Alecto

This article is about the character from Greek mythology. For other uses, see Alecto (disambiguation).

Alecto (Ancient Greek: Ἀληκτώ, English translation: "the implacable or unceasing anger") is one of the Erinyes, or Furies, in Greek mythology. According to Hesiod, she was the daughter of Gaea fertilized by the blood spilled from Uranus when Cronus castrated him. She is the sister of Tisiphone (Vengeance) and Megaera (Jealousy). Alecto is the Erinys with the job of castigating the moral crimes (such as anger), especially if they are against other people. Her function is similar to Nemesis, with the difference that Nemesis's function is to castigate crimes against the gods. Alecto appeared in Virgil's Aeneid, in Dante's Inferno, in Miklós Zrínyi's Siege of Sziget and appeared in Dostoyevsky books, in his subliminar psyche, as one of the three Erinyes, and also in Handel's Rinaldo HWV 7 in the Aria "Sibillar gli angui d'Aletto".

In the Aeneid (Book 7), Alecto was demanded by Juno to not let the Trojans have their way with King Latinus by marriage or besiege Italian borders. Alecto's mission is to wreak havoc on the Trojans and cause their downfall through war. In order to do this, Alecto takes over the body of Queen Amata who clamors for all of the Latin mothers to riot against the Trojans. She disguises herself as Juno's priestess Calybe and appears to Turnus in a dream persuading him to begin the war against the Trojans. Met with a mocking response from Turnus, Alecto abandons persuasion and attacks Turnus with a serpent from her hair. Unsatisfied with her work in igniting the war, Alecto asks Juno if she can provoke more strife by drawing in bordering towns, but Juno replies that she will manage the rest of the war herself: You're roving far too freely, high on the heavens' winds, and the Father, king of steep Olympus, won't allow it. You must give way. Whatever struggle is still to come, I'll manage it myself. (Virgil, Aeneid, trans. Robert Fagles, Book 7, ll.646-649)

Alecto is a minor but important character in Miklós Zrínyi's Siege of Sziget, being sent by the Archangel Michael to inspire Suleiman the Magnificent to march on Hungary, thereby setting the epic's events in motion.

Popular culture

• Alecto appears, with her sisters the other Furies, in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians series of novels. In The Lightning Thief, Alecto appears in Percy Jackson's school as a teacher named Ms. Dodds and pursues him in search of Hades' lost helm of darkness, along with the other Furies; Percy eventually recovers it and gives it to her to return to Hades. In The Last Olympian, it is revealed that Alecto took Bianca and Nico di Angelo to the Lotus Hotel after their mother's death, then retrieved them from the hotel in the guise of a lawyer many years later and brought them to a boarding school in Maine at Hades' request.
• Alecto is referenced in Purcell's Music for a While.
• Alecto Carrow, a Death Eater in the Harry Potter series, is named after Alecto.
• In the 2013 video game God of War: Ascension, Alecto, along with her sisters Megaera and Tisiphone are the main antagonists. In the final confrontation she transforms into a Kraken like sea monster.

See also

• Family tree of the Greek gods