris first on the Chest of Kypselos, where she stands between Aias and Kektor, having a most base (aischistê) appearance (Paus 5.19.2),

• Giroux, p. 847 (Eris 3)

Coffre de Kypsélos. Fabriqué à Corinthe? Jones, H. S., JHS 14, 1894, 30-80; Winter, F., Oefh 7, 1904, 126-139; von Massow, W., AM 41, 1916, 1-117. - Env. 550 av. J.-C. - Paus. (5, 19, 2) mentionne une E. trés hideuse d'aspect entre Ajax et Hector (^ Hektor) combattant.

Kypselos chest. Made in Corinth? Jones, H. S., JHS 14, 1894, 30-80; Winter, F., Oefh 7, 1904, 126-139; von Massow, W., AM 41, 1916, 1-117. - Approx. 550 BC - Paus. (5, 19, 2) mentions a very hideous E. between Ajax and Hector (^ Hektor) fighting.

Saint Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum 28

• Gantz, p. 9

The fifth-century (c. 430 B.C.) adds a Red-Figure calyx krater confirming the narrative of the Kypria: while the lower section presents the judgement of Paris in its usual form, the upper shows Eris with her hands on the shoulder of Themis (both named) as the two lean toward each other in animated discussion (Leningrad St 1807)

• Giroux, p. 848 (Eris 7)

Cratère en calice att., f.r. Leningrad, Ermitage JO 0.28 (St, 1807). De Kertch. - ARV? 1185, 7: P. de Kadmos; Para 460; Add 167; Metzger, Représentations pl. 37. - Vers 440-430 av. J.-C. - Dans la partie supérieure, un quadrige à gauche et un autre à droite, près duquel se tient Zeus. Entre les chars, » Themis s'appuie sur l'épaule d'E, (inscription) représentée comme une jeune femme drapée. Au bas, Páris est assis au centre et Hermés debout prés de lui à gauche. A gauche, Héra assise et Hebe debout appuyée sur son épaule. A droite, Athéna debout et Aphrodite assise assistée par Eros.

Att. calyx krater, f.r. Leningrad, Hermitage JO 0.28 (St, 1807). From Kerch. - ARV? 1185, 7: P. de Kadmos; Para 460; Add 167; Metzger, Representations pl. 37. - Around 440-430 BC - In the upper part, a quadriga on the left and another on the right, near which Zeus stands. Between the chariots, » Themis leans on the shoulder of E, (inscription) represented as a young draped woman. At the bottom, Paris is seated in the center and Hermes standing near him on the left. On the left, Hera seated and Hebe standing leaning on her shoulder. On the right, Athena standing and Aphrodite seated assisted by Eros.

• Beazley Archive 215695

Fabric: ATHENIAN

Technique: RED-FIGURE

Shape Name: KRATER, CALYX

Provenance: RUSSIA, SOUTH, KERCH

Date: -450 to -400

Inscriptions: Named: ERIS, THEMIS

Attributed To: KADMOS P by BEAZLEY

Decoration: A: JUDGEMENT OF PARIS SEATED ON ROCK IN PATTERNED SUIT, HERA AND APHRODITE SEATED ON TABLES, HEBE, ATHENA, HERMES, EROS, ZEUS, ERIS AND THEMIS (ALL ? NAMED), SELENE (?) AND EOS IN CHARIOTS

B: APOLLO AND DIONYSOS WITH THYRSOS, PALM TREE, MAENADS, ONE SEATED ON ROCK WITH TYMPANON, ONE WITH CUSHION AT CHAIR, SATYRS SEATED WITH THYRSOS, LYRE AND PIPES, TRIPOD, OMPHALOS

Last Recorded Collection: St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum: O28

Previous Collections: St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum: ST1807

• Perseus St. Petersburg St. 1807 (Vase)

Collection: St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum

Summary: A (upper level): The Judgment of ParisA (lower level): Hebe (labelled), Hera (labelled), Hermes, Paris, Athena, Eros, and Aphrodite.B (upper level): Tripod, satyr, woman, Apollo, Dionysos, woman, satyrB (lower level): Woman and satyr

Ware: Attic Red Figure, Kerch

Painter: Attributed to the Kadmos Painter

Context: From Pantikapaion

Date: ca. 420 BC - ca. 410 BC

Dimensions: H. 0.493 m; max. diam. (rim) 0.524 m

Primary Citation: ARV2, 1185.7

Shape: Calyx krater

Beazley Number: 215695

Period: High Classical

Decoration Description: A (upper level): A female charioteer emerges from behind a hill (her feet obscured), standing in the chariot box 3/4-view to the right (labelled), driving a quadriga, wearing a belted, sleeveless chiton with patterned yoke, long curly dark hair in a pony tail, a red taenia (?), white dot earrings, a white necklace, two white bands on each wrist, bends her right arm at waist level, and holds reins and whip in her left hand, advanced to the right; Eris (labelled), standing frontal, with her head profile to the right, weight on her left leg, her right leg relaxed, wearing a belted, long sleeved, oriental tunic, belted over a chiton, a stephane with three white rays, a white bead necklace, a short, high pony tail, rests her right hand on her hip, and lowers her left hand at her side, bending her left arm slightly; Themis (labelled), standing 3/4-view to the left, wearing a double-belted, short-sleeved chiton with shoulder straps and a short overfold, white dot earrings, a rayed ovolo taenia over rolled hair, and a white bead necklace, rests her right hand on the left shoulder of Eris, and her left hand on her hip;

• LIMC III-2, p. 608 (Eris 7)

• Digital LIMC 471

410 - 400 BCE

• Palagi & Lewis n. 49

LIMC III 96, no. 2, s.v. Bendis. Themis in transparent chiton girded over the shoulders, with Eris, at the judgement of Paris: calyx-krater Leningrad St. 1807 of about 400: Beazley, ARV 2 1185,7

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