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InAncient Greek mythology, theManiae orManiai (Ancient Greek:Μανίαι,romanized: Maniai; sg.Μανία) are the spirit or spirits of madness. Later poets also used the singular form (Mania), considering her as a independentPersonification[1] of insanity, madness, and frenzied delusion, symbolizing various forms of mental disturbance such as hysteria, delirium, delusion, obsession, and possession. She or They operate closely withLyssa, the spirit of rage andrabies, and, like Lyssa, are generally presumed to be daughters ofNyx.[citation needed] The Maniae are also associated with theErinyes, the three fearsome goddesses of vengeance.
They are sometimes said—perhaps in jest, or as a metaphor for love’s often cruel and maddening nature—to have been the nurses of the godEros.
Mania is mentioned inIliad byHomer as one ofAres' companions in war, alongside Lyssa (Rage) andPenthos (Grief).[citation needed]
The Greek nounμανία (manía) means “madness” or “going astray,” but also “inspiration” and “enthusiasm.” However, poets, when referring to the divine personification, invariably used the term with a negative connotation. They were invoked in ancient Greek rituals to avert or control madness, highlighting their dual role as both the causes and potential remedies for insanity.[citation needed]
Her Roman counterpart was a more prominent and independent figure. InEtruscan mythology andRoman mythology,Mania (Etruscan:𐌀𐌉𐌍𐌀𐌌), also spelledManea, was agoddess of the dead, spirits, and chaos. She was said to be the mother ofghosts, theundead, and other spirits of the night, as well as theLares and theManes.Together withMantus (Etruscan:𐌈𐌍𐌀𐌌,romanized: Manth), she ruled theunderworld.[citation needed]
Pausanias writes that on the road fromMegalopolis toMessene there was a sanctuary, which, according to local citizens, was devoted to goddesses called Maniae, and that its surrounding district was also called Maniae (Μανίας). His local sources told him that it was there that madness overtookOrestes, hence Pausanias's view that these Maniae were the vengeful Furies or Erinyes or Eumenides (Graceful Ones).[2]
