“I DON’T WANT HER TO MISS A THING” - THE PUNISHMENT INFLICTED TO LAMIA ANDELLARIA SAND

Aug 20, 2026

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The paper analyses two characters subjected to a punishment that prevents them from closing their eyes, forcing them to retain the image of their lost children on their retinas. Lamia is presented as a Greek mythological figure punished by Hera for an affair with Zeus, while Ellaria Sand is examined from Game of Thrones, in which Cersei Lannister robs her of Tyene. The study identifies parallels and differences by tracing their antecedents and their evolution after the imposed impossibility of shutting their eyes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

A brief introduction to the characters and the punishment

Greek folklore child-devouring creatures

Ellaria Sand’s background and characterization

[https://doi.org/10.14195/2183-7260_67_6](https://doi.org/10.14195/2183-7260_67_6) “I DON’TWANTHER TO MISS A THING”. THE PUNISHMENT INFLICTED TO LAMIA ANDELLARIA SAND (GAME OF THRONES )1 SANDRA MUÑOZ-MARTÍNEZ UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA SANDRA.MUNOZ@UB.EDU [HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-0546-5224](HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-0546-5224) TEXTO RECEBIDO EM / TEXT SUBMITTED ON: 27/03/2022 TEXTO APROVADO EM / TEXT APPROVED ON: 20/07/2022 Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyse two characters who suffered the punishment of not being allowed to close their eyes soas to retain in their retinas the image of the loss of their children: Lamia and Ellaria Sand. The first one, Lamia, is a Greek mythological or folklore character punished by Hera for having an affair with her husband, Zeus. The second one is Ellaria Sand, from the series Game of Thrones (seventh season, third episode, titled “The Queen’s Justice”), who was robbed of her daughter Tyene by Cersei Lannister in King’s Landing. In this paper, the author will also point out the similarities 11 This work is part of the project PID2019-105650GB-I00, within the Grup de recerca consolidat LITTERA 2017SGR241 (Universitat de Barcelona). I want to express my gratitude to the anonymous reviewers of this text and the editorial board of the Boletim deEstudos Clássicos since their helpful recommendations have been essential for the final paper. BOLETIM DE ESTUDOS CLÁSSICOS • 67 113 114 BOLETIM DE ESTUDOS CLÁSSICOS • 67 and differences between the two scenarios. For this purpose, she will consider the characters’ antecedents and evolution after being punished with the impossibility of closing their eyes. Keywords: Lamia, Ellaria, Cersei, punishment, eyes. A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE CHARACTERS AND THE PUNISHMENT This first part is devoted to introducing the main characters of these two episodes in which the victims are punished with the impossibility of stopping contemplating the image of their dead offspring. Additionally, some other pieces of information will be commented on to understand the background of the four female characters who play the lead in the two stories of revenge. Before getting down to details focused on Lamia, with whom Zeus fell in love and had children (the reason why Hera planned her revenge)2, this author would like to make a few brief notes about other creatures of Greek folklore with similar characteristics to her. There were, indeed, other beings in Greek behaviour whose primary purpose was to devour children. One of them was Mormo or Mormolykiae, the Queen of the Lestrigones (according to Sch. Theoc. 15.40), who lost her children and then became a hybrid monster3 . Another similar creature was Gelo, a girl from Lesbos who died prematurely (unable to become a mother) and then, jealous of other mothers, devoted her time to kill their children (Sch. Theoc. 15-40; Zen. 3. 3; she also 2 An interesting analysis of the influence of women on revenge culture in ancient Greek literary sources (especially tragedy) is McHardy 2004: 108-112. 3 More information about Mormo can be found in Pellizer 1982: 151; Iles-Johnston 1999: 28, 164, 168-169, 173-183; Camps Gaset 2000-2001: 131; Iles-Johnston 2001: 361-381; Patera 2014: 106-144; Ogden 2013b: 91; González-Rivas Fernández 2018: 26. BOLETIM DE ESTUDOS CLÁSSICOS • 67 BOLETIM DE ESTUDOS CLÁSSICOS • 67 appears in Sappho’s Fr.178)4. A not-so-known Greek child-devouring creature is Carco, sometimes assimilated to Lamia (Hsch. s. v. Karkō)5 . On the subject of Empousa, occasionally understood too as a sort of Lamia, it is known that she attacked mothers and children. However, it is unclear whether she killed them or just scared them6 . The last creatures of this catalogue are the Striges, a sort of bird of prey that snatched babies away to drink their blood (Ov. Fast. 6.131-168)7. The reason why the author of this article considers it appropriate to include this catalogue of creatures i

FAQs

What punishment do Lamia and Ellaria Sand share in the paper?

Both characters suffer a punishment that makes them unable to close their eyes, so they must keep seeing the image of their dead children.

How is Lamia characterized, according to the study?

Lamia is described as a Greek mythological or folklore figure punished by Hera for having an affair with Zeus and for the children that resulted.

What is the paper’s focus regarding Ellaria Sand?

The study focuses on Ellaria Sand as she appears in Game of Thrones, examining her background as well as similarities and differences with Lamia’s scenario.

Aug 20, 2026

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