In Greek mythology, Astraeus () or Astraios ( Ancient Greek: Ἀστραῖος means "starry"') was an astrological

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

. Some also associate him with the winds, as he is the father of the four

Anemoi In ancient Greek religion and myth, the Anemoi (Greek: , 'Winds') were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came (see Classical compass winds), and were each associated with various seasons an ...

(wind deities), by his wife, Eos.

Etymology

His name “Astraeus” ( Ancient Greek , translit. ''Astraîos'') is derived from the Greek word (''astḗr'') meaning “star”. itself is inherited from the Proto-Indo-European root ''*h₂ster-'' (“star”), from ''*h₂eh₁s-'' , “to burn”. "Astraea" shares this same etymology.

Mythology

According to

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

's '' Theogony'' and '' Bibliotheca'', Astraeus is a second-generation

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

descended from Crius and Eurybia. However, Hyginus wrote that he was descended directly from Tartarus and

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenog ...

and referred to him as one of the

Gigantes In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, the Giants, also called Gigantes (Ancient Greek, Greek: Γίγαντες, ''Gígantes'', Γίγας, ''Gígas''), were a race of great strength and aggression, though not necessarily of great size. ...

. Astraeus married Eos, the goddess of the dawn. Together as nightfall and daybreak, they produced many

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

associated with what occurs in the sky during twilight. They had many sons, including the four Anemoi ("winds"): Boreas,

Notus In ancient Greek religion and myth, the Anemoi (Greek: , 'Winds') were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came (see Classical compass winds), and were each associated with various seasons and ...

, Eurus, and Zephyrus, and the five ''Astra Planeta'' ("Wandering Stars", i.e., planets):

Phainon Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

(Saturn), Phaethon (Jupiter), Pyroeis (Mars),

Eosphoros Phosphorus () is one of the ''Astra Planeta'', specifically the god of the planet Venus in its appearance as the Morning Star. Another Greek name for the Morning Star is "Eosphorus" ( grc, Ἑωσφόρος, Heōsphoros, link=no), which means ...

/ Hesperos ( Venus), and Stilbon (Mercury). A few sources mention another daughter, Astraea, the goddess of innocence and, occasionally, justice. He is also sometimes associated with

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aeolus or Aiolos (; grc, Αἴολος , ) is a name shared by three mythical characters. These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which A ...

, the Keeper of the Winds, since winds often increase around dusk. In Nonnus's epic poem ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' {{IPAc-en, ˌ, d, aɪ, ., ə, ., n, ᵻ, ˈ, z, aɪ, ., ə, ., k, ə ( grc-gre, Διονυσιακά, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest survi ...

'', Astraeus is presented as an oracular god whom the goddess

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...

visits, concerned about her daughter Persephone's future as she had started to attract a significant number of admirers on

Olympus Olympus or Olympos ( grc, Ὄλυμπος, link=no) may refer to: Mountains In antiquity Greece * Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology * Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Les ...

and worried that she might end up marrying Hephaestus. Astraeus then warned her that soon enough, Persephone would be ravished by a

serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

and bear fruit from that union, which greatly upset Demeter. Nonnus, ''

'
6.1

6.105
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Family tree

Notes

References

* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004.
Google Books
* Nonnus, ''

''; translated by Rouse, W H D, I Books I-XV.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...

No. 344, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1940
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{{Authority control Titans (mythology) Greek gods Stellar gods Lucifer Characters in Greek mythology Light gods Oracular gods Classical oracles Consorts of Eos Night gods