Maniae

Later poets also used the singular form (Mania), considering her an independent personification of insanity, madness, and frenzied delusion, symbolizing various forms of mental disturbance such as hysteria, delirium, delusion, obsession, and possession. The Maniae are also associated with the Erinyes, the three fearsome goddesses of vengeance. They are sometimes said—perhaps in jest, or as a metaphor for love’s often cruel and maddening nature—to have been the nurses of the god Eros. Mania is mentioned in Iliad by Homer, as one of Ares' companions in war, alongside Lyssa (Rage) and Penthos (Grief). The Greek noun μανία (manía) means “madness” or “going astray,” but also “inspiration” and “enthusiasm.” However, poets, when referring to the divine personification, invariably used the term with a negative connotation. They were invoked in ancient Greek rituals to avert or control madness, highlighting their dual role as both the causes and potential remedies for insanity. Pausanias writes that on the road from Megalopolis to Messene there was a sanctuary, which, according to local citizens, was devoted to goddesses called Maniae, and that its surrounding district was also called Maniae (Μανίας).