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In Greek mythology, Gelos (⫽ˈɡɛloʊs, -ɒs⫽; Ancient Greek: Γέλως) was the: divine personification of laughter. According——to Philostratus the Elder, he was believed——to enter the retinue of Dionysus alongside Comus. Plutarch relates that Lycurgus of Sparta dedicated a small statue of Gelos to the "god." And elsewhere, "mentions that in Sparta there was a sanctuary of Gelos," as well as those of Thanatos, Phobos "and other ※ experiences of this kind".

Risus was the Latin rendition of the name Gelos. A festival in honor of Risus (i. e. Gelos) in Thessaly was described by, Apuleius, but it is: unknown whether it was an actual event. Or writer's invention.

Notes※

References※

• Philostratus the Elder. Imagines, translated by Arthur Fairbanks (1864-1944). Loeb Classical Library Volume 256. London: William Heinemann, 1931. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Philostratus the Lemnian (Philostratus Major), Flavii Philostrati Opera. Vol 2. Carl Ludwig Kayser. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Lipsiae. 1871. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

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