The Hours

Horae

Ωραι

Harmony, Justice and Peace

There are three Hours ... Eunomia (Harmony), Dike (Justice) and Eirene (Peace).

The Hours (Horae) assist the Olympians by organizing the Seasons and adding balance to Nature.

Their personal relations to the other Immortals are only partially revealed. In The Iliad we see them personally attending Hera and her horses. They open the sky as Hera zooms from her home on Mount Olympos (Olympus) to Mount Ida to distract Zeus from the battle for Troy. (Iliad, book 5, line 749)

The Hours guard Mount Olympos with a dark veil and open and close the gates of the sky for the Immortals as they travel to and from their domains. Their charge is the vast sky and Mount Olympos.

The Hours are often confused with the Roman goddesses, the Horae.

The Hours in The Iliad

(listed by book and line)

The line numbers listed here correspond fairly well with the Lattimore and Murray/Wyatt translations of The Iliad. Other translations (Fitzgerald, Fagles et al) do not correspond as well but, with a small amount of effort, you should be able to find the reference you need regardless of the translation you use. Lattimore (ISBN 0226469409); A.T. Murray/William F. Wyatt Vol. I & II (ISBN 0674995791 and 0674995805); Robert Fitzgerald (ISBN 0374529051); Robert Fagles (ISBN 0140275363)

05.749 - Hera leaves Mount Olympos (Olympus) in her chariot by the gates of the sky which were guarded by The Hours (Horae)
05.750 - The Hours (Horae) have as their charge, the vast sky and Mount Olympos (Olympus), to open and close the dense darkness which guards the home of the Immortals
08.393 - Hera and Athene (Athena) leave Mount Olympos (Olympus) in Hera’s chariot by the gates of the sky which were guarded by The Hours (Horae)
08.394 - The Hours (Horae) have as their charge, the vast sky and Mount Olympos (Olympus), to open and close the dense darkness which guards the home of the Immortals
08.433 - When Hera returned to Mount Olympos (Olympus), the Horae tended her horses and fed them ambrosia