BELLONA

Real Name: Eris

Identity/Class: Olympian god

Occupation: Goddess of strife and discord

Group Membership: Olympus Group, Olympian gods

Affiliations: Arachne, Argus, Hera, Hephaestus, Huntsman, Lamia, Typhon;
Employed the
Centaurion;
    formerly sought advice from
Sybilla

Enemies: Athena, Avengers (Amadeus Cho, Quicksilver, Spider-Man (Parker), Spider-Woman (Drew), USAgent, Wasp (Pym), Wolverine (Logan/Howlett) ), Hebe, Kyllian, Zeus

Known Relatives: Zeus (father), Hera (mother);
    Ares,
Hephaestus (brothers), Eileithyia, Hebe (sisters),
    Hercules,
Apollo, Hermes, Dionysus (half-brothers),
   
Artemis, Athena, Venus, Persephone (half-sisters),
   
Neptune, Pluto (uncles), Demeter, Vesta (aunts),
    Asclepius,
Cupid , Janus, Deimos , Phobos (nephews), Harmonia (niece),
    Triton, Rhode, Benthescyme,
Neptunia , Arion, Pomona, Consus, Vertumnus (cousins)

Aliases: Enyo, Discord, Discordia

Base of Operations: Olympus, possibly the Areopagus (Ares' retreat)

First Appearance: Doctor Strange III#54 (June, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Bellona possesses the conventional attributes of the Olympian gods such as superhuman strength (at least Class 25), stamina, resistance to injury, an enchanted longevity and vitality.

History: (Greek Myth)- Bellona is the daughter of the Zeus, Ruler of the Olympian gods, and his wife, Hera. According to a much earlier account, she was actually the daughter of the ancient primeval earth-gods Erebus and Nox, but this maybe erroneous, or just an earlier incarnation of the goddess.

    Better known as Discord or Eris, Bellona often entered into the schemes and plans of her older brother Ares to ignite the dissension that often lead to war and she might have at one time been his wife following his affairs with other goddesses and mortal women, mortals who were quite often the wives of his generals and followers. Possibly as a way to cause dissension between gods and mortals, she stole three apples from the garden the Hesperides guarded for Hera and had them engraved with the words, “For the Fairest.” She then tossed them among the guests attending the marriage of King Peleus of Aegina to the goddess Thetis. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite then tried to claim the apples in the dispute that triggered the Trojan War. Her activity after that event is unrecorded, but after the war, several Trojan refugees lead by Dardanian prince Aeneas conquered the area upon Rome was built on. During the Roman Empire, Bellona was worshipped as Discord, one of their most important goddesses which may have been part of her long-term schemes.

(Doctor Strange III#54/2 (fb) - BTS) - For centuries, Bellona prepared her champion, the Centaurion to fight on her behalf.

(Doctor Strange III#54/2, [55/2], 56/2) - Bored after a long period of inactivity in Mt. Olympus, Bellona took a swooping hawk as an omen from Sybilla and went to see the prophetess. She hoped that she might find a challenge that would allow her to surpass Ares, especially as he had been faring poorly against Thor, of late. Sybilla showed Bellona an image of Kyllian, who was a host of the power of a trio of Celtic Gods, against whom some of the Olympian Gods held some enmity. She thus sent the Centaurion to Earth to slay Kyllian. However, the power of the trio of gods empowering Kyllian proved too much for the Centaurion, and Kyllian eventually overcame him.
    Bellona came to Earth to check on her champion and was surprised to see him defeated. Realizing that she had made a mistake in sending a mere demi-god, Bellona opened a portal (via the Salts of Skartekis) to return to Olympus. Kyllian grabbed her arm and tried to question her, but she backhanded him, chastising him for laying his hands on an Olympian. When he stood up to her challenge, she realized that perhaps he might be a better pawn or ally than an opponent. Telling him that their struggles were not finished, she vanished back to Olympus.
    Bellona confronted Sybilla, who confessed that she had known that Kyllian would present a greater challenge than Bellona had anticipated. Angered, Bellona refused to view Sybilla's next vision, which showed Kyllian and Bellona in a major liplock.

 

(Incredible Hercules#138) - Eris was among Hera's legions that fought the Avengers at Olympus Group Tower.

(Incredible Hercules#139) - Eris concentrated on USAgent, who wasn't willing to fight a woman at first. She scratched him, psychically shattered his belief system and then tried to cut him in pieces with her sword.

(Incredible Hercules#140) - Her sword and USAgent's shield vanished due to Continuum using the matter to create a new Earth.

(Incredible Hercules#141) - Wasp, in giant form, kicked down Eris to help USAgent.

Comments: Adapted by Geoff Isherwood.

    Nox, whom some references count as mother of Bellona, has an entry here.

    Bellona (Discord) is possibly the closest counterpart in the Olympian Pantheon to a trickster-god. Others include the Asgardian Loki, the Mexican god Tezcatlipoca , the Native American Coyote also known as Nanabozho and the Celtic Spirit Bres.

    Bellona (Discord) appears in the two TV Series Xena and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys where she was played by New Zealand actress Meighan Desmond.

Centaurs were the sons of King Ixion in Greek Mythology. Ixion wanted Hera as his wife but Zeus allowed him to marry a duplicate made in her likeness named Nephele. Some sources say the centaurs were his sons while some say he had one son named Centaurus who was father of the rest of them.

by Will U (myth) and Snood (comics)

CLARIFICATIONS:
Bellona should not be confused with:

The Centaurion is presumably one of the:

 


Centaurion

 

    A demi-god of unknown origin, he was trained for combat by Bellona for centuries. He was sent to Earth to dispatch Kyllian, but after a struggle ended up being defeated by him. He apologized to Bellona for failing her.

 

    He has superhuman strength (Class 25-50) and durability and is resistant (if not immune) to aging and conventional disease. He wears a chest plate of unknown composition and wields a sword able to fire powerful blasts of energy. His legs are exceptionally strong, enabling him to leap great heights or kick with much force.

 

--Doctor Strange III#54/2 ([54/2(fb)], 54/2-56/2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


images:
Dr. Strange III#54, p20, pan2 (main image)
Dr. Strange III#54, p21, pan1 (head shot)
Incredible Hercules#138, p19, pan1 (with wings)
Dr. Strange III#54, p22, pan3 (Centaurion)


Appearances:
Doctor Strange III#54-56 (June-August, 1993) - Geof Isherwood (story and art), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Incredible Hercules#138 (January, 2010) - Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Rodney Buchemi (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules#139 (February, 2010) - Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Rodney Buchemi & Reilly Brown (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules#140-141 (March-April, 2010) - Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Rodney Buchemi (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)


First Posted: 11/22/2003
Last updated: 05/05/2010

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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