In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Euphrosyne (; ) is a goddess, one of the three Charites. She was sometimes named Euthymia () or Eutychia ().Pindar, fr. 155
Family According to Hesiod, Euphrosyne and her sisters Thalia and Aglaea are the daughters of Zeus and the Oceanid nymph Eurynome.Hesiod, Theogony 907 Alternative parentage may be Zeus and Eurydome, Eurymedousa, or Euanthe;Cornutus, Compendium of Greek Theology 15 Dionysus and Coronis;Nonnus, Dionysiaca 15.87 & 48.530 or Helios and the Naiad Aegle.Pausanias, 9.35.5
The Roman author Hyginus, in his Fabulae, also mentions a figure named Euphrosyne, who is the daughter of Nox (Night) and Erebus (Darkness).Hyginus, Fabulae Preface.
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.Pindar, Olympian Ode 14.1-20 The Charites attended the goddess of beauty Aphrodite.Homeric Hymn 5 to Aphrodite 58
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.The Three Graces. Victoria & Albert Museum, 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013. Joshua Reynolds painted Mrs. Mary Hale, wife of General John Hale, as Euphrosyne in 1766.National Portgrait Gallery John Milton invoked her in the poem L'Allegro."Milton, L'Allegro and Il Penseroso " 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.Comus, a Mask (Now adapted to the Stage), London 1738
In science The asteroid 31 Euphrosyne is named after the goddess.New Planetarium
Notes
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. . 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.