Eris: Greek Goddess of Strife and Discord

Who is Eris in Greek mythology?
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord. She embodies chaos and represents competition and turmoil. Homer calls Eris “the rouser of armies.” She is the daughter of Nyx.

What is the power of the goddess Eris?
Eris fuels competition and leaves discord in her wake. She encourages both sides of a battle, supports both sides in an argument, and brings out the worst in people. Her power is reflected in the Golden Apple of Discord, which launched the events of the Trojan War.

Where does Eris live?
No myth addresses where Eris lives. She would manifest wherever conflict arose, whether that be internal or external. As a child of Nyx, she likely lived in the Underworld with other antagonistic spirits and chthonic gods.

When was Eris created?
Eris was created solely by Nyx as one of her youngest children. The first record of Eris is in Homer’s Iliad, which dates to the 8th century BCE.

Why was Eris hated?
Eris was hated because her appearance meant trouble was on the horizon. Nothing good ever came from her arrival. Her tendency to “stir the pot” was the main reason she wasn’t invited to most major gatherings, such as the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.

How did Eris start the Trojan War?
Eris started the Trojan War by throwing the infamous Golden Apple of Discord between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite at Peleus and Thetis’s wedding. Reading, “To the fairest,” each goddess considered herself deserving of the apple. The dispute led to the Judgment of Paris, the tumultuous event that sparked the war.

Eris’s Origins and Family

Eris was the Greek goddess of discord and strife. In myth, she embodied both. She manifested in times of conflict and delighted in the chaos she made. Her Roman equivalent is Discordia.

According to Hesiod’s Theogony, Eris was one of several children born to Nyx, the primordial goddess of the night.^[1] While most sources consider Eris to be fatherless, she is occasionally noted as being born from the union of Nyx and Erebus. Alternative accounts cite Zeus and Hera as her parents.

As a chthonic child of Nyx, Eris’s siblings are the gods of sleep and death, Hypnos and Thanatos; the spirits of painful deaths, the Keres; the spirits of dreams, the Oneiroi; the goddess of retribution, Nemesis; and the various spirits Momus, Oizys, Geras, Philotes, and Apate.

Eris followed in her mother’s footsteps and also gave birth to numerous children without a partner. Most were a collective of spirits (daimones) that embodied the negative aspects of mankind:

Ate (recklessness)
Dysnomia (anarchy)
Horkos (oath-breaking curse)
Lethe (forgetfulness)
Limos (hunger)
Ponos (hardship)
The Algea (pain and suffering)
The Amphillogiai (disputes)
The Androktasiai (manslaughter)
The Hysminai (combat)
The Logoi (stories)
The Machai (battles)
The Neikea (quarrels)
The Phonoi (murders)

Nature, Appearance, and Symbols

Eris is portrayed as a troublemaker who thrives in the chaos she creates. In Greek mythology, Eris is a frightful character who makes her moves from the shadows. She isn’t one to directly do anything, but her actions and words (or lack thereof) spur others into action.

As a divine rabble-rouser, Eris probably had wings. They highlight her nature as one who travels between worlds to achieve her goals. She is associated with apples, which after the myth of the Judgement of Paris and the Trojan War, became a symbol of hers. The Discordian religion of the 1960s began associating Eris with snakes and the five-fingered “Hand of Eris,” a rotated version of the Eris planetary symbol.^[2]

In iterations of mythos where Eris’s role as the strife of war is emphasized, she is described as a close companion of Ares and his bloody retinue. By Homer, in the Iliad, she is explained as being a “small thing” that eventually gains momentum and size. This characterization reflects the nature of conflict and how it often develops from seemingly inconspicuous acts.

Personality and Traits

As the embodiment of chaos and strife, Eris is far from a boring goddess. She delighted in fueling disagreements and reveled in the aftermath of a violent conflict. Additionally, mortals and gods alike viewed her as cruel and cold. She was incapable of feeling pity or remorse, and offerings didn’t sway her.

Above all, it can be said that Eris was a stubborn force of change. That change was usually explosive, to say the least. It came as a result of painful, stressful, and tumultuous events. Eris would spur things into action and then sit back and watch the drama from the sidelines.

The Infernal Goddess

As a child of primordial Nyx, Eris has an innate connection to the Underworld and chthonic deities. She gave birth to prominent figures and features of the Underworld, such as the River of Forgetfulness, Lethe. As discord, Eris’s existence was a direct challenge to the law and order represented by Zeus and the other Olympians.

Powers, Abilities, and Weakness

Eris is famous for her ability to sow discord wherever she goes. She does so by manipulating the gods’ and man’s thoughts and emotions. This power is presented several times throughout the myth of the Trojan War, where Eris eggs on either side of the conflict.

Eris also has the uncanny ability to appeal to one’s deeper nature; her ability to know one’s secrets and insecurities comes in handy during her machinations.

Despite all the power Eris has to cause divine discord, she has her weaknesses. Those who simply choose harmony and go out of their way to uphold order are seldom affected by her manipulation.

Eris’s Role in Greek Mythology

There is no doubt that Eris appears in Greek myths to stir the pot. She interrupts peace with conflict and harmony with discord. However, her appearance also signifies impending change. After all, change is often unpredictable and unforeseen.

In her most prominent myth, the Apple of Discord and the Judgement of Paris, Eris acts as a catalyst. She shows up to kick off events that would, eventually, lead to a disruption of the established order and relations between the gods and man.

The Duality of Eris: Destruction and Balance

While Eris causes destruction, there’s a bit of a method to her madness. As unwelcome as discord is, it’s often necessary to drive change. The conflicts she manufactures lead directly to a transformation—whether personal, societal, or global. Her mayhem ultimately acts as a way to broker balance.

Key Myths Involving Eris

Eris is prominently featured in two major myths: the epic of the Trojan War and in a sixth-century BCE fable featuring Heracles. She played an antagonistic role in both, leaving discord in her wake.

The Judgment of Paris and the Golden Apple of Discord

In her penultimate myth, Eris was left out of a wedding celebration between the heroic King of Phthia, Peleus, and the Nereid Thetis. When she showed up anyway, she was refused entrance. This upset Eris, and as revenge, she threw the Golden Apple of Discord between the wedding guests.

Since the apple read, “To the fairest,” it caught the attention of three goddesses: Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena. To avoid insulting any of the three, Zeus passed the apple to Hermes and instructed that he give it to the mortal Paris so that he could pass his judgment.

This led to the goddesses promising the young prince different desirable things, but it was the promise made by Aphrodite that awarded her the apple: the promise of being loved by the most beautiful mortal woman in the world.

This woman, Helen, Queen of Sparta, would go on to be remembered as the “face that launched 1,000 ships.” Her later abduction at the hands of Paris would start the Trojan War.

Eris’s role in the myths of the Golden Apple of Discord and the Judgment of Paris reflects her status as a catalyst for competition. By igniting a feud between three of the most arguably powerful goddesses, Eris created the spark that led to one of the most significant events in Greek mythology.

The Fable of Eris and Heracles

In Aesop’s fables, Heracles came across an apple in his path and decided to crush it. Only, it grew larger when he hit it. So Heracles continued to hit the apple until it was large enough to block his way.

As a hero, Heracles was used to solving problems with violence—he was Heracles, he could just brute force his way through problems. Only, in this case, doing so caused him a major inconvenience.

It wasn’t until the goddess Athena appeared to tell him that the spirit of want, Aporia, and Eris had set this “thing” in his path to confuse him. If he had left it alone, it would have remained small and manageable, but fighting it increased its size.^[3]

Eris and Strife in Various Contexts

Eris as strife and discord manifests in various ways in Greek mythology.

Goddess of the Strife of War

Eris works up either side of a conflict into a frenzy until they ultimately clash. Then, she soaks up the destruction in the battle’s aftermath. In this state, she is a companion of Ares, Deimos, Phobos, the Keres, and other spirits of suffering and war.

Eris is described as having a place on Athena’s aegis and Achilles and Heracles’ shields as well. In these depictions, she is accompanied by other gods and spirits of warfare. In Homer’s epics, Eris is remembered for encouraging the Trojans and Achaeans into their bloody confrontations.

Goddess of Arguments

As the embodiment of verbal arguments and social conflicts, Eris is involved in both debates and disagreements. Her role as the goddess of arguments highlights the disharmony she causes.

Goddess of Marital Discord

Eris further flexes her abilities as chaos incarnate by causing troubles in otherwise harmonious marriages. When two people who love each other butt heads, Eris is likely to blame.

Goddess of Competitive Strife

Unsurprisingly, Eris has a hand in competitions, her effects both good and bad. She is the driver between competitors and is responsible for their successes and their downfalls.

Eris’s Influence on War and Human Strife

The ancient Greeks saw Eris as responsible for conflicts on all levels. She fueled the egos (and insecurities) of either side until a confrontation occurred. Eris and the discord she created were inevitable. Even the gods intentionally leaving her out of a wedding feast didn’t keep her away.

Eris was unstoppable. The ancient Greeks were well aware of this. She appealed to human nature too much. Therefore, instead of trying to stop strife and discord from ever happening, they took a more optimistic approach. Strife, discord, chaos—all of it—was necessary for growth, change, and transformation.

Depictions of Eris in Art and Culture

Eris’s likeness has been captured in classical pottery and sculptures, as well as in contemporary mediums. With great frequency, Eris is shown to be a winged woman in dark clothes.

She wears a diadem and has plumes of feathers on her sandals in several interpretations. It is rare for Eris to be depicted as a beauty, with most art confirming her countenance to be average (or even ugly) by classical standards.

Classical art often shows Eris flying over a battlefield or in a heated discussion with other gods, such as those goddesses tempted by the Apple of Discord or Themis, the goddess of law and order.

In contemporary art and media, Eris takes on an array of roles. In the video game Hades II, Eris is mischievous and acts like a cruel, impulsive child. The webcomic Lore Olympus, fashions her as the destructive outcast daughter of Zeus and Hera.

Perhaps her most famous appearance is in the animated film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas where Eris is Sinbad’s disruptive, purple-clad archenemy.

Eris’s Legacy in Modern Times

Eris, especially since the mid-twentieth century, symbolizes chaos and change. She is as transformative as she is disruptive.

Myths involving Eris can still help explain human nature. She appeals to pride, ego, ambition, and insecurities. She influences the individual and the crowd equally by creating division and, simultaneously, unity.

Wrapping Up the Tale of Eris

Eris left destruction in her wake, but from that destruction came change. Her chaos was seen as a necessary evil. However, despite her apparent necessity, Eris was far from benevolent.

In myths, she created conflict where there was peace and transformation where there was stagnation. From her uncanny ability to appeal to human nature, Eris managed to effortlessly cause the devastating Trojan War through the Golden Apple of Discord.

Although the obvious mythical impact of Eris is seldom mentioned, she silently manifested in most of ancient Greece’s oldest myths and legends.

References

Nagy, Gregory, and J. Banks. 2019. “Hesiod, Theogony.” The Center for Hellenic Studies. Accessed 2024. https://chs.harvard.edu/primary-source/hesiod-theogony-sb/.
STANDS4 LLC. n.d. “Discordianism.” Symbols.com. https://www.symbols.com/group/55/Discordianism.
“ERIS.” n.d. Theoi Greek Mythology. https://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Eris.html.