The Furies

This article is about the three Goddesses. For the Xena episode of the same name : Warrior Princess , see The Furies (episode).

The Furies were recurring characters in Xena: the warrior princess. There were three furies: Alecto (their leader), Megaera and Tisiphone, who represented hatred, jealousy and murder respectfully. Although only Alecto received a distinctive name during its time on screen, fans consider that the furies are as such from left to right (see image): Megaera, Alecto, Tisiphone. In the myth they are daughters of the blood shed by the Uranus member on Gea when his are Crono castrated him

Alecto (the implacable), which punishes moral crimes.

Megera (the jealous), who punishes the crimes of infidelity.

Tisiphone (the avenger of murder), which punishes the crimes of blood.

History[]

The Generosity and the Madness of Xena[]

Furies are seen for the first time dancing for Ares in a ritual way. You can charm Alecto to consider Xena guilty of not punishing her father's death. They force Xena to take her mother Cyrene to her temple, where Xena and Cyrene trick them into thinking that Ares is Xena's father. They leave, informing Ares that the other Gods will hear of their misuse of their powers.

The Twilight of the Gods[]

Later, Athena summoned the Furies to use them against Xena and Gabrielle in the hope that she would stop the Twilight of the Gods. The Furies entered Gabrielle's head, making fun of her with images of Hope and Joxer until she succumbs to madness and stabs Eve, Xena's daughter. After completing their work, they left Gabrielle's mind and returned to Mount Olympus. (Originally, when they left Gabrielle's head, they stayed in the tavern, invisible.) Xena felt them and managed to hit Megaera in the stomach with her sword, and Tisisphone and Alecto with her Chakram).

Destruction[]

However, after the death of the other Gods, the Furies decided that they themselves would rule over humanity after they avenged them. They disguised themselves as Xena, Gabrielle and Eva, and psychologically tortured a now mortal Ares, confronting him against the Amazons. After driving Ares mad and forcing him to supposedly kill Xena, the Furies were destroyed by her God-killing chakram, which Xena had used a few moments before.

Powers and Abilities[]

These three figures are presumed to be total Goddesses, and as such possess many of the same common abilities as most Olympians. They do, however, possess some special skills that other gods do not.

Invisibility: Many gods showcase the ability to render themselves invisible from mortals, however the Furies take advantage of this the most. They will often make themselves unseen by everyone except for their victims, and sometimes only appearing to their victim's subconscious.
Immortality: As with most gods, the Furies are invulnerable to death. They are immune to time and do not attain injury unless dealt by god-killing subjects.
Madness: When a mortal is judged guilty by the Furies, they can cast a spell to plunge that mortal into a state of madness. This throws the mortal into many distresses such as confusion, hallucination, paranoia, disassociation, and erratic emotion.
Omnipresence: A common godly ability is to be anywhere at anytime. For the Furies, they will often listen in on those that they torment even if they are not physically present at the time.
Persecution: Cursing a victim with persecution is one of the favored punishments of the Furies. It is unclear, however, if this is a kind of power or if the Furies just put a bounty out on the victim.
Shapeshifting: As a way to trick their victims, the Furies may take the forms of anybody that they wish.
Suggestion: If the Furies want to directly influence a mortal, they have a very powerful way of controlling the mind and subconscious of the mortal beings. Instead of casting a state of madness over a mortal, they can actively suggest the mind with voices, sounds, illusions, as if they were their own subconscious. From here, they can manipulate their victims to do, see, and believe whatever they want. It can cause the victim to degrade into a state of madness as well.
Teleportation: The ability to disappear and reappear wherever they choose is a common godly ability that is also possessed by the Furies. Unlike most gods, the Furies always travel together in unison as if the are one entity. Originally, they appeared in a slowly rising white light. Later on, they appeared in a fiery spectral haze.

Background Information[]

Of the three Furies, only Asa Lindh (Alecto) was accredited and had a constant dialogue. Lindh wore longer and longer hairstyles in each of her appearances.
The Furies are mainly called daughters of Uranus, the primordial god of heaven. Others call them daughters of Nyx , primordial goddess of the night. If this is the case, Discord , Nemesis , Clotho , Lachesis and Atropos are his sisters.
The Furies are the common name of the trio of vengeful goddesses known in ancient Greek as the Erinyes. His domain was the punishment of more primary crimes: crimes perpetuated against the old by young people, crimes against family members and crimes against unofficial community leaders. As in Xenaverse, they pursued their objectives relentlessly with persecution and madness. Being older than the Olympians and the civilized society they represented, the Greeks were concerned about what would happen when the primal punishment of the Erinyes clashed with the laws of civilized society (crimes against the state, elected officials, military superiors and gods ) as imposed by Athena , Dyke and Nemesis. In Athens, it was believed that the Erinyes were persuaded by Athena to become the Eumenides ("kind") to fit better in the Olympic order. The Romans held that the Erinyes were appropriately called the Dirae in heaven, the Eumenides in hell and the Furiae in the earth.

Gallery[]

Memorable Phrases[]

"Oh, soul demons,
On Xena's reason,
Replace the sweet illusion of sanity,
With the poison of illusion,
For Xena's head do not be kind,
because it's your job to make her lose her mind."

- Alecto casting Madness upon Xena

Appearances[]

XWP: " The Furies "
XWP: " Maternity "
XWP: " Coming Home "
XWP: " Eternal Bonds " (mentioned)