Janee Collins
History 311
February 11, 2018
Greek Goddess: Eirene
The Greek goddess I chose to research is the goddess Eirene. I chose her because she is a
goddess I never heard of before and she is the goddess of peace. She is also in support of wealth
and prosperity. I thought that this was really interesting because peace is really important but I
never heard of her so either she wasn’t doing her job very well or the peace she brought was
different than the kind of peace I am use to. She was a part of the Horae who were described in
the Iliad as being a guardian of the entry way of Olympus. The Horae were also described as
being the ones who maintain law and order something that is integral for the health of a stable
society.
According to a website I found some of her strengths included playing the role of
peacemaker which isn’t surprising. She often had to play this role for other Greek gods and
goddesses because jealousy and infidelities ran rampart among the gods and goddesses of
Olympus and usually sparked disagreements that sometimes led to war. On the same website it
highlights that her weakness is that she has no other distinctive personality traits besides being
known as a peacemaker. I believe this is why she isn’t talked about much, though peace is good
it is not very exciting.
Curiously I wanted to know what this goddess of peace looked like. After searching
picture of her online it seems that she is always portrayed holding an olive branch or a staff I
learned belongs to Hermes and having either a child in her arms or food. The olive branch of
“Eirene the Greek Peace Goddess.” Goddess Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2018.
<http://www.goddess-guide.com/eirene.html>.