Who is Eris? Meet the Greek Goddess of Discord + facts

Who is Eris? Well, the answer is simple, yet complex. Goddess Eris is the Greek Goddess of Discord and Chaos, the one who causes conflit and spreads mischief. In this post, you will get to know her story, how she fits into Greek Mythology, her symbol, her meaning, and also some facts about her.

As a bonus, you will also know a little about the modern religion in which she is the main deity, the Discordianism.

You can watch my video explaining her and continue reading this post too.

In Neo-Paganism, Eris fits the Occult Face of the Triple Goddess.

Eris, as well as other Greek Goddesses, are in my free Goddess Oracle! Use the button below to access it, flip a card and receive a message from a Goddess!

Who is Eris?

To understand who Eris is, where and how she fits into Greek Mythology, we must clarify that there are 2 “versions” of Eris and this may create some confusion.

The first one is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. This “version” of Eris is quite identified with Enyo, a Goddess of War also associated with Ares. Enyo is the Goddess who likes to cause death, destruction, and she is crazy for blood. She has an indomitable fury. It is said that she arrives quietly and gets gigantic proportions, finishing everything on her way. Much like a storm.

It is in this version that we find “Eris” as an ugly and evil Goddess, rejected by her parents. However, this is not the predominant version.

In the other “version” of Eris, in which she is associated with discord and chaos, she is the eldest daughter of Goddess Nyx, the Primordial Goddess of Night. This is the Eris that we will focus on. The Roman version of this Goddess is called Discordia. The word Eris means “conflict”.

Now you know the basic answer to “Who is Eris?”. Let’s now focus on some facts and understand her better.

Goddess Eris’s family

As it’s common in life, conflict is not alone. There are many other things that appear and happen during a moment of discord, conflict, and/or chaos. Goddess Eris has a family that, let’s say, supports her.

Eris’s siblings

Eris, as the daughter of Nyx, has many siblings who also represent some complex and negative aspects of life. She is discord and her siblings are:

• Moros, luck;
• The Keres, violent death;
• Thanatos, death;
• Hypnos, sleep;
• The Oneiroi (Morpheus, Icelos and Phantasos), dreams;
• Momus, scorn;
• Geras, old age;
• Oizys, misery;
• Nemesis, divine judgement;
• Philotes, friendship;
• Apate, deception;
• The Moirai, Goddesses of Fate;
• Hesperides, Goddesses of Spring and Sunset;

Due to the nature of Eris and her siblings, we can already see that she doesn’t like fooling around.

Eris’s sons and daughters

Not only do her siblings represent something complex and evil, her children too! Eris had many sons and daughters and all represent negative and chaotic aspects. They are:

• Ponos, hardship;
• Lethe, forgetfulness;
• Limos, starvation;
• Algea, pains;
• Hysminai, battles;
• Makhai, wars;
• Phonoi, murders;
• Androktasiai, manslaughter;
• Neikea, quarrels;
• Pseudea, lies;
• Logoi, stories;
• Amphillogiai, disputes;
• Dysnomia, anarchy;
• Ate, ruin;
• Horkos, oath.

When Eris gave birth to Horkos, who represents oaths, the Erinyes were the ones who helped her. The Erinyes, called Furies in Roman Mythology, are Goddesses who torture souls in the underworld. In the Orphic version, the three Erinyes are daughters of Persephone and Hades.

Eris: The Goddess of Discord, Ruin, and Conflict

Whenever we see Goddess Eris involved in some stories we can expect lots of conflicts, ruin, and discord, of course.

The most famous episode involving Eris is the one in which she throws the golden apple of discord among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Soon you will read about this in detail.

However, there is a conflicting piece of information here! According to Patricia Monaghan, the one who threw the golden apple of discord was not Eris, but his daughter Ate, instructed by Eris. By convention, Eris was known for this achievement.

Goddess Eris Myth

Despite being a well-known deity, Goddess Eris does not have many stories told in Greek mythology. But one thing is certain: whenever she appears, some tragedy will occur.

One of these stories involves the couple Aedon and Polytekhnos.

The two were a happy couple who made a mistake in saying that they loved each other more than Zeus and Hera. So, it seems, Hera asked Eris to go to the couple and sow the seed of discord.

Obeying the Queen of the Gods, she went. Arriving there she saw that the couple was working. Aedon was weaving and Polytekhnos was making a board for his carriage.

The Goddess of Discord then said that whoever finished the task last would have to hand over a female slave (yes, a woman to be enslaved) to the other.

Aedon finished first. It seems Hera helped her so she would be able to win this task imposed by Eris.

Polytekhnos was enraged when he lost the challenge. Therefore he had to deliver a female slave to his wife as a punishment. Do you know what he did? Controlled by hate, he kidnapped Aedon’s sister, raped her, disguised her as a slave, and handed her over to his wife.

However, Aedon realized that the slave was actually her sister in disguise and she got really mad at her husband. To take revenge she took her husband’s son, killed him, and served him as food to Polytekhnos.

Zeus and Hera were so shocked by everything that happened that they decided to turn the whole family into birds.

Nothing happened to Eris, of course.

The Golden Apple of Discord

The most striking episode involving Goddess Eris is when she throws the Golden Apple of Discord among three Goddesses. This episode marks the beginning of a series of events leading up to the Trojan War. Once again, Eris is the one who sows the seed of discord and, as usual, nothing happens to her in the end.

It all starts when everyone is invited to the wedding of Tethys and Peleus. Everyone but Eris because they wanted to avoid turmoil and confusion.

However, Eris knows about the wedding and decides to go anyway. As no one invited her, she decides to wreak havoc on purpose. Then she goes to the place without being noticed and starts observing everything.

When Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite are close to each other, Eris throws a golden apple with the inscription “For most beautiful” or “For the fairest”, there are variations (including, as mentioned above, who threw the apple may have been Ate (Ruin), daughter of Eris).

Eris stole this golden apple from the Hesperides garden and the garden belonged to Hera.

The apple falls among the three Goddesses and the question arises: Who should get the apple?

The three Goddesses begin to fight for the golden apple and Zeus is afraid to make a decision. So he gives the apple to none of them. Whichever he chose would make him face the fury of the other two.

Clever, Zeus decides to delegate the decision to a mortal named Paris. The three Goddesses then, controlled by hate and discord, go and try to bribe Paris so they can get the golden apple.

• Hera offers political power;
• Athena offers knowledge, mainly military;
• Aphrodite offers the love of the most beautiful woman in the world.

Paris decides that Aphrodite is the most beautiful (or fairest) and hands her the golden apple. In return, he “wins” the love of Helen of Sparta. However, Helen was married to the king of Sparta, Menelaus.

This gives rise to the whole war, because Helen is taken from her husband, king of Sparta, and she is given to Paris in Troy.

Goddess Eris and The symbol of Discord

The Golden Apple ended up becoming the symbol of Eris and therefore the symbol of discord itself.

When we look at references to apples in literature, mythology, and even religion, we always find controversial issues. One reason is that the apple is a bright and beautiful fruit, but it is not always sweet. And this generates a duality that explores the subconscious in general: it is attractive but dangerous.

• In the Snow White story, the apple gets the attention of the young woman who eats it and is bewitched;
• With Goddess Lilith and her escape from paradise, it is an apple that attracts Eve and causes her and Adam to be expelled for committing the original sin;

Discordianism: A modern Cult

Goddess Eris is equivalent to the Roman Goddess Discordia and they have a modern cult called Discordianism.

Discordianism is a modern religion in which followers do not follow rules. Even though there are no rules to be followed, there are some rules that may or may not be followed.

In Discordianism, freedom is important, especially freedom of creation. For Discordians, or Erinians, order and disorder are the same. It all depends on how the “I” interprets one or the other.

And both are part of Chaos, where everything is created.

Discordians also claim to be able to receive direct messages from Eris through the Pineal gland. These messages provide insights and other important information.

If you start a conversation with a Discordian, be prepared to hear many things that are meaningless, but which can make sense, if you want them to.

You can learn more (or not understand anything) about Discordianism and Principia Discordia on this website.

Eris in pop culture

• In the TV series “Xena: Warrior Princess” and “Hercules: The Legendary Journey”, Discord was a fixed antagonist, being the captain of Ares, the God of War.
• In “Sinbad – The Legend of the Seven Seas” from Dreamworks, Eris is the main villain. She controls several monsters and aims to take possession of the book of harmony, to plunge the world into chaos.
• In the TV series “The Librarians” a golden apple is shown in episode 5 of the first season. It is called the apple of discord and transforms those who hold it in the worst version of themselves.
• In 2005 a planet was discovered in the confines of the solar system, the tenth dwarf planet is called Eris and its moon is called Dysnomia (Formerly the planet was nicknamed Xena, and the moon Gabrielle). This name was given because of the discord that its discovery caused among the scientists since many considered it being an asteroid.
• “Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac” had its first feature film released in 1987. In it, the Goddess Eris embodied in a young woman who kidnaps Saori Kido, Athena’s incarnation, to steal her vitality through a golden apple.
• We can also find Eris in the popular short story Sleeping Beauty, in which a “bad” fairy is not invited to the celebration, and then appears, bringing disgrace on the whole kingdom.

Conclusion

So now you completely know who is Eris. You can surely work energetically with her and you’ll probably enter a chaotic period just to find order (or not) later.

Save this pin to your Pinterest folders and share this article with those who need more chaos in their life – I mean, those who want to know her better.

Thanks for reading!