NEMESISwas the goddess of indignation against, and retribution for, evil deeds and undeserved good fortune. She was a personification of the resentment aroused in men by those who committed crimes with apparent impunity, or who had inordinate good fortune. Nemesis directed human affairs in such a way as to maintain equilibrium. Her name means she who distributes or deals out. Happiness and unhappiness were measured out by her, care being taken that happiness was not too frequent or too excessive. If this happened, Nemesis could bring about losses and suffering. As one who checked extravagant favors by Tykhe (Fortune), Nemesis was regarded as an avenging or punishing divinity.

Nemesis was often sometimes depicted as a winged goddess. Her attributes were apple-branch, rein, lash, sword, or balance. Her name was derived from the Greek words nemêsisand nemô, meaning "dispenser of dues." The Romans usually used the Greek name of the goddess, but sometimes also called her Invidia (Jealousy) and Rivalitas (Jealous Rivalry).

ENCYCLOPEDIA
Nemesis is a personification of the moral reverence for law, of the natural fear of committing a culpable action, and hence of conscience, and for this reason she is mentioned along with Aidôs, i. e. Shame. In later writers, as Herodotus and Pindar, Nemesis is a kind of fatal divinity, for she directs human affairs in such a manner as to restore the right proportions or equilibrium wherever it has been disturbed; she measures out happiness and unhappiness, and he who is blessed with too many or too frequent gifts of fortune, is visited by her with losses and sufferings, in order that he may become humble, and feel that there are bounds beyond which human happiness cannot proceed with safety. This notion arose from a belief that the gods were envious of excessive human happiness. Nemesis was thus a check upon extravagant favors conferred upon man by Tyche or Fortune, and from this idea lastly arose that of her being an avenging and punishing power of fate, who, like Dike and the Erinyes, sooner or later overtakes the reckless sinner. Sometimes she appears in a pensive standing attitude, holding in her left hand a bridle or a branch of an ash tree, and in her right a wheel, with a sword or a scourge.
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

In Greek mythology, Nemesis (Greek, Νέμεσις), also called Rhamnousia/Rhamnusia ("the goddess of Rhamnous") at her sanctuary at Rhamnous, north of Marathon, was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods). Another name was Adrasteia, meaning "the inescapable."[1] The Greeks personified vengeful fate as a remorseless goddess: the goddess of revenge. The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word νέμειν [némein], meaning "to give what is due".

Background

Divine retribution is a major theme in the Hellenic world view, providing the unifying theme of the tragedies of Sophocles and many other literary works. Hesiod states: "Also deadly Nyx bore Nemesis an affliction to mortals subject to death." She is implacable justice: that of Zeus in the Olympian scheme of things, although it is clear she existed prior to him, as her images look similar to several other goddesses, such as Cybele, Rhea, Demeter and Artemis.

As the "Goddess of Rhamnous", Nemesis was honored and placated in an archaic sanctuary in the isolated district of Rhamnous, in northeastern Attica. There she was a daughter of Oceanus, the primeval river-ocean that encircles the world. Pausanias noted her iconic statue there. It included a crown of stags and little Nikes and was made by Pheidias after the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), crafted from a block of Parianmarble brought by the overconfident Persians, who had intended to make a memorial stele after their expected victory.

Nemesis, Roman marble from Egypt, 2nd century AD (Louvre)

Origins

Nemesis has been described as the daughter of Oceanus or Zeus, but according to Hesiod she was a child of Erebus and Nyx. She has also been described as the daughter of Nyx alone. Her cult may have originated at Smyrna.

In some metaphysical mythology, Nemesis produced the egg from which hatched two sets of twins: Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, and the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux. While many myths indicate Zeus and Leda to be the parents of Helen of Troy, the author of the compilation of myth called Bibliotheke notes the possibility of Nemesis being the mother of Helen; Nemesis, to avoid Zeus, turns into a goose, but he turns into a swan and mates with her. Nemesis in her bird form lays an egg that is discovered in the marshes by a shepherd, who passes the egg to Leda. It is in this way that Leda comes to be the mother of Helen of Troy, as she kept the egg in a chest until it hatched.

Acts and Deeds

Although a respected goddess, Nemesis had brought much sorrow to mortals like Echo and Narcissus. Narcissus was a very beautiful and arrogant hunter from the territory of Thespiae and Boeotia who disdained the ones who loved him. Nemesis lured him to a pool where he saw his own reflection in the water and fell in love with it, not realizing it was only an image. He was unable to leave the beauty of his reflection and he eventually died. Nemesis believed that no one should ever have too much good, and she had always cursed those who were blessed with countless gifts.

Face Off: The Hero's Nemesis

Sgt. Barnes vs. Sgt. Elias (Platoon) – same side, Jerry Maguire vs. Bob Sugar (Jerry Maguire) – same agency, Martin Hansen vs. John Nash (A Beautiful Mind) – same class – all together, yet so far apart. Whether fighting against the Viet Cong, wrangling over elite sports prospects, or outgunning each other for a choice placement, each protagonist must face off against his nemesis: mano a mano.

The hero's nemesis is his or her worst enemy, usually someone or something that is the polar opposite of oneself, yet still shares a set of similar qualities or traits. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series, for example, Professor James Moriarty is the nemesis to Sherlock Holmes: both well-schooled intellectuals, gifted with critical, analytical minds, yet while Holmes uses logic for the good, Moriarty is a mastermind of evil.

Moriarty is Holmes' primary antagonist; however, a nemesis need not be limited to the primary villain alone. In fact, a nemesis is quite often used as a supporting rival character. He or she can even be considered a friendly troublemaker, someone who meticulously waits for a chance to mess things up for the hero, not because she wants to thwart the protagonist's ultimate goal, but quite simply because the nemesis hates the hero. Think Newman vs. Jerry (Seinfeld).

The irony of course is that if the hero is destroyed, the nemesis will have no one to hate; therefore, when push comes to shove, the nemesis will often join forces with the hero and fight together to conquer the primary antagonist. When this dynamic occurs, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." (Arabian Proverb).