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89-617: The Erinyes ( / ɪ ˈ r ɪ n i . iː z / ih- RI -nee-eez ; sing. Erinys / ɪ ˈ r ɪ n ɪ s , ɪ ˈ r aɪ n ɪ s / ih- RIN -iss, ih- RY -niss ; Ancient Greek : Ἐρινύες , pl. of Ἐρινύς ), also known as the Eumenides (Εὐμενίδες) and Semnae (Σεμναί, “the dread ones”) and commonly known in English as the Furies , are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology . A formulaic oath in

178-728: A facultative trial, like in Ngan'gi . Most languages with a trial are in the Austronesian family, and most non-Austronesian languages with a trial are nearby in Oceania. The latter category includes the Austronesian-influenced English creole languages of Tok Pisin , Bislama , and Pijin . In Australia, the trial can also be found in Aboriginal languages of many different language families. In Indonesia, trial pronouns are common in

267-487: A group of 100,000 referred to in the plural. Much like the dual, it is crosslinguistically variable which words and parts of speech may be marked with the paucal. Baiso has the paucal only for nouns and not pronouns, whereas Yimas has the paucal only for pronouns and not nouns. In Meryam Mir , the paucal is mostly marked on the verbs. Avar has the paucal for only about 90 specific nouns, including brush, spade, snake, and daughter-in-law (the only kin term that can take

356-452: A large number of something, and has been called the plural of abundance. In other languages like Kaytetye , it can refer to all of something in existence, and has been called the global plural. Like some other grammatical numbers, languages also vary as to which cases the greater plural may be used in. The greater plural is more common in nouns than in pronouns. Accordingly, in Kaytetye,

445-451: A messenger bringing the news of his own death to Clytemnestra. He then slays his mother and her lover Aegisthus . Although Orestes' actions were what Apollo had commanded him to do, Orestes has still committed matricide, a grave sacrilege. Because of this, he is pursued and tormented by the terrible Erinyes, who demand yet further blood vengeance. In The Eumenides , Orestes is told by Apollo at Delphi that he should go to Athens to seek

534-463: A new role, as protectors of justice, rather than vengeance, and of the city. She persuades them to break the cycle of blood for blood (except in the case of war, which is fought for glory, not vengeance). While promising that the goddesses will receive due honor from the Athenians and Athena, she also reminds them that she possesses the key to the storehouse where Zeus keeps the thunderbolts that defeated

623-615: A number distinction is pronouns. An example of a personal pronoun system distinguishing singular and plural is that of Wayoró : Like the singular denotes exactly one item, the dual number denotes exactly two items. For example, in Camsá : In languages with a singular/dual/plural paradigm, the exact meaning of plural depends on whether the dual is obligatory or facultative (optional). In contrast to English and other singular/plural languages where plural means two or more, in languages with an obligatory dual, plural strictly means three or more. This

712-558: A number larger than and beyond greater plural. It has also been called the "even greater plural". For example, in Warekena : A similar system is found in Banyun , where the greater plural represents unlimitedness, and the greatest plural represents "a higher degree of unlimitedness". Linguist Daniel Harbour has represented the paucal, greater paucal, plural, greater plural, and greatest plural as collectively definable by "cuts" that divide

801-529: A paucal. Similar things have been said about trial pronouns in Larike and Anejom̃ . Russian has what has variably been called paucal numerals, the count form, the adnumerative, or the genitive of quantification. When a noun in the nominative case has a numeral added to quantify it, the noun becomes genitive singular with 2, 3, or 4, but genitive plural with 5 or above. Many linguists have described these as paucal constructions. However, some have disagreed on

890-472: A plural, leaving the former plural with a greater plural meaning. A different four-way distinction of singular, paucal, plural, and greater plural can be found in some verbs of Hualapai . A more complex system is found in Mele-Fila : pronouns distinguish singular, dual, plural, and greater plural, but articles attached to nouns distinguish singular, paucal, and plural. The result is that for full sentences, there

979-481: A quadral or a quintal. Linguist Susan McBurney has contended that American Sign Language has a true dual, but that the trial, quadral, and quintal should instead be classified as numeral incorporation rather than grammatical number. This is motivated by the dual marker handshape being distinct from the handshape for the numeral two, in contrast to higher number markers; the ability to also incorporate these numerals into other words, including those for times and amounts; and

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1068-479: A quadral; the final 2016 reference grammar of Marshallese by Byron W. Bender , a linguist with expertise in the language, still refers to it as having a quadral. Besides singular, dual, trial, and quadral or paucal, Marshallese additionally has two different plural forms, one for five or more and one for two or more (referred to as multiple and plural absolute respectively), creating a partially overlapping six-way number distinction. Kove has been recorded as having

1157-408: A rare pronoun form for exactly six people. Some American Sign Language speakers have incorporated numerals up to nine into inclusive pronouns upon solicitation. Israeli Sign Language theoretically has the grammatical ability to incorporate numerals up to ten into pronouns. Greater plural is a number larger than and beyond plural. In various forms across different languages, it has also been called

1246-796: A savage veil, severe and strong, Terrific virgins, who forever dwell endu'd with various forms, in deepest hell; Aerial, and unseen by human kind, and swiftly coursing, rapid as the mind. In vain the Sun with wing'd refulgence bright, in vain the Moon, far darting milder light, Wisdom and Virtue may attempt in vain; and pleasing, Art, our transport to obtain Unless with these you readily conspire, and far avert your all-destructive ire. The boundless tribes of mortals you descry, and justly rule with Right's [Dike's] impartial eye. Come, snaky-hair'd, Fates [Moirai] many-form'd, divine, suppress your rage, and to our rites incline. Hymn 69, to

1335-464: A similar pronoun system as Marshallese, with one addition: the plural (2+) is split between two categories, one for members of the same family and one for members of different families, creating a seven-way distinction. A few other languages have also been claimed to have quadral pronouns. Robert Blust and others have said they exist in some of the Austronesian Kenyah languages , specifically

1424-488: A simple two-way contrast between singular and plural number ( car / cars , child / children , etc.). Discussion of other more elaborate systems of number appears below. Grammatical number is a morphological category characterized by the expression of quantity through inflection or agreement. As an example, consider the English sentences below: The quantity of apples is marked on the noun—"apple" singular number (one item) vs. "apples" plural number (more than one item)—on

1513-501: A spoken language with the trial (in both pronouns and verbs) outside of Oceania is Muklom Tangsa , spoken in northeast India. The paucal number represents 'a few', a small inexactly numbered group of items. For example, in Motuna : Almost all languages with a paucal also have a dual. However, this is not universal. Nouns in Mocoví only have singular, paucal, and plural. On the other hand,

1602-456: A system of paucal, greater paucal, plural. Other examples can be found in the related languages of Northern Gumuz and Daatsʼiin . Northern Gumuz is said to mark the plural and greater plural on verbs, and Daatsʼiin is said to mark "three degrees of plurality" (plural, greater plural, and greatest plural) on verbs. In both languages though, the "plural" is often actually a paucal, understood to mean about two to four. However, in neither language

1691-852: A true quadral did exist, but it has since morphed into a plural form. It has thus been hypothesized that the quadral existed in Proto-Oceanic and Proto-Southern Vanuatu. The quintal number denotes exactly five items. Apparent examples of its use can mostly only be found in pronouns of sign languages. Like the quadral, its existence has been contested, and only some classifications accept it. Like trial and quadral forms, rare quintal forms of pronouns have been said to be attested in Tok Pisin and Bislama. These languages insert numerals to represent exact numbers of referents. For example, in Bislama, the numerals tu (two) and tri (three) are contained within

1780-509: Is Nukna , which has only a single trial pronoun, nanggula , which can be either 2nd or 3rd person. The trial may also be marked on verbs, such as in Lenakel . While the dual can be obligatory or facultative, according to Greville Corbett there are no known cases of an obligatory trial, so the trial might always be facultative. However, languages may have both a facultative dual and a facultative trial, like in Larike, or an obligatory dual and

1869-452: Is a combined five-way distinction of singular, dual, paucal, plural, and greater plural. Singular and plural have straightforward number agreements, whereas dual has dual pronouns but paucal articles, paucal has plural pronouns but paucal articles, and greater plural has greater plural pronouns but plural articles. The exact meaning of and terminology for the greater plural differs between languages. In some languages like Miya , it represents

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1958-435: Is a larger paucal category, for an inexactly numbered group that is larger in size than a smaller paucal. It can be found in the pronouns of the Austronesian language of Sursurunga , which exhibit a five-way distinction described as singular, dual, paucal, greater paucal, and plural. The Sursurunga paucal is used for smaller groups, usually of about three or four, or for nuclear families of any size. The Sursurunga greater paucal

2047-420: Is also used in linguistics to describe the distinction between certain grammatical aspects that indicate the number of times an event occurs, such as the semelfactive aspect, the iterative aspect, etc. For that use of the term, see " Grammatical aspect ". Most languages of the world have formal means to express differences of number. One widespread distinction, found in English and many other languages, involves

2136-649: Is cognate with the Sanskrit rájas ("dark (lower) air, dust"), the Armenian erek ("evening"), the Gothic riqis , and the Old Norse røkkr ("dark, dust"). In a number of Greek cosmogonies, Erebus is described as one of the first beings to exist. In Hesiod 's Theogony (late 8th century BC), which the Greeks considered the "standard" account of the origin of the gods, he

2225-515: Is found particularly in the isolating languages of West Africa. One of the simplest number distinctions a language can make is singular and plural. Singular denotes exactly one referent, while plural denotes more than one referent. For example, in English: To mark number, English has different singular and plural forms for nouns and verbs (in the third person): "my dog watch es television" (singular) and "my dog s watch television" (plural). This

2314-422: Is not universal: Wambaya marks number on nouns but not verbs, and Onondaga marks number on verbs but not nouns. Latin has different singular and plural forms for nouns, verbs, and adjectives, in contrast to English where adjectives do not change for number. Tundra Nenets can mark singular and plural on nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and postpositions . However, the most common part of speech to show

2403-447: Is obligatory for pronouns but facultative for nouns. In Comanche , it is obligatory when referring to humans, facultative for other animate nouns, and rarely used for inanimate nouns. There are also languages where use of the dual number is more restricted than singular and plural. In the possessive noun forms of Northern Sámi , the possessor can be in the dual number, but the noun possessed can only be singular or plural. Pronouns are

2492-557: Is of uncertain etymology; connections with the verb ὀρίνειν orinein , "to raise, stir, excite", and the noun ἔρις eris , "strife" have been suggested; Robert Beekes suggests that the word probably has a Pre-Greek origin . The word Erinys in the singular and as a theonym is first attested in Mycenaean Greek , written in Linear B , in the following forms: 𐀁𐀪𐀝 , e-ri-nu , and 𐀁𐀪𐀝𐀸 , e-ri-nu-we . These words are found on

2581-419: Is rare for a language to mark the trial on nouns, and some sources even claim that trial marking on nouns does not exist. However, it has been recorded for a few languages; besides Awa, Arabana , Urama , and Angaataha have trial number. It is much more common for a language to have trial pronouns, the case for the Austronesian languages of Larike , Tolai , Raga , and Wamesa . A minimal example

2670-411: Is the case for Sanskrit , North Mansi , and Alutiiq . In languages with a facultative dual, two of something can be referred to using either the dual or the plural, and so plural means two or more. This is the case for modern Arabic dialects, at least some Inuktitut dialects, and Yandruwandha . In some languages, the dual is obligatory in certain cases but facultative in others. In Slovene , it

2759-498: Is the offspring of Chaos , alongside Nyx (Night). In the first instance of sexual intercourse, he mates with Nyx, producing Aether and Hemera (Day), the pair of which represent the personified opposites of their parents. The Neoplatonist Damascius attributes to Acusilaus (6th century BC) a cosmogony in which Chaos is the first principle, after which comes Erebus and Night, and from this pair are then born Aether, Eros , and Metis . The philosopher Philodemus records that in

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2848-624: Is the offspring of Chronos (Time). The name "Erebus" is also used to refer either to the darkness of the Underworld , the Underworld itself, or the region through which souls pass to reach Hades , and can sometimes be used as a synonym for Tartarus or Hades. The meaning of the word Érebos ( Ἔρεβος ) is "darkness" or "gloom", referring to that of the Underworld . It derives from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁regʷ-os- ("darkness"), and

2937-530: Is the offspring of Chaos and Caligo (Mist), alongside Dies (Day), Erebus (Darkness), and Aether. By Nox, he becomes the father of Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Letum (Destruction), Continentia (Strife), Somnus (Sleep), the Somnia (Dreams), Lysimeles (Thoughtfulness), Epiphron (Hedymeles), Porphyrion, Epaphus, Discordia (Discord), Miseria (Misery), Petulantia (Petulance), Nemesis, Euphrosyne (Cheerfulness), Amicitia (Friendship), Misericordia (Pity), Styx ,

3026-475: Is the personification of darkness. In Hesiod 's Theogony , he is the offspring of Chaos , and the father of Aether and Hemera (Day) by Nyx (Night); in other Greek cosmogonies, he is the father of Aether, Eros , and Metis , or the first ruler of the gods. In genealogies given by Roman authors, he begets a large progeny of personifications upon Nox (the Roman equivalent of Nyx), while in an Orphic theogony, he

3115-417: Is this always the case. The Northern Gumuz paucal/plural may sometimes refer to "much greater than four". In some languages, the default form of a noun is not singular, but rather general, which does not specify number and could mean one or more than one. Singular and plural forms are marked from the general form. The general is used when the specific number is deemed irrelevant or unimportant. In this system,

3204-456: Is to categorize the apparent trial/quadral/quintal forms as "cardinal plurals", or forms of the grammatical plural number where the number of people is specified. Other authors have treated these concepts as perfectly equivalent, referring to pronoun numeral incorporation while still applying the terms quadral and quintal. There are also cases of sign language pronouns indicating specific numbers of referents above five. Ugandan Sign Language has

3293-605: Is used for groups of four or more (and must be used instead of the plural for a group of two or more dyads). There is thus some overlap between the two groups; a family of four can be referred to in Sursurunga by either of the paucals. This distinction is found both in Sursurunga's personal pronouns and in two different sets of possessive pronouns, one for edible things and one for non-edible things. The quadral number denotes exactly four items. Apparent examples of its use are almost entirely confined to pronouns, and specifically those in

3382-759: The Aeneid . Dante Alighieri followed Virgil in depicting the same three-character triptych of Erinyes; in Canto IX of the Inferno , they confront the poets at the gates of the city of Dis . Whilst the Erinyes were usually described as three maiden goddesses, the Erinys Telphousia was usually a byname for the wrathful goddess Demeter , who was worshipped under the title of Erinys in the Arkadian town of Thelpousa . The word Erinyes

3471-673: The Iliad invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take vengeance on men, whosoever hath sworn a false oath". Walter Burkert suggests that they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath". They correspond to the Dirae in Roman mythology . The Roman writer Maurus Servius Honoratus wrote (ca. AD 400) that they are called "Eumenides" in hell, "Furiae" on Earth, and "Dirae" in heaven. Erinyes are akin to some other Greek deities, called Poenai . According to Hesiod 's Theogony , when

3560-498: The Eumenides (Εὐμενίδες, pl. of Εὐμενίς; literally "the gracious ones", but also translated as "Kindly Ones"). This is because it was considered unwise to mention them by name (for fear of attracting their attention); the ironic name is similar to how Hades , god of the dead is styled Pluton, or Pluto, "the Rich One". Using euphemisms for the names of deities serves many religious purposes. Singular number The word "number"

3649-508: The Hieronyman Theogony (2nd century BC?), Erebus, alongside Aether and Chaos, is the offspring of Chronos (Time), who has the form of a serpent. The name "Erebus" is often used by ancient authors to refer either to the darkness of the Underworld, to the Underworld itself, or to the subterranean region through which souls of the dead travel to reach Hades, and it is sometimes used synonymously with Tartarus or Hades . Homer uses

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3738-554: The KN Fp 1, KN V 52, and KN Fh 390 tablets. The Erinyes live in Erebus and are more ancient than any of the Olympian deities. Their task is to hear complaints brought by mortals against the insolence of the young to the aged, of children to parents, of hosts to guests , and of householders or city councils to suppliants—and to punish such crimes by hounding culprits relentlessly. The appearance of

3827-597: The Sorbian languages . Indo-European languages that have long ago lost the dual still sometimes have residual traces of it, such as the English distinctions both vs. all , either vs. any , and neither vs. none . The Norwegian både , cognate with English both , has further evolved to be able to refer to more than two items, as in både epler, pærer, og druer , literally "both apples, pears, and grapes." The trial number denotes exactly three items. For example, in Awa : It

3916-748: The Titan Cronus castrated his father, Uranus , and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes (along with the Giants and the Meliae ) emerged from the drops of blood which fell on the Earth ( Gaia ), while Aphrodite was born from the crests of sea foam. Pseudo-Apollodorus also reports this lineage. According to variant accounts they are the daughters of Nyx ("Night"), while in Virgil's Aeneid , they are daughters of Pluto ( Hades ) and Nox ( Nyx ). In some accounts, they were

4005-519: The demonstrative determiners—and finite verbs inflect to agree with the number of the noun forms they modify or have as subject: this car and these cars are correct, while * this cars and * these car are incorrect. However, adjectives do not inflect for and many verb forms do not distinguish between singular and plural ("She/They went", "She/They can go", "She/They had gone", "She/They will go"). Many languages distinguish between count nouns and mass nouns . Only count nouns can be freely used in

4094-410: The Erinyes compared to the newer generation of Apollo and Athena. The jury vote is evenly split. Athena participates in the vote and chooses for acquittal. Athena declares Orestes acquitted because of the rules she established for the trial. Despite the verdict, the Erinyes threaten to torment all inhabitants of Athens and to poison the surrounding countryside. Athena, however, offers the ancient goddesses

4183-569: The Erinyes differs between sources, though they are frequently described as wearing black. In Aesychlus' Eumenides, the Priestess of Pythian Apollo compares their monstrosity to that of the gorgon and harpies , but adds that they are wingless, with hatred dripping from their eyes. Euripides , on the other hand, gives them wings, as does Virgil. They are often evisaged as having snakes in their hair. The Erinyes are commonly associated with night and darkness. With varying accounts claiming that they are

4272-793: The Erinyes form the Chorus and play a major role in the conclusion of Aeschylus 's dramatic trilogy the Oresteia . In the first play, Agamemnon , King Agamemnon returns home from the Trojan War , where he is slain by his wife, Clytemnestra , who wants vengeance for her daughter Iphigenia , whom Agamemnon had sacrificed to obtain favorable winds to sail to Troy. In the second play, The Libation Bearers , their son Orestes has reached manhood and has been commanded by Apollo 's oracle to avenge his father's murder at his mother's hand. Returning home and revealing himself to his sister Electra , Orestes pretends to be

4361-659: The Erinyes. Hymn 68 refers to them as the Erinyes, while hymn 69 refers to them as the Eumenides. Hymn 68, to the Erinyes: Vociferous Bacchanalian Furies [Erinyes], hear! Ye, I invoke, dread pow'rs, whom all revere; Nightly, profound, in secret who retire, Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megara dire: Deep in a cavern merg'd, involv'd in night, near where Styx flows impervious to the sight; Ever attendant on mysterious rites, furious and fierce, whom Fate's dread law delights; Revenge and sorrows dire to you belong, hid in

4450-671: The Eumenides: Hear me, illustrious Furies [Eumenides], mighty nam'd, terrific pow'rs, for prudent counsel fam'd; Holy and pure, from Jove terrestrial [Zeus Khthonios](Hades) born and Proserpine [Phersephone], whom lovely locks adorn: Whose piercing sight, with vision unconfin'd, surveys the deeds of all the impious kind: On Fate attendant, punishing the race (with wrath severe) of deeds unjust and base. Dark-colour'd queens, whose glittering eyes, are bright with dreadful, radiant, life-destroying, light: Eternal rulers, terrible and strong, to whom revenge, and tortures dire belong; Fatal and horrid to

4539-467: The Kiwaian languages, but it is now recognized that many actually have a paucal instead. Linguist Michael Cysouw has suggested that most languages reported to have trials in fact have mislabelled paucals, and that true trials are very rare. On the other hand, Luise Hercus stated in her published grammar of Arabana that the language's trial (which can be marked on nouns) is a true trial which cannot act as

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4628-452: The Melanesian pidgins of Tok Pisin, Bislama, and Pijin. However, while these are grammatically possible, they are rare, and plural forms are almost always used in their place. Many different sign languages have been explicitly described as having quadral pronoun forms. Estonian Sign Language has even been described as having the quadral for nouns. Marshallese has been said to have

4717-658: The Parcae (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos), and the Hesperides (Aegle, Hesperia, and Erythea). In a cosmogony given by Aristophanes in his play The Birds (414 BC), which is often believed to be a parody of an Orphic theogony, Erebus is one of the first deities to exist, alongside Chaos, Night, and Tartarus . At the beginning of creation, Night lays a "wind-egg" in the "boundless bosom of Erebus", from which springs golden-winged Eros. In an Orphic theogony recorded by Damascius in his work De principiis ( On First Principles ), known as

4806-408: The aid of the goddess Athena . In Athens, Athena arranges for Orestes to be tried by a jury of Athenian citizens, with her presiding. The Erinyes appear as Orestes' accusers, while Apollo speaks in his defense. The trial becomes a debate about the necessity of blood vengeance, the honor that is due to a mother compared to that due to a father, and the respect that must be paid to ancient deities such as

4895-402: The clouds; suffused with venom, her skin distends and swells with corruption; a fiery vapour issues from her evil mouth, bringing upon mankind thirst unquenchable and sickness and famine and universal death. From her shoulders falls a stark and grisly robe, whose dark fastenings meet upon her breast: Atropos and Proserpine herself fashion her this garb anew. Then both her hands are shaken in wrath,

4984-439: The daughters of Eurynome (a name for Earth) and Cronus, or of Earth and Phorcys (i.e. the sea). In Orphic literature , they are the daughters of Hades and Persephone . Their number is usually left indeterminate. Virgil , probably working from an Alexandrian source, recognized three: Alecto or Alekto ("endless anger"), Megaera ("jealous rage"), and Tisiphone or Tilphousia ("vengeful destruction"), all of whom appear in

5073-479: The daughters of Nyx , the goddess of night, they're also associated with darkness in the works of Aeschylus and Euripides in both their physical appearance and the time of day that they manifest. Description of Tisiphone in Statius ' Thebaid : So prayed he, and the cruel goddess turned her grim visage to hearken. By chance she sat beside dismal Cocytus , and had loosed the snakes from her head and suffered them to lap

5162-533: The demonstrative, that/those , and on the verb, is/are . In the second sentence, all this information is redundant , since quantity is already indicated by the numeral two . A language has grammatical number when its noun forms are subdivided into morphological classes according to the quantity they express, such that: This is partly true for English: every noun and pronoun form is singular or plural (a few, such as " fish ", " cannon " and " you ", can be either, according to context). Some modifiers of nouns—namely

5251-554: The dual can only be used by an adult male speaking to another adult male. Dual number existed in all nouns and adjectives of Proto-Indo-European around 4000 BCE, and was inherited in some form in many of its prehistoric , protohistoric , ancient , and medieval descendents. Only rarely has it persisted in Indo-European languages to the modern day. It survived in Proto-Germanic in the first and second person pronouns, where it

5340-486: The existence of multiple plural categories may blur the line between paucal and plural. For example, Mele-Fila is said to have a paucal, plural, and greater plural. However, the transition between plural and greater plural occurs around 15 to 20. This puts the Mele-Fila "plural" in range of some larger "paucals" described in other languages. Thus the distinction is muddied between a system of paucal, plural, greater plural, and

5429-558: The global plural, the remote plural, the plural of abundance, the unlimited plural, and the superplural. For example, in Tswana : The greater plural may also be a component of larger number systems. Nouns in Barngarla have a four-way distinction of singular, dual, plural, and greater plural. The same four-way distinction is found in Mokilese pronouns, where a former trial has evolved to become

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5518-401: The greater plural exists only in nouns and not pronouns. Oppositely, Mokilese has the greater plural in pronouns but not nouns. Chamacoco has the greater plural only in first person inclusive pronouns, second person pronouns, and first person inclusive verb inflections. Tigre has the greater plural only in a single word, nälät , which means a large number of deer. Greatest plural is

5607-425: The grounds that a Russian noun cannot be declined to stand by itself and mean anywhere between 2 and 4. Similar constructions can be found in other Slavic languages , including Polish , Serbo-Croatian , and Slovene. Because Slovene also has a regular dual, there is a four-way distinction of nouns being singular with 1, dual with 2, plural with 3 or 4, and genitive plural with 5 or more. The greater paucal number

5696-565: The highland Lepoʼ Sawa dialect spoken in Long Anap . There seems to be no other published sources of info on this dialect's pronouns, and an investigation into the lowland Lebo’ Vo’ dialect has revealed a paucal instead of a quadral. A quadral claim has also been made for the animate demonstrative pronouns in Nauruan . Outside the Austronesian family, Abun storytelling reportedly frequently contains quadral pronouns in addition to trial ones. Perhaps

5785-460: The human sight, with snaky tresses wand'ring in the night; Either approach, and in these rites rejoice, for ye, I call, with holy, suppliant voice. Myth fragments dealing with the Erinyes are found among the earliest extant records of ancient Greek culture. The Erinyes are featured prominently in the myth of Orestes , which recurs frequently throughout many works of ancient Greek literature . Featured in ancient Greek literature, from poems to plays,

5874-461: The images neither of these nor of any of the under-world deities is there anything terrible. There are images of Pluto, Hermes, and Earth, by which sacrifice those who have received an acquittal on the Hill of Ares; sacrifices are also offered on other occasions by both citizens and aliens. The Orphic Hymns , a collection of 87 religious poems as translated by Thomas Taylor, contains two stanzas regarding

5963-467: The lack of grammatical number with an extensive system of measure words . Joseph Greenberg has proposed a number category hierarchy as a linguistic universal : "No language has a trial number unless it has a dual. No language has a dual unless it has a plural." This hierarchy does not account for the paucal. Obligatory plural marking of all nouns is found throughout the languages of western and northern Eurasia and most parts of Africa . The rest of

6052-437: The languages of Oceania or in sign languages . It has been contested whether the quadral truly exists in natural language; some linguists have rejected it as an extant category, while others have accepted it. Some languages that have previously been described as having a quadral, like Sursurunga, have since been reanalyzed as having a paucal instead. Like trial forms, quadral forms of pronouns have been said to be attested in

6141-639: The one gleaming with a funeral torch, the other lashing the air with a live water-snake. Pausanias describes a sanctuary in Athens dedicated to the Erinyes under the name Semnai: Hard by [the Areopagos the murder court of Athens] is a sanctuary of the goddesses which the Athenians call the August, but Hesiod in the Theogony calls them Erinyes (Furies). It was Aeschylus who first represented them with snakes in their hair. But on

6230-433: The only known spoken language outside Oceania to have a claimed quadral is Apinayé of Brazil, recorded as having a third person pronominal prefix meaning "they four", although this has been little researched or described. In some Austronesian languages with a singular/dual/trial/plural pronoun system, the plural forms are etymologically related to the number four. This has led to suggestions or assertions that historically

6319-452: The only part of speech with a dual form in some Polynesian languages , including Samoan , Tuvaluan , and Māori . In Maltese , the dual only exists for about 30 specific nouns, of which it is obligatory for only 8 (hour, day, week, month, year, once, hundred, and thousand). Words that can take a facultative dual in Maltese include egg, branch, tear, and wicker basket. In Mezquital Otomi ,

6408-401: The other older deities. This mixture of bribes and veiled threats satisfies the Erinyes, who are then led by Athena in a procession to their new abode. In the play, the "Furies" are thereafter addressed as "Semnai" (Venerable Ones), as they will now be honored by the citizens of Athens and ensure the city's prosperity. In Euripides ' Orestes the Erinyes are for the first time "equated" with

6497-531: The parents of Aether and Dies (Day), as well as Amor (Love), Dolus (Guile), Metus (Fear), Labor (Toil), Invidentia (Envy), Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Tenebrae (Darkness), Miseria (Misery), Querella (Lamentation), Gratia (Favour), Fraus (Fraud), Pertinacia (Obstinacy), the Parcae, the Hesperides , and the Somnia (Dreams). In the Fabulae by the Roman mythographer Hyginus (1st century BC/AD), Erebus

6586-645: The paucal in Avar). Takivatan Bunun has a paucal only in its distal demonstratives used in reference to people. It is common for former trials to evolve in meaning to become paucals, and many Austronesian languages have paucal markers that are etymologically derived from the numeral three, indicating the old usage. It is less common for duals to evolve into paucals, but this has been observed in some dialects of Arabic. Paucals that are etymologically trials are sometimes incorrectly described as being trials. For example, trial pronouns were once described as being found in all

6675-418: The primary factor for using the paucal is not a specific number range, but the referents forming a single group; although the paucal is most common between 3 and 5, it has been used with more than 20. In Paamese , a major factor is relative group size compared to the plural, such that even though the paucal generally means 12 or fewer, a group of 2,000 people may be referred to in the paucal when contrasted with

6764-845: The pronouns in Mussau and Lihir have dual, trial, and paucal. The lower bound of the paucal is usually defined by what other number categories exist in the language. In singular/paucal/plural paradigms, use of the paucal begins at two, but with the addition of the dual, the paucal begins at three. There is usually no exact upper bound on how many paucal refers to, and its approximate range depends on both language and context. It has been recorded as going up to about 5 in Warndarrang , about 6 in Baiso , 10 in Arabic, and about 10 or 15 in Murrinh-patha . In Manam ,

6853-415: The quadral as a regular feature in its pronoun system. While the apparent Marshallese quadral can mean exactly four, it also has an alternate rhetorical use in speeches to larger groups in order to impart a sense of individual intimacy. According to Greville Corbett , this means it is better classified as a paucal. However, there is not consensus that this alternate use means Marshallese does not truly have

6942-525: The range of possible numbers into different sections. One low cut defines paucal and plural, and one high cut defines plural and greater plural. Two low cuts define paucal, greater paucal, and plural; one low cut and one high cut define paucal, plural, and greater plural; and two high cuts define plural, greater plural, and greatest plural. There does not appear to be any language with three such cuts, and so no language with three paucal categories and an "even greater paucal". Because they are inexactly defined,

7031-504: The second person pronouns yutufala (dual) and yutrifala (trial). These forms theoretically have no specific limit, but in practicality usually stop at three. Sign languages described as having a quintal in addition to the quadral include American Sign Language , Argentine Sign Language , British Sign Language , German Sign Language , Levantine Arabic Sign Language , and Ugandan Sign Language . The validity has been debated of categorizing sign language pronouns as having

7120-566: The singular and in the plural. Mass nouns, like "milk", "gold", and "furniture", are normally invariant. (In some cases, a normally mass noun X may be used as a count noun to collect several distinct kinds of X into an enumerable group; for example, a cheesemaker might speak of goat, sheep, and cow milk as milks .) Not all languages have number as a grammatical category. In those that do not, quantity must be expressed either directly, with numerals , or indirectly, through optional quantifiers . However, many of these languages compensate for

7209-879: The singular is often called the singulative, to distinguish it as derived from a different form. Similarly, the plural derived from the general has been called the plurative. For example, in Pular : However, some languages only have a two-way difference between general and plurative, like in Japanese : Less common is a two-way distinction between general and singulative. No language has this as its default number contrast, although some languages have specific nouns with this distinction. For example, in Sidama : Erebus In Greek mythology , Erebus ( / ˈ ɛr ə b ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Ἔρεβος , romanized :  Érebos , lit.   '"darkness, gloom"'), or Erebos ,

7298-554: The storytelling of Abun , a possible language isolate. In the Solomon Islands, trial pronouns are used very frequently in Touo , either a Central Solomon language or a language isolate. As a result, bilingual speakers of Touo and Pijin will use trial pronouns a lot more commonly in Pijin than other speakers, for whom the trial is usually a lot less common than the dual. A very rare example of

7387-491: The sulphurous waters. Straightway, faster than fire of Jove or falling stars she leapt up from the gloomy bank: the crowd of phantoms gives way before her, fearing to meet their queen; then, journeying through the shadows and the fields dark with trooping ghosts, she hastens to the gate of Taenarus , whose threshold none may cross and again return. Day felt her presence, Night interposed her pitchy cloud and startled his shining steeds; far off towering Atlas shuddered and shifted

7476-784: The term to refer to the Underworld: in the Odyssey , souls of the dead are described as "gather[ing] from out of Erebus", on the shore of Oceanus at the edge of the Earth, while in the Iliad Erebus is the location in which the Erinyes live, and from which Heracles must fetch Cerberus . In the Theogony , it is the subterraneous place to which Zeus casts the Titan Menoetius (here meaning either Tartarus or Hades), and from which he later brings up

7565-537: The use of markers higher than the dual not being obligatory, with replacement by the plural being acceptable. There was not enough data available to McBurney to argue whether or not these reasons equally applied to other sign languages. Linguist Raquel Veiga Busto has argued they do not equally apply to Catalan Sign Language , and has applied the terms quadral and quintal to the language's pronouns for convenience without taking an official stance as to whether they are grammatical number or numeral incorporation. A third model

7654-453: The weight of heaven upon his trembling shoulders. Forthwith rising aloft from Malea ’s vale she hies her on the well-known way to Thebes: for on no errand is she swifter to go and to return, not kindred Tartarus itself pleases her so well. A hundred horned snakes erect shaded her face, the thronging terror of her awful head; deep within her sunken eyes there glows a light of iron hue, as when Atracian spells make travailing Phoebe redden through

7743-505: The work On the Gods by one "Satyros", Erebus is the first of five rulers of the gods, and is succeeded as sovereign by Chaos (though others have suggested this figure may be Eros). According to a hymn by the poet Antagoras (3rd century BC), one of the possible parentages of Eros is Erebus and Night. Erebus also features in genealogies given by Roman authors. According to Cicero (1st century BC), Erebus and Nox (the Roman equivalent of Nyx) are

7832-680: The world's languages present a heterogeneous picture. Optional plural marking is common in Southeast and East Asia and Australian languages , and complete lack of plural marking is particularly found in New Guinea and Australian languages. In addition to the areal correlations , there also seems to be at least one correlation with morphological typology : isolating languages appear to favor no or non-obligatory plural marking. This can be seen particularly in Africa, where optionality or absence of plural marking

7921-563: Was then inherited by Old English , Old High German , Old Low German , Early Old Swedish , Old Norwegian , Old Icelandic , and Gothic . It continued in Icelandic until the 1700s, some dialects of Faroese until at least the late 1800s, and some dialects of North Frisian through the 1900s. From Proto-Greek it entered Ancient Greek , and from Proto-Indo-Iranian it entered Sanskrit. From Proto-Slavic , it still exists today in Slovene and

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