Eurynomos

In Greek mythology, Eurynomos (Εὐρύνομος, latin spelling Eurynomus) was the netherworld daimon (spirit) of rotting corpses dwelling in the Underworld[1]. He is sometimes identified with Hades (or Orcus in Roman mythology) and sometimes said to be a servitor of Hecate.

The creature is now mostly known by association with the contemporary norwegian musician "Euronymous", who took his stage name from this figure. Mentioned in the Satanic Bible, where the name is misspelled as Euronymous, Eurynomos is either a minor figure whose associated literature is lost to time, or possibly an invention by the painter Polygnotos:

In a painting of Hades by Polygnotos at Delphoi, Phokis: Eurynomos, said by the Delphian guides to be one of the daimones of Hades, who eats off all the flesh of the corpses, leaving only their bones. But Homer’s Odyssey, the poem called the Minyad, and the Returns, although they tell of Hades and its horrors, know of no daimon called Eurynomos. However, I will describe what he is like and his attitude in the painting. He is of a colour between blue and black, like that of meat flies; he is showing his teeth and is seated, and under him is spread a vulture’s skin.[2]

Other uses

There are two other people named Eurynomos in greek mythology:

Notes

  1. ^ Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). "Eurynomus"
  2. ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece, 10.28.7
  3. ^ Homer, Odyssey, 2.22
  4. ^ Ovid, Metamorphoses, 12.311

Further References