Macaria (daughter of Hades)

This article is about the daughter of Hades. For other uses, see Macaria.

Macaria (Ancient Greek: Μακαρία, romanized: Makaría, lit. 'blessed one, blessedness') is an obscure figure in ancient Greek mythology and religion, reportedly the daughter of Hades, god and king of the Underworld. Macaria is only mentioned in a medieval source of the tenth century, which offers little documentation on her character and personhood. She has no accompanying mythology of her own, and there is no evidence she received any worship.

Etymology

The ancient Greek noun μακαρία translates to "happiness", "bliss" or "blessed one", but alternatively it can also mean "foolishness".[1][2]

The Suda

This Macaria is attested in a single source, the 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia Suda, according to which she is a daughter of Hades, the king of the Underworld;[3] no mother is mentioned. Nothing else is known about her, as she is neither explicitly stated to be an immortal goddess nor a mortal woman, nor confirmed to live in the Underworld with her father.

Possible connections

In the same entry in the Suda, two more Macarias are discussed, apparently independently from the daughter of Hades; an ancient Greek proverb and Macaria, the daughter of Heracles who sacrificed herself to save her kin and city.[4] According to the author, the ancient Greek figure of speech "be gone to blessedness" meant to go "into destruction", in a euphemistic manner (as the dead were traditionally referred to as "the blessed ones");[3] it was counterpart to the modern "go to hell".[5] The phrase was proverbial, and used for those whose courage endangered them.[6] According to the sophist Zenobius, this phrase was actually connected to Macaria the daughter of Heracles,[7] and was originally said positively for those who sacrificed themselves with courage and valor.[8]

See also

• Zagreus
• Melinoë

References

1. Liddell & Scott 1940, s.v. μακαρία.
2. Liddell & Scott 1940, s.v. μάκαρ.
3. Sudas (January 24, 2004). "Macaria". Suda On Line. Translated by Katrina Ball. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
4. Käppel, Lutz (October 1, 2006). "Macaria". In Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth (eds.). Brill's New Pauly. Kiel: Brill Reference On line. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e718630. ISSN 1574-9347. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
5. "βάλλ' ἐς μακαρίαν". lsj.gr. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
6. Sudas (April 13, 2002). "Ball' es Makarian". Suda On Line. Translated by Jennifer Benedict. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
7. Smith 1873, s.v. Macaria.
8. Zenobius 2.61

Bibliography

• E. L. von Leutsch; F. W. Schneidwein, eds. (1839). Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum. Vol. 1. Vandenhoeck et Ruprecht. p. 48.
• Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon, revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Online version at Perseus.tufts project.
• Smith, William (1873). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London, UK: John Murray, printed by Spottiswoode and Co. Online version at the Perseus.tufts library.

External links

• MACARIA at the Theoi Project