Charites - In art

In Greek mythology, the Charites (Χάριτες; Greek: "Graces") were goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility. They ordinarily numbered three, from youngest to oldest: Aglaea ("Beauty"), Euphrosyne ("Good Cheer"), and Thalia ("Festivities"). In Roman mythology they were known as the Gratiae. The Charites were usually considered the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, though they were also said to be daughters of Dionysus and Aphrodite or of Helios and the naiad Aegle. Homer wrote that they ...

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On the representation of the Graces, Pausanias wrote, "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 o ...

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Charites, Charites - Regional differences, Charites - In art

Read more here: » Charites: Encyclopedia II - Charites - In art

Although the Graces usually numbered three, according to the Spartans, Cleta, not Thalia, was the third, and other Graces are sometimes mentioned, including Auxo, Charis, Hegemone, Phaenna, and Pasithea. Pausanias interrupts his Description of Greece (book 9.xxxv.1 - 7) to expand upon the various conceptions of the Graces that had developed in different parts of mainland Greece and Ionia: "The Boeotians say that Eteocles was the first man to sacrifice to the Graces. Moreover, they are aware that he established thre ...

See also:

Charites, Charites - Regional differences, Charites - In art

Read more here: » Charites: Encyclopedia II - Charites - Regional differences