BIA IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY

​Bia was a minor goddess of the Greek pantheon; Bia being the personification of might and compulsion. 

Bia Daughter of Styx

​Bia was a daughter of the Titan Pallas, and his wife, the Oceanid Styx, and thus Bia was a sister to Nike (Victory), Cratus (Strength) and Zelos (Zeal).

Bia is most widely recognised as the Greek goddess of Might, but was also linked with power, force and physical compulsion. 

Bia and the titanomachy

​Bia first comes to prominence at the commencement of the Titanomachy, for Zeus proclaimed that any who joined his cause, would be honoured. Styx was advised by her father, Oceanus, to join with Zeus, and so Styx was the first to ally herself with Zeus. Styx would bring with her, her four children, including Bia.

Whilst Styx would be honoured by becoming the keeper of sacred oaths, Bia and her siblings would become guardians of the throne of Zeus

There are no surviving texts that give details of the Titanomachy, but it is said that Bia and her siblings did great deeds during the ten year war.

After the war, Bia and her siblings were said to enforce the orders of Zeus, when ever strength and might were needed, although of course the fame of Bia has been overshadowed by that of her sister, Nike. 

Bia and Prometheus

​Bia though does take prominence in one further story, when Zeus decreed that the Titan Prometheus needed to be punished for his misdemeanours. The punishment ordered by Zeus, was for Prometheus to be chained to the Caucasus Mountains, but while Hephaestus crafted the shackles, it required the strength of Bia and Cratus to capture and hold down Prometheus for him to be chained.

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Colin Quartermain - Bia - 23rd September 2018