Charis (/ˈkærɪs/; Ancient Greek: Χάρις "grace, beauty, and life") is a goddess in Greek mythology. Her name is the singular form of the group called the Charites (Ancient Greek: Χάριτες)—or Gratiae (Graces) in Roman mythology—who are goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility. While the term Charis can refer to a member of this group generically, the name Charis is also used for specific goddesses in surviving sources.
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Mythology
editIn Homer's Iliad, Charis is the wife of Hephaestus. She lives with Hephaestus in a bronze-wrought home on Mount Olympus, into which she welcomes Thetis so that the latter may ask for Hephaestus to forge armor for her son Achilles.[1] The Dionysiaca also refers to the wife of Hephaestus as Charis.[2] However, Hesiod names the member of the Charites who is married to Hephaestus as Aglaea,[3] and some scholars conclude that these references refer to the same goddess under different names.[4] However, Aglaea appears in the Dionysiaca, and although she is referred to generically as "the Charis" when carrying out orders from Aphrodite, she also explicitly refers to Charis as a separate (and less loyal) attendant of Aphrodite when speaking to Eros.[5]
The Dionysiaca refers to Charis several other times, including twice alongside the goddesses Aphrodite (called by the epithets Cythereia and Paphian), Leto, Artemis, Athena, Hebe and Hera.[6] Harmonia, daughter of Aphrodite and Ares, is compared to Charis and referred to by that name by the Libyan army,[2] although later Charis accompanies Aphrodite when visiting Harmonia.[7]
References
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- Bernhardt, Peter (2008). Gods and goddesses in the garden: Greco-Roman mythology and the scientific names of plants. Rutgers University Press. p. 76. ISBN 0-8135-4266-9.
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