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 ...
, Phaethusa or Phaëthusa ( grc, Φαέθουσα ''Phaéthousa'', "radiance") was a daughter 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 ...
and
Neaera, the personification of the brilliant, blinding rays of the
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
.
[Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie. Band 3,2, Leipzig 1909] With her twin sister,
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, Pha ...
, she guarded the cattle 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 Solar deity, g ...
. She carried a copper staff with which she tended to her father's herd of sheep. She is listed as among the
Heliades
In Greek mythology, the Heliades (Ancient Greek: Ἡλιάδες means 'daughters of the sun') also called Phaethontides (meaning "daughters of Phaethon") were the daughters of Helios and Clymene, an Oceanid nymph.
Names
According to one v ...
.
Namesake
*
296 Phaëtusa
References
Greek goddesses
Children of Helios
Personifications in Greek mythology
{{Greek-deity-stub