From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Deity, one of the Graces
In
ancient Greek religion and
mythology , Euphrosyne (;
Ancient Greek : Εὐφροσύνη ), is a goddess, one of the three
Charites , known in
ancient Rome as the Gratiae (Graces). She was sometimes called Euthymia (
Ancient Greek : Εὐθυμία ,
lit. 'good cheer') or Eutychia (
Ancient Greek : Εὐτυχία ,
lit. 'happiness').
[2]
Family
According to
Hesiod , Euphrosyne and her sisters
Thalia and
Aglaea are the daughters of
Zeus and the
Oceanid nymph
Eurynome .
[3] Alternative parentage may be Zeus and
Eurydome ,
Eurymedousa , or
Euanthe ;
[4]
Dionysus and
Coronis ;
[5] or
Helios and the
Naiad
Aegle .
[6]
The Roman author
Hyginus , in his
Fabulae , also mentions a figure named Euphrosyne, who is the daughter of
Nox (Night) and
Erebus (Darkness).
[7]
Mythology
Euphrosyne is a goddess of good cheer, joy and mirth.
[8] Her name is the female version of the word euphrosynos , "merriment".
Pindar wrote that these goddesses were created to fill the world with pleasant moments and good will.
[9] The Charites attended the goddess of beauty
Aphrodite .
[10]
In art, Euphrosyne is usually depicted with her sisters dancing.
[8]
Euphrosyne (left) depicted with her sisters on The Three Graces sculpture at the
Hermitage ,
Saint Petersburg , Russia
Cults
Euphrosyne and her sisters' main cult was located in
Athens ,
Sparta , or
Boetia .
[8]
[11]
Legacy
In art and literature
Mrs Mary Hale as Euphrosyne, painted by
Joshua Reynolds
In science
Notes
^
Hyginus , Fabulae Preface.
^
Pindar , fr. 155
^
Hesiod ,
Theogony
907
^
Cornutus , Compendium of Greek Theology 15
^
Nonnus ,
Dionysiaca 15.87 & 48.530
^
Pausanias ,
9.35.5
^
Hyginus , Fabulae
Preface .
^
a
b
c Larson, Jennifer (2007). Ancient Greek Cults . New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 162–163.
ISBN
978-0415491020 .
^ Pindar, Olympian Ode 14.
1-20
^ Homeric Hymn 5 to Aphrodite
58
^
"www.britannica.com" . Retrieved 2016-08-31 .
^
The Three Graces. Victoria & Albert Museum, 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
^ "
Milton, L'Allegro and Il Penseroso
Archived 2019-03-06 at the
Wayback Machine "
References
Hesiod , Theogony from The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Greek text available from the same website .
Nonnus of Panopolis , Dionysiaca translated by William Henry Denham Rouse (1863-1950), from the Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1940.
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca. 3 Vols. W.H.D. Rouse. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1940-1942.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library .
Pausanias , Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
ISBN
0-674-99328-4 .
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols . Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library .
Pindar , Odes translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Pindar, The Odes of Pindar including the Principal Fragments with an Introduction and an English Translation by Sir John Sandys, Litt.D., FBA. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1937.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library .
The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Greek text available from the same website .