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Mythology

6th-century BCE relief

The Charites' major mythological role was to attend the other Olympians, particularly during feasts and dances. They attended Aphrodite by bathing and anointing her in Paphos before her seduction of Ankhises and after she left Olympus when her affair with Ares is found out. Additionally, they are said to weave or dye her peplos. Along with Peitho, they presented Pandora with necklaces to make her more enticing. Pindar stated the Charites arranged feasts and dances for the Olympians. They also danced with the Seasons, Hebe, Harmonia and Aphrodite in celebration of the arrival of Apollo among the gods of Olympus, while Artemis sang and Apollo played the lyre. They were often referenced as dancing and singing with Apollo and the Muses. Pindar also referred to them as the guardians of the ancient Minyans and the queens of Orchomenus who have their thrones beside Pythian Apollo's.

The Charites appear to have a connection to Hera, where some ancient authors reference her as their nurse. In the Iliad, as part of her plan to seduce Zeus to distract him from the Trojan War, she offers to arrange Hypnos's marriage to Pasithea, who is referred to as one of the younger Charites.

One of the Charites had a role as the wife of the smith god Hephaestus. Hesiod names the wife of Hephaestus as Aglaea. In the Iliad, she is called Charis, and she welcomes Thetis into their shared home on Olympus so that the latter may ask for Hephaestus to forge armor for her son Achilles. Some scholars have interpreted this marriage as occurring after Hephaestus's divorce from Aphrodite due to her affair with Ares being exposed. Notably, however, some scholars, such as Walter Burkert, support that the marriage of Hephaestus and Aphrodite as an invention of the Odyssey, since it is not represented within other Archaic or Classical era literature or arts, and it does not appear to have a connection to cult.

References

• Farnell, Lewis Richard, The Cults of the Greek States vol 5, Clarendon Press Oxford, 1909. Internet Archive.

• Homeric Hymn 5 To Aphrodite, in Homeric Hymns. Homeric Apocrypha. Lives of Homer, edited and translated by Martin L. West, Loeb Classical Library No. 496, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2003. ISBN 978-0-674-99606-9. Online version at Harvard University Press.

• LIMCAUTHOR, [LIMCLINK s.v. LIMCARTICE], in LIMCVOL.1
• LIMCVOL.2

Sources

Ancient

Apollodorus

1.3.1

Zeus ... by Eurynome, daughter of Ocean, he had the Graces, to wit, Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia;⁴

⁴ As to the parentage of the Graces, see Hes. Th. 907ff.; Paus. 9.35.5; Hyginus, Fab. p. 30, ed. Bunte.

3.15.7

But when the tidings of [Androgeus'] death were brought to Minos, as he was sacrificing to the Graces in Paros, he threw away the garland from his head and stopped the music of the flute, but nevertheless completed the sacrifice; hence down to this day they sacrifice to the Graces in Paros without flutes and garlands.

Colluthus

The Rape of Helen

89

Hera they call the holy nurse of the Graces,

174–175

They say that thou [Hera], mother of Ares, didst with travail bear the holy choir of the fair-tressed Graces.^b

^b The Graces are generally said to be daughters of Zeus and Eurynome (Hes. Th. 907), but the names of the parents are variously given. Here their mother is Hera.

Cornutus

Theologiae Graecae compendium 15

Torres, p. 15

[15] Ἐπιβάλλοντος δ’ ἡμῖν, ὡς εἴρηται, καὶ εὐεργετικοῖς

εἶναι, παραδεδώκασιν οἱ πλεῖστοι Διὸς θυγα|τέρας τὰς Χάριτας οἱ 19

10 μὲν ἐξ Εὐρυδόμης αὐτῷ γεγονυίας τῷ μάλιστα ἐξ εὐρέων καὶ διαβεβηκότων δόμων τὰς δωρεὰς φιλεῖν δίδοσθαι, οἱ δ’ ἐξ Εὐρυνό- μης, καὶ τούτου παριστάντος ὅτι χαριστικώτεροί πώς εἰσιν ἢ ὀφείλουσιν εἶναι οἱ μεγάλους κλήρους νεμόμενοι, τινὲς δ’ ἐξ Εὐρυμεδούσης, εἰς ταὐτὸ συντείνοντος καὶ τούτου τοῦ ἐτύμου, 15 κυριεύουσι γὰρ τῶν ἰδίων οἱ ἄνθρωποι· τὴν δ’ Ἥραν ἄλλοι διδόα- σιν αὐταῖς μητέρα, ἵν’ εὐγενέσταται τῶν θεῶν ὦσιν, ὡς περὶ τῶν πράξεών εἰσι. πρὸς ἄλλην δὲ ἔμφασιν γυμναὶ παρεισάγονται, ὡς καὶ τῶν μηδὲν κτῆμα ἐχόντων ὑπουργεῖν τινα ὠφελίμως καὶ χαρίζεσθαι πολλὰ δυναμένων καὶ οὐ περιουσιάζεσθαι πάντως, ἵνα 20 τις εὐεργετικὸς ᾖ, δέοντος, ὡς εἴρηται καὶ τὸ τινὲς δὲ οἴονται διὰ τῆς γυμνητείας αὐτῶν παρίστασθαι τὸ εὐλύτως καὶ ἀνεμποδίστως δεῖν ἔχειν πρὸς τὸ χαρίζεσθαι. λέγονται δ’ ὑφ’ ὧν μὲν δύο εἶναι, ὑφ’ ὧν δὲ τρεῖς· δύο μέν, ἐπειδὴ τοὺς μὲν προκατάρχειν δεῖ χάριτος, τοὺς δὲ ἀμείβεσθαι· τρεῖς δέ, ἐπειδὴ καλῶς ἔχει τὸν τετευχότα ἀμοιβῆς ἑστάναι πάλιν 5 χαριστικῶς, ἵνα ἀκαταπαύστως τοῦτο γίνηται, τοιοῦτόν τι καὶ τῆς 20 χορείας αὐτῶν ἐμφαινούσης. ἕτεροι δ’ ἔφα|σαν μίαν μὲν εἶναι Χάριν τὴν περὶ τὸν ὑπουργοῦντά τι ὠφελίμως, ἑτέραν δὲ τὴν περὶ τὸν δεχόμενον τὴν ὑπουργίαν καὶ ἐπιτηροῦντα τὸν καιρὸν τῆς ἀμοιβῆς, τρίτην δὲ τὴν περὶ τὸν ἀνθυπουργοῦντά τι καθ’ αὑτὸν ἐν 10 καιρῷ. ἱλαρῶς δ’ εὐεργετεῖν δέοντος καὶ ἱλαροὺς ποιουσῶν τοὺς εὐεργετουμένους τῶν Χαρίτων, πρῶτον μὲν κοινῶς ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς πᾶσαι Χάριτες ὠνομασμέναι εἰσί· καὶ εὔμορφοι δὲ λέγονται εἶναι καὶ εὐείδειαν καὶ πιθανότητα χαρίζεσθαι· εἶτα κατ’ ἰδίαν ἡ μὲν Ἀγλαΐα προσηγόρευται, ἡ δὲ Θάλεια, ἡ δὲ Εὐφροσύνη, διὰ τοῦτο 15 ἐνίων καὶ Εὐάνθην φησάντων μητέρα αὐτῶν εἶναι, τινῶν δ’ Αἴγλην. συνοικεῖν δ’ Ὅμηρος ἔφη μίαν τῶν Χαρίτων τῷ Ἡφαί- στῳ διὰ τὸ ἐπιχάριτα εἶναι τὰ τεχνικὰ ἔργα.

Lang, pp. 18–20

Boys-Stones draft translation at ToposText

[p. 18 Lang] ... (15) Since, as has been said, we are capable of beneficial activity too, the greater part of the tradition has it that that the Graces are the daughters of Zeus.

[p. 19 Lang] Some were born to him by ‘Eurydome’, because a love of giving gifts is especially characteristic of wide and expansive homes; some from ‘Eurynome’, which establishes that those who are apportioned more as their lot are, or ought to be, more generous; and some from ‘Eurymedouse’, for just the reason suggested by its etymology: for men are masters of their own possessions. Others say that Hera was their mother so that they might be the most noble of the gods by birth, as they are by their deeds. They are presented naked to make another point, which is that even those who have no possessions are able to provide help with some things, to do many useful favours; and that one does not have to be really wealthy in order to be a benefactor – as it is said: “in the gifts of a friend, it’s the thought that counts.” And some think that their nakedness indicates that one must be at ease and unencumbered in order to do favours. They are said by some to be two in number, but by others to be three. Two, counting those who first do the favour, and those who repay it; but three, because it is good when someone who has been repaid does another favour, so that there is no end to it. (Their dance illustrates something of the sort as well.)

[p. 20 Lang] Others have said that there is one Grace to represent the man who does some useful service, another for the recipient of the service who looks out for the appropriate moment to repay it, and a third for the person who does his own service in return at the appropriate moment. Since one should do good deeds cheerfully, and since favours make their beneficiaries cheerful, first, the ‘Graces’ were named in common from joy (and they are said to be beautiful and to favour people with charm and persuasiveness); but then, as individuals, they were called Aglaia, Thaleia and Euphrosyne – some saying, because of this, that Euanthe is their mother, others Aigle. Homer says that one of the Graces lives with Hephaistos, because the technical arts give pleasure.

Homer

Iliad

14.263–269

To him then spoke again ox-eyed queenly Hera: “Sleep, why is it you ponder these things in your heart? Do you think that Zeus, whose voice resounds afar, will aid the Trojans in the same way he grew angry for the sake of Heracles, his own son? But come, I will give you one of the youthful Graces to wed and to be called your wife, Pasithea, for whom you have been longing all your days.”

18.382–283

And Charis of the gleaming veil came forward and saw her—fair Charis, whom the famed god of the two lame legs had wedded.

Homeric Hymn

5 to Aphrodite

58–63

Going to Cyprus, to Paphos, she [Aphrodite] disappeared into her fragrant temple; it is there that she has her precinct and scented altar. There she went in, and closed the gleaming doors, and there the Graces bathed her and rubbed her with olive oil, divine oil, as blooms upon the eternal gods, ambrosial bridal oil that she had ready perfumed.

95–96

the Graces ... who are companions to all the gods and are called immortal

Odyssey

8.266–358

Next the minstrel struck the chords in prelude to his sweet lay and sang of the love of Ares and fair-crowned Aphrodite, how first they lay together in the house of Hephaestus secretly; and Ares gave her many gifts, and shamed the bed of the lord Hephaestus. ...

8.359–366

So saying the mighty Hephaestus loosed the bonds and the two, when they were freed from that bond so strong, sprang up instantly. And Ares departed to Thrace, but she, the laughter-loving Aphrodite, went to Cyprus, to Paphos, where she has a precinct and fragrant altar. There the Graces bathed her and anointed her with immortal oil, such as adorns the skin of the gods who are forever. And they dressed her in lovely garments, a wonder to behold.

Horace

Odes

3.21.22

the Graces who are loth to undo their knot

3.19.15

the Grace who links arms with her naked sisters does not allow more than three,

Nonnus

Dionysiaca

16.131–2 [Dionysus as father]

I will present you with the Graces of divine Orchomenos for servants, my daughters, whom I will take from Aphrodite.

24.261–264

The dancers of Orchomenos^b who were attendants upon the Paphian had no dancing then to do; but Pasithea made the spindle run round, Peitho dressed the wool, Aglaia gave thread and yarn to her mistress.

^b The Graces. Their names are variously given.

33.4–11 [Dionysus as father]

One of the swiftshoe Graces was gathering the shoots of the fragrant reeds in the Erythraian garden, in order to mix the flowing juice of Assyrian oil with Indian flowers in the steaming cauldrons of Paphos, and make ointment for her Lady. While she plucked all manner of dew-wet plants she gazed all round the place; and there in a forest not far off she saw the madness of Lyaios her father.^a

48.553–556 [Dionysus as father, by Coronis]

[The ghost of Ariadne:] "... I know how you [Dionysus] lately married your Sithonian wife Pallene, and your wedding with Althaia^a: I will say nothing of the love of Coronis, from whose bed were born the three Graces ever inseparable. ..."

^a See xliii. 434. Dionysos is in some authors the father of Meleagros, usually the son of Oineus, Althaia’s husband; see Hyginus, Fab. 129. Coronis as mother of the Charites is heard of only here; she seems to have nothing to do with Coronis the mother of Asclepios by Apollo.

Pausanias

9.35.1

The Boeotians say that Eteocles was the first man to sacrifice to the Graces. Moreover, they are aware that he established three as the number of the Graces, but they have no tradition of the names he gave them. The Lacedaemonians, however, say that the Graces are two, and that they were instituted by Lacedaemon, son of Taygete, who gave them the names of Cleta and Phaenna.

9.35.2

[2] These are appropriate names for Graces, as are those given by the Athenians, who from of old have worshipped two Graces, Auxo and Hegemone. Carpo is the name, not of a Grace, but of a Season. The other Season is worshipped together with Pandrosus by the Athenians, who call the goddess Thallo.

9.35.3

[3] It was from Eteocles of Orchomenus that we learned the custom of praying to three Graces. And Angelion and Tectaus, sons of Dionysus,¹ who made the image of Apollo for the Delians, set three Graces in his hand. Again, at Athens, before the entrance to the Acropolis, the Graces are three in number; by their side are celebrated mysteries which must not be divulged to the many.

¹ The text here is corrupt. The two emendations mentioned in the critical notes would give either （a） “the pair who made . . ." or （b） “who made the statue of Dionysodotus for the Delians. . .”

9.35.4

[4] Pamphos was the first we know of to sing about the Graces, but his poetry contains no information either as to their number or about their names. Homer¹（he too refers to the Graces） makes one the wife of Hephaestus, giving her the name of Grace. He also says that Sleep was a lover of Pasithea, and in the speech of Sleep there is this verse:—“Verily that he would give me one of the younger Graces." [Hom. Il. 14.270-276] Hence some have suspected that Homer knew of older Graces as well.

¹ Hom. Il. 18.382 foll.

9.35.5

[5] Hesiod in the Theogony¹ (though the authorship is doubtful, this poem is good evidence) says that the Graces are daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, giving them the names of Euphrosyne, Aglaia and Thalia. The poem of Onomacritus agrees with this account. Antimachus, while giving neither the number of the Graces nor their names, says that they are daughters of Aegle and the Sun. The elegiac poet Hermesianax disagrees with his predecessors in that he makes Persuasion also one of the Graces.

¹ Hes. Th. 907

9.35.6

[6] Who it was who first represented the Graces naked, whether in sculpture or in painting, I could not discover. During the earlier period, certainly, sculptors and painters alike represented them draped. At Smyrna, for instance, in the sanctuary of the Nemeses, above the images have been dedicated Graces of gold, the work of Bupalus; and in the Music Hall in the same city there is a portrait of a Grace, painted by Apelles. At Pergamus likewise, in the chamber of Attalus, are other images of Graces made by Bupalus;

9.35.7

[7] and near what is called the Pythium there is a portrait of Graces, painted by Pythagoras the Parian. Socrates too, son of Sophroniscus, made images of Graces for the Athenians, which are before the entrance to the Acropolis. All these are alike draped; but later artists, I do not know the reason, have changed the way of portraying them. Certainly to-day sculptors and painters represent Graces naked.

9.38.1

At Orchomenus is a sanctuary of Dionysus, but the oldest is one of the Graces. They worship the stones most, and say that they fell for Eteocles out of heaven. The artistic images were dedicated in my time, and they too are of stone.

Pindar

Olympian

14.1–16

You to whom the waters of Cephisus

belong, and who dwell in a land of fine horses,

O Graces, much sung queens

of shining Orchomenus and guardians of the ancient Minyae,

hear my prayer. For with your help all things pleasant

and sweet come about for mortals,

whether a man be wise, handsome, or illustrious.

Yes, not even the gods arrange choruses or feasts

without the august Graces; but as stewards of all

works in heaven, they have their thrones beside

Pythian Apollo of the golden bow,

and worship the Olympian father’s ever flowing majesty.

O queenly Aglaia,

and song-loving Euphrosyne, children of the mightiest

of the gods, hear me now—and may you, Thalia,

lover of song,

Seneca

De Beneficiis

1.3

why the Gracesa are three in number and why they are sisters, why they have their hands interlocked, and why they are smiling and youthful and virginal, and are clad in loose and transparent garb. Some would have it appear that there is one for bestowing a benefit, another for receiving it, and a third for returning it; others hold that there are three classes of benefactors—those who earn benefits,^b those who return them, those who receive and return them at the same time. But of the two explanations do you accept as true whichever you like; yet what profit is there in such knowledge? Why do the sisters hand in hand dance in a ring which returns upon itself? For the reason that a benefit passing [cont.]

^b Apparently, by bestowing them.

in its course from hand to hand returns nevertheless to the giver; the beauty of the whole is destroyed if the course is anywhere broken, and it has most beauty if it is continuous and maintains an uninterrupted succession. In the dance, nevertheless, an older sister has especial honour, as do those who earn benefits. Their faces are cheerful, as are ordinarily the faces of those who bestow or receive benefits. They are young because the memory of benefits ought not to grow old. They are maidens because benefits are pure and undefiled and holy in the eyes of all; and it is fitting that there should be nothing to bind or restrict them, and so the maidens wear flowing robes, and these, too, are transparent because benefits desire to be seen.

There may be someone who follows the Greeks so slavishly as to say that considerations of this sort are necessary; but surely no one will believe also that the names which Hesiod assigned to the Graces have any bearing upon the subject. He called the eldest Aglaia, the next younger Euphrosyne, the third Thalia. Each one twists the significance of these names to suit himself, and tries to make them fit some theory although Hesiod simply bestowed on the maidens the name that suited his fancy. And so Homer changed the name of one of them, calling her Pasithea, and promised her in marriage in order that it might be clear that, if they were maidens, they were not Vestals.^a I could find another poet in whose writings they are girdled and appear in robes of thick texture or of Phryxian wool.^b And the reason that Mercury stands with them is, not that argument or eloquence commends benefits, but simply that the painter chose to picture them so.

^a committed to virginity.

^b of superior quality. The phrase is reminiscent of the famous story of Phrixus and the Golden Fleece.

Chrysippus, too, whose famous acumen is so keen and pierces to the very core of truth, who speaks in order to accomplish results, and uses no more words than are necessary to make himself intelligible—he fills the whole of his book with these puerilities, insomuch that he has very little to say about the duty itself of giving, receiving, and returning a benefit; and his fictions are not grafted upon his teachings, but his teachings upon his fictions. For, not to mention what Hecaton copies from him, Chrysippus says that the three Graces are daughters of Jupiter and Eurynome, also that, while they are younger than the Hours, they are somewhat more beautiful, and therefore have been assigned as companions to Venus. In his opinion, too, the name of their mother has some significance, for he says that she was called Eurynome^a because the distribution of benefits is the mark of an extensive fortune; just as if a mother usually received her name after her daughters, or as if the names that poets bestow were genuine! As a nomenclator lets audacity supply the place of memory, and every time that he is unable to call anyone by his true name, he invents one, so poets do not think that it is of any importance to speak the truth, but, either forced by necessity or beguiled by beauty, they impose upon each person the name that works neatly into the verse. Nor is it counted against them if they introduce a new name into the list; for the next poet orders the maidens to take the name that he devises. And to prove to you that this is so, observe that Thalia, with whom we are especially concerned, appears in Hesiod as Charis,^b in Homer as a Muse.

^a As the daughter of Ocean, she was the “Wide-Spreading One.”

^b i.e., a Grace.

Statius

Thebaid

2.286–287

Not Pasithea, chief of the charming sisters, nor ... shaped [Harmonia's necklace]

Modern

Arafat

Oxford Classical Dictionary

s.v. Charites

‘Graces’, goddesses personifying charm, grace, and beauty. Like the nymphs and the Horae, they vary in number, but are usually three from Hesiod (Theog.907–9), who names them Aglaea (Radiance), Euphrosyne (Joy), and Thalia (Flowering) (cf. Pindar, Ol. 14. 3–17; Homer neither names nor numbers them, Il. 14. 267–8, 275). Hesiod calls them daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, and is followed by most writers, although the mothers vary. They are closely associated with Aphrodite in Homer (e.g. Od. 8. 364–6, 18. 193–4), and later. In Hesiod (Theog. 53–64; Op. 73–5), they and the Horae deck Pandora. They enjoy poetry, singing, and dance (Theog. 64; Thgn. 15) and perform at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. They make roses grow (Anac. 44. 1), have myrtles and roses as attributes, and the flowers of spring belong to them (Cypria fr. 4 Allen). They bestow beauty and charm, physical (Anth. Pal. 7. 600), intellectual, artistic, and moral (Pind. Ol. 14. 6). The Hellenistic poet Hermesianax makes Peitho (Persuasion) one (Paus. 9. 35. 5).

The Charites have no independent mythology, associating with gods of fertility, especially Aphrodite, whose birth they attend. Often they are shown standing, processing, or dancing, the latter sometimes in connection with Hecate in the Hellenistic and Roman period. Pausanias (3) details cults and depictions of the Charites, particularly at Orchomenus (1) (9. 35. 1–7); they also occur throughout southern Greece and in Asia Minor. Athens had a Hellenistic cult of dēmos and the Charites. Pausanias notes regional variations in their number and names, and many depictions, from aniconic images at Orchomenus (9. 38. 1), to their use as decorations on the ‘Amyclaean throne’ (3. 18. 9–10) and on the Zeus at Olympia (5. 11. 8). They occur on a metope from Thermum, vases, Athenian New Style coins, and neo-Attic reliefs. The Charites were originally draped (e.g. a painting by Apelles at Smyrna, Paus. 9. 35. 6), later naked. The familiar group of three naked women is Hellenistic in origin, and became standard in many Roman copies in several media.

Bibliography

Real-Encyclopädie d. klassischen Altertumswissenschaft 3/2, ‘Charites, Charis’.

Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae 3/1. 191–203.

B. MacLachlan, The Age of Grace: Charis in Early Greek Poetry (1993).

Farnell

pp. 428–431

Grimal

s.v. Charites

(Χάριτες) The Charites, called in Latin the Graces (Gratiae) were goddesses of beauty and perhaps also, in their earliest form, of the powers of vegetation. They spread the joy of Nature in human hearts, and even in those of the gods. They lived on Mount Olympus together with the Muses with whom they sometimes sang and were numbered among the attendants of Apollo, the god of music. They are generally said to be three sisters named Euphrosyne, Thalia, and Aglaea, and represented as naked girls with their hands on each other's shoulders, two looking one way and the one in the middle looking the other. Their father was zeus and their mother was Eurynome, the daughter of Oceanus. According to other writers their mother was not Eurynome, but Hera.

The Graces are said o have exercised all kinds of influence on imaginative and artistic works. The wove the robe of Harmonia with their own hands (see CAADMUs). The frequently accompanied Athena, goddess of women's works and of intellectual activity, as well as Aphrodite, Eos and Dionysus.

Milleker

p. 69

In mythology they play an attendant role, gracing festivals and organizing dances; their closest connection is with Aphrodite, whom they serve as handmaidens.

Schachter

Brill's New Pauly

s.v. Charites

(Χάριτες; Chárites). Group of goddesses who embody beauty, happiness and abundance. They appear for the first time in Homer, where their number, like that of the Muses is ambiguous; it is however clear that more than one existed and that not all were of the same age. Hera promises Hypnos that she will give him as his wife Pasithee, one of the younger Charites, whom he desires (Hom. Il. 14,267-276). In Il. 18,382f. one Charis is also the wife of Hephaestus, who is actually married to Aphrodite in the Odyssey. Remarkably, Hera is obviously not jealous of these illegitimate children of her husband, indeed she even agrees that one of them should marry her own son; according to Hes. Theog. 945f. (although it is uncertain to whom this passage should be attributed) this is Aglaea, the youngest of the Charites. Hesiod (Theog. 907-909) gives them a genealogy as with the Muses: they are daughters of Zeus and the daughter of Oceanus, Eurynome; they are called Aglaea, Euphrosyne and Thalia (also called ἱερατεινή/hierateinḗ). They live with Himerus on Olympus beside the Muses (Hes. Theog. 64) and they assisted with the creation of Pandora (Hes. Op. 73).

The Charites became proverbial models of feminine grace, talent and beauty: praiseworthy maidens possess Χαρίτων ἀμαρύγματα (Charítōn amarýgmata) or κάλλος (kállos) [1]. The names of the Charites are abstract qualities in contrast to those of the Muses, so it is harder to view the Charites as individuals. But whilst the Muses make no secret of their contempt for humans (Hes. Theog. 26), the Charites (even if Theog. 910f. are not authentic) are benevolent. The Charites also belong to a younger generation; whilst the Muses are the daughters of a Titaness, the Charites are granddaughters of a Titan. Modern researchers associate the Charites with the Horae that represent natural forces, but the Charites represent the effects of the human spirit (e.g., [2]).

In the practice of the cult, the Charites of Orchomenus are the best known (Hes. fr. 71 MW; Pind. Ol. 14); possibly their triune nature arose in this region as people connected the name with a triad of local goddesses [3. 141]. According to Paus. 9.38,1, these Charites were worshipped in the form of meteorites. It is difficult to ascertain the age of this custom. The inhabitants of Orchomenus celebrated the Charitesia in honour of the Charites. Evidence of this exists only from the 1st and possibly the 2nd cent. BC. They were primarily musical and dramatic, and direct evidence of this can be seen from three lists of victors (IG VII 3195-3197); there was however also an athletic element to their nature (IG II/III 3160). The agon was very probably organized in imitation of and in competition with the much better-known Museia of Thespiae ([3. 142-144]; cf. also the tradition which located Hesiod's grave in Orchomenus [4]).

Charites -- but clearly without a link with those of Orchomenus -- were also venerated in other places. The Spartans and Athenians each venerated two: Clete and Phaenna in Sparta (Paus. 9,35,1), Auxo and Hegemone in Athens (Paus. 9,35,2). Elsewhere they appeared as a group, without specific names (e.g., LSCG, Suppl. 10A81; 25E45; LSAM 20,11; LSCG 1A13f.; 4,3; 114B1; 151D5, cf. [5]). It is impossible to define their exact role as goddesses in these places.

Schachter, Albert (Montreal)

Bibliography

1 M. L. West, ed. & comm., Hesiod, Works and Days, 1978, 73

2 E. B. Harrison, LIMC 3.1, 191-203

3 Schachter

4 R. Scodel, Hesiod redivivus, in: GRBS 21, 1980, 301-320

5 Farnell, Cults, Bd. 5, 462-464.

Bibliography

M. Rocchi, Contributi allo studio delle Ch. I, in: Studii Classice 18, 1979, 5-16; II, 19, 1980, 19-28

Tripp

s.v. Graces

Personifications of beauty and grace. The Graces (Charites to the Greeks, Gratiae to the Romans) varied in name number, and parentage from one account another. One of them, called simply Charis (Grace) by Homer in the Iliad and named Aglaea by Hesiod, was said by these early poets to be the wife of Hepaestus, (According to later poets and to Homer's Odyssey, the god was married to Aphrodite.) The youngest Grace, Pasithea, was promised by Hera to Hypnos as bride. Apart from these minor roles, however, the Graces play little part in myth except as abstractions. They are generally described as attending Aphrodite or some other goddess, giving beauty to young girls, and otherwise dispensing gentle and lovely qualities on appropriate occasions. The Graces, who were usually three after Hesiod's account, were favorite subjects in art, often being shown nude and dancing in a circle. Pausanias gave a detailed report on the spread of their worship in Greek lands. Most remarkably, they were worshiped at Boeotian Orchomenus in the form of stones that were evidently meteorites.

Iconographic

LIMC citation templates:

LIMC-AUTHOR, [URL PAGE(S) (ARTICLENAME ENTRYNUM)]

Digital LIMC [URL ID*], [URL scene SCENENUM]

LIMC VOLNUM.2, [URL PAGE (ARTICLENAME ENTRYNUM)]

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