
Achlys /ˈæklɪs/ (Ancient Greek: Ἀχλύς "mist" or "darkness") is an ancient Greek goddess who symbolizes the mist of death. According to some ancient cosmogonies, Achlys was the eternal night before Chaos. According to Hesiod, Achlys was the personification of misery and sadness, and as such she was represented on the shield of Heracles: pale, emaciated, and weeping, with chattering teeth, swollen knees, long nails on her fingers, bloody cheeks, and her shoulders thickly covered with dust. She may also have been the goddess of deadly poisons as presented by Nonnus. According to the Dionysiaca, Hera procured from Achlys treacherous flowers of the field which shed a sleeping charm over the sons of the Nymphs Lamusides (nurses of Dionysus). The goddess then distilled poisoned drugs over their hair and smeared a magical ointment over their faces, changing their human shape into that of the Horned Centaurs.