Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Seasons of Grace Bibliotheca Alexandrina

The Horae. The Charites. The Mousai. They are the Horae: Goddesses of time, spring growth, new buds and first fruits. They oversee just laws, right conduct, and peace. As above, so below: the orderly progression of the seasons is mirrored by the order of a society in balance with the will of the Gods. They are the Charities: Goddesses of beauty, charm, elegance, and deportment, who watch over all the finer things in life; that which makes the human condition bearable, and civilization truly civilized. They are the Mousai, or Muses: Goddesses who inspire poets, dancers, dramatists, comedians, historians, and even astrologers and astronomers. We gather here to celebrate these complicated, multifaceted Goddesses, Powers who laugh and dance just beyond our comprehension. We honor them in poetry and story and ritual. Appropriately, these poems and tales and rites range from the devoutly irreverent to the reverently devout, from the melancholic to the comedic, from the mystical to the pragmatic. The Mousai, the Charites, and the Horae challenge us and inspire us. They dare us to live better: more compassionately, more justly, and more beautifully. They are Goddesses most worthy of our devotion.