Arae
Spirits of curses who personified the destructive power of spoken imprecations and oaths
The Myth of Arae
The Arae were daimones or spirits who embodied the power of curses in Greek religion. When a person uttered a formal curse or imprecation, the Arae gave it substance and pursued the target until the curse was fulfilled. They were closely related to the Erinyes, the Furies, but operated more specifically through the mechanism of spoken words rather than blood guilt. The Arae were especially active when parents cursed children or when the dying pronounced curses on their killers. Oedipus's curse upon his sons, which doomed Eteocles and Polynices to kill each other, was carried out by the Arae. Aeschylus personified them in his tragedy Seven Against Thebes, where they appear as agents of Oedipus's dying imprecation. They represent the Greek belief that words spoken in extremity possessed a literal, physical power to shape events and destroy lives.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Arae embodied the Greek belief that a dying person's curse had literal supernatural power to pursue and destroy its target
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