GRAZIE. - Dal lat. Gratiae, gr. χάριτες, sono d'e simbolo della bellezza, donatrici di gioia e in genere di quanto allieta la vita. Esiodo (Theog., 907) le fa figlie di Zeus e della oceanina Eurinome (cioè, secondo l'esegesi della scuola naturistica, del cielo e
Because of this significance of integral joy, they are conceived as inseparable and, as such, are represented initially holding hands, dressed in a long chiton, and later embracing and naked, but with a non-proocative nudity that justifies the epithet given to them by Horace (Od., I, 4, 6) of decentes, in which the ideas of charm and propriety are associated. Pindar (Ol., 14, 1) extols them as givers of wisdom, beauty, and splendor. In Athens they were venerated at the foot of the Acropolis, but the principal seat of their cult was at Orchomenus in Boeotia. Due to the affinity of the number, the Greeks frequently associated female divinities in ternary groups (cf. J. E. Harrison, Prolegomena to the study of greek religion, Oxford 1922, p. 286), and due to that of meaning, the Graces are often associated with the Horae, patronesses of the three seasons of the year, with the Nymphs, and with the Muses. Their attributes are dice, flowers, and musical instruments.