Skip to content
Eurynome, a MythSource painting
Greek

Eurynome

Wide-Ruling · Lovely-Haired · Mother of the Charites

01Identity

Eurynome in Greek tradition

Eurynome is counted among the Oceanides, the daughters of Oceanus and Tethys. She is identified as the mother of the Charites, also called the Graces, namely Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. This Eurynome is distinct from Eurynome of Phigalia and the Orphic Eurynome, which are recorded as separate forms of the name, rather than as the same Oceanid.

Top questions

The quick answers

  • Who is Eurynome?

    Eurynome is a Greek being associated with the Ocean and its waters, grace and beauty, pastures and meadows, birth and generation, cosmic creation.
    Source

    Source

    • Greek Mythology – August 2018
    • Greek Myths & Tales
    • Dictionary of Mythology
    • The Greek Myths
    • Greek Mysteries: The Archaeology and Ritual of Ancient Greek Secret Cults
    • Classical Mythology a to Z

  • What is Eurynome the god of?

    the Ocean and its waters, grace and beauty, pastures and meadows, birth and generation, cosmic creation
    Source

    Source

    • Greek Mythology – August 2018
    • Greek Myths & Tales
    • Dictionary of Mythology
    • The Greek Myths

  • What family links are recorded for Eurynome?

    Father: Oceanus, Mother: Tethys, Spouse: Ophion, 5 children.

  • What happens in The Cosmic Egg of Eurynome and Ophion?

    Eurynome divided sea from sky, changed the North Wind into Ophion, and laid the Universal Egg after coupling with the serpent.
    Source

    Source

    • Apollodorus, The Library
    • The Greek Myths
    • Greek Mythology – August 2018
02Family

Eurynome’s family, at a glance

Parents above, children below, and the figure’s consorts named in between, the same family data as the fact box, laid out as a chart instead of a field list.

OceanusTethys
Eurynome

with Ophion

AglaeaAsopusCharitesEuphrosyneThalia
03The names

The names Eurynome answers to

Eurynome the Oceanid

Daughter of Oceanus and Tethys

SourceDictionary of Mythology

Eurynome of Phigalia

The Eurynome worshipped at a sanctuary in Arcadia

SourceGreek Mysteries: The Archaeology and Ritual of Ancient Greek Secret Cults

Mother of the Charites

Mother of Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia

SourceClassical Mythology a to Z

Orphic Eurynome

The primordial creator in an Orphic creation story

SourceThe Greek Myths

04The myths

The myths of Eurynome

3 myths, each traced to its primary text and corpus sources, with 1 reviewed modern rework linked where the evidence supports it.

The Cosmic Egg of Eurynome and Ophion

Eurynome rose naked from Chaos and found no solid ground beneath her feet. She divided the sea from the sky, then danced alone upon the waves. As she moved towards the south, the North Wind stirred behind her. She caught it, rubbed it between her hands, and changed it into the great serpent Ophion. She danced faster to warm herself. Ophion desired her, coiled around her body, and coupled with her. The North Wind, also called Boreas, fertilised, and this explained why mares sometimes turned their hindquarters to the wind and conceived foals without a stallion.

Eurynome became pregnant. She took the form of a dove and brooded upon the waves. In time, she laid the Universal Egg. At her command, Ophion coiled around it seven times. When the egg hatched, the Earth and all its creation emerged from it. Eurynome then went to the summit of Mount Olympus to watch creation mature, and Ophion joined her there.

Ophion began to boast that he alone had brought creation into being. Eurynome punished him for this affront by throwing him from Olympus. She then created the Moon and the planets, and placed Titan gods and goddesses in authority over them. Cronus and Rhea received the planet Cronus and the power of peace.

In one telling, Eurynome was called the Goddess of All Things, while the gods and living creatures came from the stream of Oceanus, with Tethys as the mother of his children. In another, the Orphics said that black-winged Night was courted by the Wind and laid a silver egg in Darkness. Eros, also called Phanes, hatched from it and set the universe in motion.

The Cosmic Egg of Eurynome and Ophion, a MythSource painting of the scene

In the modern world

Eurynome

Film

Eurynome emerging from Chaos and mating with the Serpent (Ophion); their union produces an egg that cracks open and releases the elements of creation.

3 sources· checked 2026-08-19

  1. 1The Greek MythsT1
  2. 2Apollodorus, The LibraryT1

    Quote

    “Eurynome, having become a dove, lays the Universal Egg, from which the Earth and all creation emerge after Ophion coils around it seven times.”

    Apollodorus, The Library

  3. 3Greek Mythology – August 2018T1

The Birth of the Charites

Zeus fathered three daughters with Eurynome, an Oceanid. Eurynome was one of the daughters of Oceanus and Tethys, who were the parents of the Oceanids. Their daughters were Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, and they became the Charites, also called the Graces.

The three sisters appeared together as a group of maidens. Their shared name joined them as one chorus. The Hours, the Fates, and the Muses also formed distinct groups of female figures in the divine genealogies. The Charites therefore belonged together as a single group rather than as separate daughters in the account of Zeus’s offspring.

After Zeus married Hera, he fathered other children through unions with immortal women. By Themis, he had the three Hours and the three Fates. By Eurynome, he had the three Charites. By Mnemosyne, he had the nine Muses. These unions produced groups of divine daughters who belonged to the wider generation of Zeus’s children. The Charites were associated with joy and with the ordered life of Olympus.

The genealogy therefore gave the sisters their descent from Zeus and Eurynome, identified Eurynome as an Oceanid descended from Oceanus and Tethys, and named the three daughters as Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. Together, they were known as the Charites or Graces.

The Birth of the Charites, a MythSource painting of the scene

In the modern world

No modern rework confirmed yet.

2 sources· checked 2026-08-19

  1. 1Greek Myths & TalesT1
  2. 2Hesiod, TheogonyT1

    Quote

    “Eurynome, an Oceanid, bears Zeus three daughters, Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, whom the poem names as the Charites.”

    Hesiod, Theogony

The Overthrow of Eurynome and Ophion

Eurynome rose naked from Chaos and found no solid ground beneath her. She separated the sea from the sky and danced alone upon the waves. As she moved south, the North Wind followed her. She caught it, rubbed it between her hands, and formed the great serpent Ophion. He coiled around her and coupled with her, and she conceived. Taking the form of a dove, Eurynome brooded over the waves and laid the Universal Egg.

At Eurynome’s command, Ophion coiled seven times around the egg. When it opened, the Earth and all its creation emerged. Eurynome then went to the summit of Mount Olympus to watch creation mature, and Ophion joined her there. He began to boast that he alone had created the cosmos. Eurynome cast him from Olympus and into Tartarus.

Eurynome created the Moon and the planets, placing Titan gods and goddesses in dominion over them. Cronus and Rhea received the planet Cronus and were given the power of peace. They later rose against Eurynome and Ophion. Cronus and Rhea defeated them and overthrew them as rulers of heaven.

The Overthrow of Eurynome and Ophion, a MythSource painting of the scene

In the modern world

No modern rework confirmed yet.

3 sources· checked 2026-08-19

  1. 1The Greek MythsT1
  2. 2Apollodorus, The LibraryT1

    Quote

    “Cronus and Rhea, having received Cronus and the power of peace, defeat Eurynome and Ophion and overthrow them as rulers of heaven.”

    Apollodorus, The Library

  3. 3Greek Mythology – August 2018T1

Also appears in

The myths across MythSource where Eurynome features, each on that figure’s page.

The film

The Underdrawing video on Eurynome embeds here once it publishes.