Euphrosyne

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Euphrosyne
Goddess of good cheer, joy and mirth
Member of The Charites
A statue of Euphrosyne in Achilleion palace, Corfu.
AffiliationAphrodite
Major cult centreBoeotia
AbodeMount Olympus
Personal information
ParentsZeus and Eurynome
Nox and Erebus[1]
Siblings
by Zeus and Eurynome

In

Ancient Greek: Εὐτυχία, lit.'happiness').[2]

Family

According to

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

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

  1. Hyginus
    , Fabulae Preface.
  2. ^ Pindar, fr. 155
  3. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 907
  4. ^ Cornutus, Compendium of Greek Theology 15
  5. ^ Nonnus, Dionysiaca 15.87 & 48.530
  6. ^ Pausanias, 9.35.5
  7. Hyginus, Fabulae Preface
    .
  8. ^ .
  9. ^ Pindar, Olympian Ode 14.1-20
  10. ^ Homeric Hymn 5 to Aphrodite 58
  11. ^ "www.britannica.com". Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  12. ^ The Three Graces. Victoria & Albert Museum, 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Milton, L'Allegro and Il Penseroso Archived 2019-03-06 at the Wayback Machine"

References