Atë, Até or Aite (/ˈeɪtiː/ or /ˈɑːti/; Ancient Greek: ἄτη) is the Greek goddess of mischief, delusion, ruin, and folly. Até also refers to the action performed by a hero, usually because of hubris, that often leads to his or her death or downfall. Mythology personifies Atë as the daughter either of Zeus or of Eris.
Post-classical
In the play Julius Caesar, Shakespeare introduces the goddess Atë as an invocation of vengeance and menace. Mark Antony, lamenting Caesar's murder, envisions:
"And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Atë' by his side come hot from Hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war, ...
Shakespeare also mentions her in the play Much Ado About Nothing, when Benedick says, referring to Beatrice,
"Come, talk not of her. You shall find her the
infernal Atë in good apparel....
So too, in King John, Shakespeare refers to Queen Eleanor as "An Ate stirring [John] to blood and strife" (2.1.63), and in Love's Labours Lost Birone jeers "Pompey is moved. More Ates, more Ates! stir them on! stir them on!" (5.2. 688-9).
In her book The March of Folly, Barbara Tuchman notes that the earth has been called The Meadow of Atë.
In Spenser's The Faerie Queene, a fiend from Hell disguised as a beautiful woman is called Ate. This is a possible parallel to the fallen angels.