Macaria (grc|Μακαρία|Makaría|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.
The ancient Greek noun Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: μακαρία translates to "happiness", "bliss" or "blessed one", but alternatively it can also mean "foolishness".
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; 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.
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.[1] 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");[2] it was counterpart to the modern "go to hell".[3] The phrase was proverbial, and used for those whose courage endangered them.[4] According to the sophist Zenobius, this phrase was actually connected to Macaria the daughter of Heracles, and was originally said positively for those who sacrificed themselves with courage and valor.[5]