Sister Of Helios Greek Goddess Of Dawn

Helios, in Classical Mythology, was the Greek God of the Sun. The sister of Helios, known as Eos in the Greek Pantheon, is traditionally the Greek goddess of the dawn. According to mythological sources, the abode of Eos is at the edge of the ocean surrounding the human world called Oceanus. Eos, being the goddess of dawn, heralds the sun after rising from her abode in her chariot.

The sister of Helios, as narrated by Hesiod in Theogony, was the offspring of the titan Hyperion – son of Uranus and Gaia – and Theia the Titaness. Eos had another sibling, Selene or the moon. This is also an example of how the Greek gods succeeded the titans not just by acquiring their power, but also by being part of their lineage.

Eos is believed to have had multiple liaisons – not only with mortals but also with some titan. Apart from being the sister of Helios, she is also the mother of the stars and the wind. She bore them with Astraios, while having undying passion towards Orion the titan. Eos is also believed to have abducted Tithonus, Ganymede and Clitus in order to establish romantic liaisons with them.

Hesiod cites even further offsprings of the sister of Helios. Memnon – destined to become a Trojan warrior – and his brother Emathion were fathered by Tithonus. Cephalus fathered three sons with Eos, including Hesperus – the Evening Star. The last anecdote is mentioned along with the ensuing events in Ovids Metamorphoses. Eos has also been mentioned in several other literary works, including Homers epic Iliad.

The depiction of the sister of Helios in classical literary works adheres to the Homeric description, found in Book VIII of the Iliad. In this instance, Eos is described as the one who opens the gateway of heaven so that the sun can begin his diurnal journey across the sky. Eos is described as a maiden having rosy fingers – an evocative image of the dawn. In Greek architecture, her feminism is amplified in the manner in which she is sculpted. Her beauty is believed to be supernaturally magnificent. Apart from her rosy fingers, her arms are believed to be golden. She is also believed to possess large wings of white feathers. Moreover, a tiara is almost always sculpted on top of her head.

Other depictions of the sister of Helios portray her in her chariot. The tears of Eos are believed to drop onto the planet Earth in the form of drops of dew. The Roman equivalent of Eos bears the name Aurora. The Etruscans portrayed Eos as a nurturing figure rather than one who seduced and abducted men. Eos is also often portrayed along with the Horae – otherwise known as the feminine Hours. Eos