Nemesis,
Goddess of Righteous Anger & Divine Retribution

“I pray that to their share of noble fortunes he [Zeus] send no Nemesis of jealous
will, but in prosperity and free from ills, exalt them and their city.”
  –Pindar Olympian 8 ep4

Name: Nemesis. Her nickname is Neme. Her name means 'she who distributes or deals out'. The epithet "she whom none can escape," was commonly applied to her.

Parentage:
Father - Erebus, Titan of Darkness
Mother - Nyx, Titan of Night

Gender: Female

Appearance: Nemesis has long brown hair, which she leaves in an unkept state. As a goddess, she is very tall but thin.  Sometimes, Nemesis holds either an apple-branch, rein, lash, sword or balance in her left hand, and other times, she doesn't. 

When she is hunting, Neme sometimes applies bluish war paint to her skin and face, and makes her skin pale white. She has found this is more threatening and intimidating to mortals.

One of her favorite weapons is an oaken longbow, which fires magic silver arrows, and can be found strapped to her back. She normally holds the bow in her left hand and draws it back with her right one, but is equally ambidextrous. Nemesis sometimes appeared as a winged goddess. 

According to some legends, she is also said to have been as beautiful as Aphrodite.

When hunting, she wears a battle leather top made of two strips of finely woven leather cords that go all the way around. Two similarly-made straps are woven into the back of the lower strap and go up over her shoulders the back down to the front, being woven into both strips. The tight top strap covers her nipples while the lower tight strap supports. Due to the tightness, they will not shift much. Her lower forearms are covered by leather with an archer's leather finger protector to stop the bow string cutting in, and her right upper arm is covered by a gold greave. She wears tight leather pants made of similarly woven leather cords with waterproof leather boots.

Favorite Cities: Smyrna, Ionia

Background: Nemesis was the goddess of indignation and retribution for evil deeds or undeserved good fortune. She was a personification of the resentment aroused in men, -and in the gods-, by other men who committed crimes with apparent impunity, or who had inordinate good fortune. Her anger is directed toward human transgression of the natural, right order of things and of the arrogance causing it. Nemesis pursues the insolent and the wicked with inflexible vengeance.

Nemesis directed human affairs in such a way as to maintain equilibrium. Happiness and unhappiness were measured out by her, care being taken that happiness was not too frequent or too excessive. If this happened, Nemesis could bring about losses and suffering. As one who checked extravagant favours by Tyche, Oceanid & Goddess of Fortune, Nemesis was regarded as an avenging or punishing divinity.

Along with Dike and Themis, Nemesis is one of the assistants of Zeus, who was regarded as the founder of law and order. Often, Nemesis is directed to meter out justice as laid down by Zeus.

Nemesis gave birth to Helene of Troy, when she had been joined in love with Zeus, the king of the gods, by harsh violence. For Nemesis tried to escape him and liked not to lie in love with her father, Zeus; for shame and indignation vexed her heart: therefore she fled him over the land and fruitless dark sea. But Zeus ever pursued and longed in his heart to catch her. Now she took the form of a fish and sped over the waves of the loud-roaring sea, and now over Oceanos' stream and the furthest bounds of Earth, and now she sped over the furrowed land, always turning into such dread creatures as the dry land nurtures, that she might escape him.

Nemesis, as she fled from Zeus' embrace, took the form of a goose; whereupon Zeus bade Aphrodite to chase him in the form of an eagle. Zeus changed to a swan, and as if in flight from the eagle, took refuge with Nemesis and lighted in her lap. Nemesis did not thrust him away, but holding him in her arms, had intercourse before falling into a deep sleep.

From this union, Nemesis, as if wedded to the tribe of birds, when her months were ended, bore an egg. Some herdsman found the egg among the trees and handed it over to Hermes, who took it away and carried it to Sparta and threw it in Leda's lap. Leda kept it in a box, and when Helene was hatched after the proper length of time, she reared Helene as her own.

A few months ago after the war centered around the kidnapping of the then-baby goddess Poissa by Ares and Hera, Nemesis started a fiery lesbian sexual relationship with Cassandra, Goddess of Violence and Debauchery. While Cassandra only receives gentleness and love from Nemesis, she treats Neme quite bad sometimes, restraining her and whipping her. Neme has found that the feelings it evokes in her leave her very confused, and when the second war started, she joined against Zeus.

When he confronted her, she bravely stood up against him and told him off before he punished her with lightinging. She eventually confessed under duress about her relationship with Cassandra and how it made her feel, causing Zeus to just laugh and belittle her. She harbors resentment over the issue, but is also hoping that more will lead from her short defiance. Later on, he took her roughly and left her pregnant.

During the war, she found out that Dionysus was abusing Cassandra for no reason, and put a terrible plan into action, barring him from his favourite city by having his temples be destroyed by earthquakes. She was eventually forced to confront Poseidion, who was furious about this but relented when he learnt why. They talked for a bit and things progressed, eventually leaving Neme pregnant with one of Poseidon's children too.

She visited Cassandra, attempting to convince her that she needed to stop killing. It was obvious that Cassie could not explain because something was stopping her. Neme didn't take long before she was able to see through the illusionary hiding of the necklace Cassie was wearing, and determined that it was causing the trouble. Examining it, she realized what it was doing.

By interrogating Cassandra, she was able to work out around the gaps in what could be answered that it was Hades who did it. Charging off without thinking, she confronted him with evidence. As a way of shutting her up from using it, he restrained her before putting one of his rings on Neme, silencing her from speaking out.

Nemesis was visiting one of the worst hit areas and found a warrior king from Miletus named Palanthes helping rebuild. She could see that he was a good man underneath, and her heart told her that she could help him. She knew that she could not break her duties, but there was nothing to say she could not give counsel or be with him nor act as an intermediary to the other gods & goddess to help his cause. When she does not have pressing work for Zeus, she often travels with them through Greece, righting wrongs down by those who act with malice & impunity towards others.

It wasn't long before Neme found that her feelings for Palanthes was not just that of kinship but of love. She fought against her feelings for awhile, but finally, she accepted that she was in love with a mortal. Heading down to Miletus at night, she confessed her feelings of love to him and found they were reciprocated. They headed to his bedchamber, and that night, they consumated their relationship, causing herself to become pregnant with a joint child.

Personality: Nemesis, as the goddess of retribution for evil deeds, personifies moral reverence for the order of things, deterrence out of fear of wrongful action, and conscience. Her wrath and attention is unwanted throughout the mortal world, unlike her sister Tyche.

Her relationship with Zeus is complicated by two major issues - the fact that he used trickery against her thus causing her to bare Helene yet is strangely attracted to him, and her duty to follow his commands for vengeance against her secret desire to be free from her position.

Neme is also very troubled about her sexual identity. Her feelings for Cassie & what Cassie brings out in her confuse the heck out of her. In addition, she is also confused about how Hades now has control over her & how he uses her body. She knows it is dirty and beneath her, but she has realized that she finds great comfort in the lack of control that she has.

Powers: Nemesis has the ability to change her form and that of others at will. In addition, she can change the form of inanimate objects, and has used both of these powers numerous times to bring balance. In addition, she has the ability to throw fireballs and set arrows alight in mid-flight. 

Nemesis can see through all illusions & deceptions, whether they be mortal or godly. 

During her missions, she can make herself blend into any environment, becoming invisible from all.

When she spreads her wings out from being tucked tightly inside her back, Nemesis can move with frightening speed, being only beatable by Hermes.

Sacred Animals: Nemesis's sacred animal is the goose.

Special Notes: Nemesis has her own cult and various temples throughout Greece. Some of the more well-known temples & sanctuaries  include ones at Patria in Achaia, Ramos in Attica, and Mount Pagos near Smyrna, where Alexander the Great  was bade to found a city by Nemesis in a dream while he slept.

Send Hermes to Nemesis

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