The Furies may have been named for the vengeance they wrought on those who had wronged others, but the erynias of The Witcher 3 are not so specific about their victims. In The Iliad, Homer writes: "the Erinyes, that under earth take vengeance on men, whosoever hath sworn a false oath.” Often seen as the oldest deities in all of Olympus, this powerful trio were radically different to the erynias of the Witcher series, who are basically just bigger, angrier harpys. Although this is their official name, they’re more commonly referred to as the Furies. EryniaĪnother kind of hybrid monster, The Witcher 3’s erynias are etymologically based on the Erinyes of Greek mythology. Mother of monsters or not, Melusine is no match for Geralt (In Greek mythology, it was the Greek giant Argus Panoptes who eventually slew the mighty Echidna, catching her off guard in her cave, much like Geralt does to Melusine in The Witcher). deep down under a hollow rock far from the deathless gods and mortal men." In The Witcher 3, the ekhidna known as Melusine lives in an isolated, drowner-ridden cave, where she has been taking vulnerable travellers to their deaths for hundreds of years. In Hesiod’s words, Echidna lived "beneath the secret parts of the holy earth. In his poem Dionysiaca, the Greek epic poet Nonnus described her as “hideous,” specifically mentioning her “horrible poison.” While Hesiod, a contemporary of Homer’s, described Echidna as "half a nymph with glancing eyes and fair cheeks, and half again a huge snake, great and awful, with speckled skin,” other poets painted more horrifying pictures of the beast. It’s no wonder then that their name is derived from “Echidna,” who is often credited as Greek mythology’s mother of monsters.
EkhidnaĪ beefed-up version of Skellige’s serpentine sirens, ekhidnas are formidable foes, even against a witcher. Sure, everyone knows the difference between a werewolf and a wyvern, but where did erynias come from? Is there more to nekkers than meets the eye? And what about benevolent Conjunction creatures like Johnny the godling? As it turns out, almost all of these monsters are at least partially based off real mythological beings - and the ones with names we don’t immediately recognize are sometimes even more intriguing than their infamous counterparts.
However, there are lots of things it doesn’t mention. The bestiary tells us everything about these creatures - what they’re weak to, what category of monsters they fall under. You are a hunter and you need to know your prey. The difference here is that as an eponymous witcher, it’s your job to study and kill these monsters. Like most high fantasy stories, The Witcher 3 is packed with a plethora of beasties and creepy crawlies.
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