Enyo

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This article is about the Greek deity Enyo. See Bellona (goddess) for her better-known Roman counterpart.

In Greek mythology, Enyo (Greek: Ενυo, English translation: "warlike") was an ancient goddess of war, acting as a counterpart and companion to the war god Ares. She is also identified as his sister, and daughter of Zeus and Hera[1], in a role closely resembling that of Eris; with Homer (in particular) representing the two as the same goddess. She is also accredited as the mother of Enyalius, a minor war god, by Ares[2]. However, the name Enyalius can also be used as a title for Ares himself. As goddess of war, Enyo is responsible for orchestrating the destruction of cites, often accompanying Ares into battle[3], and depicted "as supreme in war" [4]. During the fall of Troy, Enyo inflicted horror and bloodshead in the war, along with Eris, and Phobos ("Fear") and Deimos ("Dread"), the two sons of Ares[5]. She was also connected to the Roman goddess of war, Bellona, and the Anatolian goddess Ma.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Quintus Smyrnaeus 8.424
  2. ^ Eustathius on Homer 944
  3. ^ Homer, Iliad 5. 333, 592
  4. ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 30. 5
  5. ^ Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy