Poena

In Greek mythology, Poena or Poine (Greek: Ποινή "recompense, punishment") is the spirit of punishment and the attendant of punishment to Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution. Sometimes mentioned as one being, and sometimes in the plural as Poenai (Ποιναί) and are akin to the Erinyes. Her Roman equivalent may have been Ultio.

For the genus of moths, see Poena (moth).

The Greek word poinḗ (ποινή) means a recompense or a punishment. From this word the Latin poena meaning "pain, punishment, penalty" is derived, which in turn gave rise to English words such as "subpoena" and "pain".

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.