Thalia (Grace)

Thalia
Goddess of festivity and rich banquets
Member of The Charites
A statue of Thalia in Achilleion palace, Corfu
AffiliationAphrodite
Major cult centreBoeotia
AbodeMount Olympus
Personal information
ParentsZeus and Eurynome
SiblingsEuphrosyne and Aglaea and several paternal half-siblings

In Greek mythology, Thalia or Thaleia (/ˈθliə/[1] or /θəˈlə/;[2] Ancient Greek: Θάλεια, romanizedTháleia, lit.'the joyous, the abundance') was one of the three Charites or Graces, along with her sisters Aglaea and Euphrosyne.[3]

The Greek word thalia is an adjective applied to banquets, meaning rich, plentiful, luxuriant and abundant.


Family[edit]

Typically, they were the daughters of Zeus and Oceanid Eurynome.[3] Alternative parentage may be Zeus and Eurydome, Eurymedousa, or Euanthe; Dionysus and Kronois; or Helios and the Naiad Aegle.[4][5][6]

In art[edit]

In art, they were usually depicted dancing in a circle. Thalia was the goddess of festivity and rich banquets and was associated with Aphrodite, as part of her retinue.[7][8]

In popular culture[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Home : Oxford English Dictionary". www.oed.com. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  2. ^ "Definition of THALIA". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  3. ^ a b Hesiod, Theogony, 907
  4. ^ Cornutus, Compendium of Greek Theology, 15
  5. ^ Nonnus, Dionysiaca, 15.87 & 48.530
  6. ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9.35.5
  7. ^ Homeric Hymn 5 to Aphrodite, 58
  8. ^ Homer, Iliad, 8.360-369
  9. ^ Stephenson, Neal (1995). The diamond age or, Young lady's illustrated primer. New York, NY: Bantam Spectra. pp. 240 & 283. ISBN 0-553-09609-5.
  10. ^ "Thalia Grace". Rick Riordan. 24 January 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2020.

References[edit]