gra'sez, in classical mythology, the goddesses of grace, daughters of Jupiter, from whom came everything beautiful and agreeable. According to most poets and mythologists, they were three in number, and Hesiod gives them the names of Aglaia (brilliancy), Thalia (the blooming) and Euphrosyne (mirth). Homer mentions them in the Iliad as attendants of Juno, but in the Odyssey they are spoken of as companions of Venus. He conceived them as forming a numerous troop of goddesses, whose office it was to render happy the days of the immortals. The three graces were usually represented slightly draped or entirely nude, locked in each other's embrace or hand in hand.