Horkos
Sign in to saveIn Greek mythology, Horkos (; Ancient Greek: , ) personifies the curse that is inflicted on any person who swears a false oath. According to Hesiod, Horkos was the son of Eris (Strife). He is one of the divine enforcers of oaths, which were an important part of the ancient Greek system of justice.
Article
10 sectionsContents
- Family
- Function
- Sources
- Hesiod
- Herodotus
- Aesop's fable
- Oaths
- See also
- Notes
- References
In Greek mythology, Horkos (; Ancient Greek: , ) personifies the curse that is inflicted on any person who swears a false oath. According to Hesiod, Horkos was the son of Eris (Strife). He is one of the divine enforcers of oaths, which were an important part of the ancient Greek system of justice.
==Family== According to Hesiod's Theogony, Horkos was the son of Eris (Strife), attended at birth by the Erinyes (Furies), with no father mentioned. Like all the children of Eris, Horkos is a personification of an abstract concept, and represents one of the many harms which might be thought to result from discord and strife. The tragic playwright Sophocles has Horkos as the son of Zeus, appropriately since Zeus Horkios was the guarantor of oaths. Compare with Hyginus which has Iusiurandum (Oath) as the offspring of Aether and Terra (Earth). According to Herodotus, Horkos was said to have a "nameless" son with neither hands nor feet.