Editing Megaera

{{Short description|One of the Erinyes or Furies in Ancient Greek mythology}}
{{For other uses|Megaera (disambiguation)}}{{Distinguish|Megara (wife of Heracles)}}
{{Refimprove|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox deity
| type             = Greek
| name             = Megaera
| image            = Questa e megera dal sinistro canto at cornell insight.jpg
| caption          = "Questa e megera dal sinistro canto", front the ''[[Divine Comedy]]'', 1793 printing
| deity_of         = Goddess of jealousy and envy
| member_of        = The [[Erinyes]]
| abode            =
| symbol           =
| consort          =
| parents          = [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] or [[Nyx]]
| siblings         = Alecto and Tisiphone
| children         =
| mount            =
| Roman_equivalent =
| Canaanite_equivalent =
}}

'''Megaera''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|dʒ|ɪər|ə}} {{respell|mə|JEER|ə}}; {{langx|grc|Μέγαιρα|Mégaira|the jealous one}}<ref>Related to μεγαίρω "to grudge, envy" from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''*meǵh<sub>2</sub>-'' "great" (see [[Robert S. P. Beekes]], ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 917).</ref>) is one of the [[Erinyes]], Eumenides or "Furies" in [[Greek mythology]].  ''[[Bibliotheca Classica]]'' states "According to the most received opinions, they were three in number, [[Tisiphone]], "Megaera ... daughter of [[Nyx]] and [[Acheron]]",<ref>Lamprière's Classical Dictionary of Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors, 1949, p. 366</ref> and [[Alecto]]".<ref>Lamprière's Classical Dictionary of Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors, 1949, p. 234</ref>

In other versions, she and her sisters, as well as the [[Meliae]], were born of the blood of [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] when [[Cronus]] castrated him.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Greek Myths | url=https://archive.org/details/greekmythsvolume00robe | url-access=registration | publisher=Penguin Books | author=Graves, Robert | year=1960 | location=London | pages=[https://archive.org/details/greekmythsvolume00robe/page/37 37] | isbn=9780140171990}}</ref>

In modern French ({{lang|fr|mégère}}), Portuguese ({{lang|pt|megera}}), Modern Greek ({{lang|el|μέγαιρα}}), Italian ({{lang|it|megera}}), Polish ({{lang|pl|megiera}}), Russian ({{lang|ru|мегера}}), Ukrainian ({{lang|uk|меґера}}) and Czech ({{lang|cs|megera}}), this name denotes a jealous or spiteful woman. She is not to be confused with [[Megara (mythology)|Megara]], the wife of [[Heracles]].

== Cultural depictions ==
Minor planet [[464 Megaira]] is named in her honour.<ref>{{cite book|title=(464) Megaira In: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names |pages = 52|publisher=Springer |date=2003 |isbn=978-3-540-29925-7 |doi=10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_465|chapter = (464) Megaira}}</ref>

The 1964 Hammer horror film ''[[The Gorgon]]'' revolves around the re-emergence of Megaera in a Central European village circa 1910.

Magaera is one of the main characters in the ''[[The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series)|Twilight Zone]]'' episode "[[Ye Gods]]", which depicts her as the true love of [[Cupid]].

Megaera is a major character in the video game ''[[Hades (video game)|Hades]]''. She is a boss and a potential romance partner to [[Zagreus]], the main character.

Megaera is one of the three antagonists in the video game ''[[God of War: Ascension]]'' where she is portrayed as a deformed humanoid with spider like appendages.

== See also ==
* [[Family tree of the Greek gods]]
* [[Shrew (archetype)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Greek mythology (deities)|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Erinyes]]

{{Greek-deity-stub}}
[[Category:Jealousy]]