Aglaea

Aglaea
Aglaea statue from the Achilleion in Corfu
Goddess of Praise and Acclaim
General Information
Species	Goddess
Gender identity	Female
Aliases	Aglaia
Titles	Goddess of praise Goddess of acclaim
Relationships
Parents	Zeus and Eurynome
Grandparents	Cronus and Rhea (paternal), Oceanus and Tethys (maternal)
Siblings	Full Siblings Euphrosyne and Thaleia Half-siblings Aeacus, Agdistis, Angelos, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Eileithyia, Enyo, Epaphus, Eris, Ersa, Hebe, Helen of Troy, Hephaestus, Heracles, Hermes, Lacedaemon, Minos, Pandia, Persephone, Perseus, Rhadamanthys, Sarpedon, the Horae, the Litae, the Muses, the Erinyes and others
Spouses	Hephaestus
Children	Eucleia, Philophrosyne, Euthenia, Eupheme
Allegiance	Olympians
Affiliation	Charites, Aphrodite
Languages
Hellēnikḗ(Ancient Greek)	Ἀγλαΐα

Aglaea or Aglaia (Ancient Greek: Ἀγλαΐα, lit. 'festive radiance') is the goddess of splendour and numbers among the Charites. She was the second wife of Hephaestus and by him she is the mother of Euthenia, Philophrosyne, Eupheme and Eucleia. She may be the same as Charis.

Mythology

Family

According to Hesiod and other sources (including Apollodorus), Aglaea was one of the three Charities, along with Euphrosyne (mirth) and Thaleia (abundance), who were the daughters of Zeus and the Oceanid Eurynome. Hesiod says also that Aglaea is the youngest of the Charites.

Other sources name the same three Charites (Aglaea, 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 says that they are daughters of the strongest god (i.e. Zeus) without naming their mother.

Hesiod says that Aglaea was married to Hephaestus. (This is often seen as after his divorce from Aphrodite.) The Orphic Fragments say that by Hephaestus, Aglaea became mother of Eucleia ("Good Repute"), Eupheme ("Acclaim"), Euthenia ("Prosperity"), and Philophrosyne ("Welcome"). The Iliad and Dionysiaca refer to the wife of Hephaestus as Charis, and some scholars conclude that these references refer to Aglaea.

Other sources

According to Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Aglaea is one of the "dancers of Orchomenus" (i.e. the Charites, per Pindar), along with Pasithea and Peitho, who attend Aphrodite. When Aphrodite jealously attempts to weave better than Athena, the Charites help her do so, with Aglaea passing her the yarn. Aglaea also acts as Aphrodite's messenger, and is sent to find and bring a message to Eros, who travels back to Aphrodite much faster because he can fly whereas Aglaea cannot. Aglaea here is referred to as a Charis (singular of Charites), but other characters not of this group are also named Charis, including by Aglaea.

Gallery

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