Humanities › History & Culture Tisiphone the Greek Goddess Print Antonio Tempesta/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain History & Culture Ancient History and Culture Greece Figures & Events Ancient Languages Egypt Asia Rome Mythology & Religion American History African American History African History Asian History European History Genealogy Inventions Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History Military History The 20th Century Women's History View More By N.S. Gill N.S. Gill Ancient History and Latin Expert M.A., Linguistics, University of Minnesota B.A., Latin, University of Minnesota N.S. Gill is a Latinist, writer, and teacher of ancient history and Latin. She has been featured by NPR and National Geographic for her ancient history expertise. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on February 08, 2019 Tisiphone is one of the Furies or Erinyes in Greek mythology. Tisiphone is the avenger of murder. Her name means 'voice of revenge.' The Erinyes were formed when the blood of Uranus fell on Gaia when the son of Uranus, Cronus, killed him. The Furies pursued particularly heinous criminals and drove them mad. Their most famous victim was Orestes, whose crime was matricide. The names of the other Erinyes were Alecto and Megaera. Read More Nemesis By N.S. Gill Characteristics In the Eumenides, the tragedy by Aeschylus about the Erinyes and Orestes, the Erinyes are described as dark, not quite women, not quite Gorgons (Medusas), featherless, with rheumy eyes and partial to blood. ("The Appearance of Aeschylus' Erinyes," by P. G. Maxwell-Stuart. Greece & Rome, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 81-84) Jane E. Harrison (September 9, 1850 - April 5, 1928) says the Erinyes at Delphi and elsewhere were ancestral ghosts, who later became "detached ministers of divine vengeance". The Erinyes are the dark aspect of the benevolent Eumenides -- the angry ghosts. (Delphika.-(A) The Erinyes. (B) The Omphalos, by Jane E. Harrison. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 19, pp. 205-251) It is also claimed that Eumenides is a euphemism for the Erinyes. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Gill, N.S. "Tisiphone the Greek Goddess." ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/tisiphone-greek-goddess-121229. Gill, N.S. (2020, August 28). Tisiphone the Greek Goddess. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/tisiphone-greek-goddess-121229 Gill, N.S. "Tisiphone the Greek Goddess." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/tisiphone-greek-goddess-121229 (accessed April 19, 2024). copy citation