Erida

Ἔριδα

Goddess of Hate

The wearisome goddess Erida can best be understood by reading the opening lines of Book 11 of the Iliad. After Eos (Dawn) sheds her gentle light on mortals and Immortals alike, Zeus sends Erida to the encampment of the Achaians. She stands on the centermost of the beached vessels and SCREAMS!!! The hearts of the soldiers are hardened as they awaken. They no longer remember their fathers or their wives and children. They rise from their beds with the hateful screams ringing in their ears and they long for the sweetness of battle. Only blood will dispel the sanguine thrust Erida evoked.

Erida in the Iliad

(from four different translations)

In the following excerpts, none of the translators use the name Erida ... Richmond Lattimore calls her Hate but the other three call her Strife, which might be confusing because the goddess Eris is often referred to as Strife as well as Discord.

Richmond Lattimore

• book 11, line 4—Zeus sent down in speed to the fast ships of the Achaians the wearisome goddess of Hate, holding the portent of battle in her hands ...

Loeb Classical Library

• book 11, line 4—Zeus sent Strife to the swift ships of the Achaeans, gruesome Strife, holding in her hands a portent of war ...

Robert Fagles

• book 11, line 3—Zeus flung Strife on Achaea's fast ships, the brutal goddess flaring his storm-shield, his monstrous sign of war in both her fists ...

Robert Fitzgerald

• book 11, line 4—Zeus commanded Strife down to the beachhead, hard-bitten goddess, bearing in her hands the stormcloud sign of war ...

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