Today, the idea of nemesis usually equates to an arch-enemy, but another dictionary definition of the word is “an inescapable agent of someone’s downfall,” and in Greek mythology there was a goddess who represented this agent, the Greek goddess Nemesis.
Who was Nemesis?
She was the goddess of indignation and retribution for evil deeds and undeserved good fortune. She was a personification of the resentment aroused in men by those who committed crimes with apparent impunity or who had excessive fortune.
Nemesis is generally considered to be the daughter of the goddess Nyx (Night), as agreed in the Theogony (Hesiod) and the description of Greece (Pausanias), with no father normally mentioned. Occasionally, a father for Nemesis is mentioned, who is Erebus (Darkness), the usual companion of Nyx. This kinship would make Nemesis a primitive goddess of a generation preceding Zeus and the gods of Mount Olympus, at least in Hesiod’s version of the genealogy of the gods.
The role of Nemesis in Greek mythology
Most sources would describe Nemesis as a beautiful maiden, often with wings to allow her to travel quickly to where she was needed. Nemesis was the Greek goddess of retribution and the “dispenser of quotas,” but she was more than a goddess who dealt with wrongdoers, for Nemesis also ensured that there was balance in the life of man.
She ensured an equal balance between happiness and sadness, as well as between good and bad luck; therefore, Nemesis often had to deal with the consequences when Tyche, the Greek goddess of good fortune, was too generous. Despite predating Zeus, she was often connected to the supreme deity, and it was she who was sent to deal with mortals who believed themselves to be superior to the gods.
Stories of the goddess Nemesis
The most famous stories are not about the wicked or those with a superiority complex, but about stories of scorned love. It was Nemesis’ revenge that summoned a spurned lover of Narcissus, whether a nymph or Ameinias, when the self-centered youth cruelly rejected them. Nemesis would ensure that Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a pond, and Narcissus would subsequently waste away while gazing at himself with longing.
She was also involved when the gods brought “justice” to the naiad nymph Nicea. A shepherd named Hymnus had fallen in love with the beautiful nymph, but wanting to remain chaste, Nicea shot him in the heart. Such an act particularly angered Eros, and with the help of Nemesis, Hypnos, and Dionysus, they took revenge because Dionysus slept with the nymph and she became pregnant with Telete.
Descendants of Nemesis
It was commonly said that she had no offspring, although occasionally the Greek goddess was named as the mother of Telemachus by Tartarus. The Telemachus were master metalworkers in the legend, but they were more commonly considered to be the children of Gaia, either by Pontus or by Uranus.
Some ancient sources also claim that the famous Helen of Greek mythology was a daughter of Nemesis born when she took the form of a swan with which Zeus mated. The result was an egg that Leda later found and raised, although of course, Helen is more commonly considered a daughter of Zeus and Leda.
Myths about the goddess Nemesis
Nemesis and Narcissus
She turned Narcissus into a flower to punish him for his vanity and selfishness. Greek artists portrayed Nemesis as a winged goddess wearing a tiara on her thick hair and carrying a whip or dagger.
While she was a relatively minor goddess in the Greek pantheon, she is the goddess of righteous indignation and divine retribution, yet she became a figure of worship in both the Greek and Roman empires. Both gods and humans would call upon her to avenge the vain, the guilty, and the overly fortunate.
She typically expressed sympathy and righteous indignation on behalf of a person seeking her help or advice. The stories surrounding the goddess often focus on individual exploits or crimes, but the Greeks believed that the goddess was capable of meting out punishment to entire civilizations.
In the 5th century BC, the Greeks even attributed their victory over the Persian army to her. Because of the sympathy she showed toward the disadvantaged and the role she played in correcting political wrongs, Nemesis represented a just victory and the perseverance of justice.
The Mother of Helen
Some Greeks believed she was the daughter of Nyx, others believed she was the daughter of Oceanus, and still others believed that Nemesis was the daughter of Zeus. According to a fragment of the epic poem “The Cypriots,” Nemesis transformed herself into a series of animals to escape her father’s advances.
Finally, Zeus overpowered her, and she gave birth to Helen of Sparta as a result of the rape. In this case, the evils committed against her inspired feelings of righteous indignation, although in this rare case, she was unable to seek revenge.
The vanity of Narcissus
The beauty of Narcissus inspired love in many, but he was unwilling to love in return. One of his spurned admirers asked Nemesis to afflict Narcissus with the pain of unrequited love. Nemesis, wishing to punish Narcissus for his vanity, complied.
When Narcissus saw his reflection in a pool of water, he, like his admirers, fell instantly in love. Although he knew somehow that he had fallen in love with himself, he stared at the pool and conversed with it until his beauty dried up and he starved to death. The gods turned his body into a daffodil flower.
The disgrace of Aura
Aura boasted that her body was more unmarried than Artemis’s. Humiliated, Artemis consulted Nemesis, who pointed out that the best way to punish Aura would be to destroy her virginity. Nemesis asked Eros, the god of love, to infect Poseidon, the god of the sea, with lust.
Poseidon created a spring of enchanted water along Aura’s path. When Aura drank from it, she fell asleep, and Poseidon raped her in a cruel mockery of marriage. Aura went mad when she awoke, killing countless villagers and devouring one of her twin sons.
