The Erinyes (/ɪˈrɪni.iːz/ ih-RIN-ee-eez; sing. Erinys /ɪˈrɪnɪs, ɪˈraɪnɪs/ ih-RIN-iss, ih-RY-niss; Ancient Greek: Ἐρινύες, pl. of Ἐρινύς), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take vengeance on men, whosoever hath sworn a false oath". Walter Burkert suggests that they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath". They correspond to the Dirae in Roman mythology. The Roman writer Maurus Servius Honoratus wrote (ca. 400 AD) that they are called "Eumenides" in hell, "Furiae" on Earth, and "Dirae" in heaven.