Since their name means Grace these three beautiful daughters of Zeus and Eurynome are often called The Graces. Their names are Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Festivity), and Thalia (Rejoicing). (Theogony, lines 906-911)
They wove the material for Aphrodite’s robe (Iliad, book 5, line 338). They also tended to Aphrodite when she returned to the island of Kypros (Cyprus), humiliated after she had been caught in the trap her husband, Hephaistos (Hephaestus), had set to catch her and Ares (god of War) in the embrace of love. The Graces bathed her, anointed her with ambrosial oil and dressed her in delightful clothing so that she might resume her loving duties. (Odyssey, book 8, line 300)
Homer used the beauty of the Graces ironically to depict the horror of war when he described a dead Trojan soldier’s hair as being ‘lovely as the Graces’ before it was splattered with blood and mingled with the dirt. (Iliad, book 17, line 51)
The line numbers listed here correspond fairly well with the Lattimore and Murray/Wyatt translations of The Iliad. Other translations (Fitzgerald, Fagles et al) do not correspond as well but, with a small amount of effort, you should be able to find the reference you need regardless of the translation you use. Lattimore (ISBN 0226469409); A.T. Murray/William F. Wyatt Vol. I & II (ISBN 0674995791 and 0674995805); Robert Fitzgerald (ISBN 0374529051); Robert Fagles (ISBN 0140275363)
The line numbers listed here correspond fairly well with the Lattimore and Murray/Dimock translations of The Odyssey. Other translations (Fitzgerald, Fagles et al) do not correspond as well but, with a small amount of effort, you should be able to find the reference you need regardless of the translation you use. Richmond Lattimore (ISBN 0060931957); A.T. Murray/George E. Dimock Vol. I & II (ISBN 0674995619 and 0674995627); Robert Fitzgerald (ISBN 0374525749); Robert Fagles (ISBN 0140268863)
Lines 907-911 and 946
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