Invidia

Lore & Background

Invidia derives from the Latin invidere, meaning 'to look against' or 'to look in a hostile manner.' In ancient Rome, invidia was closely tied to magic and the evil eye. Rituals and spells were used to avert it; for example, during a Roman triumph, Vestal Virgins hung a fascinus (phallic effigy) under the chariot to ward off invidia. Envy was considered the vice most associated with witches, who shared with Invidia the feature of the evil eye. Ovid described Invidia in his Metamorphoses as having a sickly pale face, a wasted body, a squinting gaze, discolored teeth, a greenish poisonous breast, and a tongue dripping venom. She was 'gnawing at others, and being gnawed, she was herself her own torment.'

Reader's Guide

Invidia held significant cultural and religious weight in Roman society, functioning both as a feared supernatural force and as a moral concept. The emotion of invidia was invariably unpleasant, whether one felt it or was its object. Robert A. Kaster noted that invidia could be merely begrudging or both begrudging and covetous, but the most common Latin usage involved pain at undeserved wealth or authority, paralleling Greek nemesis. In Christian tradition, Invidia became one of the Seven Deadly Sins. In medieval and Renaissance allegory, Invidia was invariably depicted as a woman; Cesare Ripa's Iconologia showed her with a serpent biting her heart to signify self-devouring bitterness. The term also appears in modern contexts: the Nvidia Corporation takes its name from Invidia, and it is the name of a battle theme in Final Fantasy XV.

Did You Know?

• Ovid described Invidia as having a poisoned tongue and a greenish poisonous breast.
• The Nvidia Corporation is named after Invidia.