Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898)

---

Até

（Ἄτη). According to Homer, the daughter of Zeus; according to Hesiod, of Eris (or Strife). She personifies infatuation, the infatuation being generally held to imply guilt as its cause and evil as its consequence. At first she dwelt on Olympus; but after she had entrapped Zeus himself into his rash oath on the occasion of the birth of Heracles (q.v.), he hurled her down to earth. Here she pursues her mission of evil, walking lightly over men's heads, but never touching the ground. Behind her go the Litai (Prayers), the lame, wrinkled, squinting daughters of Zeus. The Litai, if called upon, heal the hurts inflicted by Até; but they bring fresh evil upon the stubborn. In later times Até is transformed into an avenger of unrighteousness, like Diké, the Erinyes, and Nemesis.