In Greek mythology, Poena or Poine () is the spirit of

punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular acti ...

and the attendant of punishment to

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The n ...

, the goddess of divine retribution. Sometimes mentioned as one being, and sometimes in the plural as Poenai (Ποιναί) and are akin to the

Erinyes The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes ...

. Her Roman equivalent may have been Ultio. The Greek word ''poinḗ'' (), is meaning as penalty. And from this word the Latin ''poena'' meaning "pain, punishment, penalty" derived, which in turn gave rise to English words such as " subpoena" and "pain".

References

External links

LacusCurtius – PoenaGeorg Autenrieth, A Homeric Dictionary
Greek goddesses Roman goddesses Vengeance goddesses Justice goddesses Personifications in Greek mythology Personifications in Roman mythology {{Greek-deity-stub