IN Greek mythology the Three Graceswere goddesses concerned with beauty,charm, gracefulness and cheerfulness.They were in the retinue of Aphrodite(Venus) who made use of their serviceswhen she needed to adorn herself withall her female seductions. Their associ-ation with Aphrodite is indicated by thenumber of coins that featured them

minted at Aphrodisias, a city in westernAnatolia, where she was the principaldeity. (Figures 1 and 2) The Greeks beganto worship the Three Graces in aboutthe eighth century BC, and the earliestrecord of them is probably in the Iliad,which Homer wrote in about 700 BC. Alittle later the Greek poet, Hesiod, men-tions them in his Theogony. He describesthe night festival that celebrated themat Orchomenus, a city in Boeotia, wherethe oldest sanctuary dedicated to themwas situated. (Figure 3) There they wereworshiped in the form of stones, probablymeteorites. Their popularity spread toother cities, and Aristotle in the 4th cen-tury BC remarked that their sanctuaryin Athens was in a prominent place. According to Hesiod the Three Graceswere the offspring of Zeus, the chief ofthe gods, and Eurynome, the daughter ofOceanus, who was one of the elementalforces that had formed the world. TheThree Graces are depicted holding a var-iety of objects: apples, vases, ears of corn,

poppies, wreaths and musical instru-ments. In the early stages (ClassicalPeriod) they were occasionally shownclothed, but later (Hellenistic and RomanPeriods) they were usually shown nudeor wearing transparent gowns. This wasapparently to indicate that they werewithout pretence. According to S.W.Stevenson (A Dictionary of Roman Coins,page 438) they “display as if in a dancingattitude, symmetry of person, combiningwith elegance of movement, unadornedbeauty, unconscious of offence to modesty.”Their number and their names varied

according to time and place. In Spartathey were two: Cleia and Phaenna. Butaccording to the most widely acceptedtradition there were three Graces andtheir names were Aglaia, Thalia andEuphrosyne. These names are simply theGreek words for brightness, flower andjoy respectively. According to F. Guirandin the Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythol-ogy each of the Graces had a specificfunction: Aglaia was ‘the brilliant’, Thalia

Ruins of Aphrodisias (Wikimedia Commons) Overlay: a coin of Aphrodisias (Gorny & Mosch 126: 1832)

Figure 1 – Bronze coin of Aphrodisias, c. 250-255 AD. 20 mms diam. Bust of Hera on theobverse, and on the reverse Aphrodite standsholding an apple and a sceptre. The applerefers to the contest between Hera, Aphroditeand Athena. A golden apple was the prize ‘forthe fairest’. It led to the Trojan War. (RomaNumismatics, Auction May 2013, Lot 477)

Figure 2 – Bronze coin of Aphrodisias. Crispina, the wife of Commodus (177-192 AD), is onthe obverse, and the Three Graces are on the reverse. (Gorny & Mosch, Auction 126, Lot 1832)

was ‘she who brought flowers’ and Euph-rosyne was ‘she who rejoices the heart’.The three together were considered thepersonification of grace, which isΧΑΡΙΣ(charis) in Greek. The plural isΧΑΡΙΤΕΣ(charites). This Greek word has thesense of ‘favour’ as well as the sense of‘loveliness’. But it is favour to someonethat is undeserved, not out of compassion,which would be ‘mercy’. The Greek word,‘charis’, is the root of the English word,

‘charity’, and this has led to the ThreeGraces sometimes being called the ThreeCharities, but this is confusing andshould be avoided. Statues of the Three Graces were erec-ted in various cities in Greece and thewider Greek world. Most of these nolonger exist, but some still do. (Figure 4)Coins minted at Pautalia in Thrace inabout 200 AD indicate that some of thesestatues may have been out in the open,not enclosed in temples. The centre of thecity is shown on the coins, and althoughthe statues of Asklepios and other godsare in temples, the Three Graces are not.(Figure 5) Mosaics and wall paintings ofthe Three Graces were also popular, andthey have even been found at Pompeii.(Figure 6) It is interesting the way theideal female figure, as represented bythe Three Graces, has changed over thecenturies. When the women in the paint-ing from Pompeii are compared withthose in a painting made by Rubens in

1635 (Figure 7) the latter could be anadvertisement for Weight Watchers. Thecurrent ideal figure, of a very thin teen-ager, could be used in an advertisementfor Oxfam.In his excellent book, The Three Graces

and Their Numismatic Mythology, printedin 2004, Mark A. Staal listed, many withimages, all the coins with the ThreeGraces on them of which he was aware.They were particularly common around200 AD, and many cities issued coins withtheir image on them, either in miniatureor as the only type on the reverse. Wherethey are the only type the images are verysimilar. (Figures 8 and 9) The Three Graces should not be con-fused with other groups such as the Three

Figure 4 – Marble statue of the Three Graces found in Rome but now in the Louvre. Madein the 2nd century AD and restored in 1609 it is a copy of a 2nd century BC Greek statue.(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 3 – Bronze coin of Orchomenos, c. 370-364 BC. 14 mms. On the obverse there is aBoeotian shield with an ear of grain on it. Onthe reverse the star is probably Venus. Theletters EPXO stand for Erchomenos. (TritonIX, Lot 225)

Figure 5 – Bronze coin of Commodus (198-217 AD) minted at Pautalia in Thrace. Itshows the Three Graces in miniature. (FritzRudolf Künker, Auction 124, Lot 9282)

Figure 6 – Fresco from Pompeii now in theArchaeological Museum in Naples. (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

Danaids or the Three Nymphs. The for-mer are shown wearing long flowinggowns and carrying water jugs, while thelatter are shown holding hands. TheThree Graces are distinctive because thecentre figure stands with her back to theviewer and her arms around the shoul-ders of the others who face the viewer.When they are in miniature it may not bepossible to make a definite identification.The three tiny figures that appear on anew-style tetradrachm of Athens areprobably the Three Nymphs. They areto the right of the owl. (Figure 10) The

Three Graces do appear in miniature ontetradrachms minted at Gadara in theDecapolis. (Figure 11)The cities that issued coins featuringthe Three Graces were mostly in Thrace(modern Bulgaria) and Anatolia (modernTurkey). Tarsus issued a number of themunder various rulers from Maximinus I,235 – 238 AD. (Figure 12) There wereprobably statues of the Three Graces inall these cities, well before the coins wereissued. What is particularly interesting in allthis, is what influence, if any, the Three

Figure 7 – ‘The three Graces’ by Sir Peter PaulRubens, c. 1635. The painting is in the PradoMuseum in Madrid. (Source: WikimediaCommons)

Figure 8 – Bronze coin of Gordian III (238-244 AD) minted at Anazarbus in Cilicia. 20 mmsdiam. The objects on either side of the Three Graces have been described as censers or altars,but they look like the objects in the statue in the Louvre (Figure 4), which seem to be watervessels covered with towels. (CNG Electronic Auction 300, Lot 159)

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Graces had on early Christianity. SaintPaul was born in Tarsus and lived therefor several years after his conversion.Subsequently he traveled extensively inAnatolia and Greece, and probably vis-ited cities in Thrace. It is therefore likelythat he saw statues of the Three Gracesand knew their significance. In his firstletter to the Corinthians he wrote, “Andnow these three remain: faith, hope andlove. But the greatest of these is love.”(1 Cor. 13:13) Could this triad be relatedto the Three Graces? Concerning Aglaia(the brilliant) Paul would have known theverse in Isaiah (Isa. 2:5), “Let us walk inthe light of the Lord”, which suggests theidea of faith. Concerning Euphrosyne(she who rejoices the heart) Paul wouldhave known the verse in the Psalms(Ps. 31:7), “I will be glad and rejoice inyour love”, which suggests a connectionbetween joy and love. But what wouldThalia (she who brought flowers) have todo with hope? The answer to this questionis found on coins showing hope person-ified as a woman holding a flower. (Fig-ures 13, 14 and 15) Hope (Spes in Latinand Elpis in Greek) holds a flower becausewhere there is a flower there is hope offruit to come. In his letter to the Galat-ians Paul wrote, “The fruit of the spiritis love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,goodness, faithfulness, gentleness andself-control.” (Gal. 5:22) In the King James Version of the Bible

Figure 9 – Bronze coin of Gallienus (253-268AD) minted at Serdica (now Sofia, the capi-tal of Bulgaria). 28 mms diam. (CNG Elec-tronic Auction 300, Lot 141)

Figure 10 – New-style tetradrachm of Athens(c. 113-112 BC) showing three small figuresto the right of the owl. They are probably not theThree Graces. (Roma Numismatics, May 2013Auction, Lot 287)

Figure 11 – Tetradrachm of Macrinus (217-218 AD) minted at Gadara in the Decapolis.26 mms diam. The Three Graces are in a laurelwreath below the eagle. Caracalla and Dia-dumenian issued similar tetradrachms, whichattests to their popularity in the area at thattime. (CNG Auction 93, Lot 984)

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written in the 17th century the Greekword, ΑΓΑΠΗ (agape), is translatedwrongly as ‘charity’. Hence Paul’s triadin the KJV is “faith, hope and charity”.Modern versions translate ‘agape’ cor-rectly as ‘love’. The word, ‘agape’, occursfrequently in the New Testament whereit means a love that in essence is a self-giving concern for others. Collectively the Three Graces were thepersonification of grace (Greek: charis),and the concept of grace is central in

Paul’s theology, but for him it meant God’sunmerited favour. One of Paul’s famousstatements expresses this clearly: “It isby grace you have been saved, throughfaith – and this is not from yourselves, itis the gift of God – not by works, so thatno one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8) So anargument can be made that the ThreeGraces did influence early Christianity. Inany case, with their gentleness, cheer-fulness and loveliness, they would havehad a beneficial effect on those commun-

ities fortunate to have them as part oftheir culture. As Guirand explains, “Theywere smiling divinities whose presencespread joy not only throughout the exter-nal world but also in the hearts of men.”

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Figure 12 – Bronze coin of Maximinus I (235-238 AD) minted at Tarsus. 37 mms diam. (Col-lection of St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane)

Figure 13 – Sestertius of Claudius (41-54 AD)minted at Rome in 42 AD. On the reverse Hope(Spes) holds a flower in her right hand. (DrBusso Peus Nachfolger, Auction 409, Lot 340)

Figure 14 – Detail of Figure 13 with colour added.

Figure 15 – Bronze coin of Gordian III (238-244AD) minted at Tarsus showing Hope (Elpis)holding a flower on the reverse. 37 mms diam.The letters AMK to the right of Elpis stand for‘first, greatest, most beautiful’. They refer to Tar-sus and indicate the rivalry between the cities.(Collection of St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane)