Discordia

Etymology and Meaning

Discordia is a Latin name meaning "discord, strife." In Roman mythology, she was the goddess of strife and discord, the Roman counterpart of the Greek goddess Eris. The name directly derives from the Latin word discordia, which combines the prefix dis- ("apart") and cor ("heart"), literally meaning "heart apart" or "disagreement."

Mythological Role

Discordia is primarily known for her role in the myth of the Judgement of Paris, which ultimately led to the Trojan War. According to the story, she was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, so she threw a golden apple inscribed "to the fairest" among the goddesses, sparking a quarrel that led to the contest between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Unlike her opposite Concordia, Discordia was not a cult goddess but a literary personification, often invoked in poetry and rhetoric to represent the destructive forces of strife, especially in the context of Roman civil wars.

Family

In Roman tradition, as recorded in the Fabulae of Hyginus, Discordia was the daughter of Nox (Night) and Erebus (Darkness), making her a primordial deity. This mirrors the Greek tradition in Hesiod's Theogony, where Eris is the daughter of Nyx (Night) with no father. Discordia was also considered sister to various other personifications such as Letum (Death), Fames (Famine), and Senectus (Old Age).

Related Names

The name Eris is its Greek equivalent, and both names share a semantic core of "strife." The chain extends further back to Ares, the Greek god of war, although Eris and Ares are mythologically distinct. The name Zeus lies at the root of many Greek and Roman theonyms, but Discordia is not directly derived from it; rather, the chain traces related mythological figures.

• Meaning: Discord, strife
• Origin: Latin
• Type: First name (feminine)
• Usage: Roman