Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Aglaia, Aglaïa (), or Aglaea () (''

Brill's New Pauly The Pauly encyclopedias or the Pauly-Wissowa family of encyclopedias, are a set of related encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field o ...

''
s.v. Aglaea (1)
) is a goddess, one of the

Charites In Greek mythology, the Charites (; ), singular Charis (), also called the Graces, are goddesses who personify beauty and grace. According to Hesiod, the Charites were Aglaia (Grace), Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia (Grace), Thalia, who were the ...

(known as the Graces in

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

Family

According to

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

and other sources (including

Apollodorus Apollodorus ( Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A ...

), Aglaia was one of the three Charites, along with Euphrosyne (mirth) and Thalia (abundance), who were the daughters of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

and the Oceanid Eurynome.Bell
s.v. Aglaia (1), p. 15
Other sources name the same three Charites (Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia) but give them different parents. The '' Orphic Hymn to the Graces'' says they are the daughters of Zeus and Eunomia (goddess of good order and lawful conduct), and

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

says that they are daughters of the strongest god (i.e. Zeus) without naming their mother.

, ''Olympian Ode'
14.1–20
Hesiod says also that Aglaia is the youngest of the Charites.

, ''

Theogony The ''Theogony'' () is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogy, genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Homeric Greek, epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contains 1,022 lines. It is one ...

'
945
According to the ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' (, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surviving poem from Greco-Roman antiquity at 20,426 lines, composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hex ...

'', Aglaia is one of the "dancers of Orchomenus" (i.e. the Charites, per Pindar), along with Pasithea and

Peitho In Greek mythology, Peitho ( or 'winning eloquence') is the personification of persuasion. She is typically presented as an important companion of Aphrodite. Her opposite is Bia (mythology), Bia, the personification of force. As a personificatio ...

, who attend

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

. When Aphrodite jealously attempts to weave better than

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

, the Charites help her do so, with Aglaia passing her the yarn. Aglaia also acts as Aphrodite's messenger, and is sent to find and bring a message to

Eros Eros (, ; ) is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young ma ...

, who travels back to Aphrodite much faster because he can fly whereas Aglaia cannot. Aglaia here is referred to as a ''Charis'' (singular of Charites), but other characters not of this group are also named Charis, including by Aglaia. Hesiod says that Aglaia was married to

Hephaestus Hephaestus ( , ; wikt:Hephaestus#Alternative forms, eight spellings; ) is the Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, metallurgy, metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes.Walter Burkert, ''Greek Religion'' 1985: III.2. ...

. (This is often seen as after his divorce from Aphrodite.) The Orphic Fragments compiled by Otto Kern say that by Hephaestus, Aglaia became mother of Eucleia ("Good Repute"), Eupheme ("Acclaim"), Euthenia ("Prosperity"), and Philophrosyne ("Welcome"). The ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' and ''Dionysiaca'' refer to the wife of Hephaestus as Charis,Nonnus, ''Dionysiaca'
29.317
and some scholars conclude that these references refer to Aglaia.

Notes

References

, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
* Bell, Robert E., ''Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary'', ABC-Clio, 1991.
Internet Archive
* ''Brill’s New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 1'', A-Ari, editors: Hubert Cancik, Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2002.
Online version at Brill
* Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996.
Internet Archive
* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004.
Google Books
*

, ''

'' 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
* Kern, Otto, ''Orphicorum Fragmenta'', Berlin, 1922
Scans at the Internet ArchiveEnglish translation at HellenicGods.org
* Nonnus of Panopolis, ''

'' 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
*

, ''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
* Smith, William; ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', London (1873)
"Charis"
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