Alastor, anepithet of theGreek GodZeus, according toHesychius of Alexandria and theEtymologicum Magnum, which described him as the avenger of evil deeds, specifically familial bloodshed. As the personification of a curse, it was also a sidekick of theErinyes.[3] The name is also used, especially by the tragic writers, to designate any deity or demon who avenges wrongs committed by men.[4] InEuripides' playElectra,Orestes questions an oracle who calls upon him to kill his motherClytemnestra, and wonders if the oracle was not fromApollo, but some maliciousalastor.[5] There was an altar to Zeus Alastor just outside the city walls ofThasos.[6]
By the time of the 4th century BC,alastor in Greek had degraded to a generic type of insult, with the approximate meaning of "scoundrel".[3]
Alastorides is apatronymic form given byHomer toTros, who was probably a son of the Lycian Alastor mentioned above.[12]
Alastor, a Pylian soldier who fought under their leader Nestor during the Trojan War.[13] He remembered for having, together withMecisteus, carried the woundedTeucer off the battlefield as they later did also withHypsenor.[14]
Alastor, a black horse belonging to the Greek GodHades. He was one of the four horses drawing Hades's chariot when he rose from the Underworld to bringPersephone down with him. The other three wereOrphnaeus,Aethon, andNycteus.[15]
Alastor, a vengefuldaemon that relentlessly pursues the guilty, punishing their children for the sins of their fathers.[16]
Euripides,The Complete Greek Drama, edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill Jr. in two volumes. 2. Phoenissae, translated by Robert Potter. New York. Random House. 1938.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Sophocles,Sophocles. Vol 2: Ajax. Electra. Trachiniae. Philoctetes with an English translation by F. Storr. The Loeb classical library, 21. Francis Storr. London; New York. William Heinemann Ltd.; The Macmillan Company. 1913.Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
This article includes a list of Greek mythological figures with the same or similar names. If aninternal link for a specific Greek mythology article referred you to this page, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended Greek mythology article, if one exists.
