Achlys is the Primordial goddess of the death-mist (the clouding of the eyes preceding death), misery, sadness and possibly also deadly poisons, according to Greek Mythology. She may have been numbered amongst the Keres.
Genealogy and Family[]
Achlys is a primordial spirit. Depending on the account, she existed before Chaos, as the parentless eternal night or was a daughter of Nyx, the primordial goddess of the night.
Role and Significance[]
The goddess of death mist, misery, sadness and poisons, Achlys was not recorded as ever being worshipped in Ancient Greece.
She was described by Hesiod in The Shield of Heracles:“And beside the (the Keres and the Fates) was standing Akhlys, dismal and dejected, green and pale, dirty-dry, fallen in on herself with hunger, knee-swollen, and the nails were grown long on her hands, and from her nostrils the drip kept running, and off her cheeks the blood dribbled to the ground, and she stood there, grinning forever, and the dust that had gathered and lay in heaps on her shoulders was muddy with tears.”
According to Nonnus' Dionysiaca: “[Hera] procured from Thessalian Achlys treacherous flowers of the field, and shed a sleep of enchantment over their heads; she distilled poisoned drugs over their hair, she smeared a subtle magical ointment over their faces, and changed their earlier human shape.”
Appearance and Personality[]
Achlys is an unpleasant figure in all descriptions, which is unsurprising for a goddess known to represent sadness. According to Hesiod, she was pictured on the shield of Heracles. Hesiod’s poem describes the shield in detail. It features Fear and Strife with many figures from the Greek pantheon, such as Zeus and Ares. Achlys appears alongside the Keres as a starving, dusty, weeping woman. Blood covers her pale cheeks, and she grins painfully even as the tears drip off of her nose.
In addition to being the spirit of misery and sadness, Achlys may have been the goddess of deadly poisons. Another ancient writer, Nonnus, recounts how Hera (the Olympian queen of the gods) went to Achlys for poisonous flowers that turned the nurses of Dionysus into horned centaurs.
Weaknesses[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
Achlys' official Greek name is Αχλυς. It means misted eyes.
Achlys is also categorised as a Daimona.
Monthly Update[]
Achlys has been chosen to being this Wiki's upcoming theme in October.