Sunshine Challenge #4: Furies

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

The prompt: Furies


Prompt 4: The Furies
The Furies, also known as the Erinyes, are a trio of vengeance deities whose immortal task is to hear complaints of insolence from mortals—and to punish those crimes by hounding the culprits relentlessly. They are said to focus on punishment for lying, killing, or sinning against the gods, but any lawbreaking was indeed punishable by them.

“Alecto was the oldest, unceasing in anger. Megaera was next, retaliator of jealousy, and Tisiphone, the last, regarded as the avenger of murder.”
― Elisabeth Naughton, Stolen Fury

Maybe you are inspired by Alecto (“the implacable one”, incites war), or perhaps Megaera (“the envious one”, vengeance) speaks to you, or maybe even Tisiphone (“avenger of murder”, guards the gates to Tartarus) – however you want to interpret the prompt, we’d love to hear from you!

Please feel free to respond in whichever way comes naturally to you, be it thoughts that you share or a work that you create. If you’d like a more specific idea to kick things off: share a song or music video that reminds you of the Furies theme.


1. Music. The only thing I could find was Dance of the Furies, which is Act 2, Scene 1 of Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice [1762].

Watch on YouTube

2. Poem. Using 3 card from my Edward Gorey deck, I constructed a narrative verse of Orpheus at the gates of Hell, soothing the Furies by singing their backstories. The past O is Orestes.

The young man’s name was O. He stood before the gate.
Hell’s iron fence was strong. Beyond lived sisters three.
Called sisters, of three bloods, they stood, they made him wait,
remembering an O they’d doggèd verily
they’d hounded him to death, to final breath, the three.
That O had slain his mare. This O did tote a lyre.
This O had lost his love, he sang out wretchedly,
he knew them as they neared, history and desire,
with song, he sung their early days, with song, he drew them with his lyre.


Alecto was the first, the scourge of angry men.
She made them eat their ire and choke on wrath dispensed.
She had her first revenge on Ambrose of the Fen.
His shout was very loud. He spent his days incensed.
Whatever one was for, Sir Ambrose was against.
Though most see only crone, all crease and lace mantilla,
a young Alecto flinched when foul Sir Ambrose tensed.
When she could bear no more, she brewed a rare scintilla,
And thus the poor teetotaler died of too much sarsaparilla.

Megaera was the second. Her bane was jealousy.
She found her cause one day, that day she saved a life.
Alethea, her name, she’d fled, most zealously,
a picnic and the twins, both wanted her as wife.
They’d dueled for her hand. They plotted, foil and knife.
The girl at wit’s last end, about to take death’s plunge,
Megaera stayed her drop and listened to her strife.
And then to feast she crept, she found twin tainted sponge,
She swapped the brother’s poisoned cakes; their fate, no linctus could expunge.

Tisiphone was third. The fiercest of the three.
Draped in a blood-wet dress, she glared at singing O.
Redressing murder, she, hot or cold, once or spree,
since a portentous day, so awfully long ago,
When Agatha pedaled, as fast as she could go,
to the village for help. The other way went she,
young Tissy, to seek truth and even out the woe.
Requiting life for life, she metes out vengefully.
O’s plea rang: ‘Though you suffer fools, I beg mercy, Tisiphone.’

The sisters three fell soft. The melody aloft
reminded them of yore and bid them entertain
the troubadour’s entreaty. His song commenced to waft;
it even reached their pup. It did not beg in vain.
The dog’s three muzzles whined. The sisters felt the strain
of pity for the youth, his quest so pure in sooth.
They met him at the gate; they let their fury wane.
And then, they let him pass, that lyre-strumming youth,
to brave the deathly underworld, to reclaim love and sing his truth.


3. Moodboard. Of poem.



4. TV/Fic. And finally, in the TV show Lewis Season 1, Episode 1, Whom the Gods Would Destroy, the instigator calls herself Fury and she is avenging a past murder. I liked Professor Gold in this. I did a ficlet inspired by this called Happier Endings [800 words, rating: Teen] in which Sherlock Holmes recounts to Watson the story of how during his uni years, he prevented the original murder in the Lewis episode.

Watch on YouTube

Comments

[pensnest]

I really like that poem.

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Thank you so much! I am very glad!