Eos is the Titaness of the dawn, dew and frost. She is a Titan of the second-generation, the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, and the sister of Helios and Selene. Eos rides in a golden chariot drawn by pegasi. Her Roman counterpart is Aurora.
History[]
Aphrodite, who cursed Eos.
Eos was born to Hyperion and Theia. She remained neutral in the First Titan War, and, as such, she was among the few Titans who were not banished to Tartarus.
Eos rose up into the sky from the world-encircling River Oceanus at the start of each day, and with her rays of light dispersed the mists of night. She was said to open the gates of heaven for her brother Helios, so that he could pass with the Sun Chariot. As her brother was faded, it is possible that Eos currently opens the gates for Apollo.
The Curse of Eos[]
Aphrodite placed a curse upon Eos because she had slept with Ares. This curse filled her heart with constant passion, causing her to fall in love with a train of handsome men. Her lovers included her husband Astraios (Titan of Dusk), the Gigantes, Orion, Kephalos, and the Trojan prince Tithonos, three of which she ravished away to distant lands.
Tithonos became her official consort. When she petitioned Zeus to make Tithonos immortal, Eos forgot to request eternal youth. In time he shriveled up by old age and transformed into a grasshopper.
Trojan War[]
By Tithonos, Eos was the mother of Memnon, an Aethiopian king who fought on the side of the Trojans. When Memnon was slain by Achilles, she was said to have shed tears of dew.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians[]
The Titan's Curse[]
Although Eos doesn't formally appear, she is referred to by Percy Jackson when he calls five o'clock in the morning "an ungodly hour, unless you're the goddess of dawn".
Appearance[]
Eos is described by the poets as a perfectly beautiful maiden with rosy arms and fingers, and large wings, whose plumage is of an ever-changing hue; she bears a star on her forehead, and a torch in her hand.
In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Eos is described as a supremely beautiful winged woman in a rose-colored gown, with "the reddest hands" her nephew Phaeton had ever seen.
Representation[]
Wrapping round her the rich folds of her violet-tinged mantle, Eos leaves her couch before the break of day, and herself yokes her two horses, Lampetus and Phaethon, to her glorious chariot. She then hastens with active cheerfulness to open the gates of heaven in order to herald the approach of the god of day, whilst the tender plants and flowers, revived by the morning dew, lift their heads to welcome her as she passes.
Abilities[]
Eos presumably possesses the standard powers of a Titaness.
- Photokinesis: As the Titaness of the Dawn, Eos has divine authority and absolute control over light.
- Dew Manipulation: As the Titaness of Dew, Eos has divine authority and absolute control over dew. Her tears are said to be the cause of dew.
- Cryokinesis (limited): As the Titaness of Frost, Eos has divine authority and absolute control over frost.
- Flight: Eos is able to fly through her wings.
- Titanic Divine Form: Like all Titans, Eos had the ability to incinerate any being lesser than a god/Titan only by being present.
- Titanic Energy: Like all Titans, Eos had the ability to blast things hundreds of yards away from herself with a yell or a wave of the hand.
Aurora[]
Aurora is the Roman counterpart of Eos. Like most Roman gods, she presumably becomes more disciplined, warlike, and militaristic.
Trivia[]
- Eos and her husband may have control over both light and darkness, like her sister Selene.
- The Eos family is a prominent family of main belt asteroids, named after her.
- One of her sons, Eosphoros (Phosphorus), is sometimes equated with the fallen angel Lucifer, his name meaning “light-bearer”.
- Unlike her siblings, Eos is the only one not stated to have faded.
- She is often equated with Hemera, the primordial goddess of day.
- According to some ancient texts, it was Artemis who was originally known as the goddess of dawn.
- In some myths, such as the tales of Orion and Kephalos, Eos stood virtually as a non-virginal substitute for Artemis.
- The Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis are named after her Roman counterpart, Aurora.
- Her Egyptian equivalent is Khepri.
- Her Norse equivalent is Delling.