Orestes Pursued by the Furies, William Adolphe Bouguereau
Furies were chthonic deities, demons of the underworld, modelled on similar Etruscan deities. Over time, equated with the Greek goddesses of vengeance and torment of conscience, Erinyes. The Latin word furia literally means “fury”.
The goddesses punished people for their sins, especially for the murder of relatives. Considered the children of the first chthonic deities: Earth and Night. Furies had snakes instead of hair and carried whips and torches in their hands.
Sources
- Kempiński Andrzej, Encyklopedia mitologii ludów indoeuropejskich, Warszawa 2001
- Schmidt Joël, Słownik mitologii greckiej i rzymskiej, Katowice 1996
