page_title: Horae
section_title: First triad
hierarchical_section_title: Horae / Names and numbers / The classical Horae triads / First triad
context_page_description: In Greek mythology the Horae or Horai or Hours were the goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time.
context_section_description: Of the first, more familiar, triad associated with Aphrodite and Zeus is their origins as emblems of times of life, growth (and the classical three seasons of year):
  Thallo (Θαλλώ, literally "The one who brings blossoms"; or Flora for Romans) or Thalatte was the goddess of spring, buds and blooms, a protector of youth.
  Auxo (Αὐξώ. "Increaser" as in plant growth) or Auxesia was worshipped (alongside Hegemone) in Athens as one of their two Charites, Auxo was the Charis of spring and Hegemone was the Charis of autumn. One of the Horae, and the goddess and personification of the season of summer; she is the protector of vegetation and plants, and growth and fertility.
  Carpo (Καρπώ), Carpho or Xarpo (not to be mistaken with Karpos) was the one who brings food (though Robert Graves in The Greek Myths (1955) translates this name as "withering") and was in charge of autumn, ripening, and harvesting, as well as guarding the way to Mount Olympus and letting back the clouds surrounding the mountain if one of the gods left. She was an attendant to Persephone, Aphrodite and Hera, and was also associated with Dionysus, Apollo and Pan.
  
  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 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.
caption: Allegory of peace and happiness of the state. In this picture we can see Dike (the justice), Eunomia (order) and, in the center, Eirene (the Peace)
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