Nemesis was the goddess who personified retribution, especially punishment for hubris and excessive pride.
In Greek religious thought, Nemesis restored balance when mortals exceeded proper limits or enjoyed prosperity they had not rightly earned. Her role was broader than simple revenge: she represented the force that gave each person what was due. The name is related to a Greek verb meaning “to distribute” or “to give what is owed.”
Hesiod describes Nemesis as a daughter of Nyx, Night, although other traditions give her different parentages. She was also known as Rhamnousia, after the important sanctuary at Rhamnous in Attica. There, worshippers honored her as a guardian of moral and cosmic proportion.
Nemesis is often confused with Themis, who represented divine law and order, or Tyche, who represented fortune. Nemesis could be associated with fortune because she corrected excessive success. In later myth, she punishes Narcissus for his destructive vanity.