Eurynomos

In Greek mythology, Eurynomos (/jʊˈrɪnəməs/; Greek Εὐρύνομος; Latin Eurynomus) was the netherworld daimon (spirit) of rotting corpses dwelling in the Underworld.^[1] Eurynomos is either a minor figure whose associated literature is lost to time, or possibly an invention by the painter Polygnotos. The sole piece of evidence concerning him is the following paragraph by Pausanias:

[In a painting of Hades by Polygnotos at Delphoi, Phocis]: Eurynomos, said by the Delphian guides to be one of the daimones of Hades, who eats off all the flesh of the corpses, leaving only their bones. But Homer’s Odyssey, the poem called the Minyad, and the Returns, although they tell of Hades and its horrors, know of no daimon called Eurynomos. However, I will describe what he is like and his attitude in the painting. He is of a colour between blue and black, like that of meat flies; he is showing his teeth and is seated, and under him is spread a vulture’s skin.^[2]

Eurynomos is mentioned in the Satanic Bible, where the name is misspelled as "Euronymous".

Other uses

Eurynomos also refers to the following figures in Greek mythology:

• Eurynomos, in the Odyssey, the third son of Aigyptios, brother of Antiphos and one of the suitors of Penelope.^[3][4]
• Eurynomos, according to Ovid, one the Centaurs who fought against the Lapiths at the wedding of Hippodamia.^[5]
• Eurynomos, a son of Magnes and Phylodice and brother of Eioneus; father of Hippios, who was devoured by Sphinx,^[6] and of Orsinome, who married Lapithes.^[7]
• Eurynomos, a defender of Troy killed by Ajax the Great.^[8]

In popular culture

• The late Norwegian guitarist of the Black Metal band Mayhem, "Euronymous", took his stage name from the mythical figure.
• In the last book of The Cronus Chronicles, The Immortal Flame, Eurynomus is mentioned. He was stated as wearing vulture feathers as a cloak, with blue-black skin the colour of flies. He also had the ability to turn invisible and intangible, the perfect spy. He was "hired" by the antagonist Philonecron to spy on the protagonist, and Philonecron stated that he had hygiene issues.
• In the 1976 horror anthology film Dead of Night, the main character in the third vignette entitled "Bobby" uses a rite from the Lesser Key of Solomon calling on Eurynomos as "Prince of Death" to bring her son back to life.
• In the Japanese animated series Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san, Eurynomos appears as a blue-black pig demon who spreads despair by inflicting his victims with severe hemorrhoids.
• This character is found in Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum (chapter 41) with the spelling 'Eurynomius' as an example of a "principal of evil."

Notes

1. Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). "Eurynomus"
2. Pausanias, Description of Greece, 10.28.7
3. Homer, Odyssey, 2.22; 22. 242
4. Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, Epitome of Book 4, 7. 30
5. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 12.311
6. Scholia on Euripides, Phoenician Women, 1760
7. Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, 4. 69. 2
8. Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy, 1. 530

Further reading

• Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible
• Miriam Van Scott, The Encyclopedia of Hell