The Charites (; Ancient Greek: Χάριτες; singular Charis (Χάρις), also called by the English translation the "Graces") are goddesses of Greek mythology who personify beauty and grace. According to Hesiod, their names were Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia and were the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, the daughter of Oceanus. However, their names, number and parentage varied across accounts. They have little independent mythology, and are usually described as attending various gods and goddesses, particularly Aphrodite.
In Roman mythology, they were known by the Latin equivalent of the Greek: the Gratiae. In Roman and later art, they were generally depicted nude in an interlaced group, but during the Greek Archaic and Classical periods, they were typically depicted as fully clothed, in a line, and in dance poses.
Parentage, number, and names
The Three Graces, from Sandro Botticelli's painting Primavera in the Uffizi Gallery.
In Hesiod's Theogony, the Charites are the three daughters of Zeus: Aglaia ("Splendor"), Euphrosyne ("Joy"), and Thalia ("Good Cheer"), by the Oceanid Eurynome (also called Hermione). The identical genealogy is given by Apollodorus. The same three names are also given by Pindar, with a possible reference to their "father" Zeus and no mother mentioned. Although the Charites were usually considered to be Zeus' daughters and three in number, their names as well as their parentage and number varied. Homer mentions Pasithea as "one of the youthful Graces", and perhaps has "Charis" (the singular form of "Charites"), as the name of another, but does not give their parentage, number, or any other of their names.
The geographer Pausanias gives other variations, some regional. He says that, according to Boeotian tradition, Eteocles, the king of Orchomenus, established three as the number of Charites, but that the Athenians and Spartans worshipped only two. For the Athenians the two Charites were Auxo and Hegemone, while for the Spartans they were Cleta and Phaenna....
