Nemesis, Goddess of Retribution
Nemesis is Pulter’s chosen punisher of the King’s enemies.
This Ancient Greek goddess was often represented in early modern European images carrying a bridle and either a whip or rod to symbolise her role in measuring people’s actions and, if necessary, forcefully restraining their excesses. The bridle symbolised how Nemesis checks the desire to exceed one’s limits; the whip symbolised the punishment awaiting those who could not exercise that control. This much-translated and influential Latin emblem, by Andrea Alciato, depicts Nemesis with a bridle, and associates her with the advice: “Injure no-one, by word or deed.” (Nec verbo nec facto quenquam laedendum).
Nemesis follows on and marks the tracks of men. In her hand she holds a measuring rod and harsh bridles. She bids you do nothing wrong, speak no wicked word, and commands that moderation be present in all things.
A woman carries a horse’s bridle in her hand
University of Glasgow, Archives & Special Collections, SM23B.
Richard Linche’s translation of a popular Italian history of the classical gods, summarised the Greek idea of Nemesis as a punisher of arrogant wrongdoers.
She is oftentimes also depainted, as holding the bridle of a horse in one of her hands, and in the other a small and long peece of wood of a certain measure, which we call an ell or a yard: unshadowing thereby, that men ought to rule & restrain their tongues from euill and corrupting speeches, and that they should administer justice and true measures with whom they deale or doe conuerse.
It is written with Pausanias [the Ancient Greek historian], that Nemesis was the most seuere and cruell punisher of arrogancie & vainglory of all others, & saith, that she abased & brought downe the insolencie and ouer-weening boldnesse of the northerne barbarous people, who with an assured conquest and victorie (as they thought) entered into the countries of the Athenians, and there (scorning as it should seeme) their small forces and resistances, fell to spoile and rifeling, and presently set up and erected their huge Colossus, or piller of marble, which they of purpose brought with them to ingrave and set forth their victories, trophies, and spoiles that they should make of their enemies: but being afterward overcome themselves, & beaten back into their countries, the same stone the Athenians caused to be consecrated vnto Nemesis, whose picture and counter fet by the incomparable skill of Phidias, was most curiously and exactly ingraven thereon, to shew therby, that shee only was the cause of the cleane subverting and expelling their fatall enemies out of their Countrey, and that shee therein extended her power and office to the revenging and abolishing the ouerhaughtie attempts of pride, & foole-hardie presumption.
And in that she was thus held to be punisher of vaine humors, and prowd demeanures of mortals, the Ancients also held and supposed her to bee the verie same in nature and propertie as the goddesse Iustitia [Justice].
The poet and playwright Samuel Daniel, in the Chorus’ address to the goddess from his play Cleopatra (1594), frames Nemesis as descending ferociously and unexpectedly on those who disrupt the natural order.
- O Fearefull frowning Nemesis
- Daughter of Justice, most severe,
- That art the world’s great Arbitresse,
- And Queene of causes raigning heere.
- Whose swift-sure hand is ever neere
- Eternill justice, righting wrong:
- Who neuer yet deferrest long
- The proudes decay, the weakes redresse.
- But through thy powre every where,
- Doost raze the great, and raise the lesse.
- The lesse made great, doost ruine to,
- To shew the earth what heauen can doe.
- Thou from dark-clos’d eternitie,
- From thy black clowdy hidden seate,
- The worlds disorders doost discry:
- Which when they swell so proudly great,
- Reuersing th’order nature set,
- Thou giu’st thy all-confounding doome,
- Which none can know before it come.