Should harass and unman me till the state

Should drive me forth, with brand upon my body.

So vexed, so banished, I should have no share

Of wine or dear libations, but unseen

My father’s wrath should drive me from all altars.

Thus, the Erinnyes seem to reflect the conflict of opinions and of sentiments which would frequently have arisen amongst the relatives of the slain concerning the guilt of a kinsman who had slain a kinsman. They also, unfortunately, suggest the co-existence of conceptions of blood-vengeance which are really to be attributed to different periods of time and to widely different types of civilisation.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Supra, p. [80 ff.]

[2] Supra, p. [78 ff.]

[3] H. and H. p. 253.