Furies

The Furies were the handmaidens of Hades (the god of the underworld) and his wife Persephone. They were born of the blood of Uranus, who was stripped of his power and manhood by Kronos. Other sources say they are the daughters of Acheron and Nyx.

The Furies had an ugly face, bloodshot eyes and vipers around them. Instead of fingers, they had claws and, according to some depictions, they also had a dog's head, bat wings or a feathered body. They wielded metal brooms, which they used to torture and then kill their victims. They stayed in the graves.

The Furies had their own laws and prosecuted murderers and perjurers. They appeared mainly when human law and the law failed somewhere. They then chased the guilty from place to place without letting them breathe.

Their most famous victim is Orestes, who killed his mother Clytaimnestra. The Furies persecuted him relentlessly until the goddess Athena pronounced an acquittal. She promised the Furies great honours, which appeased them and they left Orestes alone.

The Furies are usually said to have been three, namely Alléktó (goddess of implacable wrath), Tísiphone (avenger of murder) and Megaira (envy).

Their name has survived to this day and is used to refer to angry and quarrelsome women.