In
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, Neaera (;
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
: , ''Néaira''), also Neaira (), is the name of a minor goddess, a lover of
Helios
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the deity, god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyper ...
the
god of the sun and the mother by him of twins
Phaethusa
In Greek mythology, Phaethusa or Phaëthusa ( grc, Φαέθουσα ''Phaéthousa'', "radiance") was a daughter of Helios and Neaera, the personification of the brilliant, blinding rays of the sun.Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Ausführliche ...
and
Lampetia
In Greek mythology, Lampetia ( grc, Λαμπετίη, translit=Lampetíē or grc, Λαμπετία, label=none, translit=Lampetía, lit=shining) was the daughter of Helios and Neaera; she was the personification of light. Her twin sister, P ...
.
Mythology
In the ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...
'',
Circe
Circe (; grc, , ) is an Magician (paranormal), enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion. She is either a daughter of the Titans, Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse (mythology), Perse ...
informs
Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
that after Neaera bore and nursed her daughters, she sent them to the island of
Thrinacia
In Greek mythology, the Cattle of Helios (, ''Ēelíoio bóes''), also called the Oxen of the Sun, are cattle pastured on the island of Thrinacia (sometimes identified with Sicily).
Mythology
Helios, who in Greek mythology is the god of the Sun ...
, the island where Helios kept his
sacred cows
''Sacred Cows'', subtitled "The Songs That Helped Us," is an album featuring the rock band The Swirling Eddies, performing their own less-than-serious versions of popular CCM hits, released in 1996 on StarSong.
The basic plan for the recor ...
, to tend to the flocks of their father.
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
calls her "divine" without giving her any parentage;
Hesychius of Alexandria
Hesychius of Alexandria ( grc, Ἡσύχιος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Hēsýchios ho Alexandreús, lit=Hesychios the Alexandrian) was a Greek grammarian who, probably in the 5th or 6th century AD,E. Dickey, Ancient Greek Scholarship (2007 ...
wrote that 'Neaera' is the name of an
Oceanid
In Greek mythology, the Oceanids or Oceanides (; grc, Ὠκεανίδες, Ōkeanídes, pl. of grc, Ὠκεανίς, Ōkeanís, label=none) are the nymphs who were the three thousand (a number interpreted as meaning "innumerable") daughters o ...
nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...
, though it is not clear whether this Neaera is the same person.
Neaera's name, roughly meaning "younger", relates to Helios, as do the names of their daughters, since the sun is new and young each morning, adding to the symbolism of the Oxen of the Sun episode.
[W. Walter Merry, James Riddell, D. B. Monro, ’’Commentary on the ]Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...
’’
12.132
/ref>
See also
* Rhodos
In Greek mythology, Rhodos/Rhodus () or Rhode (), was the goddess and personification of the island of Rhodes and a wife of the Solar deity, sun god Helios.
Parentage
Various parents were given for Rhodos. Pindar makes her a daughter of Aphro ...
* Perse
* Clymene
Notes
{{reflist
References
* Hesychius of Alexandria
Hesychius of Alexandria ( grc, Ἡσύχιος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Hēsýchios ho Alexandreús, lit=Hesychios the Alexandrian) was a Greek grammarian who, probably in the 5th or 6th century AD,E. Dickey, Ancient Greek Scholarship (2007 ...
,
Alphabetical Collection of All Words
'
Vol. I (alpha through delta)
* Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
; ''The Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...
with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes''. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* John Tzetzes
John Tzetzes ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who is known to have lived at Constantinople in the 12th century.
He was able to p ...
, ''Chiliades'', books II-IV translated by Gary Berkowitz.
* Smith, William; ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...
'', London (1873).
External links
NEAERA from The Theoi Project
Greek goddesses
Characters in the Odyssey
Women of Helios
Oceanids
Sea and river goddesses