Euphrosyne
Deity, one of the Graces
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According to Hesiod, Euphrosyne and her sisters Thalia and Aglaea are the daughters of Zeus and the Oceanid nymph Eurynome. Alternative parentage may be Zeus and Eurydome, Eurymedousa, or Euanthe; Dionysus and Coronis; or Helios and the Naiad Aegle.
The Roman author Hyginus, in his Fabulae, also mentions a figure named Euphrosyne, who is the daughter of Nox (Night) and Erebus (Darkness).
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Mythology
Euphrosyne is a goddess of good cheer, joy and mirth. 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. The Charites attended the goddess of beauty Aphrodite.
In art, Euphrosyne is usually depicted with her sisters dancing.
Cults
Euphrosyne and her sisters' main cult was located in Athens, Sparta, or Boetia.
Legacy
In art and literature
- Euphrosyne is depicted with the other two Graces, Aglaea and Thalia, 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.
- Joshua Reynolds painted Mrs. Mary Hale, wife of General John Hale, as Euphrosyne in 1766.
- John Milton invoked her in the poem L'Allegro. She also has a singing part as the spirit of mirth in John Dalton and Thomas Arne's 1738 musical adaptation of Milton's Comus and speaks the epilogue.
In science
- The asteroid 31 Euphrosyne is named after the goddess.