Graces (Latin Gratiae) were goddesses as pleasant as the Gorgons were unpleasant. They were usually said to have been the three daughters of
Zeus and Euronyme, and their names, all with agreeable meanings (which see) were Aglaia (called Charis by Homer in the Iliad), Thalia and Euphrosyne. (Homer also introduced another Grace called Pasithea.) Their group name hardly needs interpreting: they were, after all, personifications of
beauty and grace. The Greeks called them Charités (which see).
