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Eris is one of the underworld deities. Specifically Eris is the Greek Goddess of Chaos, strife and discord and one of the Evil spirits spawn from the goddess of darkness, Nyx. She has fourteen children whose father is never named: Dysnomia, Atë, Lethe, Limos, Algos, Hysminai, Makhai, Phonoi, Androktasiai, Neikea, Pseudea, Logoi, Amphilogiai, and Horkos. Her children represent everything surrounding discord, hate, bloodshed, and the likes. Erida, a Greek lesser deity of woes and discord, is generally considered to be synonymous with Eris.[1][2] Her Roman equivalent is Discordia.

In Myth[]

In the Trojan War myth, Thetis and Peleus (Achilles' parents) had a wedding to which every Greek deity was invited - every deity except Eris. The furious goddess vowed revenge. She stole a golden apple from the Tree of the Hesperides (Zeus' wedding present to Hera) and carved the words "τῇ καλλίστῃ" (tei kalliste, meaning to/for the fairest/most beautiful) into it. A dispute between three claimants (Athena, Hera and Aphrodite) led to Zeus having to decide between them. Realizing the precarious position he was in by having to choose between his wife and two daughters, Zeus sent Hermes to a shepherd named Paris, and asked him to judge.

Paris was not known as a Prince of Troy because a prophecy said he would bring destruction to Troy. The three goddesses offered Paris "gifts" if he would choose them; Hera offered him rulership of many lands, Athena offered him unlimited wisdom and Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman on the Earth.

Paris chose Aphrodite, who gave him Helen of Sparta as a gift (despite the fact she was married to Menelaus). Athena and Hera thus supported the Greeks in the Trojan War whilst Apollo, Zeus, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hephaestus and Artemis supported Troy. During the sack of Troy, Eris was present with her sister/companion Enyo.

In Popular Culture[]

Television[]

In the Femme Fatales episode "Girls Gone Dead", the college girl, Erida, tells Kip, cameraman Jay Roma's assistant, that she was named after a Greek goddess who could only be appeased once blood was spilled.

Film[]

In the animated film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Eris is portrayed as the main antagonist who sends monsters to Sinbad and his crew.

Family[]

Nyx or Zeus and Hera (parents)

Ares, Enyo, Eileithyia, Hebe, Hephaestus or Aether, Hemera, Hypnos, Thanatos, Clotho, Lakhesis, Atropos, the Keres, the Hesperides, Apate, Geras, Dolos, Nemesis, Morpheus, Phobetor, Phantasos and Daimones (siblings)

Ate, Dysomnia, Lethe, Horkos, Algos, Phonoi, Limos, Makhai (children)

Gallery[]

Image gallery of Eris

See also[]

External links[]

References[]



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