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Megaera

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

One of the three Erinyes (Furies), avenging spirits who punish crimes, especially those involving jealousy, infidelity, and oath-breaking. Her name means "the jealous one."

Detailed Definition
Megaera, whose name means “jealous rage,” is one of the Erinyes who torment oath-breakers and adulterers. She appears in classical tragedies and later allegorical works. In poetry, she embodies the corrosive power of envy, betrayal, and the inescapable reckoning of broken vows.
Example
Example in poetry:
Megaera, one of the Erinyes, appears in Aeschylus’s Eumenides pursuing Orestes; In Virgil’s Aeneid, she incites Amata’s madness; Ovid describes Megaera’s snaky hair in Metamorphoses; Dante places Megaera among the Furies in Inferno IX; Seneca’s tragedies depict Megaera as an agent of wrath; Modern psychological poetry uses Megaera to represent internalized rage.
Additional Notes
Megaera, one of the Erinyes, whose name means “jealous rage,” punishes crimes of infidelity and oath-breaking; she appears in Virgil and Dante as an agent of moral order—ideal for poetry on betrayal, marital discord, or internalized guilt; often depicted with snakes and torches.
Also Known As
Jealous Fury Envious One One of the Erinyes The Furies
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