Euphrosyne (Charites)

Euphrosyne (/juːˈfrɒzɪniː/; Εὐφροσύνη), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, was one of the Charites, known in ancient Rome as the Gratiae (Graces). She was sometimes called Euthymia (Εὐθυμία) or Eutychia (Εὐτυχία).[1]

Euphrosyne, Frank W. Benson's , The Three Graces, Library of Congress

Family

According to Hesiod, Euphrosyne and her sisters Thalia and Aglaea were daughters of Zeus and the Oceanid Eurynome.[2] Alternative parentage may be Zeus and Eurydome, Eurymedousa, or Euanthe; Dionysus and Kronois; or Helios and the Naiad Aegle.[3][4][5]
Mythology

Euphrosyne is a Goddess of Good Cheer, Joy and Mirth.[6] Her name is the female version of a Greek word euphrosynos, which means "merriment". The Greek poet Pindar states that these goddesses were created to fill the world with pleasant moments and good will.[7] Usually the Charites attended the goddess of beauty Aphrodite.[8]

In art, Euphrosyne is usually depicted with her sisters dancing.[6]
Cults of Euphrosyne
Mrs Mary Hale as Euphrosyne, painted by Joshua Reynolds

Euphrosyne and her sisters' main cult was located in Athens, Sparta, or Boetia.[9][6]
Legacy
In art and literature

She is depicted with the other two Graces at the left of the painting in Botticelli's Primavera. The sculptor Antonio Canova made a well-known piece in white marble representing the three Graces, in several copies including one for John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford.[10]
Joshua Reynolds painted Mrs. Mary Hale, wife of General John Hale, as Euphrosyne in 1766.
John Milton invoked her in the poem L'Allegro.[11]

In science

The asteroid 31 Euphrosyne is named after the goddess, as is the Euphrosinidae family of marine worms.
Notes

Pindar,fr. 155
Hesiod, Theogony 907
Cornutus, Compendium of Greek Theology 15
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 15.87 & 48.530
Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio 9.35.5
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"

Euphrosyne (left) depicted with her sisters on The Three Graces sculpture at the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg, Russia
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.

Greek Mythology

See also : Greek Mythology. Paintings, Drawings

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