Greek Gods & Goddesses

  • Gods
    • Olympians
      • Apollo
      • Ares
      • Dionysus
      • Hades
      • Hephaestus
      • Hermes
      • Poseidon
      • Zeus
    • Titans
      • Atlas
      • Coeus
      • Crius
      • Cronus
      • Helios
      • Hyperion
      • Prometheus
      • More Titans
    • Other Gods
      • Adonis
      • Chaos
      • Eros
      • Kratos
      • Pan
      • Uranus
      • More Gods
    • Roman Gods
  • Goddesses
    • Olympians
      • Aphrodite
      • Artemis
      • Athena
      • Demeter
      • Hera
      • Hestia
    • Other Goddesses
      • Gaea
      • Nike
      • Selene
  • Heroes
    • Achilles
    • Bellerophon
    • Heracles
    • Odysseus
    • Perseus
    • Theseus
    • Other Heroes
  • Myths
    • Mortals
    • Places
    • Elements
    • Stories
      • Adventures of Perseus
      • Adventures of Theseus
      • Apollo and Daphne
      • Constellations Mythology
      • The Trojan War
      • Theogony
      • Titanomachy
  • Creatures
    • Centaurs
    • Chimaera
    • Cyclopes
    • Echidna
    • Medusa
    • Minotaur
    • Pegasus
    • Sirens
    • More Mythical Creatures
Home » Other Gods » Keres

Keres

The Keres were female spirits, the daughters of Nyx, the goddess of night. They were not peaceful creatures, but demons, and their presences meant a violent death. In fact, their name comes from the Greek word “ker,” which means doom.

It was believed that during a battle, the Keres would fly overhead with gnashing teeth and horrible claws, to see who would be killed on the field and who would survive to fight another day. When they spotted someone dying or dead, they would swoop down, thirsty for human blood. Once caught in their clutches, the victims were dragged off by their feet, and their departing souls would go down to Hades, the dark underworld.

The Keres were terrible and violent demons, but they did not have the power to cause death, only to arrive when it was coming and wait to feast on the remains. In this way they were very much like buzzards. It was believed that other Greek gods were able to fend then off, and that they could be seen fighting with the Keres over dying victims that they wanted to save. Zeus, the most powerful of the gods, was able to bring the Keres to a battle or send them away as he pleased.

The winged and vengeful Keres were around for more than just battles. Thousands of them were believed to be seen quarreling over victims of natural disasters and plagues, wearing garments dripping with blood.

The Keres also had a brother named Thanatos, who was known as the god of peaceful death.

Link/cite this page

If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content.

Link will appear as Keres: https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net - Greek Gods & Goddesses, June 10, 2018

Search for a God or Goddess

Popular Pages

  • Greek vs Roman Gods
  • Famous Greek Statues
  • Wives of Zeus
  • Sons of Zeus
  • Daughters Of Zeus
  • Siblings of Zeus
  • Greatest Ancient Greek Philosophers
  • Greek Alphabet Letters & Symbols
  • Children of Aphrodite
  • Powers of the Greek Gods
  • Greek Gods and the Planets

© Greek Gods and Goddesses 2010 - 2023 | About | Contact | Sitemap | Privacy