In Greek mythology , Eunomia ( Ancient Greek : Εὐνομία ) was a minor but important goddess of law and legislation and her name can be translated as "good order", "governance according to good laws", as well as the spring-time goddess of green pastures ( eû means "well, good" in Greek, and νόμος, nómos , means "law", while pasturelands are called nomia ). She is by most accounts the daughter of Themis and Zeus . Her opposite number was Dysnomia (Lawlessness).
19-583: Eunomia was the goddess of law and legislation and one of the Second Generation of the Horae along with her sisters Dikē and Eirene . The Horae were law and order goddesses who maintained the stability of society, and were worshipped primarily in the cities of Athens , Argos and Olympia . From Pindar : Eunomia and that unsullied fountain Dikē , her sister, sure support of cities; and Eirene of
38-526: A distinct set of four Horae, the daughters of Helios . Quintus Smyrnaeus also attributes the Horae as the daughters of Helios and Selene , and describes them as the four handmaidens of Hera . The seasons were personified by the ancients, the Greeks represented them generally as women but on some antique monuments they are depicted as winged children with attributes peculiar to each season. The Greek words for
57-435: A mortal princess, who was later deified as a goddess of cold mountain winds), and the goddess/personification of snow and winter . Along with Chione, Thallo, Auxo, and Carpo were a part of the entourage of the goddess of the turn of the seasons, Persephone . Of the second triad associated to Themis and Zeus for law and order: The last triad of Horae was identified by Hyginus : Nonnus in his Dionysiaca mentions
76-571: A sceptre. She is shown gazing maternally at Plutus, who is looking back at her trustingly. The statue is an allegory for Plenty (i.e., Plutus) prospering under the protection of Peace; it constituted a public appeal to good sense. The copy in the Glyptothek was originally in the collection of the Villa Albani in Rome but was looted and taken to France by Napoleon I . Following Napoleon's fall,
95-510: A wheat-sheaf; Autumn, as a Bacchante, in a violet-coloured garment, pressing grapes with one band into a golden cup, which she holds in the other; and Winter as an aged person, placed in the shade at a great distance from the god. Finally, a quite separate suite of Horae personified the twelve hours (originally only ten), as tutelary goddesses of the times of day. The hours run from just before sunrise to just after sunset, thus winter hours are short, summer hours are long: According to Hyginus ,
114-634: Is in the Iliad where they appear as keepers of Zeus 's cloud gates. "Hardly any traces of that function are found in the subsequent tradition," Karl Galinsky remarked in passing. They were daughters of Zeus and Themis , half-sisters to the Moirai . The Horai are mentioned in two aspects in Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns : Of the first, more familiar, triad associated with Aphrodite and Zeus
133-462: Is one of the Horae , the personification and goddess of peace in Greek mythology and ancient religion . She was depicted in art as a beautiful young woman carrying a cornucopia , sceptre , and a torch or rhyton . She is usually said to be the daughter of Zeus and Themis and thus sister of Dike and Eunomia . Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Pax . Eirene was particularly well regarded by
152-534: Is their origins as emblems of times of life, growth (and the classical three seasons of year): At Athens, two Horae: Thallo (the Hora of spring) and Carpo (the Hora of autumn), also appear in rites of Attica noted by Pausanias in the 2nd century AD. Thallo, Auxo and Carpo are often accompanied by Chione , a daughter of Boreas (the god/ personification of the North Wind ) and Orithyia/ Oreithyia (originally
171-781: The Horai themselves wear. The number of Horae varied according to different sources, but was most commonly three: either the trio of Thallo , Auxo , and Carpo (goddesses of the order of nature), or Eunomia (goddess of good order and lawful conduct) and her sisters Dike (goddess of Justice) and Eirene (goddess of Peace). In Argos , two Horae, rather than three, were recognised, presumably winter and summer: Auxesia (possibly another name for Auxo) and Damia (possibly another name for Carpo). In late euhemerist interpretations, they were seen as Cretan maidens who were worshipped as goddesses after they had been wrongfully stoned to death. The earliest written mention of Horai
190-472: The goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time. The term hora comes from the Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥ ("year"). The Horae were originally the personifications of nature in its different seasonal aspects, but in later times they were regarded as goddesses of order in general and natural justice. "They bring and bestow ripeness, they come and go in accordance with
209-625: The citizens of Athens. After a naval victory over Sparta in 375 BC, the Athenians established a cult for Peace, erecting altars to her. They held an annual state sacrifice to her after 371 BC to commemorate the Common Peace of that year and set up a votive statue in her honour in the Agora of Athens . The statue was executed in bronze by Cephisodotus the Elder , likely the father or uncle of
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#1732783134865228-517: The fair-haired Horai , together with the Charites and Peitho crown Pandora —she of "all gifts"—with garlands of flowers. Similarly Aphrodite , emerging from the sea and coming ashore at Cyprus , is dressed and adorned by the Horai , and, according to a surviving fragment of the epic Cypria , Aphrodite wore clothing made for her by the Charites and Horai, dyed with spring flowers, such as
247-538: The famous sculptor Praxiteles . It was acclaimed by the Athenians, who depicted it on vases and coins. Although the statue is now lost, it was copied in marble by the Romans; one of the best surviving copies is in the Munich Glyptothek . It depicts the goddess carrying a child with her left arm— Plutus , the god of plenty and son of Demeter , the goddess of agriculture. Peace's missing right hand once held
266-494: The firm law of the periodicities of nature and of life", Karl Kerenyi observed, adding " Hora means 'the correct moment'." Traditionally, they guarded the gates of Olympus , promoted the fertility of the earth, and rallied the stars and constellations. The course of the seasons was also symbolically described as the dance of the Horae, and they were accordingly given the attributes of spring flowers, fragrance and graceful freshness; for example, in Hesiod 's Works and Days ,
285-482: The four seasons of year: Here Spring appears with flowery chaplets bound. Here Summer in her wheaten garland crown'd; Here Autumn the rich trodden grapes besmear. And hoary Winter shivers in the rear. Nicolas Poussin has represented the four seasons by subjects drawn from the Bible : Spring is portrayed by Adam and Eve in paradise: Summer, by Ruth gleaning: Autumn, by Joshua and Caleb bearing grapes from
304-563: The list is only of nine, borrowed from the three classical triads alternated: A distinct set of ten or twelve Hours is much less known and they are described as daughters of Chronos (Time): The last set of hours of the day and night is allegorically represented in the following: Eirene (goddess) Eirene or Irene ( / aɪ ˈ r iː n iː / ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Εἰρήνη , Ëirene , [eːrɛ́ːnɛː] , lit. "Peace"), more commonly known in English as Peace ,
323-411: The promised land; and Winter, by the deluge . In more modern representations the seasons are often surrounding Apollo: Spring, as Flora, crowned with flowers, and in a shaded green drapery over a white robe: Summer, standing under the lion in the zodiac, with a gold-coloured drapery over a white gauze vestment, the edges of which are tinged by the yellow rays of the sun, holding a sickle, having near her
342-465: The same kin, who are the stewards of wealth for humanity—three glorious daughters of wise-counselled Themis. Eunomia's name, together with that of her sisters, formed a Hendiatris Good Order, Justice, and Peace . She was frequently depicted in Athenian vase painting amongst the companions of Aphrodite , and in this sense represented the lawful or obedient behavior of women in marriage. As such she
361-513: Was identified with Eurynome , mother of the Charites ( Graces ). The Eunomia family of asteroids are named after her. This article relating to a Greek deity is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Horae#Second Generation In Greek mythology , the Horae ( / ˈ h ɔː r iː / ), Horai ( / ˈ h ɔː r aɪ / ) or Hours ( Ancient Greek : Ὧραι , romanized : Hôrai , lit. 'Seasons', pronounced [hɔ̂ːrai̯] ) were
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