If you missed my article on Ravana, it can be found here.
Nemesis is the Greek goddess of revenge and retribution. Her Roman equivalent bears the same name. It was her duty to ensure balance. If you had too much good fortune or happiness, it was her job to bring you down a peg or two. The Gods could send her to mete out justice for wrongs done by humans against the Gods.
Nemesis is also very beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous from what I could find. Her symbols are swords, whips, measuring rods, scales, and a wheel, symbolizing the turning of fortune. Nemesis is often depicted with wings. For some reason, her animal is a goose, maybe because those little devils are mean and have teeth.
Nemesis’s mother is Nyx, the goddess of the night. Her father is either Erebus or Oceanus. If she is Erebus’s daughter, she has a boatload of siblings. That could also be said of her mother too. Nyx had many children. However, she has a sister who is the polar opposite of her, Tyche, the goddess of fortune. There are really no agreements of a husband or children. Helen of Troy, however, was said to be her daughter by Zeus. I guess handing out retribution must be more than a full-time job. I wonder if she gave up.
One of the most well-known stories of Nemesis is probably the one that involved Echo and Narcissus. Narcissus was a beautiful young man, and many fell in love with his beauty. Echo fell deeply in love with him. Echo withered away as she pined for Narcissus. Eventually, there was only an echo of her voice. Nemesis did not like this one bit. She caused Narcissus to fall in love with himself and pined for himself in a pool of water until he died. He was then made into the narcissus flower. This story is also where we get the term narcissist from.
Nemesis is not a nice goddess. Though she does help balance the scales, I don’t want to be in her sights. I guess mortal ways will have to work if I want revenge or retribution. What do you think of Nemesis? Have you played her in Smite? She was one of my favorite characters in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. She wasn’t portrayed as a beautiful woman, though. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
