<P> The Charites were usually considered the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, though they were also said to be daughters of Dionysus and Aphrodite or of Helios and the naiad Aegle . Other possible names of their mother by Zeus are Eurydome, Eurymedousa, and Euanthe . Homer wrote that they were part of the retinue of Aphrodite . The Charites were also associated with the Greek underworld and the Eleusinian Mysteries . </P> <P> The river Cephissus near Delphi was sacred to the three goddesses . </P> <P> Although the Graces usually numbered three, according to the Spartans, Cleta, not Thalia, was the third, and other Graces are sometimes mentioned, including Auxo, Hegemone, Peitho, Phaenna, Pasithea and Charis or Cale . An ancient vase painting attests the following names as five: Antheia ("Blossoms"), Eudaimonia ("Happiness"), Paidia ("Play"), Pandaisia ("Banquet"), Pannychis ("Night Festivities") - all referring to the Charites as patronesses of amusement and festivities . </P> <P> Pausanias interrupts his Description of Greece (book 9. xxxv. 1--7) to expand upon the various conceptions of the Graces that had developed in different parts of mainland Greece and Ionia: </P>

Who are the three graces in greek mythology