Auxo
Goddess of plant growth and one of the original Attic Horae who presided over the increase of crops
The Myth of Auxo
Auxo was one of the Horae, the goddesses of the seasons, worshipped particularly in Athens as part of the original pair or triad alongside Thallo and Carpo. Her name derives from the Greek word auxein, meaning to grow or to increase, and she personified the summer season when crops grew to maturity. Like Thallo, Auxo was invoked in the oath sworn by Athenian ephebes upon their enrolment as citizen-soldiers, reflecting the profound connection between agricultural prosperity and civic responsibility in Athenian thought. The Horae as a group were attendants of Aphrodite and gatekeepers of Olympus, opening and closing the cloud-gates to allow the gods to pass. Auxo's role in this system was to ensure the steady growth of plants between the flowering of spring and the harvest of autumn, the crucial middle phase on which all agricultural survival depended.
Parents
Zeus and Themis
Symbols
Fun Fact
Auxo was one of the divine names invoked in the Athenian ephebic oath, binding new soldiers to the gods of agricultural increase
Explore Further
Thallo
⚡ godSpring, growth
Goddess of spring blossoms and one of the original Attic Horae who presided over the budding of plants
Carpo
⚡ godHarvest, autumn
Goddess of the autumn harvest and one of the original Attic Horae who presided over the fruiting of crops
Demeter
⚡ godGoddess of harvest and the Eleusinian Mysteries
Demeter was the goddess of grain, harvest, and fertility whose grief over Persephone's abduction explained the seasons and whose Mysteries promised hope beyond death.
Ceres
⚡ godAgriculture, grain, harvest, fertility
Roman goddess of agriculture and grain, identified with the Greek Demeter
Persephone
⚡ godQueen of the underworld, goddess of spring
Daughter of Demeter and queen of the underworld. Her annual return from Hades brings spring; her descent brings winter — the mythological explanation of the seasons.
Demeter
⚡ godGoddess of the harvest, agriculture, fertility, sacred law
Goddess of grain, harvest, and the fertility of the earth. When her daughter Persephone was abducted, Demeter's grief brought winter to the world.
Ops
⚡ godAbundance, harvest, earth
Roman goddess of abundance and the harvest, wife of Saturn, equivalent to the Greek Rhea
Flora
⚡ godFlowers, spring, blossoming plants
Roman goddess of flowers and spring, equivalent to the Greek Chloris
Demeter Thesmophoros
⚡ godlaw, agriculture
An epithet of Demeter as bringer of divine law and civilised customs, honoured at the Thesmophoria, the most widespread festival in the Greek world.
Demeter
⚡ godGoddess of the harvest and sacred law
The goddess of grain and agriculture whose grief at losing her daughter created winter and whose mysteries at Eleusis promised life after death.
Orthosie
⚡ godProsperity, order
One of the lesser-known Horae whose name means prosperity or upright standing, associated with the flourishing of crops
Apeliotes
⚡ godWind, east
God of the east wind who brought warm rain beneficial to crops and was considered a gentle and favourable deity