Nemesis, Goddess of Justice and of Vengeance, was the daughter of
Necessity. This divinity had wings, a fillet of serpents round her brow,
and a sword to strike the unhappy criminals who merited its blow;--though
always ready to punish the impious, she was equally liberal in rewarding
the good and the virtuous. The people of Smyrna were the first who made her
statue with wings, to show with what celerity she is prepared to punish the
crimes of the wicked.
[Illustration]
The Romans were particularly attentive in their adoration of this deity,
whom they solemnly invoked, and to whom they offered sacrifices before
declaring war, to evince to the world that they were commenced upon
equitable grounds.
The Athenians instituted fetes called Nemesia, in memory of deceased
persons, as the goddess was supposed to defend the relics and the memory of
the dead from insult.
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