# The Eumenides — The Eumenides character guide

> The Eumenides in The Eumenides by Aeschylus.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Eumenides

**First appearance:** 0001-the-eumenides

## Snapshot

The Furies who hunt Orestes across sea and city, then stand trial in Athens as the play's oldest, angriest guardians of blood-vengeance.

## Who they are

These ancient daughters of Night exist to punish kin-murder, and they pursue Orestes relentlessly because a mother's blood cries out for payment. Their power is real but strangely vulnerable: Clytemnestra's ghost must rouse them from sleep with shaming words, and they wake groaning that their prey has slipped the net. They matter because the play's central question—whether mercy can exist alongside justice—depends entirely on whether these relentless hunters can ever be persuaded to stop.

## Relationships

### [The Furies](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eumenides_se/characters/the_furies)

_psychological_

The Eumenides are the transformed, benevolent aspect of the Furies, representing their psychological and spiritual evolution from vengeance to justice.

### [Zeus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eumenides_se/characters/zeus)

_professional_

The Eumenides are integrated into Zeus's new order of justice, serving as honored deities under his authority.

### [Orestes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eumenides_se/characters/orestes)

_friendship_

Orestes is reconciled with the Eumenides after their transformation, receiving their blessing and protection.

### [Mother Earth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eumenides_se/characters/mother_earth)

_family_

Mother Earth is the primordial source from which the Eumenides (as transformed Furies) ultimately derive their power and origin.

### [Zeus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eumenides_se/characters/zeus)

_professional_

The Eumenides are integrated into Zeus's new order of justice, serving as honored deities under his authority.

### [The Furies](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eumenides_se/characters/the_furies)

_psychological_

The Eumenides are the transformed, benevolent aspect of the Furies, representing their psychological and spiritual evolution from vengeance to justice.

### [Orestes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eumenides_se/characters/orestes)

_friendship_

Orestes is reconciled with the Eumenides after their transformation, receiving their blessing and protection.

## In the story

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eumenides_se/chapters/endnotes)

Described as the transformed Furies who accept a new home in Athens and bless the city.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eumenides_se/characters/the_eumenides
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eumenides_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eumenides_se/characters