Nemesis
(NEM-uh-suhs)
1. A formidable opponent or an archenemy. 2.
A source of harm or ruin. 3. Retributive justice. In Greek mythology, Nemesis
was the goddess of vengeance. From Greek nemesis (retribution), from nemein (to
allot). Ultimately from the Indo-European root nem- (to assign or take), which
also gave us number, numb, astronomy,renumerate, and anomie.
In the ancient Greek religion, Nemesis also
called Rhamnousia/ Rhamnusia ("the goddess of Rhamnous") was the
goddess who enacted retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance
before the gods). Another name was Adrasteia/ Adrestia, meaning "the
inescapable". Her Roman name/ counterpart is Invidia.
The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word
νέμειν némein, meaning "to give what is due", from
Proto-Indo-European nem- "distribute".
Divine retribution is a major theme in the
Hellenic world view, providing the unifying theme of the tragedies of Sophocles
and many other literary works.
Nemesis appears in a still more concrete form
in a fragment of the epic Cypria. She is implacable justice: that of Zeus in
the Olympian scheme of things, although it is clear she existed prior to him,
as her images look similar to several other goddesses, such as Cybele, Rhea, Demeter,
and Artemis.
As the "Goddess of Rhamnous",
Nemesis was honored and placated in an archaic sanctuary in the isolated
district of Rhamnous, in northeastern Attica. There she was a daughter of
Oceanus, the primeval river-ocean that encircles the world. Pausanias noted her
iconic statue there. She is portrayed as
a winged goddess wielding a whip or a dagger.
The word Nemesis originally meant the
distributor of fortune, neither good nor bad, simply in due proportion to each
according to what was deserved.[citation needed] Later, nemesis came to suggest
the resentment caused by any disturbance of this right proportion, the sense of
justice that could not allow it to pass unpunished
Myrmidon
(MUHR-mi-dahn, -duhn)
One who unquestioningly follows orders. In
Greek mythology, the Myrmidons were led by Achilles in the Trojan War. The name
is possibly from Greek myrmex (ant). In a version of the story, Zeus created
Myrmidons from ants.
The Achilleis (after the Ancient Greek Ἀχιλληΐς,
Achillēis, pronounced [akʰillɛːís]) is a lost trilogy by the Athenian
dramatist Aeschylus. The three plays that make up the Achilleis exist today
only in fragments, but aspects of their overall content can be reconstructed
with reasonable certainty.
